Art of Substance
From a portrait of Freud painted in chocolate to a Mona Lisa in peanut butter and jelly, the photographic images created by Brazilian-born artist Vik Muniz are more than the sum of their parts. Working with diamonds, dust, wire, toys, and other nontraditional materials, Muniz draws on icons of culture and art history while adding his own meaningful twists, capturing images like a Monet masterfully re-created in confetti, or a Dracula of caviar.
“Vik is incredibly inventive,” says Peter Boswell, assistant director for programs and senior curator for the Miami Art Museum. Boswell, who organized Vik Muniz: Reflex, a touring exhibit that debuted in Miami, explains why Muniz’ work has such an accessible appeal: “He hooks you on an immediate level, but the more you look, the more engaged you get. It’s got a lot of layers — elusive, yet familiar at the same time.”
Artfully shifting from photographer to sculptor to conceptual artist to illusionist, New York–based Muniz describes himself as a pop artist with painterly tendencies. In photographing his “canvases” — which range from yards long to inches wide — he manipulates scale, plays with the viewer’s perceptions, and melds media into an innovative hybrid. In an insightful book sold at the show, Muniz describes his inspiration as “somewhere between Disney and Einstein.”
With approximately 100 works spanning 20 years, Vik Muniz: Reflex — currently showing in New York — reveals the internationally acclaimed Muniz as “pop art’s heir,” Boswell says. — Roberta Cruger
The exhibit Vik Muniz: Reflex is on display at P. S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in Long Island City, N.Y., through May 7. It then travels to the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (June 1–Sept. 2) and the Musée d’Art Contemporain, in Montreal (Oct. 6–Jan. 6, 2008).
