Lord, Send Us A Sign... Why Didn't Vivian Make (Exhibition Quality) Prints?

There are those that would have us believe that Vivian Maier did not want her work seen in public in any way, under any circumstances- that's clearly why she didn't make (or have made) any proper, exhibition quality prints during her lifetime. Perhaps.

I think a very strong argument can be made that she didn't want her private life made public, but as for the work itself... I don't think we'll ever really know. But I can say this: The vast majority of photographers make decisions and compromises throughout their lives that revolve around their financial situations. Vivian Maier was far from destitute most her life, although she had obviously fallen on hard times towards the end. She had a Rollieflex, a Leica; at times, she even went on European and Asian vacations. To make that a reality, she lived quite frugally most of her life on a very modest income and equally modest living accommodations (that in turn, did not accommodate space for a darkroom).

I know what that's like, I've lived a comparable life. I have (decent) camera equipment, I've gone on European vacations- outwardly I appear "middle class," despite the fact that I live in a 1BR apt with my wonderful wife, do not own a car (never have) and do not have, could not afford and (fortunately) never wanted children. I'm certainly not in any way poor, neither am I "Middle Class." And although not quite there yet, without a pension or any kind or substantial nest egg, it's certainly not unimaginable that I too could share much the same fate in my final years...

Photo: Vivian Maier (taken in Puerto Rico)

What I'm trying to say is that we all make sacrifices, we all make compromises. When I came into a wee bit o' money a couple of years ago, I could've gone hog wild and bought me a digital M. Instead, I bought an X-T1 at half the price of the then brand new X-T2, a couple of lenses, saved a little for vacation, and... at long last, finally had some prints made- being without a darkroom since 2002, I could count on one hand the number of inkjets I could afford since. Today, I have around thirty beautiful and reasonably priced color prints, a dozen B&W inkjets, and aim to slowly increase those numbers as finances permit.

If your commercial printer* is competent, the quality of your prints now relies on the quality of your digital files. That wasn't the case in the analog days of yore; before I had a temporary darkroom going, I (and other serious photo enthusiasts) would take our negs to Modern Age Gallery in NYC; while they did have a small gallery space- they were primarily a custom printing service. They had three levels of service: a straight print, a "customized" print, and the top of the notch Custom Print. The latter reached three figures even back in the early 70's and was prohibitively expensive, so I would save up my pennies for the medium package- end up disappointed each time, and promptly stopped. While better than drug store prints, they never came close to what you wanted or imagined- and even when able to afford their top of the line just once, it still fell well short of what I could eventually achieve. Point is- ya needed THE BIG BUCKS DELUXE for made to order portfolio prints back then. 

Vivian was eccentric- but hardly stupid; I made the same sacrifice, made the same logical choices and concessions that she did- go for the gusto, and get the images in the can, while-you-can... One doesn't get a second chance at youth! Worry about displaying the evidence of a life well lived later on, in what will hopefully (hopefully) be more abundant and comfortable times to come (one can still dream a future worth living while young). Sometimes, it even works out, sometimes...

Now, how on earth was she able to sharpen her eye and improve her shooting skills without the crucial feedback provided by decent quality prints (particularly in the '50s when she hit her stride)? That is the question well worth asking, and one that rightly adds to the Maier mystique!

BTW- One final thought, could you see dear ol' Vivian making prints in a... communal darkroom? Yeah, neither can I!  

*We literally do not have room for a printer in our apt.