The ambiguity in the title is, "Find" who is the subject of this action? Of course this so-called producer, John Maloof. As a matter of fact, the film starts with the respectable face of this guy, and it appears repeatedly after that, as the narrator, the scanner, the driver, the interviewer, the curator, and the relic organizer. It seems that he doesn't mind his Too many appearances make this film very subjective and personal, and even he is very satisfied with his screen image and is a little obsessed with the camera, and is willing to show himself from various angles. In the film, he also admitted that he belongs to a family of thrift dealers, or "second-hand dealers". As for the title of "producer", it was only after he made this pseudo-documentary that he got it on his own. In addition to this film, there are only a few so-called micro-movies on his personal website, and their level is nothing more than fancier level.
It is such a person who takes pleasure in reselling old goods, and can imagine that he has successfully entered the art circle by accidentally photographing Vivian negatives. It seems that he shoulders the historical mission of writing books and biography for Vivian, and embarked on "searching for" Vivian. Journey of life. What is he "looking for"? "Looking for" is not the so-called "real" Vivian, but a Vivian "perfectly in line with the public's imagination of the artist". Mothers who want their daughters to marry into a wealthy family always want to package their daughters as the wealthy family likes. Similarly, since she wants to continue to make a fortune from Vivian's thousands of negatives, she must continue to increase her art market value. So we see that in this self-talking documentary, Vivian is successfully portrayed as an ideal image of an independent artist.
The biggest reason for Vivian's meteoric rise to fame is the fact that she's dead. The deceased can't speak, especially a deceased like her who left almost no words. As a result, the life experience and experience are all commented on, and even large and small relics are recorded by the camera without reservation and displayed to the audience. In other words, Vivian was completely speechless in this farce that concluded her coffin, and even lost her basic right to privacy as a human being. This is undoubtedly the most ruthless trampling on a person like her who pays special attention to personal privacy. But it doesn't matter, she's dead.
Regarding what is a real artist, different periods and different groups of people have their own special preferences, but in summary, the most important and unchanging feature that most conforms to the public imagination is that they are not normal people. Whether it is a madman in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Pushkin who died in a duel, or Van Gogh who self-harmed, they all have to do things that normal people can't do. An ideal artist should be lonely, arrogant, a little eccentric, difficult to integrate into society, but talented. The slightly tragic old stalk that "the art was not accepted by the society during his lifetime, and was not recognized and shocked until after his death" is even more popular among the public. And if the artist happened to commit suicide, it would be even better, and everyone would exclaim: "Oh my God, it's so artistic!" So to this day, everyone is still willing to believe that Van Gogh committed suicide, as if he would not be so Van Gogh if he didn't commit suicide. Taller. And the mad artist is safest after death, and people can show their good taste by loving her wholeheartedly without worrying about when she will suddenly fart at the opening party and be embarrassing.
So in this documentary, we see that Vivian Maier is "searched" little by little to become the image of our favorite artist. The film begins with her image as a nanny who makes a living as a photography enthusiast, whose work was not discovered until after her death (a typical framing of an artist's image); it follows that she has a French accent, has a troubled family, and once called herself a spy. (This adds to her exoticism and mystery); she was later found to be a collector, collecting all kinds of small objects (this is usually evidence of the artist's sensitive mind); then she was later said to have child abuse tendencies, dark psychology (very good). , the artist should be a little shady); traveled the world alone for 8 months (wow, the nanny who travels the world, so stylish!); can't get along with the employer's family, unemployed (artist who is not accepted by the world); no Friends, relying on children she had cared for before, died alone (a typical tragedy for an artist). So far, a Vivian Maier that perfectly fits the public's imagination of an artist has been successfully "found" and is ready to be consumed by the public at any time.
In fact, looking at the current art circle, what is consumed is not just the artwork itself. What everyone consumes is the various stories and labels behind the artwork. The so-called identity politics is sometimes nothing more than the legendary life experience of the artist, the peculiar experience of the works of art, etc., which can be used for speculation. However, it is still "phenomenal" to be planned and shaped on a large scale in the absence of Vivian Maier. The artist as a living person has disappeared, and the artist as anecdotal legend is constantly excavated and solidified. This is a living, contemporary example of the creation of gods, which perfectly illustrates the current public thirst for artist consumption and a roadmap for how the mass media can typify, fascinate, and consumable words for artists.
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