About this artwork
Editor: Vik Muniz's "After Richard Serra, Prop, 1968," presents a striking visual arrangement. The simple composition of geometric forms creates a sense of precarious balance. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The photograph's power lies in its directness. We observe a plane, supported, it seems, by a single linear element. The textural contrasts are crucial. What effect does the surface quality of the plane have on your interpretation? Editor: It looks almost eroded, or aged, like a weathered surface. I wonder how that adds to the feeling of instability? Curator: Precisely. The imperfections introduce a tension. The formal interplay reveals a discourse on support, weight, and the very nature of representation itself. The photograph mediates, it does not present the real. Editor: It's fascinating how the stark composition allows us to consider those fundamental elements. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure. It's in such focused observation that we find deeper meaning.
Artwork details
- Dimensions
- unconfirmed: 1524 x 1219 mm
- Location
- Tate Collections
- Copyright
- © Vik Muniz | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Comments
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/muniz-after-richard-serra-prop-1968-t12917
This work is from a series of pictures in which Muniz depicted iconic works of Minimalist sculpture. Muniz fashioned the image from dust he collected off floors in the Whitney Museum, before presenting it as a large-scale photographic print. While the work has a convincing trompe l’oeil effect, appearing as a grainy black and white photographic documentation of a three-dimensional artwork, Muniz is not interested in simply trying to trick the viewer – indeed, closer inspection reveals the image’s component pieces of lint, cobweb, hair and the like. Rather, as in all his work, Muniz attempts to explore the nature of representation itself. As he says, “I don’t want the viewer to believe in my images. I want him or her to experience the extent of his or her own belief in images – period.” (Vik Muniz, 1999, p.107).
About this artwork
Editor: Vik Muniz's "After Richard Serra, Prop, 1968," presents a striking visual arrangement. The simple composition of geometric forms creates a sense of precarious balance. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The photograph's power lies in its directness. We observe a plane, supported, it seems, by a single linear element. The textural contrasts are crucial. What effect does the surface quality of the plane have on your interpretation? Editor: It looks almost eroded, or aged, like a weathered surface. I wonder how that adds to the feeling of instability? Curator: Precisely. The imperfections introduce a tension. The formal interplay reveals a discourse on support, weight, and the very nature of representation itself. The photograph mediates, it does not present the real. Editor: It's fascinating how the stark composition allows us to consider those fundamental elements. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure. It's in such focused observation that we find deeper meaning.
Comments
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/muniz-after-richard-serra-prop-1968-t12917
This work is from a series of pictures in which Muniz depicted iconic works of Minimalist sculpture. Muniz fashioned the image from dust he collected off floors in the Whitney Museum, before presenting it as a large-scale photographic print. While the work has a convincing trompe l’oeil effect, appearing as a grainy black and white photographic documentation of a three-dimensional artwork, Muniz is not interested in simply trying to trick the viewer – indeed, closer inspection reveals the image’s component pieces of lint, cobweb, hair and the like. Rather, as in all his work, Muniz attempts to explore the nature of representation itself. As he says, “I don’t want the viewer to believe in my images. I want him or her to experience the extent of his or her own belief in images – period.” (Vik Muniz, 1999, p.107).
