Finding Vivian Maier screening at Cinematheque in Santa Fe

Finding Vivian Maier

“Compelling … haunting … captivating.”–Variety

John Maloof discovered the work of an amazing photographer—a nanny whom, over the course of 40 years, took more than 100,000 photographs. As Vivian Maier’s work is discovered, in storage lockers and thrift stores, she is being recognized as one of the 20th century’s most prolific and gifted street photographers. Using her unseen photographs and 8mm films, and interviews with dozens who thought they knew her, Maloof tells the story of an unsung master of 20th century expression. (U.S., 2013, 83m, DCP, IFC Films)

Synopsis: Who is Vivian Maier? Now considered one of the 20th century's greatest street photographers, Vivian Maier was a mysterious nanny who secretly took over 100,000 photographs that went unseen during her lifetime. Since buying her work by chance at auction, amateur historian John Maloof has crusaded to put this prolific photographer in the history books. Maier's strange and riveting life and art are revealed through never-before-seen photographs, films, and interviews with dozens who thought they knew her.

Starts April 25 at CCA
Showtimes:Fri-Thurs April 25-May 1: 2:15p, 5:15p*


*After the 5:15pm show on Sunday, April 27 there will be a skype Q&A with co-director, Charlie Siskel, moderated by Michelle Monroe of Monroe Gallery of Photography.

New doc exposes photo-snapping nanny Vivian Maier

Via The Globe and Mail
PublishedSunday, Sep. 08 2013, 4:00 PM EDT
Last updatedMonday, Sep. 09 2013, 10:26 AM EDT


"Finding Vivian Maier represents the resumption of the quest. Not only is Maloof a major presence and voice in its 83 minutes, he’s also the film’s co-producer, co-writer and cinematographer. Poignant, not a little sad, occasionally disturbing, the documentary does a yeoman’s job filling in quite a few of the blanks in the Maier biography and, by extension, her photographic practice. Who knew she went on a solo, around-the-world trip in 1959? Or that she tried to go into the postcard business in France? Or that she could be “mean” to some of her young charges? Still, as Roy Orbison would put it, she’s very much “a mystery girl” and likely will remain that way. This is not an entirely bad state of affairs, especially for her art. The great thing about Maier initially was that she seemed to come out of nowhere to posthumously elbow her way near the top of the photographic class. All there was was the art – pure, mysterious, uncompromised by gossip, New Yorker profiles, tweets, visits by TV crews to her nursing home. What we knew is what she saw and we saw that it was good."

VIVIAN MAIER NEWS

Untitled (self portrait), no date

©Maloof Collection

"Vivian Maier was a mystery even to those who knew her. A secretive nanny in the wealthy suburbs of Chicago, she died in 2009 and would have been forgotten. But John Maloof, an amateur historian, uncovered thousands of negatives at a storage locker auction and changed history. Now, Vivian Maier is hailed as one of the greatest 20th Century photographers along with Diane Arbus Robert Frank, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Weegee. And that is just where the story begins. "
--VivianMaier.com


By now, you may know that a feature documentary on photographer Vivian Maier has been announced with a trailer. Vivian Maier’s extraordinary body of work continues to be archived and cataloged for the enjoyment of others and for future generations, and we are very pleased that several new images now available - and a selection is currently on view in the gallery.

Untitled, no date

 

 

 

Updated March 11, 2013:

 

The Telegraph: Vivian Maier, a nanny with a Rolleiflex, was one of the great photographers of the 20th century