She used to work as a babysitter and as an amateur as a street photographer. Before her death, Vivian barely disclosed her work, so many people thought she was just an eccentric nanny. In 2007, John Maloof bought an unmarked box filled with more than 30,000 negatives for $380 at a vintage auction. When John posted those photos on the Internet, they received widespread acclaim. So John bought about 100,000 negatives of Vivienne and set out to reproduce her life and work. In 2013, John and Charlie Siskel co-directed a documentary about Vivian: Finding Vivian Maier. It is also through this film that many people have a better understanding of Vivian herself.
There are newspapers piled up to the ceiling in Vivian's room. She has a habit of clipping newspapers, and most of them collect social news such as homicides. She hates men very much. A man stretched out his hands because he was worried that Vivian would fall from a tree. She thought the man was trying to assault her, so she beat him to a concussion and was admitted to the hospital. When Vivian was a nanny, she never allowed others to enter her room without permission, so she would lock her room twice. Vivian's family members are very mysterious. She has never been married and has no children. She claims to be a spy.
Vivian is portrayed in the film as an eccentric, but extremely talented person. Because Vivienne has passed away, it is impossible to know what kind of person she is and why she is willing to be a nanny all her life instead of a famous photographer. Vivian once said that because of being a nanny, in addition to cooking and taking care of the children, she was able to go outside to play with the children and take pictures by the way. Maybe this is the life she wants. Oddly enough, Vivian's negatives were discovered in 2007, but she didn't actually die until 2009. Because movies are very subjective, the image of Vivian is portrayed here as weird, mysterious, and talented. In fact, not being understood by others does not mean that he is an artist. In many ways, it's hard not to suspect that John is consuming Vivian. It's just that he discovered Vivian and made a lot of efforts for it, and the final good result was also a reward for his efforts.
Without the persistent and exploratory John, perhaps Vivienne would never have been known. Vivian's excavation experience is reminiscent of the unsolved "Nanjing University Corpse Case". In 1996, a cleaning woman found a handbag near Xinjiekou in Nanjing, which contained more than 500 pieces of cooked meat. She took it home to enjoy, and was surprised to find 3 fingers mixed in while cleaning the meat, and immediately reported to the police. So the Nanjing University corpse dismemberment case shocked the whole country. Coincidence exposes everything, be it dark or beautiful. Thanks John for letting everyone enjoy Vivian's work.
A person's work can explain a lot of things. It can also be seen from Vivian's work that Vivian is a very observant, tasteful, and humorous person. Many of the photos Vivian took are very good. However, I always feel that many of them are done by predecessors and lack a little personality. Maybe she never deliberately imitated the work of other photographers, but there are always shadows of others in her photos. If her photos were taken out alone, it would be difficult for them to stand out and be immediately recognized as Vivian's work.
Regarding the movie "Finding Vivian Maier", please watch it for 31 minutes and 50 seconds, hahahahahahahahahahaha.
Foggy
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