FREE ESSAY ON VIK MUNIZ PHOTOGRAPHS

VIK MUNIZ PHOTOGRAPHS

I observed a very unique series of photographs by Vik Muniz called Seeing is Believing.
Vik Muniz's images are not simply photography but are pictures of complicated pieces of
art he has produced at earlier times. Utilizing an array of unorthodox materials
including granulated sugar, chocolate syrup, sewing thread, cotton, wire, and soil Muniz
first creates an image, sculpturally manipulates it and then photographs it. Muniz's
pictures include portraits, landscapes, x-rays, and historical images.
One work that particularly caught my attention was a photograph called "Big James Sweats
Bullets" from the series Sugar Children. The content or subject matter of the artwork is
representational. The photograph depicts the hardworking children of sugar cane
plantations in South America. This particularly photo is a portrait of a dark skinned
boy, slightly overweight, standing and grinning. The photo is of neatly arranged
granulated sugar across a piece of black paper which produces the image of the boy. 
Many different sensory properties compose the artwork. There is a soft light that seems
very natural coming off the boy's face. The light shines at the boy's face at an elevated
level, as if he were outside on a hot afternoon with the sun overhead. There is a wide
range of tones from very bright, in the reflection off the boys cheeks to very dark in
the skin of the boys face. Muniz does an excellent job using shadows to provide a feeling
of depth and adding curves to the boys body and face. The shape of the boy is positive,
but the background is not defined, allowing a negative shape or void in the picture.
Although there is no actually texture on the photograph the texture from the original
work of art is apparent. The use of sugar gives off a hazy effect preventing the photo
from having a clear focus.
The portrait of the boy has a frontal vantage point with his body centered and balanced
on at all angles. This shows the expression on the boys face and the size of the boys
body, which is important to the title of the work. When looking at the photograph the
eyes are immediately drawn to the boys face and grin. 
I chose this piece of art in particular because of the strong emotional message it sent
to me. You could sense the hard work and labor the children experienced at these
plantations. You tend to feel sorry for this child when considering what he must go
through. What I enjoyed must about this photo was Muniz's use of symbolism. The fact that
he produced the image of a sugar cane working boy with actual sugar was both impressive
and significant.