Documentary. Vivian Maier, born in New York City in 1926, spent most of her youth in France. After her return to the U.S., she took up work as a nanny and care-giver for the rest of her life. In her free time, however, Maier had begun to venture into the art of photography. Consistently taking photos over the course of five decades, she would ultimately leave over 150,000 negatives, most of them shot in Chicago and New York City. The artist favored a Rolleiflex twin-lens camera and was passionate about documenting the world around her – through photos, homemade films, recordings and collections, assembling one of the most fascinating windows into American life in the second half of the twentieth century.
This prize winning documentary follows the narrative of filmmaker John Maloof – he had discovered her photos at an auction in Chicago and has come to own the publication rights. He traces Maier’s history through New York City, France and Chicago, showing the artist as a wanderer and self-taught photographer with an uncanny ability to get close to people from all walks of life. After living in poverty for several years, Maier died in 2009, without any appreciation of her art. Meanwhile, her work is shown in museums and galleries all over the world, and the New York Times has recognized her as “one of America’s most insightful street photographers.”
In English, with German subtitles and an introduction
Location: d.a.i. hall
Admission: free, current COVID regulations apply.
