Reflections on Vivian Maier

One of my favorite activities is researching the work of photographers, alive or dead, whose images both validate something in my own work and who have tried things I’ve considered attempting, affirming my proclivities to experiment. When I find these things in a since-deceased artist, it feels like an endorsement from beyond the grave. These moments have an interesting way of sparking my inspiration jump-starting my drive to go out and shoot.

Vivian Maier’s work does all this and more. For example, I never want to photograph people until I revisit her street work. I always feel a wave of admiration when I come across one of her self-portraits in a convex security mirror – something I’ve shot dozens of times. She had an uncanny ability to capture striking images of daily life in interesting ways, and I strive to do the same.

I wonder how she would feel about the notoriety she’s received, and if she had ever considered developing the work herself. There are many unanswered questions, which I’m sure those who discovered her film [and have become wealthy in the exposition] and those who are “experts” [again, I scoff] have attempted to shed a light on, but no one really knows for sure what she thought or what she felt or why she photographed the way that she did. Why would someone so prolific hide her work? Could she simply not afford to have her film developed? I’m always one to dig for answers, but in the case of this singularly gifted artist, I hope the why and how always stay shrouded in mystery.

Some comparison shots, Maier on the left (black & white), mine on the right (color):

  

    

  

  

And a few more of hers: