All rights reserved under International and PanAmerican Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-64609
Hardcover ISBN: 0-89381-880-1
Paperback ISBN: 0-89381-887-9

Tritone separations by Bob Hennessey
Printed and bound by L.E.G.O., Vicenza, Italy

The Staff at Aperture for Mary Ellen Mark:
American Odyssey is:
Michael E. Hoffman, Executive Director
Melissa Harris, Editor
Stevan A. Baron, Production Director
Helen Marra, Production Manager
Wendy Byrne, Designer
Lesley A. Martin, Managing Editor
Phyllis Thompson Reid, Associate Editor
Tamara McCaw, Editorial Assistant
Elaine Schnoor, Production Work-Scholar

• Human Family - Maya Angelou
• Autobio Poem - La Shawndrea Blackwell
• Afterword - Mary Ellen Mark
• Acknowledgments - Mary Ellen Mark
• Back Cover - Louis Malle

BOOK JACKET TEXT

Recently voted by the readers of American Photo as the most influential woman photographer of all time, Mary Ellen Mark has made some of America's most iconic photographs. The devastating and poignant image of a family living in their car, the gripping portraits of women in Ward 81, or Tiny and Rat and the street children of Seattle in Streetwise exemplify her accomplishments. These photographs and more are included in Mary Ellen Mark: American Odyssey, the first collection of her remarkable images realized in the United States since 1963.

Whether observing the exploits of Miami gigolos or spring break revelers, the panache and style of prom-goers, cross-dressers, or trick-or-treaters, Mary Ellen Mark's empathy, humanity, and penetrating vision are revealed in every photograph. She is unsurpassed at shaping both the odd and the everyday into genuinely surprising images that subtly yet powerfully challenge our preconceptions, or intensify our emotions.

An extraordinary aspect of Mark's career is the trust and respect that she establishes with her subjects, enabling her to continue to photograph them over many years. In his book, for the first time, witness Tiny at thirty. Revisit the Damm Family, who no longer live in their car, but still survive in comparably difficult circumstances. Also see Mark's years of work exploring Coney Island, the rodeo, and both urban and rural poverty.

Mary Ellen Mark's poetic and at times disquieting photographs form a fascinating portrait of a complex, amusing, and occasionally unsettling country and its people.

A major traveling exhibition of Mary Ellen Mark's American photographs will open at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the Spring of 2000 and will tour internationally.

Mary Ellen Mark has achieved worldwide visibility through her numerous books, exhibition, and editorial magazine work. She has published photo-essays and portraits in such publications as Harper's Bazaar, Life, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, the Sunday Times Magazine in London, US, and Vogue.

Mary Ellen Mark's many awards and grants include the Infinity Award from the International Center of Photography (1997), a Hasselblad Foundation Grant (1997), and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (1994). She has also been presented with honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (1994) and the University of Arts (1992), three fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1977, 1979, 1990), the Creative Arts Awards Citation for Photography from Brandeis University (1988), the World Press Award for Outstanding Body of Work Throughout the Years (1988), the Photographer of the Year Award from The Friends of Photography (1987), and two Robert F. Kennedy Awards (1981, 1985).

In 1985 she produced the Academy Award-nominated film Streetwise, directed and photographed by her husband, Martin Bell. She also acted as the associate producer of Bell's major motion picture, American Heart (1992).

Mary Ellen Mark has published eleven books including Ward 81 (1979), Falkland Road (1981), Mary Ellen Mark: 25 Years (1991), Streetwise (1988), Indian Circus (1993), and Portraits (1995). Her photographs have been acquired and exhibited by museums worldwide.

Aperture Foundation publishes a periodical, books, and portfolios of fine photography and produces world-class exhibition s to communicate with serious photographers and creative people everywhere. Catalogs are available upon request. Aperture Book Center and Customer Service: PO Box M, Millerton, NY 12546. Phone: (518) 789-9003. Fax: (518) 789-3394. Toll-free: (800) 929-2323. E-mail: customerservice@aperture.org. Aperture Foundation, including bookstore and Burden Gallery: 20 East 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010. Phone (212) 505-5555, ext. 300. Fax (212) 979-7759. E-mail: infor@aperture.org. Visit Aperture's website: http://www.aperture.org
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