Mary Ellen Mark, whether photographing the socially disadvantaged, those on the fringes of society, or celebrities, told the stories of her subjects without prejudice. She often followed her subjects for extended periods of time, sometimes even decades.
But as Amanda Maddox, lead curator at World Press Photo, says at the start of her essay in the book, "Is it possible for a retrospective on Mary Ellen Mark to truly encompass the scope of her photographic production? And if so, can the complicated, sometimes messy histories and contexts that informed her output be encompassed as well" A new book published by Steidl in conjunction with an exhibition at C/O Berlin sets out to answer the question.
Mark was born in Philadelphia and went on to earn a BA in painting and art history, along with an MA in photojournalism, from the University of Pennsylvania. As a freelance photographer, and in association with the Magnum photo agency from 1977 to 1982, Mark garnered acclaim for her photographs, published in magazines like Life, Look, Rolling Stone, Stern, and The New Yorker among others. She worked in countries around the globe, from the Americas, to Africa, Asia, and Europe.
