Fred, our Intern Penitent, was assigned office cleanup by the WLBOTT Elders. As you recall, Fred was banished to WLBOTT HQ by Sister Magdalena as penance for leading the Whoopee Cushion Riots.
Before we get into our crisis du jour, a note about WLBOTT. We prefer cash. As part of our year-end financial review, we had our entire cash holding for 2026 in an unmarked manila envelope. Someone forgot to put it away.
So Fred collected the old Internal Use Only WLBOTT documents, old sudokus, junk mail, tattered twine, expired pizza coupons, etc.
And he tossed the grungy manila envelope into the shredder pile.
Later….
Yikes!
Fred knew he needed to face the music. He called out to the Elders.
The Elders’ Response
Cooler heads prevailed. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed. Fred was tasked to reassemble the 2026 cash. 16 hours a day. 7 days a week.
But Fred grew restless and his mind began to wander. He recalled a lecture from Sister Flugelhorn, the art teacher at St. Gangulf Middle School. She described the work of Vik Muniz, a Brazilian artist who repurposed trash and waste into art. And he did a series using shredded U.S. currency!
Fred pitched his artistic vision to The Elders.
With the Elders’ tepid blessing, Fred begins. He wants to honor Sister Magdalena and her commitment to service in a world filled with greed. He also hopes she will like his art and commute his penance.
The Gallery of Fred, the Intern Penitent
When Fred showed Sister Magdalena his artwork, she was moved to tears. Fred asked, “Does this mean my penance is over?”, to which Sister Magdalena replied, “No.”
Semi-Sequitur: Vik Muniz
Vik Muniz (born 1961) is a Brazilian artist and photographer. His work has been met with both commercial success and critical acclaim, and has been exhibited worldwide. In 1998, he participated in the 24th International Biennale in São Paulo, and in 2001, he represented Brazil at the 49th Biennale in Venice, Italy.
Early life Vik Muniz was born in 1961 in São Paulo, Brazil, as the only child of Maria Celeste, a telephone operator, and Vincente Muniz, a restaurant waiter. In his memoir, Muniz recalled struggling with writing in school which is why he turned to visuals to communicate his thoughts. At the age of 14, his math teacher recommended him to enter an art contest. He won and was awarded a partial scholarship to an art studio.
At the age of 18, Muniz got his first job working in the advertising industry in Brazil, redesigning billboards for higher readability. While on the way to his first black-tie gala, Muniz witnessed and attempted to break up a street fight, where he was accidentally shot in the leg by one of the brawlers. He was paid by the shooter to not press charges and used the money to travel to the USA, Chicago, in 1983. In Chicago, Muniz worked at a local supermarket cleaning the parking lot while he attended night school to study English. In the English class, he learned Polish, Italian, Spanish, and Korean without any improvements to his English vocabulary. Later, Muniz attended culinary and carpentry classes where he learned most of his English.
Beyond his artistic exploration, Muniz is committed to the belief that art can be a catalyst for positive change in the world and should not remain exclusive to elitist circles.
His work often serves as commentary on global social and environmental issues, frequently accompanied by documentary reports that shed light on social inequality, poverty, and the lack of support for vulnerable groups within society.
Wikipedia / Photo By Agência Senado from Brasilia, Brazil – Visita – Artista Plástico Vik Muniz, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=146895810
A documentary film about Vik Muniz, called Waste Land, is available on youtube. Enable CC to view English subtitles.
