Victorian Visual Culture

The collection of Mary Ellen Mark’s photographs on girlhood is a wonderful series honoring feminine adolescence throughout time and space. This in person and online exhibition was organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts, and it was made up of photographs gifted to the Museum over a span of fifty years by the Photography Buyers Club. I wasn’t sure of who Mary Ellen Mark was before I fatefully clicked on the link to this exhibit, but I think that I’ll be doing some more research on her after looking at the collection. 

These photographs spanned from 1965 to 2014, and they featured girls from India to Turkey to Twinsburg, Ohio. I was attracted to the title of the exhibit, first and foremost, because I’m often interested in photographs capturing girlhood and femininity, and it delivered. Most of the photographs were black and white, capturing candid moments in the girl’s lives. Some were young girls, five or six, playing, and others were teenagers in love. 

One of my favorite photographs was Child Acrobat with Two Children in Peacock Costumes, Great Royal Circus, Himmatnagar, India, 1989. The first things that caught my eye were the beautiful costumes, mainly the contrast between the white leotard that the acrobat is wearing and the amazing peacock costumes. The detail captured is beautiful, and it’s full of whimsy; it made me curious as to what they would have to say. Between the children, I’m struck by the power of three. The caption has a quote from Mark, “I wanted to document the lives of the people when they weren’t performing…. If I had photographed from the audience’s point of view, I would have just been a spectator.” 

This connection between the photographer and photographed seemed more intimate than usually presented— the trust between Mark and the girls reminded me of the relationship between Julia Margaret Cameron and her subjects. Mark often captured girls in vulnerable situations; pregnant teenagers, unhoused girls, the mentally ill. Through the demeanor and the composition of the photographs, it’s easy to tell that Mark familiarized herself with her subjects. The tones of her photographs are often based off of the girls she’d feature; she’d give them free range to pose and express themselves. Because of our discussions of unethical photography in class, this context provided by the Museum was very helpful, and I found it let me enjoy the photographs more than if I was left to wonder about the context of the images. Her determination to photograph and document girlhood across class, cultural, racial, national, and time borders is honorable, especially as she kept relationships with some of these girls into womanhood. 

On a lighter note, Mark also spent a period of time photographing twins in Twinsburg, Ohio, and some of those photographs were included in this exhibit. I absolutely loved these photographs! This might be because I am a twin that’s been similarly photographed before (long story), and because of the fact that even though the photographed twins are styled identically, their personalities manage to shine through! My favorite twin photograph is composed of two girls wearing cowboy costumes and holding stick horses: Tashara and Tanesha Reese, Twins Day Festival, Twinsburg, Ohio 1998. Though it’s youthful and a little silly, Mark treated her subjects with dignity and respect. Both girls are making eye contact with the camera, or the viewer, and they wear slightly different expressions. Even though I am somebody viewing this photograph over twenty years after it was taken, and I may not know which twin is which, their different personalities are captured. 

Mark also worked to document the authentic joy of girlhood. A few photographs in this collection, such as Singing on the Beach, Wilwood, New Jersey, 1991 and Batman and Barbies at the Toys “R” Us Holiday Parade, New York, 2002, show the jovial joy that comes with youth. These two photographs show it in two different phases of adolescence; preteen girls singing on the beach, and younger girls dressed up as Barbies for a parade. 

The spanning of cultures, age, time, and emotion that was captured by this collection is vast and impressive. It’s a series of photographs that understands the true range of growing up as a girl, and because so many girls became subjects, the viewer can conceptualize the similarities and differences that make up girlhood. Mark captured the timelessness of girlhood, the universality; pain, love, grief, beauty, joy, play. 

I believe that attending this exhibit in person would be quite moving, but I’m not sure it’s quite in the deck of cards. However, it’s a beautiful and delightful experience, and I’m very glad to have both seen these gorgeous photographs and to have learned about a new photographer. I recommend this exhibit to folks who like Ansel Adams or, as I previously mentioned, Julia Margaret Cameron.

Here’s a link to the exhibit! https://nmwa.org/whats-on/exhibitions/online/mary-ellen-mark-girlhood/