Books like Vivian Maier Developed by Ann Marks

A revealing and beautifully written memoir and family history from acclaimed photographer Sally Mann. In this groundbreaking book, a unique interplay of narrative and image, Mann's preoccupation with family, race, mortality, and the storied landscape of the American South are revealed as almost genetically predetermined, written into her DNA by the family history that precedes her. Sorting through boxes of family papers and yellowed photographs she finds more than she bargained for: deceit and scandal, alcohol, domestic abuse, car crashes, bogeymen, clandestine affairs, dearly loved and disputed family land . . . racial complications, vast sums of money made and lost, the return of the prodigal son, and maybe even bloody murder. In lyrical prose and startlingly revealing photographs, she crafts a totally original form of personal history that has the page-turning drama of a great novel but is firmly rooted in the fertile soil of her own life.

"Published just after her untimely death in 1971, this book--whether or not aided by the artist's notoriety--has achieved massive sales for a volume of such uncompromising photographs. Edited by Doon Arbus and Marvin Israel, its titled implies a mere trawl through her best-known images. It is that, but it also a brilliant exposé of American life. ... While it is true that she often photographed those outside society's norms, a more pertinent observation is that if she made 'normals' look like 'freaks', she also made 'freaks' look like 'normals'. Furthermore, her exploration of normalcy was complicated by gender issues. In her aggressive, full frontal 'exploitation' of her subjects, Arbus appropriated an essentially male convention: that of staring. Indeed, it may well be her assumption of this prerogative of masculine domination that has attracted much of the negative comment, compounded by her undercutting of gender stereotypes. She was a great feminist photographer. Her women and girls are invariably strong--like the confident twins [on the cover of the book]--and her men are frequently damaged or uncomfortable in their surroundings."--The Photobook : A History Volume I / Martin Parr and Gerry Badger. London : Phaidon, 2004.

With approximately 60 never-before-seen black-and-white and four-color self-portraits culled from the extensive Maloof archive.

A biography of Dorothea Lange, whose photographs of migrant workers and rural poverty helped bring about important social reforms.