When I first read a tiny blurb about her in the New Yorker, I KNEW I had to see her photos. Vivian Maier worked as a nanny in New York and Chicago in the nineteen-fifties and sixties. On her days off she wandered around with her Rolleiflex, photographing the world around her. She passed away in 2009 at the age of 83 and was completely undiscovered until a young man, John Maloof, bought a bin of photos at a storage unit auction. Luckily for us, Mr. Maloof is a very smart cookie and he recognized genius. He worked to retrieve all of her carefully catalogued negatives. There are thousands of them, many of which have not yet been developed. Amazing. Just amazing. You can find out more here.
A long time ago, in a faraway land ( France) I worked as a nanny. And on my days off I would wander around with my camera. Unlike Vivian Maier, I am far too shy to photograph people. I have actually shared with friends and family the few photos that I did take...and the reviews are not great. Oh well.. But I still feel that Vivian and I are kindred spirits. We shared an experience. She is the Artist and I am the Patron.
Here are just a few more of my favorites from the book :
This book looks charming - what a find!
ReplyDeleteVercy pictures, thank you for sharing !
ReplyDeleteShe's so awesome! I love her work.
ReplyDeleteAren't her photos amazing? And what an incredible story of discovery.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete