“Well, I suppose nothing is meant to last forever. We should leave space for others. It’s a cycle. You go forward till the end. And some one else has the same chance to go forward till the end and the cycle goes on.” | Vivian Maier
Vivian Maier, 1963, Seminole, Florida
The cycle of life, the incessant flow of time, the daily existence in this world. Vivian Maier (1929-2009) was born in New York but lived most of her adolescence in France where, with a Kodak Brownie, she started to experiment with photography. She returned to the United States in 1951 and became a nanny in Southampton. She bought a Rolleiflex and started to take photographs of people on the streets, documenting life in New York in the 1950s. She took photographs all throughout her life, which resulted in more than 100.000 negatives.
Vivian Maier, 27 July 1954, New York, NY
Her photographs capture moments of daily life, exploring the lives and faces of people, suspending them in the eternal oblivion of memory. They are documents of the places in which she lived, of the cities she inhabited; of the changes to her own lineaments. She was so obsessed by her own image that she often used the camera as way to explore her own Self, taking countless self-portraits. Her own reflection and her own shadow become a constant in her photographs, elements blending into the context of the photographs, each time in a different way. Her photographs portray the differences between social classes and multiculturalism, capturing the surprised expressions of passersby.
Vivian Maier, Self-portrait 1956
The street photographer is currently on show at the Scuderie del Castello Visconteo in Pavia. The exhibition is curated by Anne Morin and Piero Francesco Pozzi. There are more than 100 photographs on show, both in black and white and coloured, portraying the world as seen through Maier’s eyes.
Ph. 2019 Maloof Collection
Vivian Maier. Street Photographer
Where: Scuderie del Castello Visconteo, Pavia
When: from February 9th to May 5th 2019
Info: www.scuderiapavia.com
Translated by Ludovica Sarti
Read other Curiosità on ZìrArtmag
Follos us on Facebook and Instagram
