During her lifetime, Vivian Maier (1926—2009) produced more than 100,000 photographic images, which remained largely undiscovered until after her death.
A new exhibition at the Centre for Contemporary Photography (CCP) in Melbourne, Crossing Paths with Vivian Maier, celebrates this reluctant artist's work and juxtaposes her images with like-minded contemporary Australian photographers, performance artists and film makers.
Maier's prolific body of work recording both herself and the world around her – predominately with a distinctive medium format Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex camera—is a precursor to our age of compulsive photographic documentation via smart phones and digital media. The posthumous construction of her identity is almost as compelling as her images and her ability to determine and frame a gripping moment with poignancy and beauty. Time has been Maier's collaborator, where nostalgia plays a significant role in the popularity of her archive.
In Crossing Paths with Vivian Maier, Maier's photography, printed well after her death, is presented with contemporary Australian artists who also document the street and themselves in an equally obsessive manner. Australian artists featuring in the exhibition include Patrick Pound, Debra Phillips, David Wadelton, Cherine Fahd, Gabriella Mangano, Silvana Mangano, Clare Rae, Simone Slee and Kellie Wells.
Crossing Paths with Vivian Maier is curated by Naomi Cass, Louise Neri and Karra Rees and runs from 3 October to 26 October 2014 at the CCP, with the Official Opening on Saturday 11 October at 2pm. The CCP is located at 404 George Street, Fitzroy, Victoria.
More info: www.ccp.org.au
Photo by Vivian Maier.