Scan barcode
A review by sariggs
Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs by Sally Mann
2.0
When this book came out, I was interested in part because I remember looking at Mann's "Intimate Portraits" in the '90s and thinking how embarrassed I'd be if I was those naked kids in the photographs. At the time, I wasn't at all comfortable with bodies in general, and I projected that discomfort onto them. I was five star impressed with the chapter of this book in which she provided context for her artistic process in "Intimate Portraits". I am an older, more body-positive person now, but I think that chapter would have alleviated teen-me's discomfort for her kids completely. That chapter was really interesting, and I learned a lot.
As for the rest of the book, well, I dragged myself through it under protest. The first 99 pages were a slog, and then it picked up. I liked the bits about her southern road trip, and her grandmother's open marriage was interesting. If you can hold on until the very end, the bit on the Body Farm is compelling.
I really think it's just not well edited, or not edited for the general reader's enjoyment. It's a memoir. There's no plot, no compelling storyline. It's half a photography book and half a family history, and they let her keep everything, not just the interesting parts.
I did love this bit though.
"Exploitation lies at the root of every great portrait, and all of us know it. Even the simplest picture of another person is ethically complex, and the ambitious photographer, no matter how sincere, is compromised right from the git-go."
As for the rest of the book, well, I dragged myself through it under protest. The first 99 pages were a slog, and then it picked up. I liked the bits about her southern road trip, and her grandmother's open marriage was interesting. If you can hold on until the very end, the bit on the Body Farm is compelling.
I really think it's just not well edited, or not edited for the general reader's enjoyment. It's a memoir. There's no plot, no compelling storyline. It's half a photography book and half a family history, and they let her keep everything, not just the interesting parts.
I did love this bit though.
"Exploitation lies at the root of every great portrait, and all of us know it. Even the simplest picture of another person is ethically complex, and the ambitious photographer, no matter how sincere, is compromised right from the git-go."