Vivian Maier: A Photographer’s Life and Afterlife Hardcover – Illustrated, October 10, 2017

It's truly amazing how much minute information Pamela Bannos found on Vivian Maier, though she makes some broad assumptions about what she did where and when. And as much as she tries to assert that Vivian wasn't some kind of kook, that's exactly how Vivian comes across. All of which has nothing to do with the beautiful pictures she took. But even the author agrees they were not all beautiful. She writes about blurry images and repetitious frames. I get it; Vivian Maier was not Henri Cartier Bresson, who would sometimes wait hours for just the right shot, which was printed full-frame and never cropped. I had a problem with so few Vivian Maier photographs being included. Unless you are very familiar with her work you may wonder what the fuss has been about. DESCRIBING photos, as Ms. Bannos does, is not the same as seeing them. This she tries to do way to often. After a while it feels like filler. I did like the way Vivian's life and the ongoing story of what happened to her work was woven together. As far as whether Maloof, Goldstein, et al are profiting by exposing her (pun almost intended), I have a bigger problem with cropping and printing the images. So much can be done in the darkroom to "improve" or change the focus of a photograph entirely. It would be impossible to know how Vivian saw the photograph when she took the picture. The fact that she never developed thousands of them leads me to think that the picture itself was less important than being out in the world the best way she could, hiding behind her "street photographer" persona.

This book is as much about how Vivian Maier was turned into a myth by John Maloof and others who acquired her photos and negatives, as it is about the photographer herself. Bannos did not get access to Maloof's collection but she makes up for it through her historical approach and her knowledgeable insights. (Bannos is a photographer and a professor who had access to thousands of photos and negatives from another collector). She's not a fan of Maloof, who comes across as misinformed and self-serving. I was appalled to read about the inaccuracies in his documentary, which distorted/misrepresented Maier and builded himself up as an authority. There's so much in the story of the discovery and marketing of Maier's photos that is really upsetting. In the end, Maier herself remains mysterious. I wish Bannos had staked a more emphatic claim on the question of Maier's importance in the history of photography, or the quality of her photographs. In other words, was she a genius or was she just a great photographer who became a myth through the distortions of others?Maier belongs to a class of "artists" who do "outsider art." If you're fascinated by Maier, I encourage you to read up on other outsider artists like the Philadelphia Wireman, Henry Darger (who wrote a 15,000 page, illustrated novel), or Mark Hogancamp (whose work, I fear, will soon be trivialized in an upcoming movie.) All these people made brilliant art for themselves and through sheer happenstance, the wider world discovered them.

Bannos opens the lens to let us in; at last, here are details about Vivian Maier! I was an early adopter of the Maloof pics and promptly bought his offering. Then it all mushroomed, and rightly, as thousands and thousands of negatives were revealed - the majority had never been printed; what could be more strange! Vivian was a singular talent and clearly knew it, strove to be, but oddly was not bent on sharing her work and becoming renowned. Art for art's sake or in service to some inner measure of precision and an indefatigable need to capture the essence of an instant. Her many self-reflective shots haunt me. People who believed themselves to be her friend never knew of this talent, never knew that their Viv was a brilliant visual artist. Even Bannos could not reveal an inner life so secret, the life of a spy with a camera - it is all speculation, as there is no knowing Vivian's inner world. I highly recommend this biography nonetheless, it fills in many blanks and interestingly, moving through time in a carefully planned manner.

Vivian Maier is a photographer who had clearly been influenced by the other benchmarks in street and documentary photography of her period and before. The myth is that she was a Nanny who mucked around with a camera.The author, Pamela Bannos, has developed a much better understanding of Maier, her apparent motivations and development pathway. Bannos has clarified the current status of the other owners of her legacy. One of these, John Maloof clearly played a very early active role in Maiers elevation and recognition of her ability to capture some great images of society with an iconic style. However, apparently Maloof was not always straight forward with the clarification of myth and reality - he was not willing to collaborate with Bannos.Sadly, as other reviewers noted, there are not too many of Maier's images in the book. I enjoyed the book & applaud Bannos and would recommend it to those who have an interest in Vivian Maier and her work.

This is a great work of scholarship. The author has in some cases literally followed in the footsteps of Maier to establish how she took her photos and approached her subjects. Her attitude towards the photographer is respectful and she is protective towards her legacy clearly wanting the work to be properly curated and presented. The chapters on what happened after Maier died and how her work was hawked on the internet and dealers fought for ownership make for uncomfortable reading.

Wanted this book because of Vivian Maier amazing story. Really enjoyed every moment 😉

Few photographs

I found this book to be a very interesting exploration of the 'myth' and reality of Vivian Maier. It is a meticulously researched investigation into the real woman, and juxtaposes her history with the history of photography and what was happening with her photographic legacy. I appreciated reading Maier's story from a female perspective and put into context of the times she lived. Pamela Bannos does a wonderful job of mapping out Maier's 'afterlife' - it is fascinating to see how it all developed and think about questions of an artist's legacy and intentions, and issues of privacy and copyright.My only small quibble would be that it would've been nice to see some Vivian Maier's images that Bannos describes throughout the book, but perhaps she did not have access to these images (and there are already plenty of photo books of Maier's work where these photographs could possibly be found, I suppose).I highly recommend this book to Vivian Maier fans as well as anyone interested in the sociological aspect of the art world.