Collector JOHN MALOOF’s donation to the University of Chicago Library consists of both black-and-white and colour, large and small prints. Some are processed; some not. They were made by a woman who struggled for money her whole life, and lost ownership of her work in 2007, two years before her death at the age of 83, when the contents of her storage locker were auctioned off. That’s when John Maloof came in.
This 1956 photo provided by the Estate of Vivian Maier & John Maloof Collection shows a self-portrait of Maier in a series of mirrors at an unknown location. New research shows the enigmatic nanny was obsessive about honing her skills as a photographer starting in 1950. LAURA LETINSKY, a visual arts professor at the University of Chicago said “This is a visual diary of sorts of her life. And because so little was known about her while she was alive . . . you’re trying to piece together what she was thinking about and how she was thinking.”
ABOVE – A Vivian Maier photograph, printed by her or at her direction, part of the new University of Chicago Library donation by John Maloof. Unpublished work © 2017 The Estate of Vivian Maier. All rights reserved.
Two in-depth stories by STEVE JOHNSON about VIVIAN MAIER, her work, and the JOHN MALOOF donation, were published in The Chicago Tribune this year. To reach it go to – https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/museums/ct-ent-vivian-maier-new-donation-university-chicago-0818-20190822-c5czvvvd3zdorbd6jyfcbxb46a-story.html
Category Archives: Art & Design
The art and design scene in Toronto and elsewhere
AN UNIDENTIFIED ARTIST HAS CHOSEN THIS SAINT JAMESTOWN GARAGE ENTRANCE AS A CANVAS
AT THE RYERSON IMAGE CENTRE – A HISTORY OF FEMALE GAZES IN AFRICAN PORTRAITURE
An extensive exhibit from The Walther Collection – ‘The Way She Looks’ – revisits the history of African portraiture through the perspectives of women – both in front of, and behind the camera.
<photo above by Gabriel Lekegian, albumen, Egypt, late 19th century> From the beginnings of colonial photography to the present day the exhibition includes nineteenth century prints, postcards, albums and cartes de visites within two galleries.
<photo above – ‘Girl in Red’ by Yto Barrada, French Moroccan> The exhibition continues until December 8/2019.
<photo above – S.J.Moodley, South African (1922-1987)>
The Ryerson Image Centre, 33 Gould Street, downtown, is open every day except Monday from 11 am (12 pm on weekends). Admission is free.
JUST RELEASED – A SET OF 3 COMMEMORATIVE STAMPS HONOURING THE LATE LEONARD COHEN
September 21st, 2019 would have been LEONARD COHEN’s 85th birthday. Unfortunately he is no longer with us. But Canada Post honoured him with a set of three stamps showing three periods of his illustrious music career. Given the posthumous nature of the series, designers opted for black and white images.
MONTREAL-based design firm PAPRIKA said the stamps symbolize “the scope of his work, and the man himself, who was larger than life.”
STENCILLED ON A SIDEWALK IN RVERDALE PARK – “PLASTIC PLANET – THE CHOICE THAT LASTS FOREVER”
Furthermore – “TRASH EQUALS MURDER” – and “a duck may be somebody’s mother” (they’ve been known to eat trash and plastic).
FRED HERZOG LOVED VANCOUVER & THAT SHOWS IN HIS ARCHIVE OF COLOUR PHOTOGRAPHY
FRED HERZOG, one of the best when it came to photographing a Canadian city, died on Monday, September 9/2019 at the age of 88. He found subject matter in the streets of Vancouver, focusing on architecture, people, cafes, billboards, darkened streets, neon, and life in some of the roughest parts of town.
<‘Modern Colour’ Vancouver – by Fred Herzog> Born in Stuttgart, he moved to Vancouver in 1952. During the day he’d work as a medical photographer and at the University of British Columbia.
<Equinox Gallery Vancouver – Granville Street at Night by Fred Herzog> His off-times were mostly taken up with making pictures. He’d work primarily with Kodachrome slide film to create a wonderful vision of Vancouver, as it was in the 1950’s when neon was king.
Herzog photographs are in the National Gallery of Canada, the Vancouver Art Gallery, numerous private collections and books. He’s survived by his daughter Ariane and son Tyson. His wife Christel died in 2013. <ABOVE – Alexander Street by Fred Herzog – Equinox Gallery Vancouver – >
WHAT KIND OF PUBLIC ART WOULD FIT A 76-STOREY SKYSCRAPER? – “SAFE HANDS” BY RON ARAD
Even people who live at One Bloor Street East may not know who created their condo’s sculpture. <ABOVE – Night time design proposal, Ron Arad Studio>
The installed sculpture is 88 feet tall, and consists of two 31-metre stacks of intertwined metal tubing, looking as if it’s climbing the building, and occupying a smallish space where Bloor meets Yonge.
The artist, RON ARAD, industrial and architectural designer, was born in Tel Aviv in 1951. He’s a busy man, and his work occupies public spaces in London, Tokyo, Seoul, Milan, Tel Aviv, Singapore – and now TORONTO. On a much smaller scale, Mr. Arad has also designed perfume bottles, bookshelves, memorials, and eyewear.
The title ‘Safe Hands’ refers to the safety you’ll feel once you’re inside this building at the corner of Yonge and Bloor Street East.
