Delayed exposure

The posthumous discovery of Vivian Maier’s extraordinary photographs was set in somewhat serendipitous motion by John Maloof’s purchase of a trunk full of photographic negatives at a storage auction in Chicago. This film, directed by Maloof and Charlie Siskel, documents the course of Maloof’s discoveries, including his subsequent efforts to solve the mysteries of her full identity as well as to celebrate, and gain public recognition for, Maier’s artful work.

What Maloof finds is fascinating in several respects and, at times, downright astonishing. Maier was born in New York City and made her living as a nanny, mostly in the Chicago area. She apparently took her camera with her everywhere she went, including during nanny duties; she made prolific numbers of photographs, but kept the results (and her collections of everyday minutiae) almost entirely to herself.

Traces of family connections and her past prove very elusive, as do her motives for leaving the vast bulk of her work hidden from view (she rarely had prints made, and a large portion of her storage-locker stash consisted of rolls of film which had been exposed but never processed). The puzzles of her life and character are made even more haunting and poignant by the wonderful photos that the film showcases.

Joel Meyerowitz, a great photographer in his own right, provides some particularly incisive commentary on the work and the glimpses of the artist he finds in it.