What did Vivian Maier do for a living?
In the documentary film Finding Vivian Maier (2013), the grown-up children whom Maier had cared for in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s recall how she combined her work as a photographer with her day job as a nanny. She would frequently take the young children in her care with her into the center of Chicago when she took her photographs.
Is Finding Vivian Maier a good film?
Finding Vivian Maier is a tantalising and utterly fascinating film but one which can't ever quite explain the mystery of Maier. July 18, 2014 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…
Was Vivian Maier the most accomplished street photographer?
A documentary on the late Vivian Maier, a nanny whose previously unknown cache of 100,000 photographs earned her a posthumous reputation as one of the most accomplished street photographers.
What are some good words to describe a documentary about Vivian Maier?
This fine documentary unveils the ‘mystery woman.'” “Compelling. Haunting. Captivating.” “Fascinating.” “A moving tribute to Vivian Maier’s art.” “Plays like Searching for Sugarman but with almost instantly iconic photographs instead of music.” “Riveting. A Fascinating portrait. As captivating as it is haunting.”
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What can we learn from Vivian Maier?
10. Show the world your work. Perhaps one of the greatest lessons we can take from the story of Vivian Maier is how crucial it is to make sure your work gets seen. Maier never knew how significant and influential her work would become because it stashed in boxes was hidden from the world.
Is Finding Vivian Maier on Netflix?
Finding Vivian Maier is Now on Netflix.
Why is Vivian Maier significant in the world of photography?
Maier photographed the urban human landscape over the course of three decades. Her preferred subjects were children, the poor, the marginalized, and the elderly, some of them aware of her and some not. She also made a number of self-portraits.
What type of art was Vivian Maier best known for?
art of Street PhotographyNow, with roughly 90% of her archive reconstructed, Vivian's work is part of a renaissance in interest in the art of Street Photography.
Who is the best street photographer?
Henri Cartier-Bresson The most famous street photographer of all time is the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 – 2004). He is known for his candid photography and capturing the “decisive moment“. The decisive moment is the precise moment of action.
Where can I watch Vivian Maier mystery?
Watch The Vivian Maier Mystery | Prime Video.
Who found Vivian Maiers photos?
John MaloofA Chicago collector, John Maloof, acquired some of Maier's photos in 2007, while two other Chicago-based collectors, Ron Slattery and Randy Prow, also found some of Maier's prints and negatives in her boxes and suitcases around the same time.
Who is the master of portrait photography?
Armenian-Canadian photographer Yousuf Karsh is considered one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20th century.
What kind of camera did Vivian use and why was it good for the type of photography she made?
What camera did Vivian Maier use? The majority of her photographs were shot on the beautiful Rolleiflex camera. A camera that I just invest in myself actually. She shot with Rolleiflex 3.5T, Rolleiflex Automat, Rolleiflex 3.5F, and Rolleiflex 2.8C.
What is an urban photo?
Urban photography is a genre of photography concerned with capturing scenes from urban spaces, such as towns and other ecological spaces. It has become more popular over the years as the world has become more urbanized. It is an interdisciplinary study which links to landscape and street photography.
How do you scan Vivian Maier's negatives?
How do you scan Vivian Maier's negatives? Originally we scanned negatives on an Epson V700, we since switched to scanning negatives and slides with an Imacon 949 scanner.
What is street life photography?
street photography, a genre of photography that records everyday life in a public place. The very publicness of the setting enables the photographer to take candid pictures of strangers, often without their knowledge.
Who is Vivian Maier?
Finding Vivian Maier is the critically acclaimed documentary about a mysterious nanny, who secretly took over 100,000 photographs that were hidden in storage lockers and, discovered decades later, is now among the 20th century’s greatest photographers. Directed by John Maloof and Charlie Siskel, 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.
Where was Maier's work discovered?
Maier’s massive body of work would come to light when in 2007 her work was discovered at a local thrift auction house on Chicago’s Northwest Side. From there, it would eventually impact the world over and change the life of the man who championed her work and brought it to the public eye, John Maloof.
Is Vivian Maier archived?
Currently, Vivian Maier’s body of work is being archived and cataloged for the enjoyment of others and for future generations. John Maloof is at the core of this project after reconstructing most of the archive, having been previously dispersed to the various buyers attending that auction.
John Maloof
John Maloof is a filmmaker, photographer and historian. He is the chief curator of Vivian Maier’s work and editor of the book Vivian Maier: Street Photographer. Finding Vivian Maier is his directorial debut.
Charlie Siskel
Charlie Siskel is a television and film producer. His producing credits include the Academy Award-winning Bowling for Columbine, and Religulous, both of which screened at the Festival. Finding Vivian Maier is his directorial debut.
Storyline
Real estate agent John Maloof explains how a trip to a local auction house, in search for old pictures to use for a history book about his neighborhood, resulted in him bidding and winning a box full of old negatives.
Did you know
Stories of posthumous success are always interesting. Rarely have they been on the scale of Vivian Maier, whose body of work proves that her perspective of the streets is not a fluke. The pictures are staggeringly good yet modest. She had a talent, if not one for printing and promotion.
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By what name was Finding Vivian Maier (2013) officially released in Canada in English?
What is the purpose of Finding Vivian Maier?
Finding Vivian Maier never does not reveal much about the inner life of the woman at the center of the story, but it does a solid job of its more important mission: bringing Maier's rarely seen work to light.
Why did Vivian keep the pictures secret?
This film dwells a lot on the unknown. Still, you can look for clues, and find your own way through the story, when the film doesn't fill in the gaps. Vivian's photography is easily on a par with all of the most famous photographers, and probably far surpasses their output of memorable images. This could explain both her motive and why she kept the pictures secret. Her motive was that it was what she did and who she was, and she was excellent at it, not just sometimes, but consistently over many thousands of pictures, and she took her own talent very seriously. Actions speak. Secondly, she must have understood, correctly, that the art authorities would dismiss her work, precisely because of its excellence and the fact that she was prolific. A woman, and poor, brusque and unfeminine at that, would not have been stood beside the other greats. And Vivian would never schmooze the modern buyers. She photographed people in everyday life, ugly, beautiful and neither. The collection lacks celebrities. It is not sensationalist, or a freak show. Nor could her single images be held up as rare, or as singular masterpieces - she made a great many, very extraordinary pictures. Too many for the sale rooms. Why would she sour her work with the art world, when she clearly knew her own competence, and her marketing limitations? Even now, they talk about her in guarded, materialistic terms. She preserved her ability and her freedom. It is also unfortunate that Vivian's long line of employers saw her only as a nanny, and did not take her under their wing even when she asked them to. That they did not try much to reach beyond, even though she lived under their own roofs. Her life is a comment on the narrow society, that doesn't bother too far with those it classes as "not one of us". She spoke in a fake French accent. It sounded more like German or possibly Dutch. Perhaps she had a wartime legacy. The film is reminiscent of the British fictional series 'Shooting the Past', about a photographic collection, and its ability to connect people over time and distance. Here, it is a real collection. Vivian's pictures weave a human web. There is a deeply touching moment when a very old woman, embraced by her daughter, sees a photograph in a modern gallery of her late husband, as a young man. Wait for the moments when people see their own lives in the pictures. Note the curator's fine care of the collection. Or, you can just see this film for the pictures, because the pictures alone are worth it.
How many photographs does Vivian Maier have?
The life and work of career nanny Vivian Maier and her amazing collection of 100,000 photographs. Genre:
What is the story of the graverobber?
Two stories in one documentary: one is about a mysterious woman who hid world class photographic talent behind menial jobs as either nanny or maid, and the other addresses what happens when a professional graverobber discovers the goods. One story is interesting for it's humanity, the other is interesting for it's lack.
What does Maier's life tell us?
Maier's life tells us one thing: great photographers always show themselves in their work, even if they never show their work.
Is Vivian Maier compelling?
The detective story in Finding Vivian Maier wouldn't be compelling without the hundreds of incredible images that flash across the screen.
What was Vivian Maier's job?
In the documentary film Finding Vivian Maier (2013), the grown-up children whom Maier had cared for in the 1950s, '60s, and '70s recall how she combined her work as a photographer with her day job as a nanny .
Who is Vivian Maier?
American. Known for. Photography. Vivian Dorothy Maier (February 1, 1926 – April 21, 2009) was an American street photographer whose work was discovered and recognized after her death. She worked for about 40 years as a nanny, mostly in Chicago's North Shore, while pursuing photography.
How many boxes did Maier have?
She kept her belongings at her employers'; at one residence, she had 200 boxes of materials. Most contained photographs or negatives, but Maier also collected newspapers; in at least one instance, it involved "shoulder-high piles.". She also recorded audiotapes of conversations she had with people she photographed.
What happened to Maier in 2007?
Discovery and recognition. In 2007, two years before she died, Maier failed to keep up payments on storage space she had rented on Chicago's North Side. As a result, her negatives, prints, audio recordings, and 8 mm film were auctioned.
Where did Maier die?
When she was about to be evicted from a downmarket apartment in the suburb of Cicero, the Gensburg brothers arranged for her to live in a better apartment on Sheridan Road in the Rogers Park area of Chicago. In November 2008, Maier fell on the ice and hit her head. She was taken to a hospital but failed to recover. In January 2009, she was transported to a nursing home in the Chicago suburbs, where she died on April 21.
Where did Maier take pictures?
In 1959 and 1960, Maier embarked on a solo trip around the world, taking pictures in Los Angeles, Manila, Bangkok, Shanghai, Beijing, India, Syria, Egypt, and Italy.
Where did Vivian and Charles live?
In 1935, Vivian and her mother were living in Saint-Julien-en-Champsaur; three years later, they returned to New York. In the 1940 Census, Charles, Maria, Vivian and Charles Jr were listed as living in New York, where the father worked as a steam engineer.
What is the insinuation in Finding Vivian Maier?
“Finding Vivian Maier” shows that stories of difficult women can be unflattering even when they are told in praise.
Where did Vivian Maier work?
The short text had just enough information for Maloof to deduce that Maier had worked as a nanny in suburban Chicago. In “Finding Vivian Maier,” a new documentary about Maloof’s discovery that he directed with Charlie Siskel, interviews with Maier’s former charges, now middle-aged, do little to diminish the wondrous peculiarity of her story.
Why is Maier's story titillating?
For filmmakers, for her fans, and for the people who knew her when she was alive and now must reconcile that elusive figure with her posthumous reputation as an artist, Maier’s story is titillating precisely because of how it deviates from the familiar narratives about artistic aspiration.
What is Maier's dark edge?
The filmmakers give Maier’s purposeful obscurity and fiercely guarded solitude a tragic cast: Her former charges recall her “dark edge,” the way she spoke about the brutality of men, the temper that, on occasion, bordered on abusive.
