Vivian Maier Style
bfjr
Registered Users Posts: 10,980 Major grins
bfjr
Registered Users Posts: 10,980 Major grins
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I'm headed out the door right now to go see the documentary... even talked the Missus into going with me - should be good!
So hows about a report
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Thanks for the invite Ben... I'll recreate it later - the short answer is, it was better than great!
Man, that dumping issue flat out sucks. Seems other folks have had the same issue. I assume that the people at Dgrin are aware of the problem. While I haven't personally had it happen to me, I can certainly share your frustration, Eric.
I, too, eagerly await your review.
Tom
The film Finding Vivian Maier, was for me, a very interesting, inspiring, and at times, emotional examination of the life and work of what we often describe as an “artistic genius”.
John Maloof – the young man who discovered her work and produced the film - is a very engaging and talented individual. With a singular devotion, he took on the seemingly monumental task of cataloging, conserving, and sharing with the world, the HUGE body of work Vivian produced. In the film, he tells the story of his discovery and conservation efforts, as well as the stories of the people who knew her, and the spaces/places that Vivian inhabited - both physical (mostly Chicago) and mental. The film includes many interviews with people who knew her – employers, relatives, and the kids (now adults) that Vivian cared-for in her numerous positions as a professional governess. Many of the experiences related are humorous, many are painfully sad – Vivian was a complicated, eccentric individual with a mysterious “dark side”. I thought he presented the details with balance, sensitivity, and a minimum of coloration on his part.
Here are, INPO, some of my personal impressions/reactions/thoughts about the film, Vivian, and her images:
~ I am blown-away by her images – especially the street portraits - they resonate with me, like few others.
~ She had an amazing eye and had the ability to find unique, compelling, subjects, and so, captured an intense pathos of humanity.
~ The B&W tones in her printed images are impressive (mostly printed by others) and defy the *new gear race* we engage in.
~ Most of her negatives were never printed, and so, never seen in positive by her – this fact is curious and amazing to me.
~ She mastered the "selfie" decades before the current hipster, social media phenomenon.
~ Her images contain a magical quality that is hard to define, but you know it when you see it – greater than the sum of parts…
~ Given today’s social sensibilities, we could not (in public) approach and photograph young children as she did – some of her best work.
~ She traveled the world capturing people and places – most of this work has not yet been seen, and is probably a treasure-trove.
~ She recorded her own voice – she sounds confident, intelligent, amused, and mysterious – her French accent is humorously debated in the film… she was born in NYC.
~ The film “Finds” Vivian Maier, but I came-away with many more questions and desires… I want to know more about her – see more of her work – learn the secret of her magic – try harder to find my own vision, and capture more images!
I strongly recommend this movie to anyone interested in this genre of photography or who enjoys a compelling story of art, talent, madness, and discovery. My Missus – who is an artist, but not a photographer – enjoyed it very much and was drawn-in by the experience… her only complaint was that the seats were worn-out… YMMV!
an exhibition of her work... I'm hoping that the world travel images see a proper exhibition also - I'll bet they are similarly impressive.
Not at all sure there is a Vivian Maier style, which is why I can't get excited about Vivian Maier. Yes, of all her work the self-portraits are by far the most interesting and revealing, and seem to me to be the only part of her work that reveals a personal vision. The rest of it, I would argue, is more than a little 'idiot savant' like - while she certainly had an eye for scenes to be captured, and had excellent technical skills, almost all the street images ape the work of some other 20th century photographer. Wow, look at that Walker Evans! Oh gees, will you catch that Helen Levitt? Holy Cow! There's a Weegee!
But where is Vivian Maier?
As to the documentary, it me that it is indeed about find in Vivian Maier, and not so much about her work.
Good thing I am not at all opinionated.
"He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan
"The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
It's not surprising, nor in any way a negative, to realize that viewer reactions will inhabit a broad spectrum
of opinion... as we all know, this is an inherent characteristic (subjectivity) of art creation and appreciation - especially the visual arts.
After the discovery and exhibition of Maier's images, a not insignificant number of people have found a strong resonance with the work, and so,
consider it among the best examples of this genre - some being actually rather excited about it... I just happen to be one of those who gets more, and stronger shivers.
There was an article maybe half a year ago in Shutterbug? magazine with a V.M. photo of a large partially broken concrete drainpipe probably leading out towards Lake Michigan with a not-too-populated beach in the background. I had skimmed the article and photo several times and then later read all of it while staring at the photos - trying to get into the artist's mind - finished it, then put it down. Many days later I opened it again and that same concrete pipe photo caught my eye but this time I also saw the face of a small child peering out from the partial opening. I was absolutely stunned that I had missed that very important detail the previous dozen times. In B&W, the child is there and not there at the same time. Now if that shot was posed or not, I don't care. It is what it did for me when I finally saw the face. And she did that. If I had only one photo like that in my lifetime that could do that for others, I would gladly put my camera down for good and call it done.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
I know what you mean... she did seem to complicate her life with rather odd behavior... but, imo, "crazy" is one of those fuzzy concepts that
defies a uniform definition - one person's creative genius, is another's idiot savant, is another's just plain crazy.
It is - at a minimum - thought provoking... I'll be interested to hear what you think David.
Took me a week to respond. I've thought about the "crazy" thing more than a few times now. I want to say she might have been so entirely and privately focused on her art form that it almost completely eliminated time to do the other things in life that others make time for. That same personal choice also fits the lives of untold number of artists over the millennia and perhaps crazy is a term most all the other people call it when they're looking in at someone else from the outside. All those newspapers collected and stacked up -- hmmmm. That was crazy. Makes me want to sort through and toss all those magazines I've collected. Also makes a firm point for online subscriptions and iPads.
So they've found approximately 100,000 negatives so far, and there is evidence that might only be the known portion of her work. Lots more out there? Gads. Yeah, she was really really into being the photog reporter/street shooter. I can relate to that in a very small way because on any day I set aside to shoot something special I can hardly think of doing anything else and tune those "else's" out. Yet, those days (or regrettably, hours) come very infrequently. Her multi-day-a-week devotion shows through clearly, if I can read her contact sheets correctly. And talk about hit rate! Damn!
Complicated is another term I'd use, and in a way that is hard to figure out because she seemed to be so aloof and private. And the more I see of her work the more I like it. I am jealous too, of her eye and reaction time to grab what she did. I wonder how many times she passed this scene until the decisive moment. Might have been the one time, but I'd bet it was dozens or more. Look at the kid going down the slide in the middle and their pose. Holy crap! No doubt she completely pre-visualized it in her head days/weeks before and then stalked it until it happened. And good for her and all of us that she did. One of my favorites.
I haven't found an online version of the kid's face in the cement pipe yet. Still looking. If/when I find it I'll link to it.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
Thanks for sharing your thoughts David.
5 bucks for a movie? Don't see that much anymore - nice!!