Pillow II (after Dürer)
Vik Muniz
1999
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image: 47.9 × 58 cm (18 7/8 × 22 7/8 in.); Paper: 50.6 × 60.8 cm (19 15/16 × 23 15/16 in.)
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
photographic techniquesphotographyphotographic processesblack-and-white photographystill lifegelatin silver (developing-out-paper) prphotographconceptualphotographic processphotographic paper
About
To create Pillow II, Vik Muniz arranged nails to create the shape of a pillow, which he then photographed. He based his composition on an etching by Albrecht Dürer (1417–1528), a German Renaissance artist known for his close observation skills and his ability to render details. Muniz chose to use nails to “draw” the pillow to visualize what he calls “identity conflicts.” Here, the hard nails are made to appear as two things they are not: the etched lines of Dürer and the soft folds of a feather pillow.
