Alan Yentob’s latest series of eclectic arts, Imagine has just concluded on BBC1. I have a goodly number of the episodes taped and ‘kept’ on my SKY player.
One I will struggle to delete. Vivian Maier, your black and white photographs are amazing.
They take my breath away.
And may never have been seen. Fortuitous fate has given her works of street life, her daily diary in monochrome to a receptive public. I don’t have funds enough to buy a print but the book of her works is winging its way to Casa Carmichael.
Her life was as extraordinary as her life’s work. French, American, rootless she nannied to survive and took photographs to fuel her soul.
Undeveloped the rolls and rolls of film sat in storage to be discovered, sold on and latterly heralded as pictorial record of place and time.
She never knew her fame.
Book – £35.00
Richard Rogers, architect and cityscape guru. Lloyds of London, once reviled now elevated to Grade 1 listed status and a masterpiece in my eyes (too bad his partner designed the Shard but that’s another blog entirely, Weekly Photo Challenge (The World Through My Eyes) A Rant About the Shard).
I’m off to his exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly tout suite.
Station parking plus tube fare – £15.00. Entry – £8.00
Running total – £58.00
Ah, a double bill of Woody Allen – warts and all. Brilliant.
Film clips, interviews, bio, commentary from everyone of note (except Mia) – gripping stuff.
Out of date but updated biography by Eric Lax -£10.00. Hannah and Her Sisters – Amazon -£3.40. Luckily have bootlegged Bangkok copy of Vicky, Christina, Barcelona – n/c.
Running total – £71.40
And finally, thank heavens finally, another top architect, arguably the top architect (and a woman to boot), Zaha Hadid. Oh My Days, Mrs Carmichael is in awe of this London based Iraqui who, despite professional setbacks, has achieved so much and who continues to change the face of design and stretch the frontiers of imagination.
And one I took earlier:
Round the world air ticket to visit Hadid designs – £8,256.00. Accommodation – £10,000ish.
Running total – £18,327.40ish.
Bankruptcy lawyer – £?????????????
Alan, Alan, Alan what have you done to me?
Mrs Carmichael cannot wait for Imagine 2014.
being mrscarmichael 
😀 love your priorities in life, Mrs C…and sorry I missed these programmes ( surely there was a good reason).
There’s one more day on BBC player. If you only watch one the vivian M is compulsive viewing – her photos and her life.
Oh great, I’ll look it up now…..I had heard about this lady, so it’ll be good to see 🙂
You go, Girl.
‘Twas good
Really t’was, wasn’t it Sue?
😀
And I realised, I did see one of the other programmes, on Don McCullin, as I’ve long admired his photography, must be (shhh) 40 years now….
I think I must have missed that one. Damn.
Still on iPlayer, I’ve just checked….
oooh
Thanks, Mrs M, for your excellent review of this series, esp Vivian Maier. We only have iplayer (which tells you next to nothing about the progs) and had barely discovered the Woody Allen episodes. Now we know to dig deeper.
Look quickly because I think they go today!!!!!
The Vivian Maier is brilliant. I loved the zaha H as well because I adore her architecture and of course Woody is always good value.
go look right now 🙂
Thank you for the time nearly up warning.
🙂
You can’t take the money with you so you may as well enjoy it now!
Wish I had it to enjoy!!!!!
any luck with the booking?
I haven’t done it yet, but when I looked on the weekend there were plenty of available times. I’ll let you know!
Love this, and I’m totally in love with these Vivian Maier photographs. Off to google. 😀
there are literally 1000s – go to her (Maloof) website. They are displayed beautifully there.
Excellent, thank you!
I saw the Viven Maier programme and was really disappointed in it. I gave up halfway through because I felt I wasn’t learning anything I couldn’t find if I looked at the photos myself and googled her. It was a shame because the photos they showed were fantastic. Perhaps the second half picked up?
Oh, so going to have to agree to disagree.
Should probably say why……. The end of her life was homeless and yet she still prioritised photography over comfort. I don’t believe I would have thought about how up close she got to her subjects (no zoom) without the programme pointing it out. A most odd and most interesting woman.
I do however agree that many of his programmes are simply taken from elsewhere. But on the flip side, there are few series that get me thinking and doing more.
Mrs’C… Mrs’C… what have you done to yourself?? Some startlingly special shapes and stories… tossed and stirred? 😉
I’m a salad, AJ a perfect salad.
Wow, this Vivien is just great. Those photos… just great.
listen her photos are incredible. Like an autobiography of her life. I think the programme will be off BBC iplayer now but go to the official website for her and look at the Maloof collection (where I got these examples).
THANK you.
Imagine is my absolutely favourite programme on the beeb. I completely agree with all the things you have said about Vivien Maier, Woody et al…just fantastic! Did you ever see the one about Thomas Heatherwick, the english architect? BREATHTAKING!!! If you like Zaha Hadid, I think you would like him. He’s the one who did the Olympic flame for London – which I burst into tears upon seeing rise after being lit. I did, I literally sobbed with the beauty of it! Mr P nearly had me sectioned…
Oh wow. I was lucky enough to get a seat right by it for the athletics – amazing. I will hunt that one out thank you.
Double wow! Muchly jealous that you were right next to the flame. Do check out Heatherwick, he is pretty awesome, his inventiveness knows no bounds.
Wilco, Nancy.