Is Vivian Maier the new Henri Cartier-Bresson, Gary Winogrand or Diane Arbus? Well, maybe not…but she definitely is a Street Photographer and the new book edited by John Maloof is worth reading.
Living unknown…dying unknown and then, at last, becoming famous…this is the story of the life of Vivian Maier. During her all life she worked as a nanny, first in New-York, then in Chicago where she passed away in 2007. Vivian Maier was just like Mary Poppins! She had two lives. The first, the nanny one, was devoted to children and the second, the street photographer one, was devoted to her true passion -street photography-. She recorded the life of the rich and poor in their natural environment, the streets of Chicago! During 50 years, she captured simple moments of life, from the newspaper man sleeping gently over his magazines to the glowing white dress lady walking through the night. As a wizard, Vivian Maier locked all of this moments in boxes…plenty of boxes.
Her art was her secret garden and nobody was aware of her legacy. During auction sales, we all hope to buy an unknown Rembrandt or the negatives of Ansel Adams. John Maloof actually discovered the boxes of Vivian Maier. As a street photographer himself, he realized that these pictures deserved a global stage. He now devotes most of his time to organizing 50 years of shooting. Vivian Maier body of work is definitely worth looking at. As a photographer, with her Rolleiflex around her neck, she precisely and patiently captured the daily life in Chicago during the 50-60’s. The Rolleiflex low point of view is different from the Leica higher one. Vivian Maier looked at the world from a child perspective and it changes everything. Softness is everywhere. As a woman, she has a sharp but always gentle eye. Her portraits of children are exquisite and delicate. We are very far from the freaks recorded by Diane Arbus… Interestingly, Vivian Maier was also interested in abstract shots. The square format compositions are always perfect. For Vivian Maier who never smiles on her selfies, life may not have been easy but she was a true artist and deserved posthumous glory…Thanks to John Maloof for having revealed one of the few female street photographer of the century. This book has the flavor of old fashion lemon drops. One is not enough and we also want to pick some more! Thousands of rolls still remain unprocessed…and I like that.
Look at www.vivianmaier.com
KALAMIR Photography 
I had never heard of Vivian Maier – thanks for sharing.
Good luck with your blog – looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
Same here, I’ ve not heard of her. Can’t wait to see her work.
One more comment to make about Ms. Maier’s work: It is so much more difficult to work within a square frame. Composition must be spot on or there is an awkwardness about the image, it doesn’t sit right within its space. And unlike a rectangle, the more pleasing visual shape to our eyes, there is simply not as much room to compose. Almost all of the images I looked at of NY in the 1950’s were beautifully composed. She had a natural eye.
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