On Photographer Worship: Vivian Maier

The Internet is all a flutter over Vivian Maier, the recently discovered street photog genius/nanny from the North Shore of Chicago. If you haven't watched the following video, I recommend it! The story is truly fascinating.

So, given the ruckus, I wanted to stop on over the Cultural Center to give the show a look with my own eyes. My brother was in town this Tuesday and given his similar interest in all things photographic, I thought it would be a perfect activity for the two of us. To say we were both pleased by the experience would be an understatement.

The show was quite stunning... but for me, not so much of what was being shown, but for what is going to be shown in the future when all the photos are developed. It is clear this show is just a taste and a taste that has been done on the cheap (all the mattes are cut crooked)... but it tasted so good. You can't help but wonder how a woman with such skill, understanding and unique perspective managed to go unnoticed for her entire life. Additionally, she spent her entire life taking pictures and the vast array seems so... well, vast. But, what a treat to have access to her now. My hope is that someone throws some real cash behind this to get all her work developed and mounted in a proper setting. I think the potential is there, but in the meantime I recommend following the blog as her work is revealed and stopping into the Cultural Center if you are in Chicago and have a chance. Oh, and this goes without saying, but the little scans posted on the internet do not in anyway do justice to the prints.