Do you know this story? It’s a good one!
I wrote about Vivian and John way back in 2009. Their story is about an undiscovered, photographic gold mine. They never knew each other, but now they’ll forever be connected… A few years ago, John Maloof went to an auction house across the street from his home. For $380, he bought thousands and thousands of undeveloped negatives that had been abandoned in a storage locker by an American woman named Vivian Maier. John started developing the negatives, and EUREKA!!!… he truly did find a gold mine. This is just a minute fraction of what he found:
Vivian’s photographs are stunning, beautifully composed, intimate glimpses into American life in the 1950s and 60s. What’s not intimate though is the knowledge about who Vivian actually was. She died only days before John tried reaching out to her. He had so many questions – who was she? Why did this unbelievably talented woman never show her work to anyone? But now, thanks to a beautiful documentary that is currently in production, a few of those questions have been answered… and they’re a bit strange. A sneak peek at Finding Vivian Maier …
We wish we knew you, Vivian {her self-portraits could be a post all on their own}:
Love.
I absolutely LOVE this. I had heard of this story and of Vivian Maier but haven’t seen this many photographs! The trailer for the film gave me chills and that last line made me think of you. How we all wish we could have discovered this treasure trove!
oh, thanks mary! so sweet xo
I love this story (and these photos)! I can’t wait for the documentary. Thank you for sharing this, Danielle!
isn’t it amazing? i love her photographs so much, and then you add the story on top of it – i’m IN! ; )
LOVE it… there must be a million vivian maier’s out there in this big crazy world of ours… but how many ever get ‘discovered’? fascinating!
exactly! start looking through abandoned storage lockers! 😉
her self-portraits really could be their own post.
Oh my goodness, this is so incredibly enigmatic. Her work is stunning. Thanks for sharing this!
Wow. I say just wow. Oh, that woman’s hair and the old couple…interesting photographer.
I can’t wait to see this movie.
Chills for days. My husband and I had our stuff in a storage unit for over a year and the manager would tell us all the amazing loot people would score when they’d auction off units that people never came back to. The only thing is, you’d have to buy everything in the unit, or nothing. And you could only look at the stuff standing outside of the unit. Couldn’t rifle through anything.
Wow, those photos are absolutely brilliant!
I think many artists have various issues with showing their work….although perhaps only a few are this extreme. This is fascinating, thanks for the great post on this amazing photographer. I cant wait to see the film.
i think you’re exactly right. i hate showing my work to anyone… that’s probably why i spend all of my time writing about other people! ; )
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My heart just sped up. I love these photos and am definitely going to see the documentary when it’s available. Thanks!
Wow on every level ! Consistently fabulous work.
Does anyone have any idea when the doc is scheduled to be released ?
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