There’s something funny going on with the story of Vivian Maier, whose legacy as a photographer is still being defined. The Chicago nanny took tens of thousands of “street life” photographs during her life, only to be discovered after her death when a few lucky buyers came across Maier’s negatives at a Chicago auction house and began posting them online. The majority of these negatives now belong to two collectors: Chicago historian John Maloof and art collector Jeffrey Goldstein. Currently, an exhibition from Goldstein’s collection is on display at the Stephen Bulger Gallery on Queen Street West, while a BBC documentary from last year, Imagine: Vivian Maier — Who Took the Nanny’s Photos, is screening weekly at Camera Bar next door.
But you won’t hear anything about Jeffrey Goldstein or his collection in Finding Vivian Maier, a documentary co-directed by John Maloof (along with Charlie Siskel). Questions aren’t really asked about who discovered Maier (in fact, it was someone called Ron Slattery that first began posting her photographs online, not that he gets credit here), but Maloof’s documentary nonetheless provides an illuminating look at how myths are formed. Obviously, Maier’s photographs struck a chord with online viewers, and her Emily Dickinson-for-the-Flickr-age narrative helped create a mini-sensation. But Maloof’s interviews with former children in Maier’s care, along with his revelations about her abusive behaviour and mental illness, have little to do with the photographs themselves or their artistic merit. Fortunately, they do create an interesting and sympathetic portrait of a woman whom most people would regard as nothing but an eccentric.
Finding Vivian Maier has its world premiere at 4:45pm on Monday, September 9. It will also screen on the following Tuesday at 7:15pm at the Scotiabank Theatre.
Correction: Previously this article stated that the negatives were found at a flea market, when in fact they were discovered at an auction house. We regret the error.
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Alan Jones writes about film for Toronto Standard. You can follow him on Twitter at @alanjonesxxxv.
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