The Card Players, after Cézanne (Pictures of Magazines 2) 2012

Vik Muniz made this image of card players, after Cézanne, out of magazine pictures. I wonder what it was like for Vik to spend time with the Cézanne, really looking at it, thinking about its shapes and colors, and then trying to recreate that with all these tiny bits of paper! The browns and blacks give it a kind of shadowy feel, like it's happening in a smoky room. And the reds in the table really pop. The way he uses all these little pieces reminds me that painting is also about building something up, layer by layer, decision by decision. Vik is like a magician, transforming something old into something new, making us see both the image and the materials in a fresh way. It makes you realize we’re all in conversation across time, inspiring each other to make new stuff.