RE: [Leica] Re:Sally Mann, digest V17 #195

["B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>]

No, Rob! I MUST have the last word...:-) I agree that little kids are
beautiful and innocent looking, and even more so naked...I have taken plenty
of such photos - well, some - of my own kids when they were little...But now
that they aren't, I know how Godawful mortified they would be had I
"celebrated" their beauty in books for the world to see.....There's an
enormous dif. in taking such photos for home consumption, and taking them to
sell to any pedophile with the price of admission...

Cheers....and let's continue to disagree...:-)

B. D.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Robert
> Appleby and Sue Darlow
> Sent: Monday, June 26, 2000 2:32 PM
> To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> Subject: RE: [Leica] Re:Sally Mann, digest V17 #195
>
>
> >>>>>>>>>
> Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 10:08:29 -0400
> From: "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net>
> Subject: RE: [Leica] Re:Sally Mann, digest V17 #195
> Message-ID: <000f01bfdf78$00e15460$d70110ac@ccapr.com>
> References:
>
> Rob - Maybe someday..:-)...
> After some 17 years in journalism spent covering bioethics - which has
> nothing to do with photography - these ethical questions both interest me
> and tend to intrude themselves as I consider non-medical areas of
> endeavor....
>
> You see a "celebration" in her photos of her children....I wonder how the
> children will feel when they are older and have the world looking at those
> photos....And given the fact that the concern is legit, I don't think the
> photos are. And I think it is very telling, and indicative of Ms Mann's
> ethical/moral vacuum, that she would make a nonsensical/arrogant comment
> about how her children would tell off those who criticize the work....of
> course they would, she is Mommy and they love her....which is, again, even
> more reason why she should be dedicated to protecting her children, not
> displaying them in that way....If what she does is so glorious and
> celebratory, let her make an arrangement with another family to
> "celebrate"
> their children endlessly in the same way....:-)
>
> B. D.
> <<<<<<<<<<<<<
> BD, believe me, it's not _just_ that I want to have the last word! Anyway,
> I doubt I could with you at the other end :)
> I have a nearly five year old daughter who I have photographed a lot and
> continue to photograph, sometimes naked, although I haven't made a
> speciality out of that (I no longer look so good naked). I feel that SM's
> pictures of her kids are simply driven by the fact that small children -
> especially your own children - have an extraordinary beauty that they'll
> never have again. And anyone who's visually motivated will want to
> celebrate (ohmigod!) that.
> As for her personality, exploitative or bullying earth mother, I couldn't
> say. I have to say I was surprised to hear so much negative comment about
> her here.
> Anyway, nothing much new here, so I'll sign off.
> Rob.
> Robert Appleby and Sue Darlow
> Via Bellentani 36
> 41100 Modena
> Italy
> Tel/fax [39] 059 303436
>