Thank you for sharing. For me, it evokes a sadness at not belonging. That feeling when everyone else feels a part of something and you yourself do not. It is echoed in the dark of her hair being different to that of the background figures and for me the pearls around her neck turn it into an ‘ivory tower’.
Yes, I see it too. That element of sadness, apartness. It's interesting to see how this affects other people. I really appreciate your sharing your thoughts on this photo, Julie!
Maier arrived in NYC in the early '50s and was fascinated with the city's energy, class, and movement of people in everyday life & their stories housed within America's largest, most diverse city. I could be wrong, but I think the building may be the Metropolitan Museum of Art (but it could also be in Europe). Gathering information from our photo with her clothes, hair, make-up, jewelry, and even where she is - she is clearly a woman of the upper class. Back then museums were less inviting and inclusive to all. It was a symbol of status to have enough money to afford the time to look at art, let alone buy it. This is something that museums, theatres, and the opera struggle with to this day. How do we make it welcoming & inclusive to all, regardless of demographics or education?
If this is the Met, she looks to be standing on the east side of 5th Avenue and she would be looking north towards the equally wealthy Upper East Side. Curiously, everybody in proximity is also a woman, but she is the youngest. Perhaps a wealthy young wife, or a daughter of somebody of high class status? What is her story and what stories do we, the audience, bring to it?
I love how you mentioned the stillness of the photo. While motion blur is captured, our subject is quiet for that brief moment of time and she is shown in contemplation. The timescape will have changed within seconds after Maier pressed her shutter, but, the passage of time cannot erase this split-second image and its story.
I am sure you know about the fascinating documentary, 'Finding Vivian Maier?' If not, it is well worth watching.
That's interesting, Michael. Perhaps it is the Met. It looked so imposing I thought it must be a government building. But you are right about whatever building it is it would be intimidating to those less monied. It's interesting that Julie saw the sadness, the apartness, which I see now too, but it hadn't really struck me that way. I saw more the mystery, I think, and her sense of composedness, almost a regal stature. that Maier could have captured that on the fly that way is amazing to me. I haven't seen the documentary yet, but I'm going to see if I can find it. She is , the artist, a fascinating woman as well.
I don't know if it is the Met. Its columns and staircase suggest so, however. I agree there is a sense of mystery and sadness, or perhaps a composed sternness to her. If it was taken on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, possibly in the 1950s, it would have been a different world from people living several blocks south in the Lower East Side/Bowery or further north in Harlem.
It's a fascinating photo, and I love the questions you raise.
I love Vivian Maier's photos because each shot tells a story. Maier was a street photographer and an exceptional one at that. As we know, she worked as a nanny and took photos when she could.
I see a tinge of sadness in this photo. This is a young, strikingly beautiful woman, modern (no hat or head covering) set apart from the crowd of older women, mostly wearing a veil on their heads. The building to me appears as some govt institution. I will say a courthouse.
So, now I will let my imagination take over. This woman just left the courthouse after being granted a divorce. This was a big deal before divorce became no fault. There had to be grounds for divorce, like infidelity, cruelty, etc.
The woman is sad; the marriage to the man of her dreams is over. It was a short marriage and now she is both sad and reflective. What Now? This is how I would entitle this photo.
All speculation on my part. Vivian Maier invites that speculation, which is the mind of a great photographer. She had both the technical skills and the creative ones.
I tracked down more information on this photo for those interested. The building in the background is NY Public Library; Vivian Maier returned to NY in 1951 and left for Chicago in 1956. So, the photo was taken between then. The rest of my imaginative story stands. :)
Thank you for that information! A library doesn't quite fit with my imagined story. Perhaps she had gone there to meet with her lover and he never showed? So sad. I wish we knew the real story, or maybe not. The mystery intrigues me, full of so many possibilities. Thank you for coming here and opening up this thread of thought.
I like your story, Perry. I had imagined something similar, a divorce proceeding at a courthouse. Only I thought she was the one who initiated it and was sad to have hurt him. That what now stands. Perhaps that's the stillness we see there while around her flashes a world of possibilities.
Big fan of Vivian Maier here, Deborah, and I really love this photograph. Your description is probably the most complete and poetic I've ever come across. You've captured everything about it, and I love the way you've connected it to iconic poems that celebrate beauty.
What draws me to the photograph again and again is the contrast between the subject's youth and beauty and her environment. As you've pointed out, she's framed by women in their advanced years. And that building behind her may be a courthouse, but it reminds me of a mausoleum. Those doors open upon a void. It's a breathtaking photograph worthy of the trenchant meditation you have honored it with. It was a pleasure to read this. Thank you!
Thank you. That means so much to me Andrew. When something like this photo strikes me, moves me, I find that writing about it takes me to a deeper understanding of what it is that move me. And when others like you connect with that, it rounds things out in a way. I felt so full before. And now I feel whole as well.
Thank you for sharing. For me, it evokes a sadness at not belonging. That feeling when everyone else feels a part of something and you yourself do not. It is echoed in the dark of her hair being different to that of the background figures and for me the pearls around her neck turn it into an ‘ivory tower’.
Yes, I see it too. That element of sadness, apartness. It's interesting to see how this affects other people. I really appreciate your sharing your thoughts on this photo, Julie!
Thank you for the restack too!
Maier arrived in NYC in the early '50s and was fascinated with the city's energy, class, and movement of people in everyday life & their stories housed within America's largest, most diverse city. I could be wrong, but I think the building may be the Metropolitan Museum of Art (but it could also be in Europe). Gathering information from our photo with her clothes, hair, make-up, jewelry, and even where she is - she is clearly a woman of the upper class. Back then museums were less inviting and inclusive to all. It was a symbol of status to have enough money to afford the time to look at art, let alone buy it. This is something that museums, theatres, and the opera struggle with to this day. How do we make it welcoming & inclusive to all, regardless of demographics or education?
If this is the Met, she looks to be standing on the east side of 5th Avenue and she would be looking north towards the equally wealthy Upper East Side. Curiously, everybody in proximity is also a woman, but she is the youngest. Perhaps a wealthy young wife, or a daughter of somebody of high class status? What is her story and what stories do we, the audience, bring to it?
I love how you mentioned the stillness of the photo. While motion blur is captured, our subject is quiet for that brief moment of time and she is shown in contemplation. The timescape will have changed within seconds after Maier pressed her shutter, but, the passage of time cannot erase this split-second image and its story.
I am sure you know about the fascinating documentary, 'Finding Vivian Maier?' If not, it is well worth watching.
That's interesting, Michael. Perhaps it is the Met. It looked so imposing I thought it must be a government building. But you are right about whatever building it is it would be intimidating to those less monied. It's interesting that Julie saw the sadness, the apartness, which I see now too, but it hadn't really struck me that way. I saw more the mystery, I think, and her sense of composedness, almost a regal stature. that Maier could have captured that on the fly that way is amazing to me. I haven't seen the documentary yet, but I'm going to see if I can find it. She is , the artist, a fascinating woman as well.
I don't know if it is the Met. Its columns and staircase suggest so, however. I agree there is a sense of mystery and sadness, or perhaps a composed sternness to her. If it was taken on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, possibly in the 1950s, it would have been a different world from people living several blocks south in the Lower East Side/Bowery or further north in Harlem.
It's a fascinating photo, and I love the questions you raise.
I love Vivian Maier's photos because each shot tells a story. Maier was a street photographer and an exceptional one at that. As we know, she worked as a nanny and took photos when she could.
I see a tinge of sadness in this photo. This is a young, strikingly beautiful woman, modern (no hat or head covering) set apart from the crowd of older women, mostly wearing a veil on their heads. The building to me appears as some govt institution. I will say a courthouse.
So, now I will let my imagination take over. This woman just left the courthouse after being granted a divorce. This was a big deal before divorce became no fault. There had to be grounds for divorce, like infidelity, cruelty, etc.
The woman is sad; the marriage to the man of her dreams is over. It was a short marriage and now she is both sad and reflective. What Now? This is how I would entitle this photo.
All speculation on my part. Vivian Maier invites that speculation, which is the mind of a great photographer. She had both the technical skills and the creative ones.
I tracked down more information on this photo for those interested. The building in the background is NY Public Library; Vivian Maier returned to NY in 1951 and left for Chicago in 1956. So, the photo was taken between then. The rest of my imaginative story stands. :)
Thank you for that information! A library doesn't quite fit with my imagined story. Perhaps she had gone there to meet with her lover and he never showed? So sad. I wish we knew the real story, or maybe not. The mystery intrigues me, full of so many possibilities. Thank you for coming here and opening up this thread of thought.
Wow; interesting. I had the same thought.
I like your story, Perry. I had imagined something similar, a divorce proceeding at a courthouse. Only I thought she was the one who initiated it and was sad to have hurt him. That what now stands. Perhaps that's the stillness we see there while around her flashes a world of possibilities.
Your additional detail better reflects the photo, in particular her sadness.
Big fan of Vivian Maier here, Deborah, and I really love this photograph. Your description is probably the most complete and poetic I've ever come across. You've captured everything about it, and I love the way you've connected it to iconic poems that celebrate beauty.
What draws me to the photograph again and again is the contrast between the subject's youth and beauty and her environment. As you've pointed out, she's framed by women in their advanced years. And that building behind her may be a courthouse, but it reminds me of a mausoleum. Those doors open upon a void. It's a breathtaking photograph worthy of the trenchant meditation you have honored it with. It was a pleasure to read this. Thank you!
Thank you. That means so much to me Andrew. When something like this photo strikes me, moves me, I find that writing about it takes me to a deeper understanding of what it is that move me. And when others like you connect with that, it rounds things out in a way. I felt so full before. And now I feel whole as well.