A Legacy


Watch this.
Those words and a link to a video of Vivian Maier was all that was in an email that my friend had sent to me. As I watched the short video piece, I was mesmerized and intrigued by this unkown woman. In 2007 John Maloof purchased from an art auction a box that had been owned by Vivian containing over 30,000 negatives dating back as early as the 1950s. He decided to develop some of the photos (like the one above and the self portrait below) and what he has found is an absolutely amazing treasure.
In John's research on Vivian, he learned that she had never married or had children and was a very private person. She died alone at the age of 82 in a nursing home, her photographs never seen by anyone until now. So incredible is Vivian's photography that there will be a showing of her work next month at the Chicago Cultural Center. John was able to purchase even more of her negatives and now has over 100,000 of her negatives and hundreds of undeveloped rolls of film which he plans to put into a book or make a documentary about Vivian.
Two things came to mind after learning of Vivian. First, how sad that this wonderfully talented woman died alone, having never shared her gift of photography with anyone, ever. If she had, I wonder how different her legacy might have been. She very well may have helped pave the way for woman in photography all those years ago in a time when female photographers were a rare commodity.
Second, after seeing Vivian's story, I began thinking of what my legacy might be. Yes, I would be remembered as a wonderful wife and mother but there is more to me than that. I'm a photographer, too. It's a large part of who I am. If something were to happen to me tomorrow, would I have anything to show for it? Sure I would - and there are hundreds and hundreds of photos on numerous hard drives to prove that. More importantly, would my husband or friends know how to gain access to them? No, they wouldn't and that is about to change. Some of the hundreds of photos on my hard drives will now be printed, matted and framed, put into books or given to friends. What good is it to keep all of them stored and never shared with anyone? When I am gone, I want people to say that I was a wonderful wife, mother and photographer.
What about you? What do you want your legacy to be? If you could choose one photograph (or two or three or more!) that you would want people to remember you as the wonderful photographer you are, please share. Let us know you, too.
You can see more of Vivian Maier's photography on the blog, Vivian Maier - Her Discovered Work.

Since I've become so intrigued by Vivan Maier, I've learned that John Maloof is trying to raise funds to make a documentary film about Vivian. If you'd like to donate to the making of the film, stop by Kickstarter to see a quick video by John describing just what it is he wants to do. I think it's a great investment!
-Chris Sneddon