Vivian Maier, whose work was only recently discovered, built a vast collection of images of life in Chicago and New York. Her main body of work, taken in the 1950s, shows clear surrealist elements. Explore the Vivian Maier website (www.vivianmaier.com) and identify five street photographs that show the influence of surrealism. Write a short reflective commentary in your learning log (Open College of the Arts, 2014:50).

VIVIAN MAIER

Much of Maier’s street photography shows clear surrealist elements, such as ambiguity, use of shadows, reflection, geometric patterns, unusual angles,  juxtapositions, abrupt framing; some of the images are dreamlike and they certainly disrupt our perception:

This image from “Street 5” illustrates the use of geometry, chance, reveals the uncanny and in doing so seems surreal

This image from “Street 5” is certainly shot from an unusual perspective revealing something we’d have not seen in the same way otherwise and the abrupt framing captures a surreal figure.

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This self-portrait illustrates the use of reflections in a surreal way, the juxtaposition of the seated women onto her own reflection creates ambiguity. 

Again, juxtaposition of the portrait and a viewer is important creating a surreal moment as he seems to reflect and adopt the portrait’s position in reverse.

In this colour image it is the unusual angle she has shot from that is arresting at first, Maier has also seen and is sharing with us the theme of flowers not only in the bag, but on the bag and her handbag, they seem incongruous against her pristine pale skirt.

All images, Vivian Maier Photographer 2020:

I have just watched a presentation “The ever-intriguing Vivian Maier” on her work and life by Anna Sparham and Ann Marks for Photo London.  It was useful to hear how some of her success came from her decisiveness and confidence; apparently, she would just take a shot and move straight on, knowing that she would have got what she needed. They describe her work as often ironic, with a sense of wit which she sometimes used colour to emphasis. They also showed many examples of her use of Juxtaposition, self-portraits using reflection and the way that her photography could in a surreal way change our perception of things.

References:

Photo London (2020) Photo London. At: https://photolondon.org/event/vivian-maier/ (Accessed 23/05/2020).

Vivian Maier Photographer | Official website of Vivian Maier | Vivian Maier Portfolios, Prints, Exhibitions, Books and documentary film (2020s.d.) At: http://www.vivianmaier.com/ (Accessed 17/06/2020).

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