Vivian Maier
Photography has become a major form of expression in the art world and many photographers let you into their world through the photographs they have taken. Some photographers take pictures just to take pictures and do not call themselves artists but what if someone never got the chance to show them until after their death. Would they still be considered an artist? Did they want their photographs to be showed at all? In the case of the “mystery woman” Vivian Maier, the debate of whether or not she should be considered a legitimate artist.
Vivian Maier was a nanny for many families throughout her life and while with the kids she went out on the town to capture photographs of the life there. Although she would take photographs of everything no one truly knew how deep her passion for photography ran. For the kids she nannied, they thought it was strange embarrassing that she would go up to random people on the street and take their photograph whether they knew it was being taken or not. The subjects of her photographs might never know that they had their picture taken by her and they might not get the chance to because museums are not recognizing her as an artist. If they did, they could hold exhibitions of her work in the areas that are in her photographs and locals who have been there since the photos were taken could possibly see themselves as Vivian Maier saw them on the street. A film was made in an effort to get museums to recognize her and her work and give her the credit she rightfully deserves for her serious works that she took from her perspective of the world.
Finding Vivian Maier is a documentary that digs deep into the mysterious life of the self-addressed “mystery woman”. John Maloof went to an auction to find negatives for a book her was writing and bid on a box jammed full of negatives. He won the box and was intrigued at how good these photos were, even in their negative form. After looking through the box of negatives he became intrigued and wanted to see what else she had done so he made it is mission to find out as much as possible about this woman. The documentary goes on to show that John Maloof does in fact find the information he was looking for and was so impressed not only with her work but also her story that he decided that the world should be allowed to see her works. The only thing that prevents the majority of the world from seeing her work is the fact that museums refuse to recognize her as an artist because she is deceased and had no indication that she intended to show her work to the public. I believe that her work should be shown in more than just the local galleries, that are willing to take the risk of showing an unknown artists work, because her work is inspiring and real. There was some debate within the documentary as to whether or not she would have wanted to become a famous photographer or not. I think that she wanted her work to be shown to the world without having to take the credit. The film revealed that she was a very private person and I don’t think that she would have wanted to give up her privacy for fame.
Originally born in New York Vivian’s mother was from France and there is a little village where Vivian spent her childhood, and some visits throughout her adult life, had a print shop that she had postcards made with some of her photographs on them. The film revealed a letter that she had written to the owner that she wanted more postcards made they way they were made previously, and I took that as she does want the world to know her work just not know who took the picture. To put an image on a postcard and send it to someone exposes her work on a global scale because the postcard goes through many different people before it gets to the intended person. They all would have seen the image on the card and maybe even wondered where they can get the same one. People want her photographs but that is still not enough for the museum and art world to consider her an artist. I believe that she kept every single negative and undeveloped film in her storage unit with the hopes that someone might find them to tell her story and someone did, but it is proving to be a more difficult journey than planned. The museums and art world should agree that her photographs are incredible but yet that alone is not enough for them to design an exhibition on a large scale for. John Maloof has not given up and still is trying to get them to change their minds and I believe that more people should go to the local galleries to spread the word about Vivian and her incredible story. If there is enough local support, especially in New York City, then someone important enough might hear about this and through word-of-mouth and can use their influence to get the art community to consider her an artist.
Vivian Maier may have led a private and mysterious life outside of being a nanny but there is no doubt that her photographs make her a serious artist. I think that the debate over if she can be considered an artist or not because she isn’t around to say if she wants to be or not is incredulous. I admire her work and the honesty and innocence that she captured in each photo and I greatly consider her an artist. If she were alive today and said that she did not want to be an artist, but her work was still shown to the public, then I would have no choice but to still call her an artist because that is what I truly believe. Vivian Maier may have been a social recluse but there was a reason that she kept, or hoarded, everything. I don’t believe in coincidences, but I do believe in fate and I do think that fate had a part to play in John Maloof finding Vivian’s negatives and working countless hours to delve into her past and show the world how Vivian had seen the world. Vivian’s artistic ability is prevalent in every single photograph that she had taken and it’s the sole reason why she should be considered an artist and that her work should be taken seriously. The mysterious backstory doesn’t hurt when spreading the word about her too.