VIVIAN MAIER - MK GALLERY

FINDING VIVIAN MAIER - Man Buys 10.000 Undeveloped Negatives At a Local Auction and Discovers One of The Most Important Street Photographers of the Mid 20th Century

“She was so guarded and paranoid and private. She never let anybody get close to her. She went by aliases. She disguised herself with her clothes. She never had a love life. She never had kids. She didn’t have any family that she kept in contact with at all,” Maloof said. “The only thing she really had was her photography … and she was probably too afraid of getting negative criticism or rejection.”

Her former charges describe her as an eccentric caregiver who dressed in men’s clothes and took them on urban adventures to places kids rarely went, including gritty parts of town and a slaughterhouse in Chicago.

Her self-portraits show a serious woman with cropped hair, dressed in men's clothing and quite often in large hats. As if she was disguising herself from herself.

Her many photos of children and the destitute tell of her connection with those struggling to get by.

This was probably one of my favorite photos. THE COMB OVER! So much humor in this and the fact that the poor guy most likely had no idea there was a quirky woman crouched behind him shooting photos of his comb over. Made me snicker! 

"In death she is getting the notoriety she never got in life"

A documentary of her story has been made. I haven't seen it but it's on my list! 

Here is a link to the trailer! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o2nBhQ67Zc