Grace Schaub: What are some of the themes in your work that keep
coming up?
Mary Ellen Mark: I think with most artists and writers their life's work
consists of themes that are repeated again and again. It took me a long time to realize that, but
now I understand it and relish the idea of working through my obsessions. I see that I'm often returning to themes from
the earlier subjects I've photographed.
I go back to them and photograph
them in different ways but the themes are often the same. One of them is teenagers. I think that's an incredible age. Another is mental health, that's something
I've always been interested in. A third
theme of mine is irony--strange juxtapositions--humor and sadness and the
ironic nature of life and people. And I
guess I'm always interested in, and always will be, in people who I feel are on
the fringes of society.
GS: Which of your themes are autobiographical?
MEM: I think everything is, in a sense. I can't say, I'm not
an analyst and I've never been analyzed, but probably part of that is I'm
someone who has always felt on the fringe.
Therefore, I'm very comfortable with people on the edges of society. I'm
less at ease with people who are very rich and famous--I always feel insecure.
I like to feel I can be a voice for people who don't have a voice. That
interests me. And, I'd like to take pictures of those people that I feel need a
voice. That aspect of photography certainly interests me much more than glamour
photography. There is a side of being a portrait photographer or a documentary
photographer that can offer you a very glamourous life.
GS: You could have made that choice.
MEM: Yes, for a long time I was working on many films, and
that's a more commercial way of working.
But I really feel that at the end of my life--and I hope I work until
the very end--I want to be able to look back and say what I've done is
worthwhile.
GS: What attracts you to the people you photograph?
MEM: I care about the people I photograph. I'd much rather photograph someone I cared
about than someone I didn't. But there
were a few times when I photographed people I don't like, and that can also be
interesting once in awhile. But I definitely prefer to photograph people I
like.
GS: Especially since you go into such great depths with your
stories, and spend so much time with the people you photograph.
MEM: Day after day as their lives unfold it becomes an
adventure, sometimes a soap opera. You're there taking pictures, and are part
of it in a way. Going back day after day with the street kids in Seattle and
finding out who Tiny's with today, who Patti's going to fight, and what the big
drama on the street was going to be was an amazing experience for me. You
really get caught up in it, and get to know the kids very well.
GS: How do you approach a story in terms of research,
contacts, and networking?
MEM: I believe in a lot of research. For example, I did a story on ethnic
communities in Austrailia for National Geographic, and I didn't really have the
time to spend researching. It would have
taken months, so I found a researcher in Sidney. I looked for certain subjects that I was
interested in that dealt with ethnic groups and had the researcher research
them for me to find out exactly what was happening, and where and when certain
events were taking place. When I arrived I had a schedule and something to
start with, otherwise I'd have to start from scratch. I like to go to a place,
particularly a foreign country, and feel at least I have a handle on the
situation.
GS: Is it difficult breaking into documentary photography?
MEM: I think it's tough breaking into the field in
general. But if you do work that's
really good it will get published because there's always a place to publish
great work. Once you have the completed
project you should bring it around and show it to people. You can't rely on someone else to get you
work, you have to motivate yourself.
I've never sat around waiting for someone else to get me work. There's always some project I want to do and
I'll go ahead and do it on my own.
To visit the Focal Press web site with more information on the book, Twentieth Century Photographers by Grace Schaub:
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