The two artists from the list that I found most interesting are Mary Ellen Mark and Nicholas Nixon. Apart their work is an interesting view of society that most people do not see or try to think about. If their works are viewed together, side by side, and compared, they tell an interesting story that is even greater than apart. Their works contrast in so many ways. Mary Ellen has pieces focusing on society and peoples from nations that are rugged and whose people are forced to live had lives because of the areas they are simply born into. Her pictures of the Indian circus shows this greatly, how these children who are naturally gifted work for years when they are younger to support their families. Nicholas Nixon has work that contrasts with Mary Ellen's, in that he has pieces taken in large modern cities, where opportunities abound, but shows the people for one reason or another who are forced to live a second class life, and struggle to get by.
Their works separately show interesting niches of societies around the world that are often not thought about, but are a striking thing to view. It hits me deep personally to see these people who live in completely different situations and places that still share common experiences. With both of their works being looked at, I feel like they give a combined view of the world that is absent in so many other people's pieces of art. This is not necessarily a bad thing about other artists, but it is a great opportunity to see what these interesting groups of society, whether it be here in the United States or abroad in Vietnam and India, have to experience and live with everyday. It makes me wonder if the artists are onto something. Do people not think about all levels of the societies of the world often enough, from the poverty stricken areas of the northern cities of the United States to areas in Vietnam?
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