University of Colorado, Boulder CU Scholar Undergraduate Honors Theses Honors Program Fall 2012 Reading Chilean Street Art through Postcolonial Theory: An Analysis of Subaltern Identity Formation in Santiaguino and Porteno Muralism Kara Gordon University of Colorado Boulder Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.colorado.edu/honr_theses Recommended Citation Gordon, Kara, "Reading Chilean Street Art through Postcolonial Theory: An Analysis of Subaltern Identity Formation in Santiaguino and Porteno Muralism" (2012). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 289. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Honors Program at CU Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of CU Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Reading Chilean Street Art through Postcolonial Theory: An Analysis of Subaltern Identity Formation in Santiaguino and Porteño Muralism Kara L. Gordon Undergraduate Honors Thesis Department of Art and Art History Advisor: Dr. Robert Nauman November 5, 2012 Committee Members: Frances Charteris, Program for Writing and Rhetoric Dr. Robert Nauman, Department of Art and Art History Dr. Kira van Lil, Department of Art and Art History TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... iii INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 1 Methodology ............................................................................................................................... 4 Chapters 1. COLONIALITY AND POSTCOLONIAL THEORY ................................................... 7 2. HISTORY OF LATIN AMERICAN MURALISM ....................................................... 18 Influence of Mexican Muralism ..................................................................................... 19 Post-World War II Chilean Muralist Movement ............................................................ 24 La Presencia de América Latina ..................................................................................... 28 3. POLITICIZATION OF CHILEAN MURALISM ......................................................... 31 Under and Post-Military Dictatorship ............................................................................ 34 4. CONTEMPORARY CHILEAN MURALISM .............................................................. 39 Santiago and Valparaiso Street Art Communities .......................................................... 39 Alternative Mediums ...................................................................................................... 45 Significant Graffiteros .................................................................................................... 47 Contemporary Chilean Muralism ................................................................................... 52 Where is Street Art Going Now? .................................................................................... 58 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................... 62 ENDNOTES ............................................................................................................................... 65 APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY ..................................................................................................... 69 APPENDIX B: MANIFIESTO DE INTEGRACION PLASTICA ............................................... 72 APPENDIX C: IMAGES ........................................................................................................... 74 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................... 99 ii The interviews cited in this work were performed from June through August 2012 in Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile. I would like to thank the artists (who remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of some of their artistic activities) for their gracious assistance in my research. I would also like to thank the many people who gave input and support for my thesis including my family, my friends, and committee members. This thanks is extended especially to my parents Jim and Shelley Gordon, and my friends Kelsey Lanning and Sarah Grimsdale. iii ABSTRACT Contemporary graffiti and muralist practices in Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile reflect their context of postcolonial society and culture. Through ethnographic interviews, iconographical readings of artworks and a survey of historical movements, I demonstrate how street art reveals identity formation of the artists and within their country. Using a postcolonial framework, I attempt to avoid the pitfalls of Western research into subaltern populations. The findings of this research expose the role of Chilean cultural manifestations to address issues of indigenismo, syncretism, and imperial political structures. Considering the homogenization of culture and the process of globalization, Chilean street art will continue to respond to external and internal pressures to form a popular and national identity. INTRODUCTION Located within the popular tourist hill of Cerro Alegre in Valparaiso, Chile, is a striking mural (Figure 1). When approaching the mural, most viewers first encounter a black bird (Figure 1.1) sketched on the wall in spray paint. Geometric color blocks make up the background, which moves from cooler colors to warmer, left to right across the mural. A detailed bird looking up towards a globe and moon follows the sketched bird (Figure 1.2). The work cumulates with a hummingbird hovering above a nude female figure (Figure 1.3). The hummingbird is brightly colored with fluttering wings, textured by the spray paint. The woman stands upright, holding her elbow out at a ninety-degree angle while her hand presses against her breast. Her body is made up of multicolored streaks that are mirrored in her wind-blown hair. Her lower abdomen is splattered with paint. She is not the idealized feminine form as her ribs are noticeably sharp, and she appears gaunt through her collarbones and neck. Yet her hips and thighs are thick and heavy. Her face is stoic with a hint of sadness seeping out of her eyes. A triangle earring in her right ear balances her hair sweeping to her left. Upon the door are more sketched birds in black that are caged by the bars on the outer security door. The bright colors and clever use of architecture to cage one of the birds intrigued me. I decided to share the piece with one of my Chilean friends. Being extremely socially engaged, my friend immediately recognized the political and cultural implications behind the mural. He explained how all of the birds within the work are indigenous if not endemic to Chile. The design behind the figures makes up an indigenous textile pattern. The woman herself is used as a symbol of Latin America, a common feature in Latin American muralism. I learned two local 2 artists, La Robot de work Madera (LRM) and Charquipunk, created the mural. These artists work together to create a communal piece and tend to address themes of Chilean identity through their use of iconography. As my friend continued to describe the Chilean and Latin American iconography within the work, I began to realize these works help create an identity for the country. Upon my return to the University of Colorado, I found myself continually reflecting on the works I had seen in Santiago de Chile and Valparaiso. Deciding to write an Honor’s Thesis on the murals, I began research into the nature of street art within the country and found it was a flourishing medium. I applied for a grant to return to Chile from the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). Happily, I received the UROP grant and spent six weeks researching in-country from June to August 2012. During this time, I interviewed multiple artists, cataloged murals and graffiti, and spent time in the Biblioteca Nacional de Chile [Chilean National Library] looking at sources unavailable in Colorado. Chilean street art is a significant part of the national artistic culture. Since Mexican muralists arrived in Chile during the 1940s, the medium has grown to encompass politics, postcolonial social structures, syncretism and popular culture. These images have become ingrained in the artistic expression of the country. Developing from the political ideal of socialism promoted by the Mexican artists, muralism in Chile became increasingly politicized. The movement gained momentum under the political turmoil of socialist Salvador Allende and dictator Augusto Pinochet, leading to an inherent politic still found in contemporary graffiti and murals. Currently, two main movements exist within Chilean street art: illegal graffiti and aesthetic muralism. Territorial tagging and protest graffiti constitute the illegal graffiti practice. 3 Although the artistic expression of the muralist movement does not always overtly express political opinions, the underlying iconography addresses issues of indigenismo, imperial social structures and postcolonial identity formation. Postcolonial issues continue to present themselves in contemporary Chilean muralism. These concerns manifest through the use of indigenous traditions, collective