Sally Mann

Sally Mann (born 1951) is one of the most renowned American photographers hailing from Lexington, Virginia. Mann's work consists mostly of photos of her three children (Jessie, Emmett and Virginia) and photos of the land. Mann had her first book published in 1984 called Second Sight, but it wasn't until the release of her third book Immediate Family (1992) that she really made a name for herself causing much controversy among the public including accusations of child pornography due to the book containing many images of her children in the nude.



The above image 'Candy Cigarette' is possibly one of the most famous photographs from the 20th Century, included in Mann's collection Immediate Family. The most prominent aspect of this image is the young girl holding a cigarette, but as the title suggests it is merely a candy cigarette. The young girl is actually Mann's daughter Jesse at age 10.

This image captures young Jesse in a self-aware and very defiant pose looking directly down the lens of her mother's camera. Her younger sister is in the foreground with her back turned to the camera with her brother just in view in the background playing on a pair of stilts. This photo captures the theme of children maturing far too quickly, or more the fact that children want to grow up too quickly; this theme is displayed clearly through the young girl holding the cigarette and looking so defiantly at her mother through the lens.

The fact that Mann has included the younger sister, Virginia turned away from the camera and her brother Emmett playing further along down the path with Jesse looking away from them and stood off to the side of the path perhaps suggest she is tying to distance herself from her younger siblings and their childish games in an effort to appear more mature and take those steps into adolescence.

'Candy Cigarette' is and will continue to be one of the most famous photographs from the 20th Century, the harsh reality of the photos themes of adolescent angst and apathy draws the viewer in and holds their gaze, the longer you look, the more you see.