335471 art of the loren WEB (1) - Flipbook - Page 49
In 2008, Vik Muniz
undertook a
large-scale project
in his country Brazil,
photographing trashpickers (catadores)
from the favelas. The
catadores became
collaborators in the
project, picking and
ultimately helping
arrange the trash
into the likeness of
themselves posed as
classical figures in
famous art historical
paintings — one
woman posed with
her two children
as a Renaissance
Madonna, another
as Jean-Francois
Millet’s Sower
(1850), and one
posed like JacquesLouis David’s Death
of Marat (1793).
This series of photos
is known as Pictures
of Garbage. In
2009 Muniz
expanded this series
into the Pictures of
Junk series to include
Vik
Muniz
Decorative Pattern I
(Pictures of Junk)
2009
C-print
86 × 71 in.
Artwork © Vik Muniz,
courtesy Sikkema
Jenkins & Co.,
New York
48
other subjects.
The photograph
hanging in The
Loren at Pink Beach
is based on the
Maharam pattern–
an archetype of
patterning. At a
distance, the pattern
is very clear and
dominant. Upon
closer inspection
one can see
the refuse (tires,
machine parts,
trashcans) that make
up the image.
