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| Vik Muniz was born in Brazil. | ||
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PDF (1.1mb)  Who is the artist? Vik Muniz What is the name of the artwork? Milan, The Last Supper (from Pictures of Chocolate) What materials were used? Photograph Where is the artist from? Brazil When was the artwork made? 1997  Vik Muniz was born in 1961 in Saõ Paulo, Brazil. He became interested in art because he liked how art can create illusions. In an illusion, something fools your eyes into seeing something that is not there. A magic trick, for example, can be an illusion because you see something that really did not happen (think of the magic trick where the magician turns the white cloth into a dove). Muniz also creates illusions by making art out of unusual materials. He does not like to use paint or crayons; instead, he makes artwork out of materials that cannot last forever, like sugar, thread, chocolate, dust, dirt, and even tomato sauce. He makes his art, then takes a photograph of his artwork so his idea can last forever. Today, Muniz lives and works in New York City.  Milan, The Last Supper (from Pictures of Chocolate) is a photograph taken in 1997. For this piece of art, Muniz copied Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting, The Last Supper, using chocolate syrup. What you see here is a photograph Muniz took of his chocolate drawing before he licked the image away. When you look closely at the photograph, you can see the shiny surface of the chocolate syrup. This makes an illusion because it causes you to wonder if you are seeing the actual chocolate syrup, the photograph, or something else. Muniz likes to think of himself as a magician, playing tricks on your eyes and making it difficult to tell exactly what you are looking at. Have you ever created a piece of artwork using everyday materials or materials other than paint or crayons? Can you think of other materials you could use to create artwork? Why do you think that Muniz copied Leonardo da Vinci’s artwork? Why did he not create his own piece of artwork for the photograph? Does the chocolate syrup look like paint? Is this an art material that you would like to use? Why or why not? |
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Vik Muniz Brazil, born 1961 Milan, The Last Supper (from Pictures of Chocolate) Cibachrome, AP1, 3 parts, 38 x28 in, each of 3, 1997 Museum purchase, Contemporary Collectors Fund 1999.21.a-c © Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego  |
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1498 Leonardo da Vinci completes The Last Supper 1893
1955 Elvis Presley becomes the first "rock star" 1961 Vik Muniz is born in Brazil 1975 Desktop computer invented 1989
1997 Muniz makes Milan, The Last Supper |
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