On Storefronts and Finding Vivian Maier

Photo by myself on Macdougal Street, in the Village.

The insides and outsides of the little chili shop drew my attention. Lucky 777 was as red as red can be.

I took this photo last summer. After a quick search though, I found that Lucky 777 has closed (!). It had mixed reviews on Yelp. Some of the complaints were price driven - $9 bowls of chili. Alas.

On another front, there is a great little slideshow on the New Yorker website, featuring candids by Vivian Maier, who lived in Chicago in the 1960's. Born in New York, Maier worked as a nanny but took incredibly striking street photos and movies in her spare time.

Maier's work was discovered by a man doing research for a book he was writing. She had left some 100,000 negatives behind. Not even her close friends knew that she took photos, during her lifetime.

The story of uncovering the mystery of this supremely talented woman is documented in a recent movie called 'Finding Vivian Maier'. It looks fascinating, and includes interviews with her friends and children she had helped raise.

Screenings of this documentary are scheduled through August, throughout the States.

For a preview of this movie, click here.
For the Vivian Maier slideshow on the New Yorker website, click here.
For a recent article on Slate, click here.

Related posts: Outside Big Nick's, on the Upper West Side, Outside Pinisi Bakery, on East 4th Street, and West 10th Street, at Night.