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| Maier, Vivian, Self-Portrait, 1970's |
Upon settling in Chicago, Maier worked on and off as a nanny for the next forty years. She was a nanny for at fourteen different families and for a short spell, Maier was even the nanny to Kirk Douglas' children in 1960! John Maloof, curator to some of Maier's photographs, says that the children whom she nannied for described her as, "She was a Socialist, a Feminist, a movie critic, and a tell-it-like-it-is type of person. She learned English by going to theaters, which she loved. ...She was constantly taking pictures, which she didn't show anyone" (Maloof, Web).
In many cases, the families whom she worked stated that she was a private person and insisted that she have a bolted lock on her bedroom. When she would move into a new family's home, she would also bring what Maier called, "her life" with her: boxes upon boxes containing unknown items up until recently when Maloof discovered what was in those boxes: newspaper clippings, negatives, photographs, recorded audio tapes of conversations with people she had photographed, and clothing. Today, some of her employers described Maier's bedroom as "off limits" and noted that she was a "pack rat". In many cases, the boxes of belongings would be piled very high and would leave a small margin of space for one to walk around.
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| From Maloof Collection, Ltd, (Left to Right) Mail, Letters & Receipts, Suitcases & Shoes, Newspaper Clippings, ND. |
Regardless of if Maier had the children she looked after with her or not, Maier would wonder the streets of Chicago and take photographs with her Rolleiflex camera:
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| Maier, Vivian, Chicago, IL, (Left to Right) 5.21.61, 1962, 12.21.1961, 9.23.1962. |
By looking at Maier's work, it's very clear that she was interested in politics, current events, culture, and social status. An article in The Independent said, "the well-to-do shoppers of Chicago stroll and gossip in all their department-store finery before Maier, but the most arresting subjects are those of people on the margins of successful, rich America in the 1950s and 1960s..." (Kotlowitz, Mother Jones). Regardless of who you were, if you were in front of Maier's camera lens, you were fair game as a subject:
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| Maier, Vivian, Chicago, IL, (Left to Right) 4.19.71, 6.1963, ND, 12.1962. |
Stay tuned for the next chapter of Maier's life in the next Pho·tog Friday post!
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01. Maloof, John. "Vivian Maier Photographer | Official Website of Vivian
Maier | Vivian Maier Portfolios, Prints, Exhibitions, Books and
Documentary Film." Vivian Maier Photographer. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
02. "Vivian Maier." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
03. Maloof, John. "Documentary Film Finding Vivian Maier | Vivian Maier Photographer." Vivian Maier Photographer. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar.
2014.
04. Kotlowitz, Alex (May/June 2011). "The Best Street Photographer You've Never Heard Of". Mother Jones. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
04. Kotlowitz, Alex (May/June 2011). "The Best Street Photographer You've Never Heard Of". Mother Jones. Retrieved November 11, 2011.