Vic Muniz

Since we are beginning to work on a project working with recycled materials I thought I would mention Vik Muniz (Vincente Jose de Oliveira Muniz) and the "Wasteland" project.

"Wasteland" is actually a documentary film by Lucy Walker that follows Vik Muniz over a span of three years while he works in the world's largest dump in Brazil, "Jardim Gramacho" located near Rio de Janeiro. There he met many "catadores," self designated trash pickers. His plans changed after meeting these eccentric characters and soon he began to create portraits of them with the trash they collected from the dump. Their collaboration reveals the dignity and despair of the catadores and explores the combination of art and the human spirit.

I was extremely inspired when I first found this project, I love when something beautiful is created from materials we perceive as ugly or disgusting. I also adore the transformation of how you perceive the subjects. We may look down on these people due to their "dirty" lifestyles, but Muniz makes look past their rough exterior and see them as real individuals. They live, love, and suffer possibly more than than you and I, and should be respected not shunned.