Day 7

For a lot of the patients in the Borda Hospital, they needed an outlet to escape. This escape came in the form of losing themselves through various mediums of art: painting, drawing, muralism, cinema, dancing, cooking, etc. The murals in particular transformed from being an escape to a declaration that the patients are not "socially disappeared." They, like the space, are not only present but also plan to be apart of the conversation in regard to the memory of art, culture and mental health. 

It was hard to pick a favorite photo because they were all so beautiful but I would regret not talking about this one. I love that it was made to look like a mosaic. The tiny tiles make this mural super textured which was a big reason why I was drawn to it. I also found the people in the carts very interesting especially with the abundance of color used to make them and no clear direction about where they came from or where they are going. They could be patients but I'm not sure. The flag is also intriguing. I looked up La Colifata and found out that it is both slang for a mentally unwell person and it the name of radio where patients can tell their stories about what it is like to deal with mental health issues. 

Street art, like most forms of art, went through a change from the reign of the Ramona Parra Brigade to the way current artists transform public space in Valparaiso. In 1969, the BPR marched from Valparaiso to Santiago as a group. Along the way, they created murals along the way to protest U.S. intervention in Vietnam. Politics played a massive role in this coordinated organization which could be seen with the use of slogans in a single color rather than creative visual pieces. After their preferred candidate won, their art shifted into messages of happiness and peace with pictures of stars and doves scattered across Chile. However, 11 of September 1973 put this movement underground due to its ties to communism. The sentiment of peace over violence kept this group of artists from fighting the new Military dictatorship. However, graffiti didn't die there. From the 1990's to today, the original trek that the BPR made was reversed with groups of people went from Santiago to Valparaiso to cover the walls in murals and graffiti. The people who live in Valparaiso were open to the idea of their walls being painted but the city didn't feel the same. They began painting over the murals which only made the thrill of painting grow. While politics isn't apart of this new generations art, community is. Groups of friends will collaborate by either using similar colors, themes or styles to weave together their art.