Sally Mann: Gorjus

In this photograph titled “Gorjus,” Sally Mann uses contrasts in value to establish the two young girls as the focal point of the image. The girls are highlighted not only by the bright whiteness of their dresses, but also the contrast of the shadows around them. The viewer’s eye is then drawn from the girls down to the light reflecting mirrors, which are in stark contrast to the shadow in which they lie. Once the viewer’s eye is drawn to the mirrors and then makeup and hair brushes on the ground, they may begin to gain an understand of the photographs meaning. To me, it seems that the artist is commenting on the desire of young children to be grown up all too soon and how quickly youth passes us by. There is a sense of eeriness to this image in both its seeming message and the severe value constrasts. The artist also manages to make the girls more pronounced by allowing the background to be slightly blurred and indistinct.