Sometimes stories are incredible. When you think you have seen them all come “something”, on tiptoe, and change your life. Sooner or later happen to all, a few lucky even more than once. This is what we told for consolation for a lack of opportunity or bad success of another.
Perfect… and if it does not happen? If nothing happens in life that moves the usual course of things? If the life line flat without anything so exceptional?
The current state is a disaster, an failure large-scale, since today become famous is the must. Both on the web that on television, It seems that the celebration of success (and more often in’failure) is the only way that has the human being to assert himself. Today those who are not screaming loudly to the world his talent is not one.
That would make today Mrs. Vivien Maier?
Vivien Maier is a nanny, a photographer, a collector and one free spirit. Free as are now only few. For over forty years she collected jealously stolen photographs of the street, smiles posing, self-portraits and, more generally, emotions, states soul of all kinds.
All this amazing collection was taken in free time her main work of caregivers and when in 2007 her life work (and we may well say so) came to light opened a world that no one knew.
Ben 100.000 negative the secret diaries collection which included shots in New York and Chicago, the city where she worked, but also a great number of photos of which has not been possible to establish the provenance, because for the moment the cataloguing of her artistic work is not yet finished considering that over time many shots have been lost or sold to different auction houses .
Mrs. Maier began her career as an amateur photographer in Europe, When in 1949 she bought a camera in the Alps a Kodak Brownie to take snapshots of French landscapes.
Once back in America the passion refined the technique and the time is expressed by improving the quality of footage but the subtlety and sophistication in the choice of subjects, it would also for the various artistic influences of the era.
The discoverer of photographic treasure of Maier is John Maloof that vision of the beauty and charm of the neighborhoods of Chicago decided to publish a book historical / photographic history of the city and its evolution.
After a scavenger hunt in the basement, private homes and auction houses finally the photographic work of Vivian came to light with interviews tape, rolls of films, prints and negatives and not only those but also postcards, cutouts newspaper, paint cans, color film all wonderfully catalogued and kept in numbered order pickers.
And to think that this collection was going to be thrown in the trash.
I have had some fix to choose which photos put here. All the photos I saw on the site that contains her collection are, not only, beautiful but also evocative, almost hypnotic.
Remaining open windows on the others life. One click is like a moment that, as a portal, with a little imagination, drag in fact imaginary memories stolen to our past, the cinematography and music and even fashionable and history.
What's watching that kid? Where is going that guy on horseback? Why is he on horseback? Certainly for those who, like me, did not live in that continent and definitely not in those years is how to make a continuous exercise of imagination. Che… is a blessing.
Today, what would a young Vivian? Hide still photos in cabinets or would publish on some social network? What would she does if did not receive enough “likes“?
To see the complete collection of Vivian Maier and know more about the story and its discoverers go on site the artist. If you are interested in knowing the genesis of the classification you can read the discussion taken from the same Maloof on Flickr.
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