Ana Velazquez
January 10 , 2017
Period: 5

Mary Ellen Mark

    Mary Ellen Mark was a great American photographer journalist. She was born in March 20, 1940. She was born and raised in Elkins Pennsylvania. In her early life at age nine she started photographing with a box brownie camera. In 1962 she received a BFA degree in painting and art history from the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating she worked in the Philadelphia city planning department. The following year she received a full bright scholarship to photography in Turkey for a year. She then produced her first book in 1974. Mary also traveled to photograph England, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Spain.

    Some of her biggest accomplishments started in 1966. She moved to New York city where she then photographed demonstrations in opposition to the vietnam war, the womans liberation movement, transvestite, culture, and times square. Her photography addresed social issues such as homelessness, drug addiction, and prostitution. Throughout a lot of her work children were a reoccurring subject. She described her approach to her subjects: "Ive  always felt that children and teenagers are not children, they're small people. I look at them as little people and I either like them or don't like them at all. I also have an obsession with mental illness. And strange people who are outside the borders of society." Mary also said, "there are prostitutes all over the world, I try to show their way of life... and I feel an affinity for people who haven't had the best breaks in society. What I want to do more than anything is acknowledge their existence." Mary also was a unit photographer on movie sets. Shooting production on more than one hundred movies. She worked with films. She published eighteen books of photography, and her photographs have been exhibited worldwide. 

    Mary Ellen Mark passed away at age seventy-five on May 25, 2015. She will always be remembered as one of the greatest photographer journalist. She spoke the truth through her pictures of life of people who are outside the borders of society. She makes you see the truth through peoples life who have it rough. She is so inspirational and open about her work. She maintained relationships with people she photographed long after her work was finished. She will always be remembered as one of the most iconic woman photographers.