On my Bookshelf | Mary Ellen Mark – The Book of Everything

On my Bookshelf

In this column, I occasionally present a photo book that is close to my heart. It is not – or not necessarily – a new publication. It is simply a book that somehow fell into my hands and that I would like to recommend to others. And yes – of course it’s on my bookshelf.

It’s a bit of a continuation of my “Photo book of the month” column – just not necessarily as regular as before. And I’ve generally made the column a bit shorter and tighter. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Prologue

This review is something special in more ways than one. Firstly, there is the fact that, strictly speaking, it is not one book, but three. It is also the first time that I have written about one and the same photographer and her work for the second time. It is my Book of the Year 2024. Oh yes, and I got it from my partner for my birthday in January last year. 🙂

Of course, this is not the reason for this review. The reason is simply that I admire Mary Ellen Mark beyond all measure and this three-volume work simply gives a fantastic overview of her outstanding work. So, it would actually be a musthave for anyone who sees her the way I do – if it weren’t for one small problem. This edition wasn’t cheap when it was new and is now unfortunately sold out. You can therefore only get it second-hand – and unfortunately not for little money. This will certainly be an understandable reason for many people not to even consider it. But because of its importance, I have to do this review anyway.

About the Photographer | Mary Ellen Mark

I can make it easy for myself on this point and refer to my short text on Mary Ellen Mark in the review on “Encounters”.

About the Photo Book | The Book of Everything

These three books were published by Steidl in 2020 as perhaps the most important overview of Mary Ellen Mark’s life’s work. As is often the case with Steidl, they are in a cloth binding and come in a protective slipcase. However, the outer form is only what is initially obvious – even if it is beautiful to look at and touch. Of course, the content is more important.

On approx. 880 pages we find more than 600 pictures and also many texts and quotations from Mary Ellen Mark herself – partly from letters or notebooks relating to her works and assignments. These texts give the reader an additional – very intimate and deep – insight into Mark’s thoughts and feelings. We see here – as in her pictures – a great deal of compassion and empathy for these people and what she has photographed. But we also see her doubtful and insecure side. This combination is the reason why the title “The Book of Everything” does not seem exaggerated.

This intimate insight was only possible because this work was conceived and curated by none other than Martin Bell – the husband and collaborator of Mary Ellen Mark for more than thirty years.

The Meaning of Mary Ellen Mark

I don’t want to write much more here about Mary Ellen Mark’s outstanding qualities and her drive for photography. I’ve already done that here. With this brief introduction of “The Book of Everything”,, I simply wanted to draw attention to her significance once again.

It is actually impossible and really not fair to reduce a 50-year career as a photographer to one picture. But if I could really choose just one photo that describes Mary Ellen Mark for me as a photographer, it would probably be this one.

For me, this picture shows the photographic and emphatic soul of Mary Ellen Mark. A photo and a moment, so perfectly composed and so close to the people she photographs. You – at least I – can look at it for minutes – and it captivates one. These faces, these eyes, the posture of the couple as well as the children – gripping and devouring! You can literally feel both despair and love, fear and hope. An iconic photo!

I don’t think there have been many photographers – male or female – who have had such an influence on documentary photography and left such a legacy of images. And I don’t just mean the quantity, but also the significance of the stories she photographed. If you have a passion for this genre, you can’t ignore Mary Ellen Mark and her life’s work. 

It doesn’t necessarily have to be this admittedly not entirely cheap trilogy. The above-mentioned book “Encounters”, which I presented almost a year ago, is also a good place to start. But if you have the opportunity to get your hands on ‘The Book of Everything’, I highly recommend it. It is a masterpiece in itself.

Some final (and personal) thoughts

The turn of the year is traditionally a time for reflection – and that’s a good thing. I’ve also been thinking a lot – including about my photographic ambitions and the blog here. I’m not quite finished yet. As I announced in my post about Venice, I want to continue to develop and focus my photography. 

I’ve also been thinking a bit about the book reviews. I briefly had the impression that I was living too much in the past. After all, my reviews usually deal with people who have been around for a very long time – if they are still alive at all. That at least made me think about it.

In the end, I came to the conclusion that this is OK for me. On the one hand, they are also great and very inspiring photographers. On the other hand, it’s because there are books by them or about them. That’s not the case with some younger or contemporary photographers.

But sometimes it is. And that’s why I’ve resolved to do at least half of the 2025 book reviews on new works and current photographers. Fortunately, I already have some great books…

The very last words, however, I leave to the one and only Mary Ellen Mark.

Photograph the world as it is. Nothing’s more interesting than reality.

Mary Ellen Mark

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Happy New Year 2025 to everyone!