Photos de vivian maier biography
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In answer to the titular question, even those who had been closest to Vivian Maier throughout her life had little idea until John Maloof embarked on a mission to piece together the fragments of her life after purchasing her belongings at an auction. Among the suitcases of hats, receipts, and news clippings were thousands of undeveloped photographs, consisting of street photography dating back to the 50s shot in LA, New York, and Chicago.
Unfortunately Maier died before Maloof could find her, with her belongings having been auctioned when she failed to keep up with payments on a storage facility. She had worked as a nanny for decades but fell on hard times towards the end of her life and was being financially supported by three of the children she had cared for. According to those that knew her, when asked what she did, Maier described herself as sort of a spy, she never gave her name and if she did she used variations of it. She spoke with an exaggerated French accent and wore mens shirts and big boots, her walk was a brisk march with an arm swinging by her side and Rolleiflex Camera swinging from her neck.
Her work included exceptional photographs showing the influence of MoMA’s seminal The Family of Man exhibition (1955) as well as the work of other American stre
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Summary of Vivian Maier
Unknown in her own lifetime, Maier left behind a body of work that has seen her name take on near fabled status. A "difficult" woman with few (if any) close friends or lovers, she is often referred to as the Mary Poppins of Street Photography on account of the fact that she spent most of her career working as a nanny. In her down time, however, Maier would explore urban locations where she found her subjects: the ordinary people living at the margins of society. Her earlier years remained faithful to a monochromatic documentary style but, she later adopted color which widened the scope of her oeuvre to allow for an element of symbolism. She also produced a number of self-portraits (black-and-white and color) which have given the world a picture of an otherwise unknown, intensely private figure. The publication and exhibition of her work, very little of which was processed or printed in her own lifetime, has led to legal, academic and ethical questions about the posthumous exposure of an artistic vision that has seen her hold her own alongside the likes of Robert Frank, Diane Arbus and Garry Winogrand.
Accomplishments
- Maier has been likened to the top Street Photographers in the way her work explores the relationship between the image taker and the
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Vivian Maier
Untitled, 1954
Silver gelatin print
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Vivian Maier
Untitled, Pace 31, 1957
Silver gelatin print
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Vivian Maier
Self Sketch, 1971
Silver goody print
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Vivian Maier
New York, Sunlit, 1954
Silver dainty print
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Vivian Maier
New York, Original York, Army, 12 Revered 1954
Silver membrane print
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Vivian Maier
Staten Island, Acceptable, June 23, 1954
Silver kickshaw print
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Vivian Maier
Untitled, c. 1977
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
Miami, 1960
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
Randolph Way, Chicago, 1977
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
Chicago, October 1979
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
Chicago, 1977
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
Chicago, Feb 1976
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
Chicago, 1984
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
North Shore City, July 1967
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
Chicago, 1962
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
Chicago, Apr 1977
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
Self-Portrait, 1961
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
Self-Portrait, Chicago, Oct 1977
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
Self-Portrait, Chicagoland, October 1975
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
Self-Portrait, Chicago, June 1976
C-type print
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Vivian Maier
Self-Portrai