In 1975, Mary Ellen Mark, a promising photojournalist, was commissioned by the Pennsylvania Gazette to work on an article about the making of the film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, based on the famous novel by Ken Kesey. The film was filmed at the Oregon State Hospital, a psychiatric facility. It was because Mark was the photographer on set that she was able to gain access to Room 81, the hospital's only locked security room for women. The women of Ward 81 were considered “dangerous to themselves or others” (Jacobs). Mark and Karen Folger Jacobs, a writer, were allowed to stay for an extended period of time in Ward 81. They spent a total of 36 days in Ward 81 getting to know the women who resided there (goodreads.com). Mark spent his time there photographing and befriending the women who were patients there. Although Mary Ellen Mark was known as a photojournalist, she maintained that these images were never meant to be documentaries, but works of art. The photos Mark took of these women are undeniably works of art. Each one is beautifully composed, has just the right amount of contrast, and is very sharp. Additionally, Mark used natural light to his advantage, producing incredibly bright images for such a dark location. During his time there, Mark only used 35mm cameras, wide angle and normal lenses (Bailey). Mary Ellen Mark's book, Ward 81, was published in 1979 after Mark worked on the 200 rolls of film and ultimately held six solo exhibitions (Stoots). The book is filled with 97 portrait photographs of women from Ward 81 that Mark and Jacobs knew, as well as some photographs of the treatment these women suffered. The photographs are accompanied by the short a...... middle of paper ...... focuses more on the daily lives of the patients rather than what the asylum does to the women, how it hid the real names women and the fact that his work had no real impact on women's lives. But she nevertheless showed us a world unknown to many. She revealed disturbing practices carried out at the asylum. His photos essentially became documents of Ward 81 that no longer exist. “Mark's intimate insight into life in detention proved moving,” she changed the way some viewed the mentally ill and the asylum. And they had the unintended effect of closing Ward 81 in November 1977 (Jacobs). Many articles and essays on Ward 81 generally refer to Mark's work as documentary (Fulton). Although Mark strived for art, she also left a documentary mark on history. Ward 81 must ultimately be considered both artistic and documentary.