Sally Mann

Although a bit controversial, photographer Sally Mann's images are some of the most influential of all time.  Most of her photos contain people she knows or can relate to including her husband and 3 children.  Often they are nude and depict no representation of color.  Although her photographs seem to be taken at simple times, they have much larger themes and therefore contain many strong connotations and denotations.

http://whitenoiseofeverydaylife.wordpress.com/tag/sally-mann/
Denotations:  A young girl is holding a cigarette. She has blonde hair and wears a white sleeveless dress and a watch on her right wrist. She does not wear a smile but rather a more serious face. Another girl is seen in the background with her hands on her hips back to the photographer. The photograph is blurred in the background focusing on the girl in the white dress.
Connotations:  The girl is wearing the white dress which is possibly signifies her virginity but well on the way to adulthood.  The cigarette in her hand represents her coming of age, growing up out of her younger years.  Her expression represents her rebellion. She doesn't seem to care. The girl in the background behind has her arms to her hips as if she is not too this stage yet she is unaware of growing up. Her back is turned from the developing future.

http://www.mocp.org/collections/permanent/mann_sally.php
Denotations: A young boy is standing near water holding a snake skin across his eyes.  He is not wearing any shirt but wears a circular necklace.
Connotations: Mann could be depicting how when we grow we must shed our skins to figure out who we are.  The boys is in his developing stages and is still learning about himself which is why is eyes are covered by the snakeskin. He is uncertain of when he should be and is learning to come out of his skin to see who he really is.

http://www.strotherfineart.com/gallery/sally_mann/photo.php?id=19
Denotations: A young girl is dressed in a dancing dress perhaps a tutu. There is a dead deer hanging off of a truck to her left. There is a white bucket to the left of the deer. The girl is standing on a gravel surface with her hands behind her back.
Connotations:  Mann may be creating a depiction of death. It depicts the innocence of the living on the right and the tragedy of death on the left. It's such an interesting photography because it looks like the two sides of the photography don't belong together. The young girl seems carefree even though a dead deer is at her side. It may be proposing how the young do not yet understand what death is and what it means when someone or something dies.

I chose 3 photographs of Mann's children because I really admire that she uses them as subjects although controversial. I believe that her shots are even greater because she is so passionate about what is in front of the camera.  The photos depict a curious yet dark mood. I'm uncertain of the way I am to look at the photos for they are controversial but for me spark great interest.