In Turin, Vivian Maier's never-before-seen shots from her trip to Italy

The Rooms Chiablese of the Royal Museums of Turin are hosting from Feb. 9 to June 26, 2022 the exhibition Vivian Maier. Unpublished, curated by Anne Morin. The exhibition comes to Italy after a first stop at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris (running until Jan. 16, 2022) and aims to recount unknown or little-known aspects of the human and artistic life of Vivian Maier (New York, 1926 - Chicago, 2009), among the leading exponents of street photography. It also aims to delve into new chapters and offer hitherto unpublished works, such as the series of shots taken during her trip to Italy, particularly Turin and Genoa in the summer of 1959.

Co-organized by diChroma and the Réunion des Musées Nationaux - Grand Palais, produced by Società Ares srl with the Musei Reali and under the patronage of the City of Turin, and supported by Women In Motion, a project conceived by Kering to enhance the talents of women in the artistic and cultural fields, the exhibition presents more than 250 images, many of them unpublished or rare, such as those in color, taken by her during her lifetime. These are joined by ten films in Super 8 format, two audios with her voice, and various objects that belonged to her such as her Rolleiflex and Leica cameras, and one of her hats.

The exhibition aims to address the most significant themes of her style. It begins with the series of her self-portraits where her gaze is reflected in mirrors, shop windows or where her long shadow invades the lens. One section is devoted to his shots taken along the streets of New York and Chicago, particularly in working-class neighborhoods populated by anonymous people who become protagonists in front of his lens. The scenes are often anecdotes, coincidences, oversights of reality, moments of social life that no one pays attention to. Tireless, while walking through the city Vivian Maier sometimes lingers on a face. Most of the faces that punctuate her photographic walks are those of people who look like her, living on the margins of the world illuminated by the euphoria of the American dream. They speak of poverty, grueling jobs, misery and dark fates. They are countered by those of upper middle-class ladies, who react offensively to the photographer’s sudden appearance.

In addition to portraits, Vivian Maier focuses on gestures, creating an inventory of the attitudes and postures of the people photographed that betray a thought, an intention, but reveal their authentic identity. Hands are often the protagonists of these images.

In the early 1960s, a change is noticeable in his way of photographing. Her relationship with time is changing, and film is already beginning to take precedence over photography. The photographer begins to play with movement, creating kinetic sequences, as if trying to transport the specifics of the language of film into that of photography, creating real film sequences. She thus begins to shoot with her Super 8 camera, documenting everything that passes before her eyes, without artifice or editing.

Particular attention is paid to color photographs. While black-and-white works are silent, those in color are presented as a space full of sound. This musical concept of color seems to echo in urban space and particularly in the working-class neighborhoods Maier frequented. Another section is devoted to the theme ofchildhood: nanny for almost forty years took part in the lives of children, documenting their faces, emotions, expressions, grimaces, looks, as well as games and imagination, and was able to see the world with different eyes.

Hours: Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Tickets: Full 15 euros, reduced 12 euros for over 65, teachers, 18-25 year olds, groups; reduced children 6 euros between 12 and 17 years of age. Free for holders of the Abbonamento Musei Piemonte Valle d’Aosta, Torino+Piemonte card, children from 0 to 11 years old, people with disabilities, MiC employees, journalists on duty upon request of accreditation at info@vivianmaier.it

Image: Vivian Maier, Self-Portrait ©Estate of Vivian Maier. Courtesy of Maloof Collection and Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York.

In Turin, Vivian Maier's never-before-seen shots from her trip to Italy

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