Comments on: The Benevolent Ringmaster: Vik Muniz and his portraits in garbage

By: Bryan Murphy

Bryan Murphy — Sun, 11 Aug 2013 07:33:20 +0000

I watched the film recently and I disagree. Yeah, he sent alot of them back to the dump, but he gave them a glimpse of the outside. Shook them up and with his job training, gives them the oppurtunity to move on.

I respectfully disagree.

By: M. Ward

M. Ward — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 18:50:25 +0000

In reply to Julia Douthwaite.

Hello.

I thought you made some excellent points about the odd pairing of Santos and Marat. I, too, was unsure where the connection and confused as to why Tiao, depicted as Marat, is so often described as being “fittingly” so.

However, I found an insightful article with detailed explanation as to the context of the idea for the themed photograph and how it inadvertently came to be. Seems it was put together on a whim when the Muniz spotted two pickers carrying a bathtub one day during filming–flashing a mental image of the bathtub pictured in “The Death of Marat.”

For a full explanation, check out the original article at:

http://www.pauldoolan.com/2010/11/death-of-marat-sebastiao.html

I think you will find that it fully answers the questions you and I both seemed to have. : )

By: Julia Douthwaite

Julia Douthwaite — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 05:18:00 +0000

Why do you say that the portrait of Tiaõ was “fittingly styled after David’s The Death of Marat”? The more I learn from Vik Muniz’s project about Tiao Santos, the less sense this connection makes. Unlike Jean-Paul Marat, Tiao Santos received a minimal education which he continued through his own will and desire to learn. (Marat was educated as a medical doctor and for a time had a flourishing practice among the wealthy; his “man of the people” image was largely an invention.) Santos is seen as a good father, caring, warm-hearted and tender: we see him walking hand-in-hand with his young daughter and he stokes her dreams of going to school to become a psychologist. He is also a good son: we see him telephoning his mother in tears of joy after the London art opening. (Marat appeared to be estranged from his family. He had no children: a fact that used against him in the war over his Pantheonization in 1795.) The final credits mention that “a lot of people now believe in Tiao and look to him as a leader; some dream that one day he could become president.” (And Marat?) I am currently working on modern-day reappropriations of Marat in popular culture, and curious to know if you have other thoughts on this portrait. It seems kind of a mixed message to me.

By: Jessi

Jessi — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 05:05:24 +0000

I just saw this on netflix and it was life changing as a viewer. Please, see this film.