I commented on this elsewhere:
think that artists make art for themselves. People who first value the opinions of others may do good work, but they're not really pursuing art, they are pursuing entertainment, or commerce, or propaganda.
In my own case, the best work I've done is when I and I alone am the audience. It's nice to see people thereafter enjoy it, but in the moment of creation, I am not distracted about how this will land with a wider audience.
Maier's work is compelling, I think, primarily because we get to peek over her shoulder and see the world as she saw it. She had a magnificent sense of image and - after 50 years of doing this - there is a lot there I will never do as well, let alone better.
It is tragic that she was not recognized in her time, though clearly, she wasn't much interested in that.
Years ago, I saw a show of prints at the Chicago Public Library digitally produced from her negatives. I had some nits about how digital printing rendered them, but nothing got in the way of her sheer transcendence of vision.
I wish I could have met her and spent time shooting together ...
