Finding Vivian Maier
Jan 18, 2015 20:20:57 #
Has anyone else seen this documentary? It is on the Academy Award shortlist for Documentary Feature. What a strange story but so very interesting. She was such a great photographer, but kept her works to herself. A must see!
Jan 18, 2015 20:57:09 #
Mauitouch wrote:
Has anyone else seen this documentary? It is on the Academy Award shortlist for Documentary Feature. What a strange story but so very interesting. She was such a great photographer, but kept her works to herself. A must see!
I just finished watching it on Cable. At first I started drifting away but about 15 minutes in I started to become fascinated with this woman's life. Now whenever we see someone with these strange obsessions and behaviors it becomes more obvious that many people fall on the Autism scale somewhere. At least that is my opinion based only on this film and comparing her to some others I have known in my life.
Jan 18, 2015 20:58:20 #
What I wrote after I saw it, about 6 months ago:
"Who is Vivian Maier?
Now considered one of the 20th century's greatest street photographers, Vivian Maier was a mysterious nanny who secretly took over 100,000 photographs that went unseen during her lifetime. Since buying her work by chance at auction, amateur historian John Maloof has crusaded to put this prolific photographer in the history books.
Maier's strange and riveting life and art are revealed through never-before-seen photographs, films, and interviews with dozens who thought they knew her in this documentary.
There's a very strange dark side to this woman, which shouldn't be overly surprising, I guess, since she was also a genius and artist as a street photographer, mostly.
I found the images she made fascinating and striking. And the story is amazingly odd, that none of these images surfaced until after she'd died, and were only discovered by accident.
Well worth viewing if you enjoy street photography at all, or any photographic art."
"Who is Vivian Maier?
Now considered one of the 20th century's greatest street photographers, Vivian Maier was a mysterious nanny who secretly took over 100,000 photographs that went unseen during her lifetime. Since buying her work by chance at auction, amateur historian John Maloof has crusaded to put this prolific photographer in the history books.
Maier's strange and riveting life and art are revealed through never-before-seen photographs, films, and interviews with dozens who thought they knew her in this documentary.
There's a very strange dark side to this woman, which shouldn't be overly surprising, I guess, since she was also a genius and artist as a street photographer, mostly.
I found the images she made fascinating and striking. And the story is amazingly odd, that none of these images surfaced until after she'd died, and were only discovered by accident.
Well worth viewing if you enjoy street photography at all, or any photographic art."
Jan 18, 2015 21:32:31 #
There are several books of her photos available at B&N and on Amazon. I have one that also has a lot of biographical information on her. If you like her work there was a turn-of-the-century photographer (19th to 20th) named Alice Austen who did great street photography. There is an out of print book with many of her photos. I got mine on Amazon.
She lived on Staten Island (part of NYC). Her house which was built in the late 1600's or early 1700's is a landmark and a small museum. It also has a great view of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Upper NY Bay, and the Lower Manhattan Skyline. It's near Fort Wadsworth which is a masonry fort built during the 1800's as part of NY's harbor defense. It's now part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. Both are a stone's throw from the V-N Bridge.
She lived on Staten Island (part of NYC). Her house which was built in the late 1600's or early 1700's is a landmark and a small museum. It also has a great view of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Upper NY Bay, and the Lower Manhattan Skyline. It's near Fort Wadsworth which is a masonry fort built during the 1800's as part of NY's harbor defense. It's now part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. Both are a stone's throw from the V-N Bridge.
Jan 18, 2015 22:22:13 #
You should also see the excellent BBC film about her. It's fantastic! www.vivianmaiermysterymovie.com
Jan 18, 2015 22:24:03 #
Mauitouch wrote:
Has anyone else seen this documentary? It is on the Academy Award shortlist for Documentary Feature. What a strange story but so very interesting. She was such a great photographer, but kept her works to herself. A must see!
Yes. Saw it in a local theatre about 3-4 months ago. She had some issuesÂ….
Jan 19, 2015 06:23:03 #
Her life is sad in so many ways. She was obviously suffering with some form of mental illness. I felt terribly sorry for the young girl she cared for and treated so poorly, and dragging children to the most horrible places so she could take photos. But I found the whole story fascinating. The way her photos were found and brought back to life, amazing. Amazing someone saw the art in her photos and cared enough to pursue and find out about a person he had no ties to. Thanks for all the other info as well, I appreciate it.
Jan 19, 2015 08:51:55 #
Wonderful film. All I find at garage sales silverware and snow shovels.
Jan 19, 2015 09:03:05 #
Mauitouch wrote:
Has anyone else seen this documentary? It is on the Academy Award shortlist for Documentary Feature. What a strange story but so very interesting. She was such a great photographer, but kept her works to herself. A must see!
If you're anywhere near Chicago, the Chicago History Museum currently has an exhibition of her work.
Jan 19, 2015 09:05:06 #
Jan 23, 2015 10:25:26 #
Yes to all comments. First learned about her a couple of years ago but missed the touring exhibit here. So, last summer when in Chicago we made a point of seeing the exhibit. Even more amazing in real life. She is one of the most interesting photographers ever, at so many levels.
Jan 23, 2015 11:00:55 #
Jan 31, 2015 18:58:34 #
Mauitouch wrote:
Has anyone else seen this documentary? It is on the Academy Award shortlist for Documentary Feature. What a strange story but so very interesting. She was such a great photographer, but kept her works to herself. A must see!
I just discovered Vivian Maier and got the DVD from the library. I must have missed the post on the hog. Got this out of the search. Yes, such an interesting lady. She had such a way with Street Photography----------
I am so glad her work is now being recognized and shown.
Jan 31, 2015 19:02:38 #
Ronald J wrote:
Wonderful film. All I find at garage sales silverware and snow shovels.
Well, this is a soup and shovels time of the year..... :-D
Jan 31, 2015 19:04:47 #
SonnyE wrote:
Well, this is a soup and shovels time of the year..... :-D
Shovels for sure!!!
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