Teach with Collections: Vik Muniz, Narcissus

To make the photographs in the series Pictures of Junk, Muniz manipulated refuse and metal detritus on the floor of his workspace in Rio de Janeiro. The junk was reconfigured to resemble Old Master narrative paintings as well as portraits of the catadores (garbage collectors) whose livelihood depended on scavenging in Jardim Gramacho, one of the world’s largest dumps. For this work, Muniz perched with his view camera on scaffolding high above the floor and used a laser pointer to direct studio staff (including local art students) in arranging the trash into the form of Caravaggio’s Narcissus (ca. 1597). Muniz’s illusionism reminds us that all picture-making is a process of reflecting and recycling that turns mere materials into stuff of the mind or of art. Conversation prompts Which objects do you notice first when looking at this work? Which come into view later, and how does your reading of the work shift when they do? What different types of artwork does this object combine? How does it break down the boundaries between different artistic media, such as sculpture, photography, and performance art? Does the use of recycled materials here imply that the environment is resilient or fragile?