Podcast Summary: All Of It – Vivian Maier's First Major U.S. Retrospective at Fotografiska

Podcast: All Of It
Host: Alison Stewart, WNYC
Episode Title: Vivian Maier's First Major U.S Retrospective at Fotografiska
Date: September 2, 2024

Overview of the Episode

This episode of All Of It spotlights the first major U.S. retrospective of the mysterious and influential photographer Vivian Maier, on view at Fotografiska New York. Host Alison Stewart is joined by Anne Morin (curator and director of Dichroma Photography) and Sophie Wright (Fotografiska's executive director), who discuss the arc of Maier’s now-acclaimed work, her groundbreaking approach to street and self-portrait photography, and her recognition in the annals of photographic history. Through lively conversation, Stewart and her guests illuminate Maier's evolution, her distinct vision, and what her unseen archive reveals about her—and about seeing itself.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Significance of Vivian Maier's Homecoming ([04:09])

• Anne Morin highlights that this exhibition is a landmark: Maier’s first U.S. retrospective, in her birthplace, New York City.
• For Morin, displaying Maier’s New York images where they were originally shot delivers "a recognition of her work from her country, her culture and her town. So she's mainly—the picture we have in that exhibition are taken in New York. It's such a contemporary language settled again in the same place as she took the picture 60 years ago." ([04:09])

2. Curating Maier: Challenges & Curation ([06:46])

• Morin describes this as the “most difficult case” of her career, having to make sense of a “virgin landscape” with virtually no curatorial precedents and 150,000 negatives to sift through.
• She emphasized her slow, thoughtful approach: “I had to do it slowly and make sure that I did not did any mistake…after I would say 12 years, I really thought that I was ready to propose an exhibition of that level.” ([06:46])

3. Maier's Place in the Canon ([08:28])

• Morin argues Maier belongs alongside greats like Robert Frank and Diane Arbus: “how strong, how well composed, how sure she was when she was taking a picture…she had the density of the pictures, the perfect composition, and the fact that she used also to take just one picture for one scene project her work, her language in a very high level.” ([08:42])

4. Self-Portraits as Self-Actualization ([10:08], [11:15])

• Sophie Wright and Anne Morin agree Maier’s experimental self-portraits are radical acts of self-actualization, long before the selfie era.
  • Wright: “It's the work of a very, very thoughtful and playful individual…really trying to piece herself together in some ways.” ([10:08])
  • Morin: “the hard beating of the work, the main center of Vivian Meyer is self representation…it's a kind of act of resistance against a society that erased completely that, that class of worker, working class.” ([11:15])

5. Street Photography: Seeing the Extraordinary in the Ordinary ([13:19], [14:49])

• Morin: Maier had “the ability to preview what is going to happen one second after…collecting little stories, little narrations…between movement and contemplation.” ([13:21])
• On her instincts: “They are animals, really. I think they have the same instinct and intuition as animals that belong to specific territory.” ([14:49])
• Notably, Morin remarks Maier excelled in the environments she understood—her “eye” didn’t translate when photographing abroad ([14:49]).

6. The Art of Cropping and Composition ([16:48])

• The exhibition places Maier’s own cropped prints beside full-frame modern prints. Morin calls cropping “a cinematic gesture…taking a picture inside the picture. It's an artistic game in a way.” ([17:01])
• Morin describes the square format as “perfect” for Maier, while she “struggled” with color 35mm. ([17:01])

7. Star Encounters and Class—The Lena Horne Photo ([18:28])

• Morin observes Maier’s fascination with movie stars, yet notes “when you see the portrait Vivian Meyer is taking of people like her, poor people, low class, social, they never ever smile…smiling is a seduction.” ([18:28])
• Maier herself, tall and unafraid, could get close even to celebrities without pretense.

8. Playfulness Without Malice: The ‘Gestures’ Series ([19:46], [20:16])

• Wright sees “a sense of playfulness” in Maier’s photos of people sneezing, sleeping, fixing shoes, etc., never mean-spirited: “she had a very democratic eye…portraits of totally unselfconscious bodies.” ([20:16])

9. The Rolleiflex Effect—Camera and Connection ([21:28])

• Morin: Using a Rollei, Maier “cannot hide behind a camera. She only can face what she sees. And this is the reason for me at least, why her portraits are so strong, because you see perfectly that there's a communication between the one who is the subject and herself…it’s a beautiful relationship.” ([21:28])

10. Capturing Children: Motion and Emotion ([23:02])

• Morin: Maier “captures the childhood she never had…motion but also emotion.”
• Children were both her subjects and those in her care, and “there’s really a necessity to educate them, to bring them an identity, to help them to build that identity.” ([23:02])

11. Color Work and Maier’s Evolution ([24:49], [25:05])

• Wright: “I think it's her formal qualities, really, that are the most strong in the way that she photographs. So I'm not so sure that the color photography is her best, but I think it's very interesting to see her use it.” She highlights a standout image: a “child’s eye looking through the weave of a chair.” ([25:05])
• Maier’s film work and color are interesting, but black-and-white remains her defining medium ([25:05]).

12. Fotografiska’s Space and Maier’s Hat ([27:08], [28:14])

• Wright shares how Fotografiska seeks a less vertical, higher-ceilinged space for future exhibits ([27:08]).
• Morin explains the inclusion of Maier’s iconic hat: “it talks about a face that we don't know, a figure that do not have face…it's just enough, her hat, to symbolize her presence in the exhibition.” ([28:26])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Anne Morin on Maier’s recognition:
  “Fifteen years ago she was still invisible. We raised her name into history of photography. And for me, that show in New York at Fotografiska means a lot because it's a recognition of her work from her country, from her culture and her town.” ([04:09])

• Sophie Wright on Maier’s curation and evolution:
  “One sees a sort of a kind of evolution in her work from the early pictures through to a more kind of abstracted language...there's a sophistication in the work that perhaps is more abstract than quite complex compositions that one isn't so familiar with.” ([05:20])

• Anne Morin on self-portraiture:
  “The chapter of self representation is probably the chapter that makes a difference with other photographers...it's a kind of act of resistance against a society that erased completely that, that class of worker, working class.” ([11:15])

• Sophie Wright on gestures in Maier's work:
  “I think there's a sense of playfulness about them...portraits of totally unselfconscious bodies. And I think that's the art of the photographers capturing those moments…” ([20:16])

• Anne Morin on the role of the Rolleiflex:
  “She cannot hide behind a camera. She only can face what she sees. And this is the reason for me at least, why her portraits are so strong, because you see perfectly that there's a communication between the one who is the subject and herself.” ([21:28])

• Anne Morin on Maier’s hat:
  “Why a hat? Because it's really a signature. It talks about a face that we don't know, a figure that do not have face. And it's just enough her hat to symbolize her presence.” ([28:26])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 04:09 – Anne Morin on the significance of the U.S. retrospective
• 06:46 – Curatorial challenges and “tidying” the 150,000-image archive
• 08:28 – Maier’s place among photo greats
• 10:08 – Self-portraiture as experiment and statement
• 13:21 – Collecting the extraordinary within the ordinary
• 14:49 – Instincts of a street photographer
• 16:48 – The art and meaning of cropping
• 18:28 – Encounter with Lena Horne and issues of class
• 20:16 – Gestures and the democratic eye
• 21:28 – Role of the Rolleiflex camera
• 23:02 – Photographing children: motion, emotion, and meaning
• 24:49 – Color work and Maier’s artistic trajectory
• 27:08 – Searching for a new Fotografiska space
• 28:26 – Symbolism of Vivian Maier’s hat in the exhibition

Episode Tone and Style

The episode is thoughtful, reflective, and celebratory of Maier’s enduring mystique and impact. The mood is respectful, occasionally reverent, with warmth and admiration for Maier’s vision, and a sense of wonder at the ongoing discovery of her oeuvre.

Conclusion

This episode provides a rich, layered portrait of Vivian Maier’s work and persona. Through the perspectives of curator Anne Morin and executive director Sophie Wright, listeners gain insight into Maier’s enduring power—how her images resonate today, how her visibility is itself a statement, and why her retrospective in her birth city matters. This makes the Fotografiska show not only a can’t-miss event for art lovers but a pivotal moment in the continued rewrite of photographic history.