Photo Visual Art : February 2014

Discovering The Mystery Treasure of Vivian Maeir

As far as I can see the most impressionable inspirations come from admirable human behaviour. With this kind of thinking and faith in others, I approach many subject matters, especially Assigment # 3 of my photography course at Dawson. Launched by our professor, Don Corman, I was enthusiastic (in my ignorance) to research on finding a photographer for this self-portrait assignment. I can say that my attitude was like a child, in imagining it as an adventure to discovering a treasure (of inspiration). I did not foresee that I would learn about just that, the discovery of a treasure, and be inspired.

The treasure surfaced in 2007. It is a mountain of sheltered art work unclaimed and never revealed by the artist. Have you heard of Vivian Maier? Her life-long private passion, is fast becoming a photographer's legacy. Maeir is considered a mysterious genuine artist, and there is yet information about her to be unearthed. She was born in New York in 1926 and had a childhood in France. When only 25 yrs. old, she moved back to N.Y. and then went to be a nanny in Chicago. She was a private person although opinionated on movies, theater and politics. A nanny and a photographer who captured and recorded the 50s and the 60s. A woman alone in those times trekking the city with a camera hanging from her neck. How quirky, authentic and fascinating!

Within the last 4 years, exhibits of her work are being toured around the world. This past year (2013) the documentary film, Finding Vivian Maeir, has been released and recognized in several international film festivals. There is a book too, Street Photographer, power House Books.

“'She was a true artist and followed her dreams and what she wanted to do in life,” said Rydzon, 31. 'She didn’t let anyone or anything stop her.'

Maier’s work is the purest form of art; none of it was done for any commercial reason. Her images lean toward women, children, the old, the poor, the abstract. ”

At one point, Maier spent nearly a year travelling around the world to exotic and out-of-the-way destinations with her camera as her only companion. Another mystery is how she could afford such a trip.” (Sun.)

Maier's artistic legacy is being bequeathed in partial doses at this very present contemporary time of ours. The discoverer and guardian is John Maloof, a real estate agent and historian buff, who by great fortune stumbled deeply into the mystery of Maier. He bid on a box of negatives at a real estate auction in 2007. Thirty thousand images of Chicago street life and self-portraits captured by Maeir. Maloof now houses,

“...2,000 rolls of film, 3,000 prints and 100,000 negatives, as well as many 8mm movies and audiotapes. Stacks of old suitcases, a steamer trunk of clothes and scrapbooks filled with newspaper clippings...(Sun.)”

In 2009, Maloof finally found the intriguing artist's name in a letter, then googled her name to find her recent obituary. She died on April 21, 2009. Maloof safeguards the overwhelming mass of Maeir's artwork and vintage prints, in which he is yet to further investigate. Maloof is dawned with a heritage, homage and inspiration; he himself is now implementing photography in his profession and interests. In a life-changing discovery, he is now in quest to getting Vivian Maeir in the history books. Now check out my citing below in order to surf and discover a live-blooming inspiration, the Vivian Maeir's treasure.