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Vik Muniz’s Junkyard Masterpieces

We've previously covered a documentary called Wasteland, featuring visual artist Vik Muniz's work. Today we bring you some of his creations from two of his series entitled Pictures of Junk and Pictures of Garbage. In each of these projects, Muniz creates images using… you guessed it: junk and garbage.

The New York-based artist constructs painting-like visuals out of random waste. He utilizes discarded items that include food products, dirt, toys, papers, plastics, wires, old clothes, and tires. The list is never-ending and ever-fascinating. His innovative creations have a magnetism that would otherwise be unfit for a pile of garbage.

In Pictures of Garbage, Muniz takes pictures of catadores, the people of Brazil who collect recyclable materials from garbage dumps, and recreates their images using discarded rubbish. After meeting these hardworking people, it became a collaborative effort in which the subjects helped to create their re-imaging. Muniz's other waste-fueled project, Pictures of Junk, is the artist's junkyard reinterpretations of classic paintings, including Caravaggio's Narcissus.












Vik Muniz's website
via [Sweet Station]

Pinar

Pinar Noorata is the Managing Editor at My Modern Met. She is a writer, editor, and content creator based in Brooklyn, NY. She earned her BA in Film and Media Studies from CUNY Hunter College and is an alumni of the Center for Arts Education’s Career Development Program in NYC. She has worked at major TV, film, and publishing companies as well as other independent media businesses. When she isn’t writing, editing, or creating videos herself, Pinar enjoys watching movies, reading, crafting, drawing, and volunteering at her local animal shelter.
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