Photographer: Vivian Maier

Several months ago, when my mom was up visiting, we popped into the Chicago Cultural Center on a whim and stumbled upon an incredible photo exhibition. Most of the photos were taken in the '50s and '60s and were predominantly of people and city streets. The work was by a woman named Vivian Maier who, we discovered, had only fairly recently passed away. What made it all the more interesting was that none of her work had ever even seen the light of day (and may never have) until a man by the name of John Maloof purchased storage lockers that had belonged to Maier from a thrift auction house in Chicago. What he found inside was a giant cache of negatives which led to the unearthing of this astounding body of work.

At the time I could find almost nothing about Miss Maier as there wasn't any published material by her or about her. Now, there is a website dedicated to her work, a documentary has been made about her, and a book of her work will be available for purchase soon. You can find out all about her on the website and in the trailer for the documentary below. I don't remember when I've seen photography that captures the human condition in more stunning detail or with such a feeling of spontaneity. The people and streetscapes that make up the majority of her subject matter tell a very vivid story of what was or might have been going on in that moment in time. There is so much expression and character and feeling in her portraits that you feel like the people could start talking to you at any moment, though, not all of them would be very pleasant or coherent. If you can find the exhibition in your town I highly recommend seeing them in person.

http://www.vivianmaier.com/ 

http://vimeo.com/23604952