here & now

I’m still speechless by the work of Vivian Maier and how her photographs have been secretly stored away for about sixty years. John Maloof, who found this treasure, has now collected about ninty percent of Maier’s work. Considering Maier photographed around one roll a day during her whole adult life, this sums up to an immense treasure of history; proof of moments that span over decades. By puzzling pieces together of her life by old phone books and long lost acquaintances while developing thousands of negatives, Maloof is still unravelling her story and the world that she lived in. It was in Chicago that she lived and worked as a nanny but also in New York and during her travels that she walked the streets perhaps unknowingly adding to the history of realistic street photography. A Mary Poppins-like character she was said to be, with a strong and persistent will. This could be interpreted in her photographs; confrontational and close in every expression.

A documentary and book have already been made and some exhibitions are taking place. The fascination of Vivian Maier’s work and story has already been awoken in many and it’s to expect that her photographs will continue to draw attention in the photography world as well as capture the random viewer. Maloof has recognized the difficulties with sharing the photographs that Maier intentionally kept hidden away (or perhaps kept safely stored). Research so far shows that Maier didn’t have any family or close friends and perhaps this was why she kept the photos to herself, far away from any criticism. Hopefully she would have liked them to inspire others one day, and to Maloof this had to be made possible. Unfortunately Maier past away shortly after he discovered her name, so her own thoughts about the treasure are left unheard.