Dirty Jobs...and Art

Last night I did something that is not defined under my job description, I washed dishes. I decided to come in at night on my day off at the restaurant and help out in the dishtank. But why, you might ask? Well, I did this for several reasons. We all work for the same goal and that is to blow people away. Sometimes that might just mean taking someone's shift or doing something extra special for a guest. We have a great team of people that I love working with and I wanted to do something that would really blow away my fellow employees. One of co-workers asked me, jokingly that is, to finish his shift in the dishtank. Of course no one wants that job. Rinsing off dirty plates of food, getting sprayed with water from the dishwasher, and handling hot, clean plates is not something appealing to most. After he asked me I realized that it might actually be a good idea to help out in one of the least desired positions in the restaurant.

So, last night I made my way into work to assit in the hot, steamy dishtank. I put on my leather boots, jeans, old t-shirt, and a plastic apron and began washing away. I only worked for about an hour and a half, so I cannot say I completed a whole shift. But, with this experience I have gained a little more respect for those that do the job. It's a fast-paced, dirty, grimy, and nasty job, but someone has to do it! Speaking of dirty jobs, this brings me to another topic: "Waste Land."

I have posted a couple times about the documentary entitled "Waste Land." It is one of my favorite videos that documents artist Vik Muniz's project in Brazil working with the recycling pickers in "Jardim Gramacho," the largest landfill. I have decided to write about this project in order to complete a writing sample for my graduate applications. It had been a little while since seeing the film, so I viewed it for the third time today.

One of the questions I would like to address is how Muniz's work affects those in the film and those that purchase the artwork. In the film, Muniz's wife questions how this project will affect the "catadores" and how they are very fragile human beings. Vik argues that his project will cause them to think in another way by giving them a different perspective. She argues that it might shake them up too much and they might be dissapointed that nothing will improve in their life after this experience. What are your thoughts? Do you think art can really change people?

What about the viewer of the artwork? Muniz sells his first photograph at auction for about $50,000. This tells you that these viewers are definitely not in the same social class as the pickers. Does this bring awareness to the issue in Brazil to other social classes? Is Muniz using the artwork as a mode of transportation in order to reach other social classes? I would love your comments and questions as I begin to write this paper!