Vivian Maier Street Photographer

Hardcover

10.125 x 11.125 inches

136 page

100 duotone photographs

ISBN 9781576875773

優秀的街頭攝影師必備哪些才能？是對細節、光線與構圖觀察入微，心眼合一地掌握完美抓拍時機，觀點平易近人或富含人文素養，還是樂此不疲地拍個不停，絕不錯過任何精采瞬間？縱使是受過專業訓練的攝影師，有幸獲得學校教育、導師指導、藝術家同行眷顧，甚至擁有粉絲支持肯定，恐怕也很難同時擁有上述素質，更遑論從未接受過正式訓練且缺乏同行交流的人。然而，Vivian Maier（薇薇安‧邁爾）偏偏集鳳毛麟角的才能於一身。

這位專業保母的足跡遍布全球，把握柴米油鹽、為他人養兒育女以外的時刻，從 1950 到 90 年代拍下超過 15 萬張照片；那些影像有多迷人，Maier 未曾向任何人展示作品的謎就有多引人入勝。理性的後見之明推斷她的財力光買底片便已拮据（更不用說在法國、紐約、芝加哥等地留下在場證明，背後意味著多少成本），也有人猜測她生性低調，或者也找不到朋友分享。無論如何，Maier 令人驚豔的原因不僅在於多產，更因為幽默動人的生猛畫面體現了出眾的意識，那些時而直白速寫，時而巧妙地利用鏡像反射出抽象風格的自拍照，精準地將美國戰後黃金時代的城市生活百態提煉出餘韻無限的醍醐味。

說起來，Maier 的照片總共曝了兩次光，而《Vivian Maier: Street Photographer》則是第一枚光的結晶。幾年前，美國歷史學家 John Maloof 在芝加哥一家拍賣行偶然買下她的一盒負片，從此開始蒐羅這些出色作品並大力推廣後，它們才得以穿過或有意或無心的暗幕，終於真正在世上曝了光。本書首度將 Maier 的作品精選成冊，由 John Maloof 親自編輯、英國小說家 Geoff Dyer 執筆，供世人永遠收藏歷久彌新的傑作。

Vivian Maier (1926 - 2009) 生於紐約，成年後輾轉在家鄉和芝加哥當保母，身後令她聲名大噪的諸多影像都攝於這段期間；隱身塵世的她生前始終沒沒無聞，直至過世後才始成為電影、展覽和書籍主角，更是公認的 20 世紀最偉大美國攝影師之一。Maier 令世界為之驚艷的作品包括超過 15 萬張照片、Super 8 和 16 mm 影片，乃至不少錄影帶及無數卷尚未沖洗的底片。長期流連在一間又一間人家裡的 Maier，選擇街頭作為攝影主場，同時對特色鮮明的都會建築充滿熱情，亦透過自拍無聲地探討攝影哲學，藝評人因此將她與紐約的代表性街頭攝影師如 Helen Levitt、Robert Frank、Diane Arbus 和 Joel Meyerowitz 等名家相提並論。

The original, instant classic which set the world afire. The first book to introduce the phenomenon that is the life story and work of Vivian Maier.

A good street photographer must be possessed of many talents: an eye for detail, light, and composition; impeccable timing; a populist or humanitarian outlook; and a tireless ability to constantly shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot and never miss a moment. It is hard enough to find these
qualities in trained photographers with the benefit of schooling and mentors and a community of fellow artists and aficionados supporting and rewarding their efforts. It is incredibly rare to find it in someone with no formal training and no network of peers.

Yet Vivian Maier is all of these things, a professional nanny, who from the 1950s until the 1990s took over 100,000 photographs worldwide-from France to New York City to Chicago and dozens of other countries-and yet showed the results to no one. The photos are amazing both for the breadth of the work and for the high quality of the humorous, moving, beautiful, and raw images of all facets of city life in America's post-war golden age.

It wasn't until local historian John Maloof purchased a box of Maier's negatives from a Chicago auction house and began collecting and championing her marvelous work just a few years ago that any of it saw the light of day. Presented here for the first time in print, Vivian Maier: Street Photographer collects the best of her incredible, unseen body of work.

Please note that all blank pages in the book were chosen as part of the design by the publisher.