Bruce Nauman

         Bruce Nauman is an American artist known for his works of neon lights, paintings, sculptures, photographs, and drawings. He used neon lights to create words and other figures. In "One Hundred Live and Die" this art consist of inspiring and yet hurtful words. It's vibrant, almost like a neon rainbow of words, and expresses different relatable emotions. It depicts and plays with neon colors, human emotions about life and death in the 100 words shown with 4 columns, and in a pattern. The words illustrate different actions from left to right. 

         The materials are neon tubing and clear glass tubing on metal. There are words such as "live, die, suck, yellow, etc." Each column lights up on by one, then a sentence may light up or a word, but you have to wait a while until all the columns light up. In "Light Trap for Henry Moore" Nauman has a black and white (time lapse) photograph. He twirled around a flashlight in a dark room to make the shape of a seated body. The body is trapped in this cage, and that body is Henry Moore. Nauman dedicated this to Moore since he saw him as a "modern master". 

Wasteland

        Vik Muniz was from an impoverished family in São Paulo, Brazil. In the beginning of this documentary "Wasteland" he shares how he decided to come to America. He describes how he stopped a fight, and then later on got shot in the leg for it. In the end it was all a big misunderstanding, so as an apology the shooter offered him money, and he used that money to come to America. Muniz is a Brazilian artist, photographer, and sculptor. In this documentary he uses art to help the impoverished, those forgotten, or not spoken about. He bring their struggles to light through his art. His art is portrayed through the garbage pickers in Rio de Janeiro go through with 70% of Rio's trash.
         Muniz speaks about the risk of the pickers job. While looking over at his computer with a coworker of his, they show depictions of the trash in Rio. His coworker asks if the pickers realize how dangerous this job is. Muniz replies that this kind of work is normal to them, so they don't think about it. But he also acknowledges her concern for the pickers, and he expresses it himself, because he later on says "You can stick a body in there and no one would know." They're low paid collectors working in critical/dangerous conditions with mountains of trash.
         Even though they work through these unpleasant conditions, Muniz describes them as "the other end of consumer culture."  They aren't broken, instead he sees them as survivors, and he depicts through the interviews he captures with them. Zumba and Magna for example are proud to be garbage pickers. Zumbi won't let anyone try to put him down for what he does. Magna says that others claim that she stinks but she doesn't care because she is proud to be a garbage picker. Isis on the other hand disliked her job because it wasn't sanitary and she was always dirty, but she claimed that it paid well.
         Vik Muniz mission is to show the hidden beauties of the life of a garbage picker in Brazil, through the waste and rubbish. Within the film he presents people of diverse background and point of views, such as Isis, Magna, Zumbi, Tiao, etc. While in Rio he got acquainted with men and women that organized trash on the (Jardim, Gramacho) worlds largest land fill. Muniz speaks about the obvious classism problem in Brazil between the rich and the poor. He also shares how he wants to give back to the community through his art. Art can change people and create an effect, whether it be positive or negative, it can change lives. Muniz illustrated expressive portraits and gave the pickers pride in what they do, and later on money to live a better life, to also enhance the community.