Those despised standardized tests only reinforced that belief—I have spent my life in a deliberate and relentless program of intellectual self-improvement.
You now need no further explanation for my becoming an artist. My math SAT was so appallingly low that if it hadn’t been for my Latin and English scores, no college would have taken me. I don’t remember ever being tested, but I wonder if my IQ would have exceeded room-temperature range. As it was, I squeaked into Bennington, the artsy-fartsiest school in America, which thank goodness didn’t really care about test scores. Because I was convinced that I wasn’t all that naturally smart—and the test scores on those despised standardized tests only reinforced that belief—I have spent my life in a deliberate and relentless program of intellectual self-improvement.
— Sally Mann, Art Work: On The Creative Life (Abrams Press, September 9, 2025)
