Portrait of an Artist as a Fifty-Year-Old Woman, "What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann"

Release Date 4/22/08

As I watched Steven Cantor’s documentary of American photographer Sally Mann, "What Remains: The Life And Work of Sally Mann," I didn’t know what to expect, but I was immediately riveted. It was fascinating to watch a fifty-something year old woman artist at work using an old-fashioned box camera and plate glass negatives. We see the subjects of her photography, people and landscapes, and then we see these subjects transformed as haunting works of art in her photos.

Mann is extremely honest and articulate about her thought process and feelings and we get a lot of rare insights into what it’s like to be an artist as we watch her live her daily life and create her art on her Virginia farm. Even as Ms. Mann elucidates the creative process, it remains mysterious because of the beauty of her work. We occasionally see contradictions between what Ms. Mann says and what she reveals. To me it makes her portrait that much more compelling and human.

The photos, and stories connected with the photos, span her career of more than 3 decades. You learn about her three main series of photographs: At Twelve, her study of 12-year-old girls; Immediate Family, her study of her children; and What Remains, her study of the aftermath of death.

Of course, the documentary reveals much much more than Mann’s relationship with her work: her relationship with her husband with whom she’s been married for more than 30 years, and her relationships with her two daughters and son, the three of whom are at the heart of the controversy about her Immediate Family series because many of the photos of her children are nudes. We also meet Sally Mann’s mother and learn about her deceased father and her early upbringing and influences.

As a fifty-something year old mother with grown kids, this movie resonated with me on so many levels. I highly recommend it and think it would make a great Mother’s Day or birthday gift.

Reviewer: Terry Soto, BuzzFlash.com

“One of the most exquisitely intimate portraits of an artist’s process, but also of a marriage and a life.” –The New York Times

Product Description:

As one of the world's preeminent photographers, Sally Mann creates artwork that challenges viewers' values and moral attitudes. Described by Time magazine as "America's greatest photographer," she first came to international prominence in 1992 with Immediate Family, a series of complex and enigmatic pictures of her three children. What Remains--Mann's recent series on the myriad aspects of death and decay--is the subject of this eponymously titled documentary.

Filmed at her Virginia farm, Mann is surrounded by her husband and now-grown children, and her willingness to reveal her artistic process allows the viewer to gain exclusive entrance to her world. Never one to compromise, she reflects on her own personal feelings about mortality as she continues to examine the boundaries of contemporary art. Spanning five years, What Remains contains unbridled access to the many stages of Mann's work, and is a rare glimpse of an eloquent and brilliant artist.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- New anamorphic master, enhanced for widescreen televisions
- Director Steven Cantor's 1994 Oscar-nominated documentary short Blood Ties, shot during the creation of Sally Mann's Immediate Family series
- Photos from Mann's Deep South, Immediate Family and What Remains series
- Eight deleted scenes
- Mann's lecture excerpts from a 2003 Copenhagen Photojournalism Conference
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired

Sally Mann discusses the complex challenges of photographing her children as they were growing up, which you view here.