ONE OF THE FIRST MAJOR EXHIBITION IN THE UNITED STATES OF THE BOLD WORK OF CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHER SALLY MANN OPENED AT THE VIRGINIA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS (VMFA) ON 13.NOVEMBER. EXCLUSIVE TO RICHMOND, THE EXHIBITION WILL CONTINUE UNTIL 23.JANUARY.2011. FOCUSING OF THE THEME OF THE BODY, THE EXHIBITION WILL REVOLVE AROUND SEVERAL ENTIRELY NEW SERIES WHILE ALSO INCORPORATING LITTLE-KNOWN EARLY WORKS. MANN IS ADMIRED FOR HER PASSIONATE USE OF PHOTOGRAPHY TO ADDRESS ISSUES OF LOVE AND LOSS, EXPRESSED IN IMAGES OF HER CHILDREN AND SOUTHERN LANDSCAPES. HER RECENT WORK USES OBSOLETE PHOTOGRAPHIC METHODS AND NEARLY ABSTRACT IMAGES TO PUSH THE LIMITS OF HER MEDIUM AND TO DIG DEEPER INTO THEMES OF MORTALITY AND VULNERABILITY. THE IMAGES INCLUDE SEVERAL POWERFUL SERIES OF SELF-PORTRAITS, AN ENTIRELY NEW SUBJECT IN HER WORK, AND FIGURE STUDIES OF HER HUSBAND. SOME OF THE WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION INCLUDE NUDITY AND OTHER GRAPHIC MATERIAL, VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. SELF-EXAMINATION, AGING, DEATH, AND DECAY ARE SOME OF THE SUBJECTS OF THE EXHIBITION, AND THESE ARE BALANCED BY THEMES OF BEAUTY, LOVE, TRUST AND THE HOPEFULNESS OF YOUTH. AMONG THE WORKS ARE PORTRAITS OF MANN'S HUSBAND, WHO SUFFERS FROM A DEGENERATIVE MUSCLE DISEASE. THESE ARE JUXTAPOSED WITH COLOURFUL IMAGES OF HER CHILDREN, FORMING A POIGNANT COMPARISON BETWEEN YOUTHFUL EVANESCENCE AND THE EXPRESSIVE CAPACITY OF THE MATURE ADULT BODY. OTHER WORKS OFFER ADDITIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE THEMES OF AGING AND MORTALITY. MADE DURING A TRIP TO THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE FOR FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGY CENTER, MANN'S 'BODY FARM' IMAGES EXPLORE HER FASCINATION WITH THE THIN LINE BETWEEN ANIMATE AND INANIMATE, FORM AND MATTER. MULTI-PART SELF-PORTRAITS REPRESENT MANN'S FIRST EXTENDED EXPLORATION OF HER OWN FACE AS A SUBJECT. TWO SELF-PORTRAIT PIECES CONSIST OF MULTIPLE UNIQUE PHOTOGRAPHS PRINTED ON BLACK GLASS, A FORMAT KNOWN AS AMBROTYPES, ARRANGED IN MONUMENTAL GRIDS OF MANN'S LIKENESS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT www.vmfa.state.va.us
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