Sally Mann, Art Work: On the Creative Life13 Images
Sally Mann is a veteran of documentary photography. After releasing her bestselling memoir Hold Still in 2015, the American image-maker’s new book aims to help and guide all those who wish to make it in the fickle, unpredictable creative industries. Divided into chapters of practical advice and inspiring stories, Art Work: On the Creative Life generously shares her insights drawn from decades of experience.
Over the years, she has received praise and criticism, but her artistry has always been undeniable. Her work possesses a haunting, timeless appeal yet retains the urgency and immediacy of having been shot this very moment. Some of her earlier series, particularly Immediate Family, created controversy for depicting child nudity – critics and Christian groups claimed that her portraits were exploitative and disturbing, while others championed her work as an unflinchingly honest account of family life and the American South.
Despite documenting her immediate surroundings, surrealist elements made their way into her pictures, leaving a unique mark as everyday moments are transformed and sometimes altered beyond recognition. Still, they always remain works of beauty. Even at times of social and political turmoil, Mann held true to this guiding principle, telling Dazed, “I think there’s a real benefit in creating something beautiful.”
In the run-up to the release of Art Work: On the Creative Life, we talked with Sally Mann about what’s really needed to make it as an artist, the dangers of accumulating thousands of pictures in your camera roll, and why you should persevere with your artistic endeavours at all costs.
SUFFERING FOR YOUR ART IS A NECESSITY
Mann stresses how vital it is to build character and suffer for your art. You don’t have to be a martyr, but work hard and roll with the punches. “You know, that’s such a common trope... But speaking from my experience, I know that, had it all been handed to me, I wouldn’t probably push myself as I do. I think character is maybe just another word for persistence and determination. Not having anything given to you tends to work for you.”
START ANYTIME
She was 17 in the late 1960s when she decided she wanted to fully commit to photography, but she firmly believes that it doesn’t matter when you start, only that you do. “Look how old I am, and I’m still committed to art,” she tells Dazed. “You can start anytime. I was talking to a young artist yesterday. She’s taking pictures for The Times, she’s 32 and just starting out. My advice to her was the same thing I said in the book: Don’t worry about your age, worry about your work. Don't worry about how famous you’re becoming or whether or not the work is getting out there; it’ll get out there if it’s good enough. Don’t worry about the gallery or if you’re getting published or any of that stuff. Just do the work, and it’ll get done.”
I see people scroll through their phone and they have like 6,000 images. The images are just spinning before your eyes. So I’m just wondering what effect that’s having on people in terms of discernment – Sally Mann
PREMATURE SUCCESS CAN BE A CURSE (BUT MAKING CONNECTIONS DOESN’T HURT)
In her chapter, The Hazards of Early Promise, Mann addresses the importance of hard work and how early success can be a hindrance to true artistic achievement. When you don’t have everything given to you, this can force you to produce truly great work. “Early fame insidiously undercuts you; it makes you think it’s too easy, and it isn’t easy,” she says. “It’s never going to be easy, no matter how famous you get early on. I’ve seen so many young artists start out with this big bang. And then they just fizzle, they realise that it’s hard to sustain, they expect that kind of attention, and they’re not there yet. There’s always a sophomore effect after your first best-seller, and it can be hard to crawl your way out of that. I’m basically saying you have to crawl your way out of fame in a certain sense. I think it can be really debilitating.
“If you do consistent, good work over a long period of time, you can’t ignore it. Good work is undeniable. And it will be found because it’s so rare. But it sure does help to have connections, oh god, yeah. That’s why people go to art schools and work in galleries and go out to after-opening-dinners with important people and see if they can work their way into success.”
USE YOUR PHONE WISELY
Before post-postmodernism, artists like Sally Mann elevated documentary photography to the realms of fine art. With the rise of social media and mobile phones, we are documenting everything at all times, but she suggests this may be at the cost of developing our own artistry and skill. “It’s maybe a little too soon to tell because it’s such a new phenomenon, but I think there’s a fatigue that takes hold when you see too many pictures. I think people take their phones and take pictures and never look at them again,” she tells us. “I just have a few pictures on my phone, but I see people scroll through their phone and they have like 6,000 images. The images are just spinning before your eyes. So I’m just wondering what effect that’s having on people in terms of discernment.
“I use my phone sometimes for taking a picture to remind me to go back and take a real picture. But what I’ve seen people do is just take thousands and thousands of pictures, and I have this theory that pictures kind of destroy your actual memory. This is a neurologically sound concept: what happens to your actual memory when you have so many pictures? Does it still work? Because when you ask somebody, did they have fun at the beach? What did they see? Where did they go? They immediately reach for their phone. I think it probably hinders their descriptive ability as well as their imaginative one.”
If you want to be an artist, you don’t give up. There’s no time limit on artistic ambition. And I don’t mean fame, I mean the never-ending desire to make another good piece of work – Sally Mann
NEVER QUIT
Famous for its hustle culture, it can be hard to sustain oneself in the US if you’re trying to make it as an artist, especially if you’re not a part of the wealthier demographic. But Mann is unequivocal about perseverance. “Oh, you should never call it quits. If you want to be an artist, you don’t give up,” she insists. “Maybe you take another job or you change the work you’re doing or something, but never ever quit. There’s no time limit on artistic ambition. I don’t mean fame, I mean the never-ending desire to make another good piece of work. I take a picture that’s good or write a good paragraph and I have this moment of elation. Then, almost instantly, I have this crashing sense – almost like a sort of despair, like an inoculation. If you have that artistic temperament, you’re never gonna quit.”
YOU HAVE TO DISAPPEAR FOR A WHILE
In her book, Mann quotes her friend John Dickerson, who said, “To be great, you have to disappear”. In today’s image junkie culture, many artists feel as if they have to put their work out there and promote it constantly in order not to fade into oblivion.
“I love that quote and I think it’s correct,” she says. “There’s no mystery to it, you get more work done if you disappear. People spend an inorganic amount of time trying to get famous, sometimes that comes back and bites them in the ass. Suddenly, they’re famous, and then they actually have to do some real work. I know being on Instagram is important because my gallery and everybody else in the world has told me that I really need to do Instagram, but I don’t because I just don't have time. I could spend my time on Instagram trying to get more eyes on my work or I can just make more work, right?
“You want your work to be seen, but my caution would be just make sure that you know what you’re doing, and why you’re doing it. And that you’re confident that you can do more of it, and you’re not just a one trick pony.”
I don’t do Instagram because I just don’t have time. I could spend my time on Instagram, or I can just make more work, right? – Sally Mann
LOOK FOR YOUR LUCK
When she was starting out, a stroke of luck enabled her to use the actual lens once belonging to the renowned French photographer, Nadar. If fortune favours the brave, who do we need to bump into to get special access to the people, tools or locations we dream of?
“Luck in my era was so completely different; it was so manufactured luck. It was real, genuine, my God, I can’t believe this just happened to me kind of luck. Young people now have a different kind of luck, and it is a very, very calculated luck. Young artists now really have to look for their luck. They have to go out and find work. I was open to it, but I think it’s harder for young people today. But they also have so many more avenues to explore. Luck is out there. You really do just have to find it.”
Art Work: On the Creative Life by Sally Mann is published by Particular Books and will be released on 2 September 2025.