Exhibition Review: Mary Ellen Mark
Mary Ellen Mark, J’Lisa Looks Through the Blinds, Streetwise Revisited, 2014; Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in.; NMWA, Gift of Frieder K. Hofmann; Photo by Lee Stalsworth; © Mary Ellen Mark/The Mary Ellen Mark Foundation
By Dani Martin
The National Museum of Women in the Arts has dedicated itself to showcasing works solely by women in its curations and collections. As the only major museum in the world of its kind, there is no better place to experience the impact and influence of female artists—and to kick off Women’s History Month, the museum has opened its Mary Ellen Mark: Girlhood exhibition.
Mary Ellen Mark, Laurie in the Bathtub, Ward 81, Oregon State Hospital, Salem, Oregon, 1976 (printed later); Gelatin silver print, 20 x 24 in.; NMWA, Gift of Susan and Earl Cohen; Photo by Lee Stalsworth;
© Mary Ellen Mark/The Mary Ellen Mark Foundation
The late Mary Ellen Mark’s photographic career spanned nearly fifty years and consisted mostly of documentary and portrait style photography. Her passion began early in her adolescence and continued into adulthood; she earned her BFA in painting and art history and later a master’s in photojournalism, both from the University of Pennsylvania. From there, she built an impressive career as a photojournalist.
Mary Ellen Mark, Falkland Road, Mumbai, India, 1978; Dye transfer print, 20 x 24 in.; NMWA, Gift of Jean Rossall;
© Mary Ellen Mark/The Mary Ellen Mark Foundation
Girlhood focuses on Mark’s documentary work featuring young women and children through their formative years. In the thirty or so images in the collection, Mark captures moments in adolescence throughout diverse communities in the United States and abroad. Mark’s work brought her to many different places and in contact with unique, diverse individuals.
Mary Ellen Mark, Emine Dressed Up for Republic Day, Trabzon, Turkey, 1965 (printed later); Gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 in.; NMWA, Gift of Frieder K. Hofmann; Photo by Lee Stalsworth;
© Mary Ellen Mark/The Mary Ellen Mark Foundation
Notably, in her series “Streetwise,” Mark documented the lives of runaway children. In another, she lives amongst institutionalized women at the Oregon State Hospital, learning about them and gaining enough trust to take their photos. Her focus remained on girls, capturing them not just as children but with an intent to portray who they may become one day. Some girls appear in her work multiple times, allowing the viewer to follow Mark’s journeys and travels and the lives of the women that she photographed.
Mary Ellen Mark, Girl Jumping over a Wall, Central Park, New York City, 1967 (printed later); Gelatin silver print, 16 x 20 in.; NMWA, Gift of Jill and Jeffrey Stern; Photo by Lee Stalsworth;
© Mary Ellen Mark/The Mary Ellen Mark Foundation
Mark’s work also portrays young couples at prom and young girls smoking cigarettes, playing dress-up, or pulling stern faces while maintaining the image of their youth. She says that she doesn't “like to photograph children as children,” but rather likes “to see them as adults, as who they really are… always looking for the side of who they might become.”
Mary Ellen Mark, Jeanette and Victor, Brooklyn, New York, 1979 (printed later); gelatin silver print, ed. 3/25, 16 x 20 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Shaun Lucas; Photo by Lee Stalsworth;
© Mary Ellen Mark/The Mary Ellen Mark Foundation
Mark’s photos document the many lives of different young women and girls throughout the country and abroad. She demonstrates well the force of documentary style photography and its ability to share the lesser-known narratives and stories of girls in adolescence worldwide.
Mary Ellen Mark: Girlhood is on display until July 11th at The National Museum of Women in the Arts.
