Vivian Maier was a street photographer that was unknown for her amazing talents until after she passed away. The reason for her prior anonymity is the fact that during the 1950′s and the 1960′s when she was in the process of creating her best work, she was working as a nanny and she kept her negatives in boxes that she carried from one job to another. When she passed away, around 100,000 negatives were found, and the pictures are being showcased during an exhibit at Lake forest College that is being held for the Chicago History Museum.
Capturing Life’s Precious Moments
According to Allan Teller, the history professor of Lake Forest College, “For her, the meaning was in making the images. She was experiencing life through the camera.” It was the museum that contacted Teller so that he and his business partner could host the exhibit together. In order to be able to create the perfect setting for the showcase, they tried to “create an experience through the exhibit that emulated how Vivian viewed the world.” In order to achieve this, they took the 45-inch photographs and put them in a specific sequence and suspended them from the ceiling. The idea was to allow visitors the chance to glimpse not only the photographs but also other images as their peered through the spaces between these pictures. According to Teller, this designed “makes you look at the things the way she looked at them.”
Complimenting the Photographs
In order to compliment the pictures themselves, viewers will be able to enjoy sounds that are going to be played throughout the exhibition, including jazz music, train sounds and even the honking of car horns. Teller has stated that many will be able to appreciate the exhibit but Chicago residents will be particularly pleased due to the fact that they will be familiar with many of the landmarks in the pictures.
