The award-winning photographer, whose career mixing documentary and portraiture spanned 40 years, passed away Monday in New York City, Philly.com reports.
Mark had a knack for capturing the essence of people — from circus performers and celebrities, to teenagers and families living on the edges of society. And indeed she was prolific, publishing 18 books, including massive retrospectives (Exposure) and intimate photo essays (Streetwise).
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Her most recent photography book, Prom, captured that delightfully awkward rite of passage for teenagers in nearly 300 portraits taken across the country. Though simple on their surface — black and white, basic backdrop, centered subject — the images are rich with details, as the teens' postures, expressions, accessories, and clothes all draw the viewer in for a closer look.
Mark was an original and her photographs can't help but be iconic. That word has become overwrought, but there's no better label for a repertoire comprised of such perfectly composed images that so simply and elegantly elevate the ordinary to extraordinary.
"I like things that are real," Mark told The New York Times in a 2012 interview. "I don't like gimmicky pictures… I like pictures that are very clear and clean."
-
August 24 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Putin at Donald Trump's circus, gallons of whitewash, and a foldable cartoon
-
5 Post Office-approved cartoons about mail-in votingCartoons Artists take on reverse logic, Putin's election advice, and more
-
The battle of the weight-loss drugsTalking Point Can Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly regain their former stock market glory? A lot is riding on next year's pills
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
