The past three months have flown by for me.  The fall semester is coming to a close and I am feeling the usual pressures that come along with the end of the term; it’s crunch time.  Being a father and husband does not make things easier because sometimes I am torn between spending time with my family and getting my schoolwork done.  This semester was not much different than the rest, but there are certainly more holidays in the fall, which makes things a little trickier to juggle.

I feel that having a family allowed me to understand What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann a little better because I can relate to some of the difficult artistic decisions she has had to make throughout her career.  In no way am I comparing myself as an artist to Sally Mann, I just do not have the experience or breadth of work that she has accumulated over the years, but I do have a family and I have used them in some of my projects.  However, there is always the question of whether you should or should not use your family in your artwork.

I can only begin to imagine the amount of criticism Sally Mann received for the controversial pictures of her children.  I have to admit that I was somewhat uncomfortable looking at them before I knew the story behind the pictures.  Sally definitely has a different way of looking at things than the majority of the population.  Sally said many profound and meaningful things throughout the documentary, but one thing that resonated for me was: “You need to photograph the things you love the most.”  For me, as with many people, family is what comes to mind.

This was the moment that her photographs “clicked” for me and I was able to understand where she was coming from.  Her last project mentioned in the film was about the decomposition of human remains (hence the name of the film).  I found myself to be disgusted at first glance, but then mesmerized as I stared into the photographs for longer periods of time.  The main thing I have learned about art throughout my life is that anything can be art; it just has to be viewed through the correct lens.

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