The Worst Possible Illusion: The Curiosity Cabinet of Vik Muniz

The Film Society of Lincoln Center & IFP/New York
are proud to present

Anne-Marie Russell's
Worst Possible Illusion:
The Curiosity Cabinet of Vik Muniz

As part of the Independents Night Documentary Series
At the Walter Reade Theater on Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 6:30 PM


The Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFP/New York are proud to present the New York premiere of Anne-Marie Russell's WORST POSSIBLE ILLUSION: THE CURIOSITY CABINET OF VIK MUNIZ (USA, 2001; 54m), an exhilarating look at the work of contemporary conceptual artist and rising star Vik Muniz - sculptor, photographer, and self-proclaimed magician. The film screens as part of the ongoing Independents Night series on Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 6:30 PM at the Walter Reade Theater.

Director Anne-Marie Russell will host a Q & A after the screening.

Muniz, best known for his book Seeing is Believing, which made both The New York Times and Village Voice top ten lists of photography books in 1999, uses his knowledge and interest of the history of photography to demonstrate how we, as viewers, can be easily deceived by the images around us.

Muniz grew up under the dictatorship in Brazil and learned the safest way to communicate was through coded language. By questioning the nature of everyday images, he gives the viewer the tools by which to dissect common systems of representation. He examines the properties of thread and how it can create the look of charcoal and how photographs of wire sculptures look like pencil drawings; he makes portraits of children with granulated sugar, the Mona Lisa out of chocolate syrup ("Bosco is best"), and serves for dessert edible sugar plates and utensils to unsuspecting guests.


Director Anne-Marie Russell takes us on a globe-hopping journey from Muniz's studio in Brooklyn to his native Brazil, from Chicago, his first U.S. home, to Paris, where three exhibits of his work were presented simultaneously - intercut with visits to the American Southwest, where he creates his own take on a classic earthwork.

Viewed in both photography and art circles as one of the most original and talented artists to emerge from the 1990s, Muniz recently had a one-man show at the Whitney Museum of American Art and represented Brazil in the 2001 Venice Biennale. In this appealing multi-format documentary he charmingly articulates his modus operandi and philosophies, providing the viewer with an engaging, intimate and humorous glimpse into his creative life and work.

An exhibition of photographs entitled Icons by Coke O'Neal, the still photographer for WORST POSSIBLE ILLUSION, will be on display at the Walter Reade Theater's Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery from August 14 through September 12. The impressionistic photographs picture images of well-known celebrities that allude to a flickering, collective cinematic memory. Gallery hours are 2 - 8 each day. Admission is free.

WORST POSSIBLE ILLUSION: THE CURIOSITY CABINET OF VIK MUNIZ is a Mixed Greens Production and was edited by Emmy-winner Iris Cahn (Powaqqatsi). Coke O'Neal is a Mixed Greens artist.







Independents Night, a joint program of the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Independent Feature project, is devoted to showcasing documentary films. Presented every other month at the Walter Reade Theater, the film screenings are open to the public and followed by discussions with the filmmakers. Independents Night is supported, in part, by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The Walter Reade Theater is located at 165 W. 65th St., plaza level. Tickets are $9.50 for the public and $5 for Film Society members. Limited tickets are free for IFP Members, who must reserve them through the IFP 212/465-8200. For further ticket information, contact the Walter Reade Theater Box Office 212/875-5600. Additional information on both organizations can be found on their websites: www.ifp.org and www.filmlinc.com.

For additional information on WORST POSSIBLE ILLUSION, contact Ines Aslan at the Film Society 212/875-5625 or [email protected].