「Look at the Picture and Talk about the Painting」Vivian Maier’s Photography Exists for Love

“Women should have their own opinions.” This statement left by Vivian Maier in the recording explains her entire life. Some people say she was a genius whose talent was hindered by her role as a nanny, while others attribute her aloofness to “the desolation of unfulfilled aspirations”. However, this woman, who was called “one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century”, has long overturned these one-sided interpretations with her 83-year life.

During her 40-year career as a nanny, she kept a camera hidden under her apron. She didn’t do it to please anyone. When the camera’s lens swept across the street, there was no deliberate pursuit of spectacular scenes. But she always managed to capture the tenderness in daily life – children laughing on the park bench, shopkeepers peacefully dozing surrounded by newspapers, hunting dogs waiting patiently for their owners at the supermarket entrance, or moments of lovers sitting together. All the tender fragments scattered in the hustle and bustle of the city were quietly captured by her through the lens.

She exchanged all her salary for film rolls and transformed a small toilet into a darkroom. However, nearly 150,000 negatives remained asleep for half a century. For her, photography was not a climbing ladder to success, but a private conversation with the world.

Vivian Maier never needed the label of “poor genius”. Those unpublished negatives were never a cause for regret; rather, they were proof of her “own perspective”. Love doesn’t need an audience. When she focused on pointing the camera at the world, she already possessed the most powerful inner strength.

The tea for today is all gone. Next time, I’ll brew a fresh pot and enjoy art with you again.