Summative Statement

Upon researching different aspects of Vik Muniz’s personal life, art works, and inspirations, I have gathered more information than I thought, information about different countries, artists, or food. As I researched Vik Muniz, and how he came about to be an artist, I learned not only about his art and current exhibitions in galleries around the world, but also how he is as a person.

 I have learned that he is a humble man, and knows how to go back to his roots. Vik Muniz was born into a working class family in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He did not grow up with luxuries, but today, he is able to give back to those who are currently in a similar situation. Most of the subjects in his portraits are those belonging to the working class, which can be seen in “Waste Land,” a documentary by Lucy Walker, starring Muniz himself, and the garbage pickers of Jardim Gramacho. I watched this film in my sophomore year, and I thought it was the most touching and genuine documentaries I have ever seen. He is humble, and generous, and is able to connect with every person he collaborates with for his projects.

I saw him as a bold character, with a lot of guts and imagination. For instance, his encounter with the guards on the train on the way to Hungary and having to prove he was an artist on the spot. Also, his story of how he managed to come to the United States is also memorable and comical. It was that night, both unlucky and lucky, that would set his life on the path of art.

I admire the fact that Vik Muniz is able to make recreations of masterpieces made from everyday household items such as cotton, peanut butter and jelly, and even objects that we usually discard and forget about; garbage. He has a talent for making the mundane beautiful, making you think twice about the next time you see that item. When you see that item in its ordinary context, such as a jar of spaghetti sauce on your pantry shelf, just imagine that it could be used to create the next replication of Marilyn Monroe. See? You don’t need expensive oil paints or acrylic. You just need imagination.

The topics I enjoyed researching the most, was of course, the food. Learning the origins of my cup of Starbucks coffee was mind opening. I discovered the origins of sugar and coffee, how they are cultivated, where they are popular, and the countries that were birthed from the production of a bean or a crystal. Learning that something as simple as sugar and coffee having that much power over how trade among nations developed was enlightening.

Vik Muniz’s sense of humor pokes through some of his work, such his Clown Skull sculpture of 1989. Also his pictures of clouds with the help of a skywriter add a surreal and cartoonish feel in contrast to the harsh real world. And lastly, his earth works of monumental scaled envelopes and scissors making an incision through the earth’s surface. He is a creative comedian.

In almost every Catholic family’s household is a replica of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci either in the kitchen, or in the dining room. I see it in many of my friend’s homes. I Walk in, look at it, recognize it because it is iconic, and then walk away. I did not think much of it. That changed. The Last Supper made it into my blog posts, and I explored it in depth. I learned about the creative process that Leonardo da Vinci went through prior to painting it (which took him three years). I learned of the story behind it and who the characters were that accompanied Jesus Christ at the dinner table. I also learned that various elements within the painting are grouped in threes.

There was one quote that Vik Muniz himself said; “The art field is kind to those who fail, as long as you use your failures for something else.” That quote gives me a sense of comfort, knowing the risk of going into the art field in today’s economy. It is okay to fail sometimes. It is okay to not do exactly what your life plan has told you to do. You use your hiccups for something else, and the same hiccups can set you forth a new direction.

What Vik Muniz does for the art world is innovative. He introduces new methods using new materials. He is also saint-like, when he gives back to the community, which definitely deserves people’s respect.

Vik Muniz

Vicente Jose Muniz, also known as Vik Muniz, is a visual artist and photographer from San Paulo, Brazil. He is currently working and living in New York City. He is best known for his visual puns, including one of his most famous works to date called "Clown Skull," which was a human skull with a clown nose projection.

Vik Muniz is also known for making realistic portraits with unconventional art materials such as chocolate syrup, cotton balls, and sugar. He photographs the portraits upon completion and the work is shown as a photograph.

Vik Muniz's work has been showcased internationally in museums such as The Florida Museum of Contemporary Art in Tampa, The Museum of Modern Art in NY, The Musee d'Art Compemporain in Montreal Quebec, Canada, and Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

View his gallery of completed works here!

Vik Muniz Thesis Statement

Vik Muniz takes the mundane, everyday ordinary object and transforms it into a sight that makes us stop and think, “That is the famous Leonardo Di Vinci’s “Last Supper, but it is made of…chocolate?” It is Bosco’s Chocolate, if you want to be specific.

Vik Muniz initially started out as a sculptor, and was known for his visual puns, such as his famous “Clown Skull.” He later turned his full attention to photography after taking photos of his more, “less stable” artworks.

He can make something as sticky and unruly and peanut butter and jelly and recreate the Mona Lisa. Forget about using paints, pastels, or charcoal to paint a picture. Forget about any other conventional mediums out there and resort back to everyday objects such as cotton balls and spools of thread to map out landscapes.

One of his more famous series of works is his “Sugar Children” series, a series of portraits of the children of plantation labor workers on the island of Saint Kitt’s made entirely of sugar from the plantation and black pepper. Vik Muniz is able to shape and form the sugar to create such realistic portraits of the children with beautiful definition and shading. Each portrait is titled with a characteristic of each child he learned during his time with them.

Another famous series, along with an Academy Award nominated documentary is “Pictures of Garbage,” shown in the film “Wasteland,” directed by Lucy Walker. Muniz recreates portraits he took of garbage pickers of the world’s largest landfill, Jardim Gramacho, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro into large-scale portraits completely out of recyclable materials found within the landfill. He takes a photograph of the finished product and displays the work as a photograph. In fact, he displays most his creations in the form of a photograph.

His subjects are usually those belonging to the working class, something he can personally identify with. He grew up poor in Sao Paulo and came to the United States speaking very little English. He introduces a new world to those who have never seen or known about the art world. He gains a connection and understanding for his subjects, and he is able to give back to them.

Many critics look at his work and say there is nothing special, or nothing there. They aren’t looking close enough. They see ordinary objects on a canvas. What they don’t realize is that behind every portrait is a greater story, and a sense of integrity of that person, such as those in his “Pictures of Garbage” series.

In a recent TED talk, he talks about creation and creativity. He explains that creation is something that is already there, ordinary, and might not have meaning. Creativity is what allows us to see the beauty in mundane everyday things. This is greatly reflected in his works; working with mundane, everyday objects, something that we pass by everyday with no thought, and manipulating them into classic art pieces.  Next time you see something as ordinary as spaghetti sauce, just imagine the potential possible for it to become an extraordinary masterpiece. 

Inspirations

Peter Paul Ruben's painting "A Child's Head" was the painting that motivated him to become an artist. Also, his trip to Hungary gave him the confidence to live up to the title of "artist."

A Child’s Head by
Peter Paul Rubens

(http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/worstpossibleillusion/vik_fla.html)

" Once I was stopped in the train going into Hungary. And this was a long time ago. Guards, they were reminiscent of the Red Army, coming with machine guns and asking for a passport. And I said I didn't have a visa to get in. And they asked me what I did. I said, "I'm an artist!" And this guy had a little clipboard, like this, he says, "So you're an artist? Draw me a picture." For the first time in my life, I said that I was an artist and I drew a picture of his friend who was holding this machine gun. I drew this picture and I gave it to him and he looked at it and said, "Oh, indeed you are an artist! Can you sign it?" I actually drew my way into Hungary. And I remember these guys looking at the picture, like, making comments, waving goodbye to me. That was the first time I felt that I was really an artist, because if I am an artist to people with machine guns, I am an artist to any critic in the city. I felt like after that I passed the ultimate proof I could call myself an artist. " -Vik Muniz, interview with EGG (http://www.pbs.org/wnet/egg/307/muniz/interview_content_1.html)

The Encyclopedia Britannica was another source of inspiration. One day, the encyclopedia arrived to his house on a wheelbarrow after his dad won it in a game. It allowed Vik to read about the outside world and all the things it had to offer.

(Big Book by Vik Muniz, from Seeing Is Believing, Arena Editions)

(http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/worstpossibleillusion/vik_fla.html)

Early Life

Vincente Jose Muniz was born in 1961 in San Paulo Brazil. His mother was a switch board operator, and his father was a bar tender. He attended art school in Brazil for a few years and worked in advertising before coming to America. He came to the States in 1983 speaking very little English.

Coming to America

(http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1357.htm)

In 1983, Vik was out one night and saw a fight between two men in tuxedos. The fight got very ugly as one of the men decided to pull out a gun, and out of aggression, decided to shoot the first person he saw. Unfortunately, Vik was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and he was hit with the bullet. The gunman later apologized, asking if there was anything he could do. Muniz bribed him with compensation money. With that money, Muniz bought a plane ticket and flew to America. Maybe the unfortunate situation wasn't completely unfortunate at all.

If you can't write, draw!

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2008/jul/28/furthereducation.television)

When Vik was young, his grandmother taught him how to read. The downside was he was taught how she was taught, and that was reading words instead of syllables. This made learning how to write difficult for Muniz. Instead of expressing himself though words, he expressed himself through drawings.

"Drawing is not only a way to come up with pictures, drawing is a way to educate your eye to understand the visual information."

Vik didn't want to be an artist in the first place. He tried other jobs in different fields of work but failed. He saw the art field as kind to those who fail, as long as you use your failures for something else.

(http://www.pbs.org/wnet/egg/307/muniz/interview_content_1.html)