Amanda and Her Cousin Amy, Valdese, North Carolina, USA, 1990 You wanna fuck with the eagles you have to learn to fly/Amanda Blank
IN 1990, Peter Howe at Life magazine sent me to North Carolina to photograph a special school for children with problems. The school was a very strange place because all of the twenty or so children were in the same classroom and their problems ranged from mild behavior instability to severe schizophrenia.
Nine-year-old Amanda was the most interesting child in the class. She was my favorite child. Amanda was very intelligent and very naughty. One day I followed her home on the school bus. When the bus stopped at her house, she dashed ahead of me and ran into a nearby wooded area. I continued to follow her into the woods and eventually found her sitting in an old stuffed chair having a cigarette. She thought that I would reprimand her since I was an adult. But I said nothing.
The following Sunday, I spent the day at home with Amanda and her mother. Amanda totally controlled her mother. She constantly gave her orders and proceeded to put on her mother's nail polish and makeup. Amanda smoked openly in front of her. Her 8-year-old cousin Amy was coming over, and she was very excited. All day long, Amanda and her cousin played like children. Every forty-five minutes or so, Amanda would take a break to have a cigarette. Her mother could say nothing; Amanda was the boss.
Just before I left, I looked for Amanda to say good-bye. I found her and Amy in the backyard. They were in a children's inflatable pool. Amanda was taking her regular cigarette break.
via Mary Ellen Mark
Mary Ellen Mark is a photographer from philadelphia. She is known widely for her photojournalism, her portraiture, and her advertising photography. She had has had 16 collections of her work published and has been exhibited at galleries and museums worldwide. She has received numerous accolades, including three Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards and three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.
She addresses all sorts of social commentary but particularly people living their lives on some sort of the fringe, which I think is admirable. She was once quoted as saying "I'm just interested in people on the edges. 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." and she absolutely does.
Her photos are beautiful and honest, without fear or judgement, and they are truly, truly inspiring. Go to her website for more photos and stories (which are also incredible and I appreciate that she shares them with her photos!) A lot of the articles she's photographed for life and time are particularly interesting as are her subjects (like the Damm family or the blind mother famous for adopting severely deformed babies and children) I spent hours on her website completely fascinated.
Mary Ellen Mark
Nine-year-old Amanda was the most interesting child in the class. She was my favorite child. Amanda was very intelligent and very naughty. One day I followed her home on the school bus. When the bus stopped at her house, she dashed ahead of me and ran into a nearby wooded area. I continued to follow her into the woods and eventually found her sitting in an old stuffed chair having a cigarette. She thought that I would reprimand her since I was an adult. But I said nothing.
The following Sunday, I spent the day at home with Amanda and her mother. Amanda totally controlled her mother. She constantly gave her orders and proceeded to put on her mother's nail polish and makeup. Amanda smoked openly in front of her. Her 8-year-old cousin Amy was coming over, and she was very excited. All day long, Amanda and her cousin played like children. Every forty-five minutes or so, Amanda would take a break to have a cigarette. Her mother could say nothing; Amanda was the boss.
Just before I left, I looked for Amanda to say good-bye. I found her and Amy in the backyard. They were in a children's inflatable pool. Amanda was taking her regular cigarette break.
via Mary Ellen Mark
Mary Ellen Mark is a photographer from philadelphia. She is known widely for her photojournalism, her portraiture, and her advertising photography. She had has had 16 collections of her work published and has been exhibited at galleries and museums worldwide. She has received numerous accolades, including three Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Awards and three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.
She addresses all sorts of social commentary but particularly people living their lives on some sort of the fringe, which I think is admirable. She was once quoted as saying "I'm just interested in people on the edges. 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." and she absolutely does.
Her photos are beautiful and honest, without fear or judgement, and they are truly, truly inspiring. Go to her website for more photos and stories (which are also incredible and I appreciate that she shares them with her photos!) A lot of the articles she's photographed for life and time are particularly interesting as are her subjects (like the Damm family or the blind mother famous for adopting severely deformed babies and children) I spent hours on her website completely fascinated.
Mary Ellen Mark
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Amanda Blank Invent Remix
Pase Rock ft. Amanda Blank – Sexy MF (JapAttack! Remix)www.myspace.com/amandablank
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