Premier documentary photojournalist Mary Ellen Mark – known as a "snake charmer of the soul" for her special gift of drawing forth human vulnerability – passed away at the age of 75 on May 25 in New York.
Mark's subjects ranged from renowned world leaders to celebrities to those at the margins of society, including the homeless, runaway children, prostitutes, heroin addicts and affiliates of the Ku Klux Klan, as well as a women's security ward in a mental facility.
Mark became known as a photographer during the 1960s, and gained distinction as she travelled around the world fearlessly taking pictures that honored the humanity and dignity of her subjects.
Mark graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, where she received her bachelor of fine arts degree in art history and painting in 1962, going on to get a master's degree in photojournalism in 1964 from Penn's Annenberg School of Communication. She was inspired by the works of documentarians such as Dorothea Lange, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Robert Frank.
Streetwise is one of Mark's most famous books, featuring photographs of Tiny Blackwell's life. Blackwell was a 14-year-old heroin addict and prostitute from Seattle whom Mark met in the early 1980s. Martin Bell, Mark's husband, directed a documentary film about Blackwell's life experiences, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1985. Mark's interest in Blackwell continued, and Aperture is set to publish her latest book, Tiny: Streetwise Revisited, in the fall.
Mark is survived by her long-time partner, Martin Bell. The couple met on the set of the film Ragtime in London in 1980. Bell was directing a documentary about James Cagney, and Mark was shooting stills. The two got married and collaborated on many projects throughout their lives.
Mark's craft has been exhibited at museums and galleries around the world as well as in her 18 published books, which include Indian Circus (1993), Twins (2003), Prom (2012) and Man and Beast (2014). Mark's photography has also appeared in prominent publications such as Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, the New York Times Magazine and Life.
Mark has accepted numerous honors and awards, including the World Press Photo Award for Outstanding Body of Work Throughout the Years, three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and in 2014, she received the Outstanding Contribution Photography Award from the World Photography Organization and the Lifetime Achievement in Photography Award from the George Eastman House.
Photo: John Ramspott | Flickr
