Vic Muniz

Self-Portrait - Pictures of Magazines
Cut outs of magazines 100x72 - 2003 

I first heard of Vic Muniz about 8 years ago. I was flipping channels on the T.V. and caught the tail end of a documentary about this unique artist. The artwork I saw stayed with me even though the artist name did not. I have often thought of the work I saw in that program over the years, it resonated with some part of me.

Now years later, needing to write about contemporary artist for my class, I had reason to search out the name of "That guy who made pictures of children out of sugar." I'm so glad I rediscovered the work of Vic Muniz.

Valentine, The Fastest - Sugar Children
Gelatin-silver print 16x20 -1996

Vic, a Brazilian artist primarily working with found objects and unconventional materials, often recreates famous artwork which he photographs. His career took off in 1997 when his series "Sugar Children" was featured in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. During a trip to Saint Kitts, Vic encountered a group of local children who's parents and grandparent spent their lives working in the local sugar plantations. Looking for a way to capture the spirit of these children that he had made a connection with, he decided that drawing their portraits in sugar would be fitting. Working off of Polaroid pictures he took of the children, he recreated their likeness in sugar. When the portraits were complete, they were photographed and the sugar from each portrait was bottled and labeled with it's corresponding portrait.

There is obvious skill that goes into Vic's work; he is meticulous in his execution. What is truly inspiring however is, through the use of every day household items, he can bring new depth and profoundness to his art. The work of Vic Muniz has a playful quality, but yet when viewing his work you get the sense that there is a lot of heart behind it as well.

The Gipsy Magna — Pictures of Garbage
Photograph of  original art - 2008

What Vic's art dose for me, is the essence of what I think great artwork should do, have the ability to change the viewer, the subject and even the artist. Art that is moving, enlightening and thought provoking, art that can change things for the better is art that is worthwhile. I think that Vic's art absolutely falls in that category.

“The really magical things are the ones that happen right in front of you. A lot of the time you keep looking for beauty, but it is already there. And if you look with a bit more intention, you see it.” - Vic Muniz