Review of Finding Vivian Maier (2014) by Walter M — 06 May 2014

What could have turned out to be a disastrous combination of 'Pawn Stars' and 'Hoarders,'(You have your nightmares. I have mine.) "Finding Vivian Maier" turns out to be a fascinating documentary. It all starts so innocently for John Maloof when he bids on a random selection of photographs which turn out to yield a fabulous collection from a photographer he had never heard of before, Vivian Maier. His search leads to more photographs and even her belongings which were left in storage. Those yield clues to her professional life as a nanny which is relayed by people who knew this strange and exotic person once upon a time. One of which happens to have been Phil Donahue.

Throughout, Maloof explores the mystery of why the photographs, as good as they were, were never made public in Maier's lifetime. And I think the answer is partially that in the past it would take a huge amount of effort to make photographs public whereas today with the internet it takes a huge amount of effort not to make photographs public. What has not changed is the elitism of museums who favor familiar names over unknown artists.(Less so with film critics, though.) But I have to disagree with Maloof when I say that it is a safe bet that Maier did submit her work to museums. It's just that Maloof has not found the crate with all of her rejection letters yet.