A short while ago I wrote a post about a (then) new website that had been put up to show the work of street/cultural photographer, Vivian Maier (1926-2009). Her main occupation could be listed as nanny, but she was a very talented and prolific photographer. Her photography is amazing but equally amazing is that almost none of it was ever seen until after her death in 2009.
Finding Vivian Maier’s Work
One day John Maloof bought a large box at an auction that was full of Vivian Maier’s film negatives. He started developing them and liked what he saw. The photos were primarily street scenes of obscure people and events that obviously took a very sensitive and perceptive eye to capture.
This compelled John to dig deeper into finding out who this woman was. He did a great job at finding and interviewing people who knew Miss Maier throughout her life; mostly employers and the now grown up children that she used to take care of.
It’s a very interesting story. Se was a very private and maybe even mysterious woman who shot hundreds of thousands of still photos and film and never showed them to anyone or even had them developed (for the most part). And now, because of John Maloof’s diligence, Vivian Maier is now a well known artist with her photos in galleries and in shows all around the world.
To learn more about Vivian Maier, vist VivianMaier.com and FindingVivianMaier.com.
John Maloof’s documentary Finding Vivian Maier is now in theaters. I was able to see it on pay-per=view (Cox Cable).
