Qualities of human understanding and warmth.
Took excessive amounts of photos but never showed anyone.
Many believed she would have been a famous photographer if she showed her photos when she was alive.
She was obsessed with saving memories, audio recordings, films, pictures, receipts, newspaper articles etc.
Rubbish can images.
She had an unusual style – big boots, large coats, men’s shirts and hats.
Early pictures 1951.
Very few friends, often described as a loner.
Took up being a nanny to get spare time and experience nature.
The man that exposed her work feels bad for displaying her work when she never wanted them to be seen, he felt guilty.
Everyone assumed she was French due to her accent or fake accent but she was born in New York and lived in France for a bit and her mother was French.
Vivian’s mother used to do photography.
Vivian knew she was a good photographer and wanted a local shop to her family home in France to develop her works.
At the beginning of the documentary film, I felt really sorry for Vivian as it appeared John Maloof as he uncovered an artist who didn’t want to be found. But I felt a sense of relief that she did want to pictures to be developed. Maybe not to this extent but it wasn’t a complete violation!
People found her imposing and rude – Just took the picture
People and children of the time she was a nanny describe her ‘dark side’ and share stories of her means words and abusive acts
Miss Maier is what she preferred to be called
Miss Maier’s had a forbidden room from anyone but her – Large Padlock on door hoarded extreme collection of Newspaper that ended up bucking the floor – Set traps to see if her employers where looking through her stuff
Street Photographer Book
I am very inspired by Vivian’s work and bravery for her work, I decided to purchase her book to look further into her work. The realness in the people she photographed and technical skill is exceptional!
