From Indian circuses and child runaways to Sarah Jessica Parker and Johnny Depp – Mary Ellen Mark trained her camera on the rich and famous just as often as she did on society’s pariahs. Bulgarian audiences will have the opportunity to see a sample of Mark’s work thanks to the Masters of Photography series, organized by Musiz Foundation with ABF support.
Mark is recognized as one of the most influential photographers of all times and is known for her photojournalism, documentary and advertising photography, and portraiture. She achieved global fame through her numerous books, exhibitions, and editorial magazine work. Her photo essays and portraits have appeared in such publications as Life, New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair. For over five decades, she traveled extensively to document our world’s diverse cultures and most heartbreaking social phenomena. Her portrayals of Mother Teresa, Indian circuses, and brothels in Bombay were the product of many years of work in India. A photo essay on runaway children in Seattle became the basis of the Academy Award–nominated film Streetwise, directed by her husband, Martin Bell.
Mark received the 2014 Lifetime Achievement in Photography Award from George Eastman House as well as the Outstanding Contribution to Photography Award from the World Photography Organization.
Her exhibition in Sofia will present more than 40 black-and-white photographs depicting a variety of subjects and taken over the course of her long career. The exhibition will also include a lecture on March 28 by Howard Greenberg, of the eponymous gallery in New York. Greenberg is one of the most prominent gallerists and art dealers in the field of photography worldwide.
Mark’s work will be on display at Sofia City Art Gallery from March 27 to April 22.
