This Month: Vivian Maier @ Merry Karnowsky Gallery

I was introduced to Vivian Maier's photography a few years ago while flipping through a discarded magazine on a plane. It all felt very appropriate. Maier was not a artist. She worked as a nanny for most the 50's and 60's, taking moments to snap photos of the various worlds she lived in. The majority of her work was never published, rather, it was found in a discarded shoe box in a Chicago thrift store.

The brilliance of her work is not only in the work itself, but in it's timing. She represents the dawn of the urban photo journalism era, while also participating as the subject. She was a normal woman, just like us. We share the moments we capture with our Instagrams, and Twitpics, she did the same with her Kodak Rolleiflex and makeshift dark room. She was documenting the rapidly changing world  around her long before we did it with our uploads and tagged photos. I see my friends post dozens of staged 'candids' every day, and I always think of Vivian.

You have to check out her work, but perhaps more importantly, you have to learn her story. In fact, you may already know it.  Meet Vivian Maier.

The Merry Karnowsky Gallery is exhibiting some of her most profound work through the month of January. Here's the info:

Where: Merry Karnowsky Gallery
            170 S. La Brea Ave
            Los Angeles, CA 90036

When: Through January 28th, 2012

I'm nearing obsession, so I'll definitely be there.

Muwah!
LAF