Photo Gallery Show Reviews

The Wittliff Collections—located on the 7^th floor of Texas State University’s Alkek Library—is currently hosting an important new exhibit of famed photographer Mary Ellen Mark’s work, titled Man and Beast: Photographs from Mexico and India. Organized by the director of the Wittliff Collections, David Coleman, this exhibit features more than 90 images created by Mark, who is one of America’s most respected and influential photographers.

During her nearly 50 years of traveling, Mark developed a deep fascination for Mexico and India and visited these countries often to create an extensive body of work. The primary focus of this exhibit is on the performers and animal trainers of itinerant circuses, an interesting topic that Mark explored in depth by photographing 18 Indian traveling circuses in 1989 and 1990 and in Mexico in 1997.

Mark believed that these circuses are a form of theater that provides a certain level of insight into aspects of cultural identity, human interaction and the daily lives of the people.

Man and Beast: Photographs from Mexico and India is on display until December 7, 2014 at the The Wittliff Collections in Alkek Library at Texas State University, 601 University Drive in San Marcos, TX.

More info on the show here.

(Caption for image at the top of this story: Man And Beast, twin brothers Great Famous Circus by Mary Ellen Mark)