I first heard of Vivian Maier through a small poster glued to the side of a building, her striking image drew me in and I wanted to find out more. The poster showed the upcoming documentary being screened at The Cube, a cool independent cinema and arts centre in Bristol, and immediately I knew I needed to get tickets. On the night I headed down on my own to a packed out tiny art house cinema, where I sat with a rum and coke in hand as the lights dimmed.
I was totally mesmerised by the life of this unknown woman, a professional nanny who lived in New York amongst other places, who took over 100,000 photographs and showed no-one. Not a soul. These stunning collection of images shows Maier to been one of the most amazing street photographers of her generation and the negatives sat in boxes upon boxes until a few years ago, after her death, they were discovered by a local historian and the first negative was developed.
The book brings together her eye for detail, light and composition, her timing and her ability to never miss a moment, and lays it out for you to embrace and pour over. Maier's stunning photography invites you stare upon the faces of people from a forgotten time and brings you into their lives.If you love photography or knows anyone who does then this is the perfect coffee table book and if you haven't see the documentary about this incredibly talented woman then now is the time to discover her work.
What did you think of The Cube? I've only been once but my one memory is of being so cold I literally was bundled up to my nose in a fur coat! (And also the book looks fab obvs.)
ReplyDeleteYeah it was a bit on the cool side but I do love it in there, it really feels like an art experience all on it's own! x
DeleteI can't believe we haven't been to The Cube yet! We must rectify this. This book looks brilliant. I do enjoy your book posts.
ReplyDeleteAww glad you liek them, I really need to start doing them more regularly again. x
DeleteMe and Greig discovered Vivian Maier through the same film and instantly loved her work (and felt equally haunted by her story). I bought Greig a copy of the film on dvd for Christmas but i'm thinking we should really own the book so we can pore over the photos too.
ReplyDeleteIt's SO good isn't it! I really want Paul to watch it. x
DeleteThanks so much for sharing this - I love photography books and have quite a few - there is something so inspiring about paging through other peoples captures and seeing the world through their lens
ReplyDeleteLaura x
I find her so inspriring, she was so talented and grifted. I'm glad she is finally getting recognition. x
DeleteI heard about Vivian Maier only recently on the radio. I must snap up a copy of that book, it looks fascinating.
ReplyDeleteYou should watch the film too! Honestly so so good. x
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