Imagine: Vivian Maier: Who Took Nanny's Pictures

[Ron Slattery]

Just for clarification.
I am not making any reproductions of her work.

 

[ampguy]

long shot here

long shot here

Just curious, would you be interested in trading one of the cat photos for a couple of dozen Fuji Superia 200 35mm expired rolls, and a lightly used Domke J803 bag?

Just for clarification.
I am not making any reproductions of her work.

 

[Ron Slattery]

Just curious, would you be interested in trading one of the cat photos for a couple of dozen Fuji Superia 200 35mm expired rolls, and a lightly used Domke J803 bag?

Awesome. I love this place.

 

[Ruhayat]

Just for clarification.
I am not making any reproductions of her work.

Sorry, I should have it clear myself. I didn't mean you.

 

[telenous]

There’s something about her rise, the so-called viral fame, that reminds me of the Susan Boyle phenomenon. But it’s not just that. It’s also the puzzling behaviour, the fact she never saw her photos, something which no photographer denies herself. Not seeing the bulk of your photos is almost like a mystical, ascetic discipline promised to lead to enlightenment. How did she learn from past mistakes? Exposure and framing 'experiments'? Anyone's guess. My feeling though is that Maier must have wanted to develop the rolls at some point (otherwise why hoard?), though I can't make up my mind whether she ultimately wanted also to show others her work. According to the video she spent nearly all her income for film, leaving next to nothing for developing costs. However she did pay storage for decades. Perhaps she hoped better times would come and she’d develop the films, times we now know never came. Or perhaps time went by and finally she lost interest on what was clearly an obsession for a (long) while.

Most poignant of all is what Ron very eloquently said earlier:

I think the fact that an artist can lose a life's work at a storage auction - strikes a chord with fellow photographers. That's a ton of work, love and passion - scattered to the wind. Fellow photographers understand what it takes to produce that kind of work. Art is personal. Vivian Maier was a dedicated, talented photographer who created an amazing body of work. That work was sold off at a storage auction while she was still alive. How can you not feel something about that - particularly if you are an artist as well.

As for the editorial process ( a point made by Meyerowitz in the documentary), without her being around to edit her work, one can only hope for a time when all the pieces will come together to be curated by someone with a better understanding of Maier’s life and times. Perhaps then we will be able to see a more systematic treatment of her work rather than just a series of bests from a fragment of the entirety of her collection. It’s the kind of thing that could happen but will take time, probably lots of it.


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[Ron Slattery]

As for the editorial process ( a point made by Meyerowitz in the documentary), without her being around to edit her work, one can only hope for a time when all the pieces will come together to be curated by someone with a better understanding of Maier’s life and times. Perhaps then we will be able to see a more systematic treatment of her work rather than just a series of bests from a fragment of the entirety of her collection. It’s the kind of thing that could happen but will take time, probably lots of it.

Good point.

Also, I think you can look to her vintage photographs - to see what Vivian Maier thought was important. She printed them for a reason. What that reason is, I'm not going to venture a guess.

 

[JChrome]

(yes, I prefer to call them merchandising not artwork, but not because I don't consider Ms Maier an artist).

Can you please explain why she isn't an artist?

Meyerowitz even describes why she's an artist in the documentary.

I like this discussion and I really find her fascinating. The question about what she would have wanted is a serious one as shouldn't be taken lightly. I doubt she wanted to be famous, even posthumously. But then again, I love her work and it seems such a waste to send it to the trash...

 

[Ansel]

Saw the documentary last week. Very well done. Real shame the main holder of her work refused to participate. The BBC Imagine series has an excellent pedigree. Its going to make research into here work very difficult.