"I'm just interested in people on the edges. I feel an affinity for people who haven't had the best breaks in society. What I want to do more than anything is acknowledge their existence". - Mary Ellen Mark 1989.
She has done many kinds of work all around the world. Europe, Vietnam, sets of countless movies with some of the biggest stars of our time. And yet it is prostitutes in Bombay, leper hospitals, mental wards and the like that compels her most.
She is gritty and not afraid to get out in the field and do the work it takes to get the quality shots that is obviously her standard. There are stories out there, everywhere that deserve to be told. Her work reminds me of this. Whether you are working to document local life or wars and cultures half a globe away, it is all relevant.
Getting the chance to hear her speak at Richland was great. Seeing an artist present and speak about their work is much more powerful than online browsing, or even looking at books.
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