Finding Vivian Maier.

 

Last week I had the opportunity to go see the documentary film, Finding Vivian Maier, about a street photographer who spent the majority of her life in and around Chicago.

Vivian's story and artwork are unique because she was virtually unknown until a box of her negatives was purchased, after her death, by Chicago resident John Maloof for a book-writing project. Not quite suited for his needs, they were set aside until he eventually began scanning the negatives and created a blog posting the images. Maier's work is stunning.

The more he investigated this artist, the more he learned about her whereabouts, career as a nanny on Chicago's North Shore, and most importantly, her pursuit of photography. Literally thousands of negatives were uncovered in a storage unit, along with other memorabilia that filled the space floor to ceiling, wall to wall. There were also boxes filled with undeveloped rolls of film.

The film follows the pursuit of Maloof to uncover what he could about Vivian Maier. What unfolds is a series of interesting interviews, interspersed with image after image of Chicago and New York streets and residents, self portraits and even short "home movies" of herself and the children she helped raise. But regardless of all the clues left behind, you're still stuck asking questions and wishing there were more details. Vivian Maier was fascinating.

Without wanting to give too much away, I'll just say it's been over a week since I saw this documentary, and I find myself thinking about it daily. Wondering about this strange, complicated woman and going back again and again to look at her beautiful, tortured, stark and emotional images. If you have any interest in Chicago, photography, and eccentric artists, this is a must-see film.

*All images from website. 

Josef Hoflehner

A couple weeks ago Steve sent me this link. I have gone back many times since to look at the photographs by Josef Hoflehner. I love the color palettes and the softness but especially the patience it took to create them. "Patience" is the title of a series of color land- and seascapes that Hoflehner and his son travel the world – and then wait, sometimes days – to capture. Beautiful light. Natural patterns. Subtle, calm, peaceful: Patience.

Different light this weekend.

Saturday, February 16, 2013.

Sunday, February 17, 2013.

Both so pretty.

Tullis Brothers Encore.

Happy St. Patrick's Day courtesy of the Tullis boys. I look forward to this card every year. They are awesome.

Francine Turk: BADASS

Inspiration Board

Shine Until Tomorrow – Detail.

God is a Concept by Which We Measure Our Pain.

You Right Me When I'm Wrong.

You are Made of Gold & Can't Be Sold – Detail.

You are Made of Gold & Can't Be Sold – Detail.

You are Made of Gold & Can't Be Sold.

A couple weeks ago, I went to the opening for Francine Turk's BADASS at Gallery KH. It was fantastic. These new portraits were unlike any of her work I'd previously seen. They remind me a bit of Francesco Clemente's from the movie Great Expectations. The show is on display until January. Go look.

These Trees.

There's a stretch of road on Hwy 23 that runs past a small pasture that looks like a tree burial ground. These are not just trees that lost their leaves this autumn. They look like this all the time.

March Madness ~ Irish Badness.

I didn't think it was possible to out-do last year's perfection. Then I got this in the mail.

Just Kids.

I just finished the book Just Kids by Patti Smith. I loved it.

I love biographies, and autobiographies even more, but either one about an artist is for sure my favorite. This was like an autobiography and biography about TWO artists - Jackpot! I had always known there was a special relationship between Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe, but to get to read about what was happening behind the scenes as they emerged together as artists was truly a gift.

In the summer of '92 I saw an extensive exhibit of Mapplethorpe in Japan. One of my souvenirs from the trip was the museum catalog of the show, a thick, beautiful book illustrated in both English and Japanese. I was only generally familiar with him and his work at the time – photographer, gay, "risky" imagery – and I remember loving the images of Patti the most as I flipped through the pages. I never forgot that blank stare looking right back at you. (Him).

What was especially exciting in reading her description of their story was getting details and discovering the relationship behind these easily recognizable portraits. At the time I was looking and learning about Mapplethorpe, they were both already famous and he had been dead for a couple of years. What a treat to read about their individual explorations and the journey they were on together as they worked so hard to achieve success as artists in multiple mediums, before eventually discovering their own strong voices – and then the acknowledgement for each that followed.

This book made me think of the "artist" from a different perspective. She was not simply a musician, nor he "just" a photographer. But rather they pursued artistic expressions on all levels, drawing, painting, styling, writing, building, making, collecting. I really like that we don't have to be limited to the development of one art form, that creating is creating, and that the word "artist" means so many different things.

I got all these images off a Google Images search. I'm going to go ahead and credit Mapplethorpe for all of them. Not really sure about two though.

Show's Over.

And I'm totally burnt out by it. It felt like going-going, list-making, running-around the three days leading up to it, right down to the last minutes before it all started, and I feel: Over it. I know from past experience that it's the build up to, and planning for, way more than the event itself that makes it worth doing. But it's possible that knowing this ahead of time somehow shadowed it too. It's interesting to see what you "take away" from something like this, and I think I spent a little too much conscious time looking for it.

I thought the stuff hung well in the space, and that it all really did come together nicely. But I'm having a hard time looking at it anymore!

Do-over.

Made the difficult decision to paint over the first one I did of this series today – one I did last summer. My method changed while painting the other ones this year, and the inconsistency really bugged me. The problem was I really liked this one as it was. But being true to my process across the board when thinking about showing them as a group felt important. So far I am happy I did it.

I also headed out on the highway to get some final shots. After trying and trying to work with what I had, I knew I needed some new subjects. I really hate having semi trucks going by a couple feet away at 70 mph. The wind gusts are intense! It's also pretty terrifying to be reversing on the shoulder as they come barreling at you. But again I am glad I made the effort. Really like the images I got and it's way more motivating to look forward to painting what's meaningful rather than just making due with something that just feels average.

Camels Swimming.

This image of the camel in the water I saw recently on 2 or 3 Things (07.05.2010) is torturing me. I have an extremely vivid memory of seeing camels swimming laps in a swimming pool. Men with swamis and long white robes are standing on deck with large oars and they are sort of "stirring" them along, keeping them in their lines. It's so totally strong and clear – this image – that I feel as though I must have truly seen it.

But...?

Is that even possible? Why on earth would camels swim laps? Could it have been a dream? Although they are clearly not in a pool, the colors in this photo are so exact to what it looked like. I keep looking to find that image of camels swimming laps. I can't.

Image by Rick Smolan via 2 or 3 Things.