This is an example of how you should present your research… I’ve left blanks for any of you who may be interested in this artist.

Vik Muniz was born in _PLACE__in _YEAR___  He currently splits his time between New York and São Paulo, Brazil.  In almost every talk, Muniz indicates that a serendipitous near death experience was the impetus for moving to the US and beginning his art career.
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His works are demonstrative of the theories of photography, but not of typical photographic subjects. Muniz’s works begin with an image from our cultural repertoire, and then are remade with  a medium such as ink, food, pigment, trash, diamonds, or wire. These materials are significant because of the conceptual ties they have with the subject they illustrate. For example, the diamonds are poured onto black velvet in a way to mimic the high contrast photographs of Glamorous Hollywood Stars. ……………more…….more…..more…….

The final product is a photograph, however the photo is now representative of two subjects, the original work and all of the cultural connotations, as well as the replication medium which adds to the connotations, and changes the meaning of the original image.  In several ways, Vik Muniz is emulating every other successful image maker to create his works.

The work he’s made over the course of his career uses images made from other disciplines, and can related to one of the first projects he published called Sugar Children, where instead of using an already famous image charged with personal and cultural meaning, he began by making portraits of children who lived in an area where sugar production ruled the economy.

My Sources:

Personal interview
http://www.wastelandmovie.com/
https://i-share.carli.illinois.edu/all/vf-dpu/Record/5272168
http://www.vikmuniz.net/

http://www.usfcam.usf.edu/GS/artists/muniz_vik/muniz.html

http://www.amazon.com/Reflex-Vik-Muniz-Primer/dp/1931788405

After studying Vic Muniz’ bodies of work, I found that the most important aspect of photography in his work was the way it could be used as a tool to disseminate an iconic image.  Because I was also interested in the social aspect of how we understand and make art, I concentrated on the portraits from the Sugar Children series. With that in mind, I made a project that emulated the process, and visual humor, as well as social commentary that Muniz’s original work also contained.
Working with All People’s Life center in Hillsborough County Florida, I photographed the student of a camp for kids with autism among other disabilities.  Each of the kids was then provided with a blown up photocopy of their face, a glass plate, and favorite snack materials. We worked together to mimic the photographs light and dark areas, filling in the gaps, leaving information out, and the results are Snack-Faced Portraits.  The results looks closest to Muniz’s Penut Butter Jelly Mona Lisa, in style.

Here is one example of a portrait made by a student at All People’s Life Center.

The students were the ones making the portrait which removed the authorship from me one layer further than Muniz did in his work. I thought that this would emphasize the conceptual nature of his work, but instead became an exercise in understanding the role of art and the artist in popular culture.