"Marat-Sebastião: pictures of garbage" and "The death of Marat": The event of a discourse return

Abstract

On the basis of Discourse Analysis, this article aims at reading and discussing the work of art "Marat Sebastião: Pictures of Garbage", created by the Brazilian artist Vik Muniz. This paper argues on the means by which this work of art, considered as a commentary, builds meaning upon the return of the original work in its current sociohistorical context. The results show that the relation between the original work and its commentary builds different meanings which may be associated with death, garbage, art and life renewal.