Photographer Vivian Maier (Vivian Mayer): biography, creativity

Unfortunately, not every person is known and recognized in life. Thanks to the American collector named John Malouf, who accidentally gets unique photos, the world learns about pictures in the genre of street shooting.

The beginning of history

Purchased at the auction box with negatives becomes the beginning of the search for the author of truly masterpiece works, shot in black and white film. Maluf learns about a woman who died in 2009, whose property went under the hammer. The young man is doing a great job of locating the rest of the property for Vivian Mayer. The closed governess has not taken pictures of her pictures for more than twenty years. About one hundred and fifty thousand negatives have become a real phenomenon in the world of visual art.

Controversial issues

John Malouf perfectly understands that the archives that came into his hands are more than ordinary photos, which do not bear much value. Scanned black-and-white photographs, he puts on the web, and instantly they make a splash.

Malufa, as a decent person, is tormented by doubts about certain issues. First, he thinks for a long time whether to show the world what Vivian has tried to hide carefully. After much thought, John decides to make public the whole archive, believing that everyone does in the hope of being heard by the community and staying in his memory. He becomes an agent promoting photos of Meyer for everyone to see, organizes numerous exhibitions and writes about her work. The well-known monograph "Vivian Maier: Street photographer" was released in 2011, and she tells about the unique approach of a nanny to photography. It can be called a real confession of a complex and closed Vivian.

Secondly, Malufa is interested in who owns the copyrights, because Viviane did not have any families. He draws up everything according to the law: he finds a cousin nephew residing in France, and concludes a deal with him. Having redeemed the rights, John receives income from the use of the heritage of Vivian Mayer.

However, last year her work has been gradually disappearing from numerous exhibitions. This is due to the ongoing proceedings in court, started by an envious lawyer who considered that the share of the inheritance of Maluf was making money on works that did not belong to him. On behalf of another relative, an action is brought to court to prohibit the commercial use of photographs and to determine the ownership of copyrights.

Biography

In 1926, the amateur photographer Vivian Mayer was born. Her biography is very scarce, information about a woman is drawn from pictures and a few memories of her acquaintances. At the age of 25 the girl moved to America and arranged to work as a nanny for wealthy families. With every free minute Vivian walks the streets and takes pictures. In addition, she shoots video and records conversations with her characters.

Stealth

Vivian is characterized by eccentricity in clothes and behavior, with pleasure wears men's shoes, huge hats and jackets for growth. A sufficiently closed woman easily talks to strangers, makes audio recordings of conversations and photographs the people who have opened it. She did not have a family, but Mayer is even proud of the status of a single.

The governess often changes the owners, moving from house to house, and always asks for a lock in her room. She hides her secret hobby and personal space from everyone. What is the reason for this behavior, no one knows. Perhaps she is afraid of criticism, and maybe she just takes pictures for herself, and she does not need an outsider. All her riches in the form of boxes with negatives and films she carries from one house to another, leading the systematization of records.

Loneliness

Her pupils loved her, despite some strange things: she could bring a dead snake or take them to the cemetery. Often she carried away the local kid, putting various performances. In the late 1990s, the elderly Vivian no longer works, she never had her corner, only the social allowance saves her from hunger. All the things she keeps in the warehouse, where after her death they get to the auction. By the way, the three wards, who became very close to her people, after learning about the distressing situation of the former nanny, rent her apartment and help than they can. A year before her death, she gets a head injury, and she is identified in a nursing home.

Documentary history of Vivian Maier

A story about the work of a female photographer would be incomplete without reviewing a documentary about her. When a controversial copyright issue arises and looms real risk of losing the entire unique collection, Maloof understands that such a story requires access to a large screen. Soon the audience was presented with a documentary tape "In Search of Vivian Mayer". The film tries to answer many questions that tormented everyone who ran into her legacy. Why did she hide her hobby from everyone? Did not she want to show her impressive collection around? Why did she organize it if she hid her archive?

Refusal of publicity

In the film, Maloof tells an almost detective story of how he discovered the collection and was looking for everyone who had worked for Vivian Mayer for many years. The audience seems to be included in the race for new documents and testimonies about the life of a nanny. But not everything is so simple. The tape raises the curtain of mystery, hovering over her creativity, but it soon becomes clear - the viewer behind the scenes and all those involved in the documentary chronicle are interested in the strange Mayer, and not her legacy, which has begun to live its own life after the author's death.

People are at a loss because of her refusal from publicity, because everyone aspires to this. Yes, and she could have earned a photograph much more than a governess, but for some reason she hid her passion. This outrages the inhabitants, because it does not coincide with their expectations. And the desire of all the speakers is one thing - if you are doing something, and doing it well, then take your creativity to the public court, and do not hide it from everyone.

Fixing the moment

Nanny is shown as a strange and incomprehensible person to others. Vivian Mayer closes on the bolt not only his room in the house of strangers, it locks itself away from everyone, storing the collection and its history. She does not seek communication, but runs away from him. Why does she take so many photographs and do not show the film? It's not about the money, most likely, it just does not need it. After snapping the story, she forgets about it, believing that it only takes to fix the moment, and not return to it. She does not even show self-portraits with a camera at the ready.

Mayer always and everywhere with the camera. Even when there is a misfortune with a boy being hit by a car, she does not rush to his aid, but continues to coolly remove it. At the end of the film, John Malouf shows his confusion over the invasion of the private life of the unsociable Vivian, whom she carefully guarded. And the main conflict opposes the non-publicity of the photographer and the desire of people to take all the hidden things to the public eye.

Experiments in everyday life

Spectators note how successfully catches the mood, emphasizing the familiar details, Vivian Mayer. Photos in the street style captured everyday moments of life. It records daily inconspicuous scenes for others. Often in her photographs appear sleeping or taken from the side and behind people. Mayer does not hesitate to shoot old people, drunk, homeless, but does it mechanically, not bringing in the frame of his attitude to the subject of photography.

Her street photograph consists of such moments that the other would not have paid attention to. Vivian Mayer does not work for fashion shootings, but chooses unusual compositions and camera angles, keeping the cast of everyday life. The manslaughter governess does not hesitate to communicate with people on the street and photographs them, preserving the importance of the ordinary moment. She likes experiments with shadows, reflections in mirrors, she likes to shoot herself in different angles.

Her photo can not be called amateur - on each of them the bold hand of the real master comes out, leaving a bright mark in art.