Accession Number1999/1.108
TitleUntitled (Medusa Marinara)
Artist(s)Vik MunizArtist NationalityAmerican (North American)Object Creation Date1999Medium & Supportphotograph on glazed porcelainDimensions 12 ½ in x 12 ½ in x 1 ¼ in (31.75 cm x 31.75 cm x 3.18 cm);12 ½ in x 12 ½ in x 1 ¼ in (31.75 cm x 31.75 cm x 3.18 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Peter Norton Family FoundationSubject matterIn this work, Vik Muniz humorously appropriates the head of Medusa from Caravaggio’s c. 1597 painting of the snake-haired Gorgon from Greek mythology. Muniz often recreates a well-known image from art history in an untraditional medium, such as sugar, thread, chocolate syrup, or, as in this work, pasta and marinara sauce, and then photographs the final creation. For this creation, Muniz then transposed the photograph on to a ceramic plate. The swriling pasta noodles cleverly describe Medusa's head of snakes and the blood from Caravaggio's painting is rendered in marinara sauce.
Physical DescriptionA photograph of a female head made of pasta and marinara sauce printed on a porcelain plate. On verso, the plate is numbered "39;" it is labeled part of "The Peter Norton Family Christmas Project" and dated 1999; the manufacturer is labeled "Made in Bernardaud in Limoges, France;" and, below, it reads "Lead Free Dishwasher Safe."
Primary Object ClassificationPhotographAdditional Object Classification(s)CeramicAdditional Object Classification(s)Decorative ArtsCollection AreaPhotographyRightsIf you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit
http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Keywords
Serpentes (suborder)
art history
food
gorgons
heads (representations)
mythology (literary genre)
myths (literary documents)
plates (timepiece components)