Home Institution
University of Washington
Publication Date
Fall 2017
Abstract
The dissemination of portraiture of the forcibly disappeared in Argentina represents a key strategy of visual protest within Argentina’s human rights movement, and an effective tool for ‘collective memory construction’ of the forcibly disappeared. Its history of use spans from the last dictatorship, to protests of forced disappearances in modern Argentina’s democracy. Following the disappearance of a young artisan, Santiago Maldonado, from a ‘route cut’ he participated in on August 1st, 2017, alongside the Mapuche community of Pu Lof, in protest of the Italian multinational clothing manufacturer Benetton’s control of their ancestral lands, a massive dissemination of his portrait was realized, filling much of Argentina’s public space with his gaze. This intervention of artistic activism was one of the largest in Argentina’s recent history, and focused international attention on the persistence of state violence in modern Argentina. The disappearance of Maldonado catalyzed the circulation of his image worldwide alongside the question: ¿Dónde está Santiago Maldonado?
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Civic and Community Engagement | Inequality and Stratification | Latin American Studies | Politics and Social Change
Recommended Citation
Gresham Beamer, Emily, "¿Dónde está Santiago Maldonado? El uso del retrato y el activismo artístico para exigir la ' aparición con vida ' de los desapariciones forzadas en Argentina / ¿Dónde está Santiago Maldonado? The use of portraiture and artistic activism to demand for the ‘ aparición con vida ’ of the forcibly disappeared in Argentina" (2017). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2658.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2658
Included in
Arts and Humanities Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Latin American Studies Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons
Program Name
Argentina: Social Movements and Human Rights