Chilean Art
Roberto Matta was part of the surrealist movement but added
social issues and politics into his work. Matta was impacted by Pablo Picasso’s
Guernica which was an abstract
painting that showed the horrors of war and violence. Matta’s works addressed
the realities of World War II. During the 1970s under the censorship of
Pinochet, artists would be post their work publically and flee in order to get
their protests seen. Artists like Adasme would use their bodies as the art in
order to get certain visuals to the public like suspending oneself by the
ankles from a metro sign in the capital in order to make the stories of the
regime more real to the masses. These forms of are forced people to confront
the events in Chile head on rather than having them be abstract ideas that
could be chalked up to scary stories and later forgotten. Art was used to
document the daily lives of citizens under the regime when words were so
heavily monitored that no one could voice their struggles without being
physically harms. Art was able to fly under the radar of censorship because it
could be interpreted in many ways, so without context the pieces can be seen as
harmless. People adapted under their oppression so they could communicate
certain messages to their people and bring hope for a better future. Present
protests are also used to bring attention to certain issues that are swept under
the rug. Burning student loan documents brings the issue of student protests
against privatized education. If no one knows that there is something going on,
then no one will be able to bring change. I didn’t realize how big the student
protests were and it made be wonder why we don’t see that happen in America
anymore. Media is good and linking protests and activism with delinquency and
violence and this probably deters many from trying to make a disturbance
because they would be blackballed by society. I would like to see the murals of
Chile because where I am from, most of the graffiti is simply tags with names
and numbers. I would like to see the art that means something to the people and
try to figure out how they are related to specific social issues.
I love puzzles. I play Sudoku everyday and try to to figure out the pattern to it. I think that's why I love art so much. Art is like a puzzle to figure out what type of statement they are trying to make. You need to take in consideration the time period, the colors, whats there, whats missing. Everything. Art is just a big puzzle, and I really hope we can find street art and try to solve them!
ReplyDeleteI like the way you worded how art was used "to document the lives of daily citizens under the regime where words were so heavily monitored" because it really captures that a lot of the art doubled as a form of expression and a form of protest. Each piece and form of art that usually held a deeper meaning that is easily overlooked if one doesn't know about the political happenings of the time period.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is odd that we don't have students protesting here about our crazy student debt! I'm ready to protest good lord!! It is ridiculous! There's no way that education is this expensive. Someone is making loadsss of money off of our suffering and hardships it is so wrong.
ReplyDeleteHI!
ReplyDeleteIt was so cool to be able to experience this and see all the street art. I think that it really added to our experience and learning about the meaning behind the pictures was so cool.
ReplyDelete