Brazilian artist Vik Muniz, best known for creating what he terms “photographic delusions,” began his career as a sculptor but eventually turned his attention exclusively to photography. Working with a variety of unconventional materials—such as chocolate, diamonds, dust, and sugar—the artist forms three-dimensional narratives before recording the final images with his camera. Foregrounding photography’s ability to capture and create, his work is simultaneously humorous and incisively critical. His practice often focuses on art history and its intersections with science and perception, all the while drawing attention to the constant inundation of images in our lives. Muniz, who is also interested in activism, recently starred in the documentary "Waste Land (2010)," which follows the artist as he aims to depict the lives of the catadores— men and women who resort to picking through the world’s largest landfill just outside of Rio de Janeiro. Joined in conversation by notable author and sociologist Sarah Thornton, Muniz dove into his distinguished career for this Meet the Artist program. Presented in partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Art in Embassies. May 25, 2017
