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Muniz,
VIK
In 1994, Progressive commissioned Vik Muniz to create a site specific
piece for this monumental atrium. A grouping of fiberglass cloud-like
formations ensued. They appear quite fitting since weather and constant
change are appropriate themes for both the insurance business and
Cleveland. The artist was inspired by Alfred Steiglitz, one of the
foremost photographers of the early 20th Century who produced photographs
of clouds called "Equivalents". "They are clouds as
such, not adjuncts to a broader scene, not to convey the picture of
a cloudy day. Steiglitz explained that "the true meaning of the
Equivalents...comes through directly, without any extraneous or distracting
pictorial or representational factors coming between the person and
the picture." Muniz loves crafty, visual puzzles which hark back
to Marcel Duchamp. He likes to toy with our perception of reality.
The fiberglass sculptures suggest different forms which Muniz imbues
with a sense of humor. "Apart from all their heavenly attributes,
clouds generally perform in the pictorial apparatus more as a vehicle
for transcendence. This may come from the simple fact that a cloud
can look like anything but very few things actually look like clouds."
Muniz also created four photographs printed in luscious sepia tones
of the platinum process to complement the installation. He superimposed
images of the cloud-like sculptures over Cleveland vistas and corporate
skylines. The photographs have an out-of-focus quality because Muniz
made paintings from photographs and then photographed the paintings,
again playing with our sense of perception. They establish a mood
of intrigue and the viewer gets the sense of fleeting moments frozen
in time. Muniz was born in 1961 in Sao Paulo, Brazil He studied art
in Sao Paulo and currently lives in New York. He has been exhibiting
his work internationally since 1988. His work was included in "The
Encompassing Eye, Photography as Drawing", University of Akron,
OH; "Small Medium Large Life Size", Museo D'Arte Contemporanea
Prato, Italy; and "Multiples", The Aldrich Museum of Art,
CT. 1994.017 |
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