Vik Muniz, the master of creating unbelievable images out of unexpected things, debuts his latest series, Legal Tender, at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. on the west side of Manhattan. Included in a double-feature exhibition, Muniz’s work once again celebrates everyday material, ignites the imagination, confuses reality, and questions current systems of symbols and representation.
Amelia Earhart, Legal Tender, 2024
Installation view of Scraps and Legal Tender, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, 2024
Frederick Douglass, Legal Tender, 2024
For 30 years, Vik Muniz has tackled almost every material imaginable, transforming chocolate syrup into an image of Jackson Pollock, loose diamonds into movie star headshots, and torn magazine scraps into Van Gogh paintings. Each series begins by obtaining and rearranging a specific material – usually on a flat surface – and then photographing the work to be reoriented on a wall and printed larger than life. His best images never lose focus on the material, often calling more attention to it through subsequent reconfiguration and enlargement.
Bald Eagle, Legal Tender, 2024
Bald Eagle, Legal Tender, 2024 (detail)
Legal Tender features seven large photographs (each approximately 4 feet by 6 feet) that capture thousands of tiny currency fragments rearranged into the image of Amelia Earhart, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Oglala Sioux Chief Wasechum Tashunka (American Horse), a bald eagle, American bison, and the aftermath of the Tulsa massacre in 1921. Muniz obtained the shredded money directly from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York – a source that makes these both “legal” and more visual interesting in their variation of age.
American Horse, Wasechum Tashunka, Oglala Sioux Chief, Legal Tender, 2024
American Horse, Wasechum Tashunka, Oglala Sioux Chief, Legal Tender, 2024 (detail)
The first in the series, Harriet Tubman, Legal Tender, 2024, recalls the 2015 unrealized initiative to replace Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. In constructing this piece with old $20 bills, it’s as though Muniz is saying “if our government can’t put her on our money, I’ll make her out of it.” Every work on view shares a similar rebellious and actionable spirit.
Harriet Tubman, Legal Tender, 2024
Harriet Tubman, Legal Tender, 2024 (detail)
There is one additionally deceptive detail in every work that adds to their magic. Muniz is a master of the relationship between material and image, and this extends to a purposeful confusion of whether you’re looking at the original ephemera or a photograph of it. Notice, for example, in Amelia Earhart, Legal Tender, 2024 (below) that certain pieces of money curl at their edges, adding a surprising three-dimensional effect to each image. It’s made even more convincing by the fact that the direction and quality of shadows in the picture match the shadows in gallery. In other words, it’s extremely difficult to determine if these are photographs or real collages of oversized currency (on my last visit, a couple was debating how he obtained huge dollar bills, unaware that these were photographs). They’re impressive on your computer screen; they’re wonderfully deceptive in real life.
Amelia Earhart, Legal Tender, 2024 (detail)
In addition to the newly debuted Legal Tender series, more amazing new work from his ongoing Scraps series is on view in an adjacent space. All are worth visiting in real life if you can, or clicking through all images on the gallery’s website and e-catalogue for great details.
Installation view of Scraps and Legal Tender, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, 2024.
Installation view of Scraps and Legal Tender, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York, 2024.
What: Vik Muniz: Scraps and Legal Tender
Where: Sikkema Jenkins & Co., 530 W 22nd St, New York, NY
When: March 22 – April 27, 2024
All photographs of individuals works © Vik Muniz, courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co., New York. Installation images photographed by Jason Wyche. Detail images photographed by David Behringer.
