Sally Mann is an award winning and esteemed photographer. But once she was a young kid with dreams who became a young woman with doubts. This book is an honest attempt to show how one became the other. It’s full of insight and self reflection, with excerpts from letters, from journals, and example photographs. We learn a lot about the coincidences and pain that goes into great art.

There’s excellent discussion on the politics of art, who gets to decide what art is, but mainly there are lessons on perseverance and grit.

This is a well written memoir come guidebook, and would be an excellent gift for any photography student. It would show them the strength of character needed to make it in such a difficult field.

I was given a copy of the book by NetGalley

Sally Mann’s body of work, her impressive talent, was unfamiliar to me, so it was intriguing to read about the early struggles and failures, the later success stories, and mentions of advantageous connections she made. Her work seems to be a deeply personal artistic expression. It’s also a reflection of her interest in everyday things, their shape and form. It might not be to everyone’s taste, but she stays faithful to the ideas she wants to execute in her own idiosyncratic way.

This book is part memoir, part creativity guide, part journal, and part exhibition of her photographic work. The notes, letters, journal entries and images lend themselves to a better understanding of Mann’s pathway to fame. There are pitfalls aplenty to negotiate and warnings about what works and what doesn’t. She writes candidly, vividly, with humour, passion and drive.

Her relentless work ethic is demanding of her time and energy, though she does make space for family life, some of which gets depicted in her images. Her children might inadvertently become models as their mother chooses to seize the moment or has inspiration for a new work of art which they get to be an integral part of.

I enjoyed this journey through Sally’s creative life, and I love how she emphasises the necessity for being all in with your art and not giving up when you meet hurdles or feel stuck. There’s plenty of good material here to encourage all creatives with their art. Grateful thanks to Sally Mann, Particular Books and NetGalley for the eARC.

I don't usually read non-fiction but was curious about this title as an amateur artist. It was interesting to hear the thoughts of a professional artist and to realise that many of the feelings and issues that I find myself struggling with, are perfectly normal! Lots of visuals are included in this book to accompany the frank text. If you are a creative yourself, or just interested in the inner workings of a creative mind then you will gain a lot of insight from reading this.

This book was not really what I expected it to be but it was still a very enjoyable read. I was not familiar with the work of this author and was expecting the book to be more of a guide to the challenges and transcendent pleasures of the creative process. Instead the book is more aboout the authors experiences which includes outtakes from her diaries and written correspondence.
A good read for anyone interested in the trials and tribulations of the creative process.
The book will be released on the 18th September by Penguin Press UK,

I liked how honest this book was, it felt like reading a diary. I've read this very slowly and loved seeing the journey from a child/young adult not having a clue to an adult who can walk you through each decision and thought process behind each picture.

Sally Mann’s Art Work is part memoir, part creative diary, and part pep talk for anyone who’s ever tried to make something. She’s funny, brutally honest, and not afraid to show the messy side of being an artist. She gives us an insight into the doubts, the failures, but also the joy. It’s not a how-to guide, more like sitting down with a wise friend who’s been there and wants to tell you the truth.

Inspiring, beautifully written, and full of heart.

I would have found this book easier to read if I could have downloaded it to my kindle. In fact it probably works better as a paper copy. I found the book very interesting but was hoping for a few more technical tips. Having said that it was thought-provoking and honest about the creative process. Well illustrated.

After reading the description of this book I thought it’d be more instructional. It turned out to be more reflective, which is no bad thing! I didn’t know anything about the author beforehand but enjoyed seeing art through their eyes and learning more about their life.

I've found this quite a slow read. I feel it is a book to browse and dip into, chapter by chapter. And probably one to have in print rather than on a device.
Sally Mann's reflections are insightful, and this book makes me want to read her memoir, Hold Still.

I am not very knowledgeable about American art photographers, but I am an amateur artist, and therefore I approached this less on a basis of could I? but more how has she? We come to know her through her history of taking pictures, but more importantly what has driven her to it. Along the way there is an awful lot of name dropping and quotation, which I mostly enjoyed, though some I feel would only be known to an American readership. Her passion for family and home shine through, and we get to see examples on the page. What shines through mostly is her perseverance in the face of failure, which is praiseworthy, and what an incredible family she must have. Her love of the work seems to hover on the edge of obsession, and take up most of her time. Her writing is good though, and she is an entertaining storyteller, although quite unnecessarily wordy at times. Overall, I enjoyed reading this, and would recommend it to anyone considering a life dedicated to art.

I chose this book based on the general information shared, and no knowledge of the author or their work, I was intrigued, and I’m glad I did.
This book provided me with a wonderful window, not only to enjoy the author’s work, but also her writing with candour and wit. I feel I have gained something from reading this book, about following your passion, paying attention, and finding like-minded souls to connect and converse. She shares her misses as well as her triumphs that earned prestige.

The author also shares experiences from her life that have, in one way or another, impacted her work, for better or worse. I enjoyed reading about her fascination and knowledge of older photographic techniques, and liked the use of photographs, letters, notes and lists to break up the prose and add another element to the book.

Thank you, Netgalley, the publisher and author, for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'll be honest and start by saying I didn't know who Sally Mann was before reading this, and yet I was still interested in her perspective on art. And also, interestingly, I think photography is often not even considered 'art' because at a very basic level, people think of art as drawing or painting, whereas surely, just anyone can take a photo with their phone. And she's explored that nicely.

I liked how honest she was. If you're not in the art/creative world, you might think it's fairly easy, painting or drawing or writing or photographic, it's fun and quick and you have all this spare time. But the actual art part takes up a very small amount of time, the rest is filled with art admin, and I love that Sally hasn't shied away from this.

I think this book could have two types of readers. The ones who are actively involved in art, be it as a job or hobby, and those who think they don't have time or interest in art, or they think it's not worth doing. And they would all get something different out of it.

She is encouraging in this book. She hasn't hidden the bad bits of art and she hasn't overinflated the good, she's been honest. But it feels like you're having a chat with a friend. She doesn't put any kind of art down, she doesn't think one type of art is better or worse than another, she clearly just wants people to fall in love with any kind of art.

I think, honestly, that many people disregard art as important. For instance, during the pandemic, I know a lot of industries suffered and I am not belittling any of them, but things like galleries, theatres, cinemas, studios etc. they weren't seen as important. Now don't get me wrong, in this situation the health industry has to come first, emergency services, hospitals, pharmacies etc. as well as supermarkets. But we were so quick to disregard the arts as not important. But as well as being people's actual livelihood, it was completely ignored as a mood booster, to help mental health. And I love that through this book, Sally has so passionately spoken on behalf of the arts.

It's a mixture of prose, letters, photographs, journal entries etc - it's a real human story.

It had relatively short chapters which I liked - some are longer than others but they felt balanced on the whole, which was good as I loathe overly long chapters.

It wasn't perfect but I can't really say why, it was more of a feeling I had when reading it. But I did thoroughly enjoy it and I would highly recommend it.

Until now I have had an understanding of Sally Mann’s photography but not her writing. So it was with a sense of curiosity that I began to read Art Work. What I discovered in her writing was a similar single-minded determination to create. There is a spontaneity in the book, which combines excerpts from letters, notes, journals, and photographs with descriptions of her creative process.

In Art Work she remains true to herself, unconventional, driven, bluntly honest, and wonderfully intense. After reading this, I am looking forward to reading her previous memoir, Hold Still.

Thank you to Penguin Press UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really appreciated Sally Mann’s book as a photographer and mother to two girls. It was fascinating to see excerpts from her letters to Ted Orland and what was going on in her life and mind - what a special friendship. I also enjoyed seeing and hearing more about how particular photographs came about- Sally’s thought process and decisions when it came to image selection. That’s helpful and interesting to me as a photographer. I haven’t yet read Hold Still but look forward to reading that next.

I had already read Hold Still by Sally Mann and was delighted to read more by her. She is such a singular character. She brings her life and practice to life in the most fascinating way. Her thoughts on art are sometimes provocative, often profound and always interesting. Her choice of subject matter, her obsession with old photographic techniques, her refusal to be anything but true to her artistic process. It's all here and it's all brilliantly explored. I ate this up.

I’m a. Big fan of Sally Mann’s work having read two of her previous books, I find some of the stories less interesting than others, I would have like to see more about her process from a technical standpoint and she does say at the beginning dont believe everything that she writes in the book which I felt defeated the object to some point.
The images are superb if a little shocking at times and I would have liked to see more and luckily reading a digital version of the book I was able to zoom in to see the images in more detail this is something someone reading the printed version won’t be able to do.
Ian J Cole (Sinners Review)

The typewritten notes and the excerpts from Mann’s letters were inspiring.
Personally, I did not appreciate some of the selected photographs.
Overall, a good read - Mann is very elaborate and quirky and an interesting artist,
I am looking forward to reading her other work.

Not quite as insightful as it aims to be. Perhaps having read Mann’s previous book would have helped to better understand this one, but it seemed a little haphazard overall.