Valentina, the Fastest

Vik Muniz, Valentina, the Fastest, 1996, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, 1998.31.5
Vik Muniz, Valentina, the Fastest, 1996, gelatin silver print, sheet: 14 x 11 in. (35.6 x 27.9 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, 1998.31.5

Artwork Details

Title
Valentina, the Fastest
Artist
Date
1996
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 14 x 11 in. (35.6 x 27.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation
Mediums Description
gelatin silver print
Classifications
Subjects
  • African American
  • Figure female — child — bust
Object Number
1998.31.5
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1998.31.5

Artwork Description

Vik Muniz drew portraits of the children of sugar cane workers he met on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts using sugar crystals on black paper, which he then photographed for the series he called "The Sugar Children." As he wipes the paper clean after creating each image and begins again, his actions and his subjects' lives take on symbolic value, suggesting that generations of cane workers have been consumed by the sugar industry.

Works by this artist (1036 items)

View all artworks
William H. Johnson, Breakdown with Flat Tire, ca. 1940-1941, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.587
Breakdown with Flat Tire
Artist
Dateca. 1940-1941
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, Chain Gang, ca. 1939, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.675
Chain Gang
Artist
Dateca. 1939
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, Midnight Sun, Lofoten, 1937, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.907
Midnight Sun, Lofoten
Artist
Date1937
oil on burlap
On view
William H. Johnson, Lamentation, ca. 1944, oil on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.981
Lamentation
Artist
Dateca. 1944
oil on fiberboard
On view

More Artworks from the Collection

Browse All Artworks
William H. Johnson, Tunisian Street Scene with Figures, ca. 1932, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.38
Tunisian Street Scene with Figures
Artist
Dateca. 1932
watercolor and pencil on paper
Not on view
Edward Morton, Loggers, 1937, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1974.28.150
Loggers
Artist
Date1937
watercolor and pencil on paper
Not on view
Terry Schoonhoven, Study for Morning Room Murals, U. S. Court of Appeals, Pasadena, California, 1984, watercolor, pen and ink, and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1987.13.1
Study for Morning Room Murals, U. S. Court of Appeals,…
Artist
Date1984
watercolor, pen and ink, and pencil on paper
Not on view
Image Not Available
Stone Cutters (mural study, Rockport, Massachusetts Post…
Artist
Dateca. 1935-1943
watercolor, pencil and pen and ink on paperboard
Not on view