Man Buys Undeveloped Negatives, Discovers One of The Most Important Street Photographers of century

[CatWoman]

Man Buys 10.000 Undeveloped Negatives At a Local Auction and Discovers One of The Most Important Street Photographers of the Mid 20th Century

Imagine this : perhaps the most important street photographer of the twentieth century was a nanny who kept everything to herself. Nobody had ever seen her work and she was a complete unknown until the time of her death. For decades Vivian’s work hid in the shadows until decades later (in 2007), historical hobbyist John Maloof bought a box full of never developed negatives at a local auction for $380.

John began to develop the negatives and it didn’t take long before he realised that these were no ordinary street snapshots from the 50′s and 60′s — these pictures were a lot more then that. Maier’s work is particularly evocative for those who grew up in the 50′s and 60′s because she seemed to stare deep into the soul of the time and preserve the everyday experience of the people. She ventured outside the comfortable homes and picturesque residential neighborhoods of her employers to document all segments of life in and around the big city.










Before he could find her, John discovered her obituary in the newspaper of 2009 . She slipped on ice, suffered a head injury and never fully recovered. She was 83 years old when she passed away.

Here a self-portrait of Vivien



http://www.webburgr.com/vivian_maier/

[ZombieHorde]

1. What method is used to determine

the importance of a photographer?

[mopinko]

2. yeah. i know.

i always thought it was about influencing others who build on your work.

[arely staircase]

5. that or documenting unique but important things

I know there is a lot of subjectivity in that but....

[KittyWampus]

31. Perhaps also, having an authentic and unique voice of ones own. As is the case in any art form.

[CatWoman]

4. WELL

The ball's in your court........

[roguevalley]

33. given that the subjects are severely represented in photography, she by her

unique vision makes her work seminal. I personally find her work to be extraordinary.

[cilla4progress]

10. You know it when you see it..

I think.

The lack of grandiosity; the documentarian aspect of it; the composition and content. I love these photos and will be doing more research on her. Thank you!

[lumberjack_jeff]

11. The quantity of their photos that you own. n/t

[Spitfire of ATJ]

12. A really good photographer never shows their bad shots.

[Scootaloo]

16. The financial needs of the gallery displaying their work n/t

[BlancheSplanchnik]

20. I could puke at the cynicism in this subthread.

Wtf is it about missing the substance and looking for a quick way to go for the throat?


These pictures are beautiful and wondrous. If you take the time to feel.

[ismnotwasm]

26. +1

[KittyWampus]

32. As someone who studied art history, I'm happy to discuss what is and is not art, great art

and the role of curators and mentors in securing an artist's "status".

But yeah, the cynicism…

[BlancheSplanchnik]

35. yes. I was a Master's student in photography and later, in ceramics. unfortunately,

Life interferred in both instances.

But I wrote a few papers considering what constitutes Art.

Yeah, for the capital A, you kind of need to have a confluence of good karma....be productive, creation being your obsession; you must be discovered by the right person (s); you must stand out--either through talent, or extreme.

Also, it helps if you're a man and helpful if you are unburdened by life chores. A wife or other resources that free you to focus on your creation is very helpful.

Not until recently have many women had financial and family circumstances that allowed them such focus.

[Eleanors38]

59. Annie Leibovitz and Susan Sonntag had a celebrated argument over

Whether or not photography was art. Annie won.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

61. lol!!! As well she should have. Her work is...breathtaking.

I was supposed to read Sontag's book "On Photography" for a class.

I could NOT get myself to sit and read it!!

Maybe now I could get something out of it but back then? Nuh uh.

[Eleanors38]

65. I wonder, can modern digital cameras take B&W as well as they take color,

or is something lost?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

66. well, I can't imagine they have the depth of texture and

rich quality of silver nitrate on photographic paper! And doing darkroom work, adding deeper darks by playing with the light from tje enlarger...

I can't imagine being able to get control and beauty like that......

[TreasonousBastard]

88. I can't either, for now...

I spent many years in the darkroom (two bath B&W was my usual process) and the dynamic range of film and paper is far greater and smoother than present digital tech. There is a depth to a B&W print that you can't get from digital original printed on a digital printer. Even a dye sublimation printer.

Does anyone do platinum printing any more?

[grahamhgreen]

69. Short answer is yes.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

73. OOoooooooooooooo!

That's encouragong.

[grahamhgreen]

76. That is b&w digital vs color digital.

[JimDandy]

83. Yes they can take black and white.

Just got a beautiful black and white photo of my newly born grandchild yesterday taken by my son's digital camera.

[NYC_SKP]

34. Hear, hear, BlancheSplanchnik.

I don't know why the sour grapes about a fine artist who didn't even get to see how well here work would be received.

Sheesh.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

36. makes me thinknof Elizabeth Cotton, an old-time fingerpicking guitar genius.

She played and composed in complete obscurity, busy with a large family and mothering responsibilities. She kept to herself, but thankfully was disovered and lived to make a few albums and important appearances.

Wonderful music....google her. (I'm on my mobile. Can't do the link and image display thing right now)

[NYC_SKP]

37. Awesome! Plenty of YouTube clips of Elizabeth Cotton and her original pickin'!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

40. OMG! you got us some Elizabeth Cotton!!

Yayyyyyyy!!

Is she awesome or what??

[Luminous Animal]

50. Oh! I am so glad you brought her up. An incredible artist!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

53. OMG! you know her!!! she's awe. some. isn't she?

By the way, a great Blackcrows tune came up on my playlist a sec ago. Yes!

[Luminous Animal]

56. ! Oh yes. Now I am on a youtube musical journey! It is all good!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

60. ohhhh yeahhhhhh!

You'll find others there too...I realllly like old time Apalachian banjo.

Roscoe Holcomb
Doc Boggs
Ola Belle Reed

[IrishAyes]

43. They'll do it to anyone, on cue just for jollies.

The snarkies took after a friend of mine recently, blowing a perfectly innocent and sweet remark all out of proportion, practically calling her a criminal. When I kicked their shins for it, they turned on me in a self-righteous fury. One of the worst dared lecture me, "Please don't call posters animals." Well, after more than enough provocation I think I said something about vultures circling. But the shoe fit.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

45. there's actually a book called The Culture of Snark

Which I keep forgetting I want to read.

Remind me, wouldja?

[Skittles]

47. you want I should kick some snarky ass?

I would do that for you Ms. BlancheSplanchnik; yes INDEED

[BlancheSplanchnik]

52. oh, do NOT get my juices flowing....

I'm CRAVING some snarkyass ASS KICKING myself.

Let me join you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MADem]

78. Once they write a book about it, it's toast!

Is the Culture of Snark about to Jump the Shark?????

[IrishAyes]

79. I'd gladly oblige, but I'm afraid they'll keep beating me to it.

It's a shame to have them crapping all over serious discussions. Sometimes I think they must be Rove trolls sent to harrass us. I was especially bothered when they piled on that other woman who told of a positive experience with her father's nurse. Before you know it they were actually accusing her of racism!

[Luminous Animal]

49. +1 The compositions, in and of themselves is wondrous...

Let alone what she chose to photograph. I love photography as an art form and this woman is an incredible artist.

I spent 7 hours at a Tina Modotti exhibit in Mexico City taking the time to feel. It was an exhilarating experience.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

58. hoooooooo my god------ o. m. g. that must have been something. really something.

Oooo I gotta go thru some of my photograhy books from way back.

Oh man, can I remember any of my faves from back then???
YES!!!!!

W. Eugene Smith
Wynn Bullock
Diane Arbus
Julia Margaret Cameron
Mary Ellen Mark
Duane Micheals

[Luminous Animal]

62. What was also cool... my daughter, 12 years old at the time...

experienced it with me. We barely talked. Just lived it.

And yes! Time to pull the photography books down from the top shelf!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

67. ;)

[Eleanors38]

57. Why, it's required. I love the twin lens reflex camera...

a number of camera enthusiasts used them yrs ago. I believe Yashika (spl) made an affordable model.

What a huge horse!

[womanofthehills]

87. I used a Mamiya Twin Lens Reflex in the 60's

-even bigger than a Yashica. Now I love love love my Canon D5 Mark 2.

[TreasonousBastard]

89. I had a Mamiya C330 way back when until it got stolen...

and I'd say it was my favorite camera of all the ones I've owned. It was heavy, so vibration was reduced, and it forced you to set up your shots properly. I also liked the viewpoint with the camera at your waist-- you were shooting "up", unlike most eye-level cameras. And the 80mm was one of the sharpest lenses I've ever owned.

After fooling around with Leicas (too expensive!) and Pentax (sharp lenses, but hard to find) and ending up with Nikon, I'm now using a D-90 and D-3200 for just about everything.

[TreasonousBastard]

90. Never had a Rollei, but did have Yashica D and...

later on the YashicaMat-124, which had a better lens and built in meter. Both were OK, and hooked me on 120/220 format, but the Mamiya 330 really blew me away.

Back then, medium format forced you to be more careful setting up your shots, and I found myself wasting a lot of film later with motorized 35mm. Just because you could.

[Democat]

63. Someone is making money on this find

Expect some people to be skeptical.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

64. that's not the artist's fault.

Not the fault either of the people who think this work is truly very beautiful, in its own right.

Profiteers are separate from that.

[MADem]

77. +1,000

It's way too easy to take a crap--we're all born with that ability.

The pics are amazing.

[heaven05]

82. +1000

these photos are beautiful snapshots of human life in a bygone era. The cynicism from some does not surprise me in the least.

[WinkyDink]

93. Philistines abound.

[Stevenmarc]

81. It's the work

I've seen two exhibitions of her work and when you put it in historical context with the photographers who would have been her contemporaries, she not only holds her own with them she had a distinct vision.

Of course the art world has more than its fair share of hype and certainly this is a story that's been hyped to death but the work is much stronger than the hype and that along with its place on the photographic timeline is what makes her work important.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

91. cool!

I hadn't heard of her at all till this OP

Exhibitions must have been amazing.... *sigh*

[WinkyDink]

92. Vision. Originality. View-point.

[mopinko]

3. wasnt a box. it was an 8' x 10' storeroom.

he has only sorted through a little.
i saw the show at the cultural center here. the photos are really wonderful.
i think she will influence people going forward. but i don't think you can be considered important until you do that. in life or from the grave.

[beac]

6. There's a documentary about her:

http://www.vivianmaier.com/film-finding-vivian-maier/

It was shown at the Toronto Film Festival this year. Would love to see it sometime.

[PatSeg]

8. Oops and there it is!!!

Must have been typing at the same time.

[PatSeg]

7. I saw something about this somewhere else

I wonder why she never developed the negatives.

I think I heard something about a documentary about her, but haven't seen anything.

[shraby]

9. Takes money to develop photos. Maybe she was a tad short

of the green.

[PatSeg]

84. I thought about that

but in her case I think it was more complicated. I know it wasn't uncommon for people to not develop every roll of film, but I've never heard of anyone not developing ANY of their film.

The odds are that these pictures would have just been thrown away. It is amazing that someone bought them and developed them. Makes you wonder how many treasures get tossed in the trash on a regular basis.

[justiceischeap]

95. I saw the documentary about her that's currently available

and I think her not developing had a lot to do with her having (my own diagnosis) OCD. They talked about how her room was packed from floor to ceiling with things. I think she collected photography like some people collect "stuff." I think she was compelled to take photographs and I don't think she cared whether they were seen or not. That said, we'll never really know because she was a very private woman who rarely showed her photographs to anyone when she did develop.

I'm torn about her notoriety because I think she would have hated it but I love looking at her photographs. They are so few female artists of note.

[PatSeg]

96. I think you're right

She might not have been comfortable about the fame, but I'm sure she'd have been more upset if the film had ended up in a landfill. But who knows, some writers and artists were quick to destroy their own creations.

Where did you see the documentary? In a theater?

[justiceischeap]

98. No, I believe I "acquired" it. It may be on YouTube now though

[PatSeg]

101. Oh, thank you!!!

[PatSeg]

102. Watched it this morning

and it answered a lot of my questions, though there will always be many mysteries about such a private and reclusive person.

I lived in Chicago for a few years at the same time she was there. I probably had walked past her, both of us among the many invisible who dwell in cities.

[PatSeg]

86. I was just reading more about her

and actually there were developed photos as well. Perhaps she was so prolific, that she couldn't keep up with her own film, always moving on to the next picture.

[pansypoo53219]

13. this is why i collect old photographs. mostly B/W, but i will keep old color now.

i find them at estate sales. getting whole albums is even neater. it started w/ a bargain of an album for $5 and OMG the great shots i found in it. i just found 4 'moments'. helps to have an artists eye to see a good photo. i paid more for a late 1800's album. its amazing what can be photoshopped from an over exposed B/W photo.

[NBachers]

54. A plug for my hometown Kodak- There's Kodachrome out there that's beautiful

I think we're at a point where the vintage Kodachrome can hold it's own against old black and white now.

[gtar100]

14. A highly unappreciated nanny.

The video makes her all the more fascinating.

And in answer to the guy at the end, I'm glad you didn't find the negatives first. I get the impression you care more about the money than the art.

[RainDog]

15. k&r n/t

[spanone]

17. k&r...

[calimary]

18. What a great eye!

Those photos! Shit! I even recognize that camera in the last shot. What a find!!!! Thanks for posting this, CatWoman!

[BlancheSplanchnik]

21. I have one of those! Rollieflex twin lens reflex, 2 1/4 square.

Was an MFA photo student looooong time ago.

That camera is great!
Haven't been into shooting for ages now.

[Major Nikon]

68. I lusted after one back in my film days

A friend of mine had a Yashica TLR I used to borrow from time to time. I would have loved to own a Rollei. It just wasn't as practical as my Nikon FM and they were quite expensive at the time so I just couldn't justify it.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

72. ohhhh yeahhhhhh! they're lustworthy, alright!

Oh goddddd I want some film and a darkroom right now ( well not NOW. It's 2 am.)

[Major Nikon]

74. I still have an old film Nikon

I haven't shot a roll through it in about 10-15 years. All of my lenses will still work with it.

[Historic NY]

19. Brilliant, a look through here minds eye at the world around her.

[toby jo]

22. Nothing beats a street shot.

Thanks, CatWoman.

[closeupready]

51. In high school, I did photography in assemblies for

use in the yearbook and paper, and one of my favorite means of taking candids/street photos was to turn around at the assembly, i.e. NOT the object of attention but the audience, and simply take a shot - the amounts of emotion and activities going on in the crowd, in a single shot, always amazed me, after it was developed.

[NJCher]

23. who can deny the genius?

In these photos?

The blonde in the first photo is thinking, "You lookin' at me?"

The joy of the kids in the penultimate photo jumps off the page.

Someone posted about her around four years or so ago (here at DU). It is nice to see what Maloof has done with her work.

Thank you catwoman! This and the LOLcats thread made my day.


Cher

oh and p.s., I have lots of nannies in my classes. Mostly students from foreign countries. This thread helps me think about their promise.

[CatWoman]

24. I have a good friend from the Philippines who was a nanny

she returned home (from the Middle East) a couple years ago.

She loved her job.

I've been trying to find her since the typhoon, but to no avail

[Brigid]

25. Uh oh.

[gopiscrap]

27. wow!

[Oilwellian]

28. I read about this a couple of years ago

Fascinating story and wonderful pics. Vivien was very talented.

K&R

[KurtNYC]

29. bookmarking for later -- nice stuff, thanks for sharing this!

[IADEMO2004]

30. What a great story. K&R

Miracle the negatives were found by someone that knew there worth.

[zentrum]

38. Have been blown away by Vivian since

..she was discovered.

She was an unmarried nanny, who took pictures on her day off. She never developed a single negative. Do you realize how perfect her "eye" was that she never saw any of her own work?

[Lars39]

46. In other words she just did it and moved on.

No reflecting on the developed picture as to how it could have been improved, no agonizing over not taking it a split second sooner or later....really amazing.

[JI7]

39. i wonder what became of those 5 kids

[NealK]

41. What a wonderful discovery.

I really like her work.

[rrneck]

42. Powerful

[IrishAyes]

44. Ranks right up there with Dorothea Lange.

[Stonepounder]

48. Maybe I don't understand.

The photos are fantastic. I can see why they are considered important.

However, maybe I don't understand something. I used to do photography (back when people used film) and had my own darkroom. You can have undeveloped film, and you can have unprinted negatives. What is an undeveloped negative? When you 'develop' film, you use various chemicals in a dark room to create 'negatives' - meaning that looking at a developed piece of film you will see dark areas where white should be and clear areas where black should be (in black and white film). You then take the negatives and 'print' them - shine light through the negative onto photo paper. The dark areas on the negative let less light through to hit the paper, so it doesn't darken, and the light areas let more light through, to the paper darkens more. In effect reversing the negative onto a 'positive'.

So, you can have undeveloped film or unprinted negatives, but I don't know what an 'undeveloped negative' is.

[Tansy_Gold]

55. Thank you for asking exactly what I was thinking. n/t

[Major Nikon]

71. Film can be either positive or negative

The former is most often used for slides and the later is most often used for prints.

[Chef Eric]

80. The writer meant to say "unprinted negatives."

I was wondering the same thing, but I figured it out when I clicked on the link and checked out the youtube video.

[grahamhgreen]

70. Who gets the money?

[Major Nikon]

75. Presumably the guy who bought the negatives for $380

If there are more like the examples from the web site, he's sitting on a gold mine. Medium format negatives can be blown up to gallery sized prints with quality that is better than even many modern digital cameras.

[Nitram]

85. Beautiful photographs!

Thanks for sharing CatWoman. Now I want to see more...

[Blue Diadem]

94. Interesting woman. Link to Documentary trailer made about her:

http://www.vivianmaier.com/film-finding-vivian-maier/

[ManiacJoe]

97. The story is relatively old now, but a good one none-the-less.

[lunasun]

99. chicago cultural exhibit on VM just closed a month ago- take a peek

https://www.google.com/search?q=vivian+maier+chicago+cultural+center&client=firefox-a&hs=EMG&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=g7SKUqTuOqyE2AXrqICwCg&ved=0CEIQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=611

[WilliamPitt]

100. Bookmarked for later

Thanks.

[Tanuki]

103. She reminds me of Emily Dickinson, in that she was a quiet and introverted person

who did not try to promote herself and whose incredible corpus of creative work was not known or appreciated in her lifetime.