Finding Vivian Maier is about the life of an unknown genius who never even knew she had talent. Maier was a nanny who also took pictures, thousands upon thousands of pictures, in fact, that weren’t seen by anyone until very recently. She was an eccentric, a pack rat, and incredibly gifted. No one in her life ever really knew her, but at least now we get to make an attempt.
I don’t claim to know much of anything about photography or photographers, although I’ve always enjoyed the subject. I love punk rock photography, of course — pictures of bands and the wildness that happens at shows — which is probably what got me interested in the subject in the first place. Over the years, though, I have started to appreciate photography on a broader scale and have deliberately sought out some of the more “famous” photographers.
My two favorite photographers, within my admittedly limited spectrum of knowledge, were Diane Arbus and Dorothea Lange. If you’re not familiar with either, take some time to look them up. Their haunting portraits of the impoverished, downtrodden, and just plain bizarre are a sight to behold.
But now, after seeing John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s documentary Finding Vivian Maier, this short list of two has become an enthusiastic trio. Where their male counterparts perhaps took themselves a bit too seriously, these women — Arbus, Lange, and now Maier — approached their art without ego or bravado. Where the women took pictures of real people (and I like real people), the men of the same era chose war and landscapes. The difference is, of course, a matter of taste, but as I learn more about the art and history of photography, my tastes continue to refine, and I can’t help what I like nor am I ashamed of it.
The story unfolds as the history of an artist, but it’s also a damned compelling mystery about an aloof woman who seemed at times Mary Poppins and at others Nurse Ratched. Not a single one of the many employers Maier had over the years had any idea of the immense talent that was living under their roofs and watching over their children. That she simply took pictures for fun (or possibly compulsion, the jury is still out on that one) is as fascinating as the people she captured on film, and as interesting as the woman herself.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.