Synopsis of Multimodal Presentation

For my presentation, I chose to review the works of Mary Ellen Mark, a late American Photographer. She contributed heavily to the development of documentary photography, and many of her works are stellar evidentiary depictions of explanatory photography. Mark’s humanistic work naturally documents members of society whose lives are deemed controversial, in a candid manner that causes the viewer to stop and think. Her extensive use of black and white further emphasizes emotion and expression causing viewers to reflect and facilitate conversation of their own, without Mark inserting her personal beliefs. Mark’s works contributed greatly to various conversations about child pregnancy, prostitution, religion, race, and LGBTQ communities by capturing the rawest form of these realities and having them published in acclaimed magazines and museums.

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My New Perception of Photography

In my own experience, I have grappled with black and white photos in fear that removing color would remove the emotion; Mark's black and white photography, however, presented me with a sense of emotion that I had not previously thought possible. Each photograph truly is a morsel of time, captured forever, for all to see. The features that may be considered "imperfections" or could be edited out that naturally occur in her photographs only add to the overall reality of the moment -- whether it be the hustle and bustle of the background or the lack thereof. Additionally, I truly admire Mark's ability and desire to capture images of various groups of people or individuals that create a statement without Mark implementing herself or her personal opinions. Mary Ellen Mark showed me that photographs are stories, not simply images -- contemplating the who, what, when, where, and why of Mark's works sparks conversations that reveal the harsh realities surrounding the lives of otherwise marginalized groups or people.