Aperture Wins Lucie Award for Book Publisher of the Year for Tiny: Streetwise Revisited

By The Editors

Mary Ellen Mark, Tiny, 1983 All photographs © Mary Ellen Mark

Tiny holding Papas, Seattle, 1983

Tiny with her friends on Pike Street , 1983

Lillie and her rag doll on Pike Street, Seattle, 1983

White Junior and Justin, 1983

Erin (who previously went by her street name “Tiny”) pregnant with Daylon, Seattle, 1985

Erin and her mother Pat, along the road, Seattle, 1993

Rayshon and Erin on the couch, Seattle, 1999

Erin holding Kayteonna with Julian, E’Mari, and Ranaja on the couch, Seattle, 2004

On October 27, Aperture received the Lucie Award for book publisher of the year (classic) for Tiny: Streetwise Revisited, one of the last two books Mary Ellen Mark conceived and realized before her death. In 1983, Mark first photographed a group of homeless and troubled youth who made their way on the streets of Seattle as pimps, prostitutes, panhandlers, and small-time drug dealers. Streetwise was published in 1988, after the film of the same name by Mark’s husband, Martin Bell, premiered in 1985; it received critical acclaim for its portrayal of life on the streets and introduced us to “Tiny” (Erin Charles)—a thirteen-year-old prostitute with dreams of a horse farm, diamonds and furs, and a baby of her own.

After meeting Tiny thirty years ago, Mark continued to photographer her, creating what became one of Mark’s most significant and long-term projects. Today, almost forty-five, Tiny has ten children, the youngest five of whom are by her husband, Will, and her life has unfolded in unexpected ways. Texts in the book are drawn from conversations between Tiny and Mary Ellen Mark as well as Martin Bell. Streetwise Revisited is an examination of intergenerational poverty as well as homelessness, education, healthcare, addiction, mental health, and child welfare—in addition, the book gives insight into a relationship sustained between artist and subject for more than thirty years.

On November 4, at 6 p.m., Aperture will host A Toast to Mary Ellen Mark, a tribute to her life and work, at Aperture Gallery in New York. The slideshow above features work by Mark documenting Tiny, her friends, and her family from the 1980s into the present day.

Tap here to find Tiny: Streetwise Revisited on the Aperture Foundation website.

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