February 8th 2025 | DAF

Beautiful Emine Posing, Trabzon, Turkey | Mary Ellen Mark

The first Art History class I took in college was called "Picturing Children," and in that class, I don't think we looked at a painting or sculpture for the first two months. We started with the illustrations of the original Alice in Wonderland books. Illustrations are an insanely underrated form of art and are often the first art that experience as children.

Next, we looked at photography of children and I was introduced to the photography of Mary Ellen Mark via a photo of a child smoking a cigarette in a baby pool. It was definitely a new way to picture children, but the best art challenges what you know and provides a new perspective and way of seeing the world. And her photos definitely forced me to see to view children differently and understand the fragility of childhood. This photo is another great example of a child mentally escaping childhood. She stands covered in dirt from spending time in the streets and the child-like wonder in her eyes is nearly all gone, but the bow in her hair, her ruffled dress, and mary jane flats remind you that she is far from grown.