view larger

previous image
next image

main menu

Vik Muniz (American, born, Brazil 1961)
The Raft of the Medusa, from the series Pictures of Chocolate, 1999, silver dye bleach print (lifochrome), two parts.
Gift of the New Art Collectors 2000.14.3 a,b
Art ©Vik Muniz/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

As an artist Vik Muniz is a trickster and a tease. He knows our eyes are hungry and like to fill in the gaps, discovering figures in clouds and images in wood grain. Like a skilled illusionist he exploits our all too trusting eyes. He takes the everyday and renders it glamorous, at the same time he makes important images as ordinary as breakfast. The Raft of the Medusa, part of his Pictures of Chocolate series is based on Theodore Géricault’s iconic French Romantic painting of the same name. Using Bosco chocolate syrup he copied the dramatic painting onto a light-box and then photographed it. The result is a collision of gravitas and kitsch, the heroic imagery has been infused with the silliness of a children’s drink mix. Muniz has created an image that is both sensuous and unsettling, and playfully asks the viewer to reconsider how they attribute meaning to images.