Elizabeth Taylor

Art © Vik Muniz/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

Elizabeth Taylor

Currently not on view

Elizabeth Taylor,

2004

Vik Muniz, born 1961, São Paulo, Brazil; active New York, NY, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2012-16
In his 2004 series Pictures of Diamonds, Muniz arranged thousands of gemstones on black velvet to recreate publicity portraits of Hollywood actresses, explaining: "I wanted to test the degree of interference between the overkill glamour of the stars and that of the shiny rocks." Muniz’s Elizabeth Taylor, which lies a few material steps away from a direct camera portrait, acts like the movie roles from which Taylor’s star power is derived. The diamond array makes no pretense of giving access to Taylor the person; rather, its subject—and substance—glitters, sparkles, and reflects light, providing us with superficial beauty rather than intimate information.
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More About This Object

Vik Muniz: Artist and Activist

Information

Title
Elizabeth Taylor
Dates

2004

Maker
Vik Muniz
Medium
Chromogenic print
Dimensions
sight: 150.7 × 115.1 cm (59 5/16 × 45 5/16 in.) frame: 156.2 × 120.6 × 4 cm (61 1/2 × 47 1/2 × 1 9/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of the Estate of C. Bagley Wright, Jr., Class of 1946, and gift of Virginia Bloedel Wright
Object Number
2012-16
Place Made

North America, United States

Culture
American
Type
photographs, chromogenic color prints, color photographs
Techniques
chromogenic processes
Subject
portraits, gemstone, women, assemblages (sculpture), faces, white (color), gray (color), black, actors, figures (representations)

Brent Sikkema Gallery, New York, NY (sold to Wrights, March 20, 2004); Virginia Bloedel Wright and C. Bagley Wright, Jr., Class of 1946, Seattle, WA (2004-2011); bequest of the Estate of C. Bagley Wright, Jr., Class of 1946, and gift of Virginia Bloedel Wright, 2012.

Elizabeth Taylor, from the series Pictures of Diamonds

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The Museum regularly researches its objects and their collecting histories, updating its records to reflect new information. We also strive to catalogue works of art using language that is consistent with how people, subjects, artists, and cultures describe themselves. As this effort is ongoing, the Museum’s records may be incomplete or contain terms that are no longer acceptable. We welcome your feedback, questions, and additional information that you feel may be useful to us. Email us at collectionsinfo@princeton.edu.

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