Exhibition | Crossing Paths with Vivian Maier | Centre for Contemporary Photography

Vivian Maier New York City, September 10, 1955, Gelatin silver print, 30.5 x 30.5cm, Vivian Maier/Maloof Collection, courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery.

Vivian Maier New York City, September 10, 1955, Gelatin silver print, 30.5 x 30.5cm, Vivian Maier/Maloof Collection, courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery.

Vivian Maier | Crossing Paths with Vivian Maier

Dates: 3rd October—26 October 2014 at CCP Australia, 404 George Street
Fitzroy
Artists: Cherine Fahd, Vivian Maier, Gabriella Mangano and Silvana Mangano, Debra Phillips, Patrick Pound, Clare Rae, Simone Slee, David Wadelton and Kellie Wells.
Curated by Naomi Cass, Louise Neri and Karra Rees.

During her lifetime, Vivian Maier (1926—2009) produced more than 100,000 photographic images, which remained largely undiscovered until after her death. CCP celebrates this reluctant artist’s timely relevance, juxtaposing her work with contemporary Australian photography, performance and video.

Maier’s prolific body of work recording both herself and the world around her—predominately with a distinctive medium format Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex camera—is a precursor to our age of compulsive photographic documentation via smart phones and digital media. The posthumous construction of her identity is almost as compelling as her images and her ability to determine and frame a gripping moment with poignancy and beauty. Time has been Maier’s collaborator, where nostalgia plays a significant role in the popularity of her archive.

In Crossing Paths with Vivian Maier, Maier’s photography—printed well after her death—is presented with contemporary Australian artists working in still, moving and found photography and who also document the street and themselves in an equally obsessive manner.

Against the gritty street life captured by her probing lens, Patrick Pound responds with second-hand images gleaned from junk shops and the Internet, while Debra Phillips and David Wadelton make an inventory of the city and its quirky features. Maier’s self-portraits reverberate with Australian women artists who turn the camera on themselves in performative ways, in the work of Cherine Fahd, Gabriella Mangano and Silvana Mangano, Clare Rae, Simone Slee and Kellie Wells.
Official Opening Saturday 11 October, 2pm

Opening remarks by Louise Neri, Creative Associate, Visual Arts, Melbourne Festival.

Public Programs
Meet the Artists and Curators for a walk-through of the ExhibitionSaturday 11 October, 1pm
Naomi Cass, Cherine Fahd, Louise Neri, Patrick Pound, Debra Phillips, David Wadelton, Clare Rae, Karra Rees, Simone Slee and Kellie Wells.

Free event. No bookings required.

Panel Discussion | How the ‘selfie’ performs across time and place

Date: Wednesday 15 October, 6—7.30pm
Cost: $5. Bookings essential - book here

Speakers | Larissa Hjorth, Dr Adam Nash, Natalie Hendry, Dr Fincina Hopgood and Professor Stephanie Trigg (Chair)

Self-portraiture is hardly novel, but what distinguishes the ‘selfie’ in a contemporary context? The ‘selfie’ is scrutinised from a range of temporal and cultural contexts and emotions. More detail here http://www.ccp.org.au/lecture_series.php#selfie

Panel Discussion | Lost and Found: Ethics, subjecthood and contemporary art
Date: Wednesday 22 October, 6—7.30pm
Cost: $5. Bookings essential - book here 

Speakers | Dr Karen Jones, Dr Patrick Pound, Professor Paul Gough and Dr Rebecca Coates (Chair)

From the posthumous and pseudonymous construction of an artist’s identity, to an artistic practice constructed from found images, panellists will discuss the ethics of contemporary art. More detail here http://www.ccp.org.au/lecture_series.php#lostandfound