Robert Melee, "a dozen Roses"

Leigh Ledare isn't the only contemporary photographer to sensationalize an unconventional mom. Melee made his reputation capturing his mother in varying stages of inebriation, undress and acting out, producing images that could at times seem cringeworthy, like a John Waters remake of Mommie Dearest. Created between 1993 and 2004, the works revisited here are as oddly affectionate as they are grotesque—and whatever else, nothing less than fascinating.