15 January 2014
In the space of a few years, Vivian Maier, “the photographer-nanny,” has found a place among the elite of contemporary photography, alongside names like Berenice Abbott or Diane Arbus. Dying in poverty in Chicago, her rolls of film were acquired by chance by the filmmaker John Maloof, who was the first to realize their exceptional quality. Now, while the Jeu de Paume in Paris is devoting a major retrospective to her work (until June 1, 2014), the Powerhouse publishing house has brought out Vivian Maier. Self-Portraits, a monograph centered on previously unpublished pictures taken of herself by the artist. Here the photographer explores a kaleidoscope of visual possibilities, presenting herself in ever-changing forms. In the year of the selfie, Vivian Maier’s works can be seen as illustrious precursors of the genre. Through her image reflected in the mirror at the hairdresser’s or in the dusty window of a store, or even just her shadow cast on the grass, she makes an attempt to reveal her many-sided personality, always poised between poetry and melancholic wonder.
