The Book of Everything by Mary Ellen Mark. Published by Steidl.
Anticipation can be a dangerous state. How marvelous when it leads to fulfillment! Over the last few years, I have had glimpses into the labor of love undertaken by Martin Bell with Julia Bezgin and Meredith Lue to contain the totality of Mary Ellen Mark’s voluminous career. Still, holding each beautifully-designed volume, revisiting favorite photographs and reveling in candid snapshots or unseen frames (or the surprise of those orange pages) was a gift of an experience, one I will give myself over and over. Bell notes, I think in the third volume, that Mary Ellen would never have done this project. It is bittersweet that the existence of these comprehensive volumes resulted from her absence. And yet, it is also what makes them worth owning — they reflect her work through the eyes of the people closest to her.
Honorable Mention:
Michelle Dunn Marsh, publisher of Minor Matters Books, wafts between Seattle and New York when there is not a global pandemic. Her role as a professional viewer is informed by the poetry and mystery of her Irish and Anglo-Burmese ancestors, and by the countless photographic professionals she has worked with.
Portrait by Will Wilson.
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