my workshop ramble

Some notes, comments and experiences as the workshop manager at the Center for Photography at Woodstock....

Mary Ellen Mark at the Ulster County Fair

Mary Ellen Mark was here this past weekend to teach her yearly class, "The World Observed". She is such an incredibly talented artist and on top of that, is a fantastic teacher. She is a legend, and with good reason. Her work is captivating, provocative and inspiring. I cannot tell you how meaningful it was for me to observe her this weekend.

This class brought together a wonderfully talented group of 16 students. Aside from being interesting artists, they all brought forth important discussions about photography.

We spent the first day immersed within these multi-dimensional conversations about art and in addition, each individual had an extensive review of their work. Some really beautiful work. That evening Mary Ellen gave a public lecture which was packed. She discussed the overview of her work and at the end showed the film "Alexander" (she produced) which accompanies her new book "Extraordinary Child". We also got a very special look at her next book which is a collection of images she took on movie sets (including images of Jack Nicolson, Tim Burton, Woody Allen, Nicole Kidman and so many more it would not fit in this blog!) It looked awesome.

The second day was spent at the Ulster County Fair where students photographed. Always a good time at the fair. It seemed like everyone had a good experience there.

Here is a really quick look at some of her work. You can learn a lot more about her by going here.