14-The Power of Art

By: Peter, Lianne and Abigail  

Introduction

The film “Waste Land” is about this man name Vik Muniz. Vik Muniz used to live in Brazil as child and growing up. He was always very passionate about art. Vik Muniz had this idea where he wanted to give back to the people of Brazil. He decided he wanted to make art out of garbage. For three years, he worked on the project. He decided that every penny he raised, he would give it to the people of Brazil. We also have the second film “Born into Brothels”. Zana Briski, a documentary photographer, went to Calcutta to photograph prostitutes. Along the way she became friends with the women’s children and taught them photography. At the end, we have a reflection towards both films. 

 

Waste Land 

One day Vik Muniz was in the streets of Brazil, he saw a fight and tried to break it up. He got hit so badly, he needed medical attention. Luckily for him, the guy that hit him was rich and gave him money. So he took that money and bought a plane ticket to America. Now he is a famous artist. In his hometown, he met six people who are pickers, Isis, Suellen, Tiao, Zumbi, Irma and Magna. He interview each one of them a little by asking them to introduce themselves. Isis had a rough path, her son died at three years old and daughter got taken away from her. Suellen at the time was very young; she was about sixteen years old when they met. She started working at the landfill at seven years old. She used to feed herself there in order to survive. Suellen has two young children (and one on the way) that she loves but who stay with her mom. Tiao is a very determined man. He is the president of the ACAMJG (the Association of Recycling Pickers and Jardim Gramacho). He has leadership and he is very bright. He has been a picker since he was eleven years old. Zumbi is very passionate about books. Every book he finds on the landfill he keeps it to share with the community. Irma is a strong woman. She loves to cook. Every day, morning and night, rain or shine, she will stand outside and cook for the people who are working in the landfill. And you have Magna, a calm and sweet woman, but who is insecure about her job. Vik Muniz took those six people and created “garbage art” with their picture. Some of the pictures were inspired from other famous pictures. The filming of the documentary happened in the landfills and inside the studio. It also happened that the filming followed some of the people around to their homes. And of course there was also the filming of the exhibition.  The most striking picture was Tiao’s picture was inspired from Jacques Louis David’s Death of Marat. At the end of their production, Vik Muniz took Tiao and brought him to London to sell his picture. They made 50,000$ US from the picture. With the money they each received, they all changed their lives for the better. http://www.wastelandmovie.com/gallery.html

  

The Weekly Topic

The weekly topic was about the power of art. How art works as a bridge between others and us. We also learned how art is good for our self-esteem and invites us to think differently. Art lets you be yourself and lets you create what you want, any emotion that you feel. Like the in film “Waste Land” it creates friendship. For Vik and those six people, they created a bond. For three years they worked on the same project and along the way, they found themselves. It changed Vik Muniz’s life because he got in touch with his roots again. Vik Muniz gave them that push, that self-esteem to do what they want in life. Some of them realized that the landfill was not for them anymore. So they took the money they earned and did something productive. Some of them became an artist.

Born into Brothels 

Synopsis - Includes Spoilers

            Born into Brothels (2005) portrays the journey of Zana Briski, a New York photographer who ventures into the Red Light district of Calcutta for her professional endeavours. The film was directed by Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski. The film is 83 minutes long and has won several awards including the Academy Award for Best Documentary and many additional nominations. Zana’s presence is greeted with a great deal of reluctance by the general populace as most people are uncomfortable being photographed in an area associated primary to sex workers. It is in the Red Light district that Zana encounters several unique children native to the area with whom she develops an empathetic relationship which flourishes into the Kids with Cameras non-profit organization. The eight children in the group include Puja, Kochi, Shanti, Tapasi, Suchitra, Manik, Gour, and the naturally talented Avijit who becomes the representative of India for a convention focusing on the young photography talent around the world. The film is taken from third person fly-on-the-wall perspective following the Zana and the children as they explore the area and photograph the people are their surroundings. The images they produce are blurry and erratic at first however they develop a great talent for photography and produce some extremely beautiful photographs which can be viewed at the organization’s website. 

http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/kidsgallery/

            The group is met with many struggles pertaining to their lives as part of the red-district youth which often pulls them back in despite their aspirations towards higher education. Although all children are granted a proper education as a result of their work as photographers some of them are unable to escape the red-light districts unrelenting grasp. The opportunity for education was granted though a sale of their work at a gallery in New York which generated enough profit to put all of them through school however complications forced a few of them out of this opportunity. The most devastating was the death of Avijit's mother which can be incredibly traumatizing for a child and caused him to almost give up on his dream to become a photographer. Fortunately by the end of the film Avijit was able to overcome this tragedy and continue his education at the Future Hope School in Calcutta. The others were granted the opportunity to get an education at the Sabera boarding school institute however many of them were forced back into the red-light district.

       This project demonstrates how a single person's dedication can change the lives of others and despite the fact that several of the children involved were forced to return to their lives in the red-light district, it gained global recognition and resulted in several spinoff projects in Cairo, Haiti, and Jerusalem. This is also due to the fact that art is a universal language that can be interpreted by anyone, anywhere. In this film it also acts as a creative outlet which allows the children to escape an unsavoury world and experience freedom of expression in an otherwise strict and depressing society. It also helped boost the confidence of the kids granting them better self-esteem which is hard to come by in the red-light district of Calcutta. The whole experience regardless of the results likely changed the children in the film for the better thanks to the intervention of a motivated individual and an art form that can be both expressive and therapeutic. 

For updates on the organization and those involved address the link below: http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/home/

For those interested the film can viewed at the following link; 

Please bear with the quality, it is a free version of the film which I cannot guarantee is completely legal.

The following links are for the various other Kids with Camera's organizations that began as a result of the success of the first group.

http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/aboutthekids/?project=cairo
www.kids-with-cameras.org/aboutthekids/?project=haiti
http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/aboutthekids/?project=jerusalem

Reflection

Both films taught us a lot about ourselves and about the way other people live in different parts of the world. They are both eye-opening films that allow us to explore different communities in different countries and make us realize how lucky and fortunate we really are. These films made us realize the terrible things that people have to do just to survive yet they are still happy with what they have and that was really beautiful to see. In Waste Land it was hard to understand how these people can still be happy living the way they do, but it really makes you realize that you should be grateful for what you have and never take anything for granted. 

           

These two films were very similar in the way that both Vik Muniz and Zana Briski allowed people who were very underprivileged to express themselves through art and photography. However there was some controversy surrounding both films because these two artist allowed these people to enter a world that was so out of their reach and then send them back to where they were at the beginning. Even though all the money earned by the art and the photographs went back to them, it was controversial to start projects like these. Especially with the children in Born into Brothels, because they are not at the age to make decisions for themselves and their parents were often against the idea of sending them to school because they needed them to work. This article better explains the controversy with the children of the red light district. 

http://www.solidarity-us.org/site/node/261

            These films allow us to see the power that art and self-expression can have on a person. In Waste Land the art that the pickers were creating allowed them to see themselves in a new light and allowed them to gain more confidence in themselves. The pickers were able to see themselves as artists and as creators and as something more than just a simple picker. It proved to them that they could accomplish anything if they wanted to. Vik Muniz provided these people with an amazing opportunity and with that he was able to show the viewers of the film that anybody is capable of anything. Zana Briski also allowed the children that she was teaching to feel this same empowerment and self-accomplishment through the photographs that they were taking. In Born into Brothels just like in Waste Land, the artist were able to show the viewers great art can come from anybody and maybe change the their vision about the people living in these areas.  

            These films show us how to see others and ourselves in a new light and this is a message that is very important in our society today. Waste Land allows us to see the transformative power of art and the beauty of the human spirit as well as the power of a collective group effort and this message is very important in today’s ever-changing individualistic society. Art can also have a great impact in our own life, by either creating art or simply looking at it. It can spark creativity and inspire you to become a better and more creative person. Art is eye opening and can provide you with a new outlook on life. Born into Brothels shows us how art and creativity can empower children to become creators and open their mind to a whole new world of possibilities. The message of these films can be related to our society by showing the viewers how art and collective group efforts can change one’s life.  

Conclusion 

Waste Land and Born into Brothels are both eye opening and inspirational films that really allow the viewers to have a new outlook on them and on the rest of the world. They show us the truly immense power of art and the greatly positive effects it can have on a person’s life.