On August 19th, it is celebrated worldwide the photography day. This brings the perfect occasion to remember the great Vivian Maier, an enigmatic street photographer whose work remained unknown until after her passing.
Photographing was a sort of hobby for the North American while working as nanny on cities like New York and Chicago, according to a paper from The New Yorker. She never described herself as a photographer. When pressed about her job by someone who she once knew, Maier said that she was a “sort of a spy”. Vivian used to be a free spirit who let her curiosity guide her wherever they ledt them, having ‘the theatre of life’ right in front of her eyes so that the camera could capture the most epic moments. The artist did not search for fame. After her retirement, the negatives were kept in secret for years at a safe storage.
WHAT IS SO UNIQUE ABOUT VIVIAN MAIER?
You can say that Maier’s photography was a form of communication, a language with no words or barriers. She revolutionized the photographic industry by being ahead of her time, having an unusual talent for capturing fleeting moments and moving between different social realities, recording both the elegance of the central avenues and the harshness of the outskirts, always with sensitivity and, often, with subtle humor.
She created conceptually advanced self-portraits, exploring the photographer’s presence in the image itself in a creative and reflective way. Considering that she started taking photographs in the 1950s, being decades away from the digital age, Vivian elevated the street photography to the level of social chronicle, not only recording the city, but also visually commenting on inequality, customs and human relations.
Vivian Maier work challenged the traditional model of the recognized photographer, at a time when the art of photography was dominated by men, tied to newspapers, magazines and galleries. She produced monumental work without being restricted to professionals’ institutions or publications, recording people and places that were rarely the focus of artistic photography at the time.
HOW WAS VIVAN DISCOVERED?
It was a matter of luck that made her work become famous. In 2008, her negatives were acquired by John Maloof, who had moved to an old house in Chicago and decided to study the neighbor’s history. He developed them and started releasing the photos, eternalizing Maier’s work. For his work towards the artist’s legacy and creating impact through documentaries, like Finding Vivian Maier (2013) that Maloof was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary.
Nowadays, Vivian is a world phenomenon and her photographs are shown in exhibitions in several countries and in books like Vivian Maier: Street Photographer and Vivian Maier: Self-Portraits. Her evergreen relevance proves that she’s not only a great street photographer, but also as a symbol that art can rise and blossom away from the spotlight.
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The article above was edited by Giulia El Houssami.
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