artist spotlight: vik muniz + documentary: waste land

Brazilian artist Vik Muniz incorporates everyday objects into his photographic process to create witty, bold, and often deceiving, images. Often working in series, the New York-based artist makes pictures from unlikely materials including dirt, diamonds, sugar, wire, string, chocolate syrup, peanut butter, and pigment. 

[Valentine, The Fastest from "The Sugar Children Series"
materials: gelatin]

[Brando, 1999 from "Pictures of Chocolate Series"
materials: chocolate]

[Rebus Series: Self portrait as a Drowned Man, after Hippolyte Bayard]

[Newsboy, after Lewis Hine, from Rebus]

[After Gauguin]

[Daisies in a Jam Jar from "Pictures of Wire"materials: wire]

[Black Marilyn from "Pictures of Diamond Dust"
materials: diamonds]

[Dollar Bill from "Rebus Series"
materials: coins]

[A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, after Georges Seurat (Gordian Puzzles)]

I have vivid memories looking at the original Georges Seurat oil painting of this in art books when I was a younger girl. I was, and still am, fascinated by how much activity is going on in Seurat's painting. When I was younger, I remember looking at this painting and imagining myself there in the park. 

all images via artnet 

Muniz is most famous for being followed in the 2010 award winning documentary, "Waste Land." In this compelling film, Muniz travels to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, his native country and world's largest trash city, to photograph an eclectic group of "catadores," or self-designated pickers of recyclable materials. He then recreates the photographic images of the catadores out of garbage. He doesn't know this at the time of filming, but the result of this artistic process reveals both "dignity and despair of the catadores as they re-imagine their lives" AND  "evidence of the transformative power of art and the alchemy of the human spirit."

Along with spotlighting Muniz's portraits of the pickers, this film also helps raise awareness about the 2,500 pickers of Jardim Gramacho and all the good they are doing for their city. Pride emanates from the pickers because their job of removing kilo after kilo of recyclable material from the landfill that could have otherwise been recycled prevents that material from polluting their rivers, oceans, and lakes. Without the pickers, recyclable material would be buried in the landfill and clog the sewers creating extreme harm to nature and their environment! Whoa...

[Vik Muniz takes a photo of Tiao Santos (President of the Association of Pickers at Jardim Gramacho)]

Muniz takes a photograph before recreating it using...you guessed it...garbage...

[Vik Muniz uses trash from Jardim Gramacho to recreate the photographic image before selling it at auction
and giving the money back to the pickers (this photograph sold for $50,000 at auction)]

How freaking sweet is that?! Talk about making something out of nothing!! Check out more images from Vik Muniz's "Portraits of Garbage" here! and watch the trailer for "Waste Land" below!

Side note: Waste Land has won countless awards including the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award and Berlin Film Festival Panorama Audience Award for Best Film. Check out the other awards here!

There were a few moments in the film that gave me goosebumps and built tears in my eyes. All around beautiful film. Do yourself a favor and watch it!