''What Remains'' is a 2003

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

book by

Sally Mann Sally Mann (born Sally Turner Munger; May 1, 1951) is an American photographer known for making large format black and white photographs of people and places in her immediate surroundings: her children, husband, and rural landscapes, as well as ...

. The book is published by Bullfinch Press and contains 132 images on the subject of death, including photographs of decomposing bodies. The book lent its name to the 2005 film about Sally Mann, '' What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann'', in which Mann can be seen at the University of Tennessee's anthropological facility, taking photos for the book of corpses which had specifically been left outside for scientific study of human decomposition. Mann opened her exhibition for the book at the

Corcoran College of Art and Design The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design (known as the Corcoran School or CSAD) is the professional art school of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C.Peggy McGloneUniversity names first director of Corcoran School of the Arts an ...

in 2004. The exhibition was divided into five sections that "visually depict dthe eternal cycle of life, death, and regeneration." Mann was inspired to produce the photographs in the book by her reactions to several different events. The first of these was the death of her father; later events that inspired her interest in death were the shooting of a prison escapee on the grounds of her

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...

, farm and the death of her pet

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

, Eva. Mann arranged for Eva's skin to be preserved by tanning and buried her body in a cage in order to prevent the remains from being carried off by wild animals. She later dug up the cage and photographed the dog's skeletal remains. A series of photos documenting Eva's decomposition is included in the book. Despite the fact that some critics found the images off-putting, Mann expressed surprise that the book did not garner the controversy of her previous books which featured nude photos of her young children. While giving the book a favourable review,

Blake Morrison Philip Blake Morrison (born 8 October 1950) is an English poet and author who has published in a wide range of fiction and non-fiction genres. His greatest success came with the publication of his memoirs ''And When Did You Last See Your Father?' ...

expressed his surprise that no one had questioned her right to publish photographs of the dead when there had been extensive protests over her images of her children.

Richard Lacayo Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and ...

from ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' also spoke highly of the images in the book. Mann stated that she was under the impression that all of the people in the photos had signed release forms for photographs to be taken. Later, however, she learned that some of the corpses were of

street people Street people are people who live a public life on the streets of a city. Street people are frequently homeless, sometimes mentally ill, and often have a transient lifestyle. The delineation of street people is primarily determined by residential ...

who had no opportunity to sign consent forms. After her experiences taking photos for the book Mann decided to arrange for her own body to be donated to science after her death.

References

{{Sally Mann 2003 non-fiction books Books by Sally Mann