Muniz was born 20th of December 1961 in São Paulo Brazil, now living and working in New York and Rio de Janeiro. Muniz is a Brazilian artist and photographer. He primarily works with unconventional materials such as tomato sauce, diamonds, magazine clippings, dust and dirt.
At 18 Muniz got his first job working in advertisement. Muniz travelled to Chicago in 1983, using money he had got after being accidentally shot in the leg. In Chicago he worked in a local shop while attending night school to study English.
Muniz was inspired by the work of Man Ray and Max ErnstHe decided to become an artist after seeing the post modernist work of Cindy Sherman and Jeff Koons. Muniz often says he doesn’t believe in originals but rather believes in individuality.
He attained awards such as the 2013 Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum. Davos-Klosters, Switzerland and the 2005 National Artist Award granted by the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Aspen, Colorado.
Muniz created a giant installation paper boat, made of news clippings about migrant deaths. Deaths of perhaps 900 people in the Mediterranean, due to peoples ignorance towards migrants. He stated that ‘the project is a metaphor for a vessel, something that saves you, takes you from one place to another. It’s not a criticism; it’s a platform. Once you’ve seen it and you’ve thought about it, you might have the need to discuss it…’ this piece was Muniz response to the migrant death’s crisis at the time, a boat carrying migrants from Libya capsized leaving up to 360 people dead in October 2013. This is a 45 feet paper boat that sailed the canals.
For some Muniz’s Venice piece is not enough, a writer from the Guardian claims that the artist might be trivializing a tragic humanitarian and political crisis.
“Will it be a powerful or in any way adequate artistic response to this vile betrayal of common humanity? An interview with Muniz online suggests not,”
“Perhaps, in theory, it seemed reasonable to make a vaguely thought-provoking, ‘playful’ piece about migration,” “But now the scale of our cruelty, the true consequences of all the rhetoric that dehumanizes migrants, have become so lethally clear, surely art on such a theme should be less equivocal, more angry,” - Jonathan Jones (the guardian)
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