"We Really Are Not Artists, We Are Military. We Are Soldiers": The Street Art Culture of Chile and its Power in Art Education

Culture-Language-Media

Degree of Master of Arts in Upper Secondary Education

15 Credits; Advanced Level

“We Really Are Not Artists, We Are

Military. We Are Soldiers”

The Street Art Culture of Chile and its

Power in Art Education

“Vi är inte konstnärer, vi är militärer. Vi är sodlater”

Gatukonstkulturen i Chile och dess påverkan på bildundervisning

Granlund, Magdalena

Silén, Maria

Master of Art in Secondary Education: 300 Credits. Examiner: Edström, Ann-Mari. Opposition Seminar: 31/05/2018. Supervisor: Mars, Annette.

Foreword

We would like to give a big thanks to all those whom have helped made this thesis possible: to all the people we have been interviewing and that have been showing us the streets of Santiago and Valparaiso. To Kajsa, Micke and Robbin for making sure we met the right people while

conducting this study. To Annette Mars for all the guidance prior- and during the conducting of this thesis. To Mauricio Veliz Campos for all the support we were given during the minor field studies scholarship application, as well as during our time in Santiago. To Vinboxgruppis for your constant support during the last five years. And last but not least to SIDA, for the trust and financial support. Thank you!

This thesis is written during the spring of 2018. We, the writers behind this thesis, have both come up with the purpose, research questions, method, interview guide, as well as been taking visual street notes together.

Abstract

This thesis describes the street art culture of Chile and its power in art education. The thesis highlights the didactic questions what, how and why. With the Swedish art curriculum in upper secondary education (Skolverket, 2011) as a starting point, the following research examines what topics street artists in Chile address in their work; and how and how can educators in Sweden use street art in the classroom when they wish to highlight topics such as communication, identity and democracy, and with what purpose. The implementation of the study is based on a method of qualitative research. Semi structured- as well as informal interviews are used. Observation in form of visual field notes is presented through photography. This results in four different themes that is highlighted. The themes are cultural heritage, artivism and democracy, identity and school. The conclusion regarding what benefits street art may serve in school are that Swedish teachers in upper secondary art education can benefit from using street art in the art classroom when they wish to highlight the communicative aspects of street art. Another conclusion being made is that Chilean street artists use street art as a communicative tool when they wish to highlight topics such as cultural heritage, political views and as an identity marker.

Keywords: street art, grafitti, art education, communication, identity, democracy, upper secondary school, Sweden, Chile, Santiago, Valparaiso

Table of Content

1. INTRODUCTION ... 5

1.1.THE CHILEAN STREET ART CULTURE ... 6

1.2.STREET ART:BACKGROUND AND DEVELOPMENT ... 6

1.3.PURPOSE AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ... 7

2. PREVIOUS RESEARCH ... 8

2.1.STREET ART AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL ... 8

2.2.STREET ART AND IDENTITY ... 9

2.3.STREET ART AND DEMOCRACY ... 10

3. A SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE ON LEARNING ... 12

4. METHOD ... 14 4.1.QUALITATIVE APPROACH... 14 4.2.THE OBSERVATION ... 14 4.3.THE INTERVIEWS ... 15 4.4.PROCESSING OF MATERIAL ... 17 4.5.ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS ... 17 4.6.METHOD DISCUSSION ... 18

5. RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION ... 20

5.1.CULTURAL HERITAGE ... 20

5.2.ARTIVISM:STREET ART AS A DEMOCRATIC TOOL ... 25

5.3.STREET ART AND IDENTITY ... 34

5.4.STREET ART IN SCHOOL ... 38 6. DISCUSSION ... 42 6.1HISTORY ... 42 6.2.ARTIVISM ... 43 6.3.IDENTITY ... 44 6.4.SCHOOL ... 45 6.5.CONCLUSIONS ... 46 6.6.FURTHER RESEARCH... 47 REFERENCES ... 48

1. Introduction

Imagery awakes emotions, especially images that cannot be avoided, like the ones in the public sphere. We, the writers behind this thesis, have both been blown away by powerful messages and beautiful murals both in Malmö as well as on our travels around the world. These murals rouse an interest for us in street art. Since street art is an umbrella term that comprises many different techniques, this thesis will first and foremost be focusing on murals and tags, Andersson (2006) describes tags as a concept used when graffiti artists write their name or their pseudonym on the walls. During the fall of 2016 we conducted a literary review on street art (Granlund & Silén, 2017). We learned a lot about the art form and found it to be a fascinating culture. During the literary review we both found street art to be an interesting communication tool and were curious to learn more about how art teachers can use street art in the upper secondary classroom.

Skolverket (2011) states that the art education shall lead towards making sure students develop knowledge in how imagery communicate meaning as well as the ability to interpret their own and others imagery. It shall offer methods that leads to students developing an open attitude towards innovative- and creative thinking, as well as inventiveness and personal expression. It shall contribute to students developing knowledge regarding the laws within the field, as well as ethics connected to image construction (Skolverket, 2011). This content from Skolverket was a starting point for our previous review. Not only did we want to learn about how street art could be used during an art class, we also wanted to see if this medium could enhance students’ art abilities and thereby hand them the right tools to reach the curriculum passing standards. Initially our

knowledge about street art were deficient but we wanted to deepen our competence in the field. During the literary view we conducted, the research question was: Which aspects may street art bring to the upper secondary art education? (Granlund & Silén, 2017).

During our literary review the following conclusions were made: street art can be used during the upper secondary art education when one wishes to highlight aspects such as communication, law and

democracy, as well as identity (Granlund & Silén, 2017). All areas stated have a strong connection to

both the street art culture, as well as the Swedish curriculum for art in upper secondary

education. With all these aspects in mind: the visual communicative part, the identity part, as well as the democracy part an interest was sparked for learning more about the street art culture in other countries. After doing some thorough research on countries where the street art culture is broad, Chile caught our interest due to their deeply rooted street art history.

1.1. The Chilean Street Art Culture

In Chile, more specifically in Santiago and Valparaiso, the street art culture has spread to a great degree. For many Chilean street artists, the aim of their art is not only to spread their personal tags or paintings, but also to spread and communicate political standpoints. Brooks describes in his thesis how different kinds of street art has brought people together and how it has been a vital communication tool for opposition during Chile's modern history.

For any Chilean, the graffiti and the painting express resistance to the government. Since the late 1950s the Chilean Left has used public wall space as a medium for political expression. The history of this kind of graphic protest as well as its relevance to the Quemados memorial justifies a brief digression to trace the development of this alternative form of political communication (Brooks, 1990).

In 1989, Chile became a democratic country (Söderberg & Cassel, 2014). Before this however, people in Chile used the walls of the streets to spread political awareness since the media was controlled and only certain political messages were allowed, especially during the military dictatorship from 1973 to 1981 when Augusto Pinochet was president of Chile (Söderberg & Cassel, 2014). However, despite the fact that Chile now is a democratic country, street artists are continuously using the walls in the public sphere to express their political beliefs.

1.2. Street Art: Background and Development

In the following part, a brief presentation of street arts background and development from a global and historic perspective will be presented. This is due to the fact that Skolverket states in the Swedish art curriculum for upper secondary school, that students shall knowledge regarding how imageries function and areas where they are being used in our society from a present, historical, national and international perspective (Skolverket, 2011).

Andersson (2006) describes in her doctoral thesis how mankind has been using the walls as a way of expressing themselves throughout history. She goes all the way back to the cave paintings in Lascaux, France, as well as the carved messages scientists found when they dug out Pompeii. She writes about how the German Nazis, back in the 1930’s to the 1940’s, used to walls for their political propaganda, and how the students back in the 1960’s used posters on the street. These groups of people previously mentioned, from different parts of the world and throughout history, have all used the wall s in the public sphere in order to spread their messages. According to Andersson, these examples should all be considered the mainstay of the street art culture today. The modern street art culture started off in New York and Philadelphia during the late 1960’s. At the beginning, it was not bigger than a few people scribbling the names in the subway. It did not take long before subway cars were popular targets for graffers, meaning street artists who perform graffiti (Paulsson, 2016), since these travelled around the cities and the street art therefor got a broader audience. The movement continuously grew bigger and bigger and contained everything from tags to murals. It was not until the 1980’s that the movement began spreading to a great degree of countries and made it to places such as Sweden for example

(Andersson, 2006). To learn more about the street art culture in Chile we decided to travel there for two months while conducting this study.

1.3. Purpose and Research Questions

The purpose of this study will be to examine the role street art may serve in Chile with a focus on communication, democracy and identity. Furthermore, it will examine the qualities that street art culture in Chile possesses and its possibilities to become an asset in a Swedish art education. The following research questions will be analysed:

● What topics do street artists in Chile address in their work, and how?

● How can educators in Sweden use street art in the classroom when they wish to highlight topics such as communication, identity and democracy, and with what purpose?

Some of the biggest street artists and crews, meaning a group of people that do street art together, in Chile have been interviewed for this thesis. The didactic questions what, how and why and with a sociocultural perspective on teaching as well as connecting the study to Skolverkets (2011) purpose for the art subject will be highlighted. In order to get a broader understanding of the results and to make it applicable for as many art teachers as possible, we will be focusing on the art subject in general, not any specific art courses.

2. Previous Research

In the following chapter, research concerning: street art as a communicative tool, street art and identity, as well as street art and democracy that was found during our previous study will be presented.

2.1. Street Art as a Communication Tool

Street art and communication as well as how people may benefit from including this medium in art education is a common theme that occurred in several articles (Morley, 2013; Santos &

Varandas, 2016; Daichendt, 2013; Jacobson, 1996). In Lgy11 Skolverket describes the importance of highlighting communication in the Swedish art education. In the curriculum for art in upper secondary school, it states in the rubric ämnets syfte, which means the purpose of the subject, that student shall be given the opportunity to develop knowledge on how the meaning of a picture or a drawing is constructed and being used in communicative aspects (Skolverket, 2011). World famous street artist Morley (2013) states that street art is a communicative tool with easy access, both for the artist themselves as well as for the people in the public sphere who receives its messages. This leads to his conclusion that students do not necessarily need any prior knowledge in the field in order to use the media to communicate- or interpret a message. Morley (2013) therefore states that street art is a form of art that is by and for the people. Moreover, he explains how street art is a non-pretentious art form since it neither requires specific knowledge in the area, nor any form of artistic education or training in order to interpret the content in most of the pieces (Morley, 2013). Just like Morley, Santos and Varandas (2016) explains that street art in an inclusive form of art for everyone in the public sphere. They describe how teachers can benefit from using street art in the school, in order to motivate low-achieving students or students with special needs, by highlighting the communicative sides of street art as well as highlighting how easily accessible the art form is. Furthermore, street art has been seen as vandalism, meaning a threat to our society. This opinion however is now starting to change, and it is becoming more acceptable and more recognized around the world (Santos & Varandas, 2016). Street art is today being used as a publicity tool and a medium for mass communication. According to Santos and Varandes, teachers who have been working with street art during their art education see this communicative tool as a way of promoting critical thinking in relation to other forms of art while discussing what is, and what is not considered being art (Santos & Varandas, 2016). Daichendt (2013) describes in his doctoral thesis how art education can occur on the streets through street art. Daichendt mean that despite the fact that the art education has gotten a bad reputation in Los Angeles and that the politicians do not want to put money into the subject due to budget cuts, there are a great deal of street artists there. These street artists inspire, motivate and learn from one another (Daichendt, 2013). Jacobson (1996) describes like Daichendt (2013) this way of learning as a process in which the street artists learn the techniques from other street artists. He explained that it is a kind of apprentice system where the established and experienced street artists teach the younger. This is somethings teachers may benefit from keeping in mind in the art education while conducting for example group activities (Jacobson, 1996). This view Daichendt (2013) shares too. He describes how street art can serve as a learning resource in the classroom in addition to the traditional art education, since it can be a new way of communication for students if they have not yet been introduced to the medium (Daichendt, 2013). Daichendt states that by

including a new material, for example spray cans, the focus will be on the creative process rather than on the technical competence. It may therefore lead to it being easier for students to express themselves, since the focus will be on communicating a message, rather than on producing a pretty picture. This can therefore result in a better group dynamic in the classroom (Daichendt, 2013).

2.2. Street Art and Identity

Street art and identity has also been a recurring theme in the articles which this thesis is based on (Jacobson, 1996; Santos & Varandas, 2016). Skolverket (2011) talks about identity and personal expression in the art education in upper secondary school. Furthermore, the curriculum

highlights how pictures and drawings may influence our lifestyle, choice of work and identity as well as getting a broader perspective on what a picture or drawing actually is and giving students the tools to develop an open attitude towards different forms of expression, as well as the opportunity to find their own artistic expression (Skolverket, 2011).

Ziehe (2003) has analysed young people's identity creation throughout history. He states that young people used to have a more given roll in their everyday life. Ziehes research prove that this given role could bring both feelings of being safe, as well as feelings of being forced. The

professions that parents had were often inherited by their children, which meant that their lives in a sense were already decided for them. This life situation is much unlike the one young people face today. According to Ziehe the majority of young people today no longer have a given role in any of the situations they may face. They have to create their own lifestyle or cultural way of living without the predetermined fates they used to have. According to Ziehe this may lead to either new opportunities, or feelings of not being safe. The families influence on how the young people should live their lives has in a great degree been replaced by influence from friends, the media or popular culture. Furthermore, Ziehe describe how different forms of aesthetic

expression has started to have a great influence on young people’s identity creation. Street art in particular is a movement where the young people can find role models and a social community, which is one of the explanations why many of them are active in the street art culture (Ziehe, 2003). Despite all these facts, the street art culture is something that grownups long have been sceptical towards (Jacobson, 1996). Nowadays, street art is an arena for expression that is often described in literature as a socio-economic phenomenon which occurs in the lower social classes or amongst youth who wishes to rebel (Jacobson, 1996). However, this view on street art has been criticised by art critics, art teachers as well as art historians whom all mean that street art has a greater connection to other cultural expressions, such as hip-hop for example, rather than to socio-economic class or rebelled youths (Jacobson, 1996). Jacobson states in his doctoral thesis that the street artists are not a bunch of criminal youth whom all come from an unsafe

upbringing, but that the youths who are active within the street art culture have average grades in school and often have higher than average in the art subject. The youths often have someone from outside of school who serves as an inspiration to them, someone who is an artist

themselves. Several of the youths he interviewed wished to work with art in the future. Jacobson means that graffiti on the one hand can serve as an identity creating subculture, and on the other hand can serve as a way of highlighting one’s art as a conscious career choice (Jacobson, 1996).

However, Santos and Varandes (2016) conducted research amongst troubled youths, with the purpose of examining weather graffiti can prevent challenging behaviour amongst youths from the suburbs or not. They wanted to examine if troublesome behaviour towards teachers in a social context could change, as well as examining if graffiti could reduce aggressive behaviour as well as encourage empathy and advantageous social attitudes. Furthermore, they also examined whether or not students could get higher respect for rules, if the group dynamic would improve and if graffiti would raise both student attendance and make students want to take part of school activities. The results were that there was a positive effect to this program. More students were present during class and as a result the attendance became higher and the pupils attitude towards both peers as well as teachers were more positive. The researchers describe how graffiti had an ability to spike the interests of the art lessons in the class, and they believe this was due to the fact that graffiti is a form of art that the students could relate to. Moreover, they describe how the students grew during this process since they had an opportunity to show their full capacity. This lead to the students who had previously refused working in groups now doing so without problem (Santos & Varandes, 2016).

2.3. Street Art and Democracy

Visual freedom of speech and democracy are recurring themes in a lot of the previous research on the matter that we have found (Andersson, 2006; Chung, 2009; Jonsson, 2004; Morley, 2013). Chung’s (2009) description of how street art can raise students interests in social questions such as politics. Chung states that teachers can create discussions with the pupils regarding laws and regulations as well as vandalism with street art as starting point. She explains how teachers can benefit from using street art as an example while talking about topics such as the right to the public sphere. Based on these discussions, the teacher can raise questions regarding illegal activism versus political art, which can lead students towards getting a deeper understanding of these subjects (Chung, 2009). Chung uses Banksy as an example, who is one of the most well-known street artists in modern history. She does not only mention him due to the fact that students may recognize his work, but also because he raises topics such as homophobia, socioeconomic differences, or oppression. She states that

Banksy’s street art, in particular, can guide students to think about various social and political issues and to reflect upon the immediate, if not unjust, world in which they live, to transform that world, and possibly initiate change (Chung, 2009, s. 8).

Sweden's former minister of culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth argues that street art is vandalism when performed on a non-legal wall (Jonsson, 2004). During a parliament debate between her and a couple of graffers, opposite opinions were presented. The graffers in the debate meant that since big corporate companies were allowed to spread their messages in the public sphere, then so should they. Moreover, the graffers explained their view that it is their right as citizens to being able express themselves since Sweden is a country which has freedom of speech. Adelsohn Liljeroth on the other hand does not agree with the graffers on this point and argues that the motives they claim are based on false grounds and should therefore not be taken seriously. She argues that it does not measure up to the fact that street art is in fact illegal and should be regarded as sabotage and vandalism. Jonsson (2004) on the other hand, who writes an article

regarding this debate, does not think that this should prevent teachers from using street art during their education and describes Adelsohn Liljerot negative attitude towards street art as a social construction in our society. On the one hand, the Swedish laws promote the freedom of speech, but on the other hand the laws also promote ownerships of wall which makes graffiti problematic when practices illegally. According to Jonsson, this debate can be great to use during an art class. It highlights just how problematic street art can be and the article can assist while discussing street art based on laws and regulations (Jonsson, 2004). Furthermore, Morley (2013) describes how street art can serve as a democratic visual communicative tool due to its ability to express political messages that are visible to everyone in the public sphere. He states that his street art can be just as provoking as he likes, since it does not require inspection nor to be approved before it is put on the walls. This, he states, is what makes street artists free to express their own personal views in countries that does or does not have freedom of speech (Morley, 2013).

3. A Sociocultural Perspective on Learning

A sociocultural perspective on learning means that mankind continuously learns on a daily basis (Säljö, 2015). Rather than asking if someone is learning something, one should ask how someone is learning something (Säljö, 2015). The founder of the sociocultural perspective of learning is Lev. S Vygosky (1896- 1934). The following chapter will explain Vygotsky’s theories on a sociocultural perspective on learning through Säljö’s (2015) interpretations. Furthermore, the chapter will explain Wertsch’s (1998) take on Vygosky’s theories on how a student and master perspective can scaffold students towards learning, followed by Kvale and Nielsen’s (1999) interpretations on a student-master perspective by focusing on apprenticeship.

Säljö (2015) states that there are symbols that are central for learning. These symbols are central symbols of the written language, such as the alphabet and numbers. By using the written

language, information is made accessible for other people. The written language therefore become our social and collective memory, since people can read texts long after they have been written (Säljö, 2015). Vygotsky explains that mankind is a biological, historical, social and cultural being (in Säljö, 2015). According to Vygotsky, one cannot understand learning if one does not understand how these four aspects collaborate and affect our learning process (in Säljö, 2015). Within this theory of Vygotsky’s, the different tools play a central role in mankind's learning process. These so-called tools can both be physical, such as spray cans or hammers for example, or mental, such as language or symbols. Vygotsky mean that these tools, mental or physical, are equally important and affect our lives just as much. They mediate our actions and influences us, as well as changes our relation to our surrounding environment. Since we do not have a given, direct contact to our surroundings we need mediating tools in order to establish a contact. These tools consist of different kinds of mediating methods that are based on different cultural tools such as language or artefacts (Säljö, 2015). Like tools, artefacts can be both physical as well as mental, and according to Vygotsky, these too mediates meaning. Säljö (2015) describes how artefacts construction and people's knowledge and experiences affect how- and why these artefacts are being used. This points towards the fact that they are connected to mankind's collective memory and has a relation to mind and action. Mankind is a hybrid being, that is she learn, think, work, play and live by the support of different kinds of artefacts. Her access to these mediating tools, physical as well as mental, are what separates us from animals (Säljö, 2015). However, Vygotsky states that language is “the tool of the tools” and by language he is not only referring to the spoken and written language, but also the visual and semiotic. By using language, we can describe, interoperate and analyse the world. Language mediates the world to us. Central in the theories of mediating is that it occurs in the interaction between people through different forms of communication. This communication can be both verbal or non-verbal. Mankind continuously mediates the world with- and for each other. For example, one can speak about colour, shapes, ages, etcetera in order to makes oneself understood. Language is in fact mankind’s tool to understand and to get a perspective regarding our surroundings. Humans can, for

example, speak about different occurrences in a whole lot of different ways. This ability to communicate, that is being able to metaphorically speak about our surroundings from different perspectives by using different mediating tools, such as language or pictures, is in fact the foundation of human learning. Vygotsky mean that appropriation occurs when people adopt

others knowledge and makes it their own (Säljö, 2015). Moreover, he states that knowledge is something that occurs within our society through different cultural artefacts which mankind can use to later make the knowledge their own (Jacobsson, 2012). Ideas and perceptions that exists between people will be appropriated differently depending on the persons mental toolbox, which people use to communicate with others. Therefore, based on a sociocultural perspective, the language is both something that occurs within us when we have an inner dialogue or when we are communicating with ourselves, and somethings that occurs when we are communicating with others. Both these communicative ways are made possible due to mediating tools, such as language and the tools one may possess (Säljö, 2015). The learning process therefore depends on one’s previous experiences. According to Vygotsky, learning does not only take place in school but within a whole lot of other activities too. However, he separates the scientific concepts and the more spontaneous concepts whom occur on a daily basis just by being. He describes how we constantly learn through interaction with other people. One example of this is communicating and painting. We have been given theoretical knowledge before we can actually use the artefacts language or pencil (Säljö, 2015).

Wertsch (1998) explains his interoperations on Vygotsky’s theories through a student-master perspective. Someone who is a skilled user of tools can scaffold others, lesser skilled users, towards a deeper understanding of these tools (Wertsch, 1998). Like Wertsch, Säljö (2015) describes how this requires that the more skilled user not only has knowledge of what tools should be used and when, but also has deeper knowledge in the field. This means that the more skilled person needs to have appropriated not only how tools are being used, but also what they mediate (Säljö, 2015). This may result in new knowledge that the lesser skilled user might be able to pass on in the future (Säljö, 2015).

Mankind starts as infants and in only a few years they have grown into individuals who master complex intellectual and physical skills, by learning from others who master these skills (Kvale & Nielsen, 1999). Kvale and Nielsen (1999) describes apprenticeship as when learning occurs through a student-master scenario and that it does not necessarily has to be connected to the classroom. It is an old tradition and during the twenties century it replaced the formal learning in many areas, especially the practical areas where the student learns from a master (Kvale & Nielsen, 1999). According to Kvale and Nielsen (1999) apprenticeship can be more successful while for example learning to use a tool, rather than reading about how to use a tool. Students can gradually learn from a so-called master by first observing and later master the tool themselves (Kvale & Nielsen, 1999).

4. Method

In order to answer the research questions stated in this thesis, the foundation is based on a qualitative approach. In a qualitative study there are several methods that can be used. Based on the purpose and research question of this study, the method of personal semi structured

interviews, informal interviews and visual field notes have been implemented in order to carry out what has been intended. The findings will be analysed by using previous research on the matter as well as Skolverkets (2011) curriculum for the art subject in upper secondary school.

4.1. Qualitative Approach

According to Bryman (2011), a qualitative approach is first and foremost used in studies where the researcher wishes to get a deeper understanding of the participants mindset, rather than of numbers or statistics. Bryman states that a qualitative approach is fit for studies that are

interpretation oriented and the focus is on how the individual participants experience the reality in which they live. Therefore, by using a qualitative approach, we may get a deeper understanding of the purpose of the study, as well as a deeper understanding of the research questions (Bryman, 2011).

4.2. The Observation

The observation method used in this thesis is visual field notes in the form of photography while observing the street art culture of Santiago and Valparaiso. In order to get to know the field, we started by doing street art walks on the streets for a couple of weeks.

Fors and Bäckström (2015) states how researcher can benefit from using visual field notes. These visual field notes are created by using a camera as a documentation tool. Not only does the camera take photographs and therefore become an observation collecting technique, it also becomes a meaningful actor in the investigatory context. Rather than writing a descriptive text of what certain objects looks like, it can be described in the form of photographs (Fors &

Bäckström, 2015). This can scaffold the reader of a study to understand its concept. Photographs in this type of study also serves as a support for the writers’ memory while conducting the

analysis. Furthermore, Fors and Bäckström (2015) describes how the researcher gets a deeper understanding of the context observed while taking photos, rather than only taking notes during an observation. The photos that are created are context bound, which means that it is of great importance that the researcher describes where the material comes from, its relevance to the study as well as how it has been constructed. In other words, the camera is a tool that collects material which can be used during the following analyse and can benefit the writer as well as the reader (Fors & Bäckström, 2015).

During the observations we visited different street art areas in Santiago and Valparaiso. The areas were places our informants wanted to show us. Photographs were taken during all observations. After the conducted observation of the street culture in Santiago and Valparaiso, approximately two hundred photos of street art had been collected. Out of these two hundred, thirteen were

selected based on their relevance to the study. These thirteen photos highlight the findings during our observation. In order to get a deeper understanding of the street art scene in Chile, the photos used in the thesis vary in style and genre.

4.3. The Interviews

According to Bryman (2011), while interviewing people for a qualitative study it can be beneficial to use semi structured interviews; as the goal is to achieve a deeper and more personal

understanding of the participants experiences than during a quantitative study where structured interview may be a better fit. A semi structured interview is flexible and can therefore lead towards a better understanding of the individual's opinion or experiences, rather than the scientists interests (Bryman, 2011). In qualitative studies it is of importance to learn what the interviewed sees as relevant and important. In semi structured interviews, the researcher therefore adapts the questions to the respondent, depending on what the answer may be or in what direction the interview leads them. The questions that the researcher have prepared are consequently more general and work as a foundation for the researcher to start a semi structured interview (Bryman, 2011).

While conducting this master thesis, different strategies where implied to carry out the interviews. In addition to the semi structure interviews informal interviews took place. These occurred prior and post the recorded interviews, as well as during our observation on the streets. We came in contact with the participants of this master thesis through a professor at a university in Santiago, whom we first met in 2016 during Malmö University’s International Week. This master thesis was conducted by interviewing art professors and street artists. All interviews were conducted in person and one at a time. This is not only to create personalized semi structured interviews, but also to avoid the risk of participants being affected by what other respondents may reply. The interviews vary in length from twenty minutes up to an hour, depending on the informant’s answers.

In order to get information regarding the street art culture of Chile specifically, the people being interviewed were carefully selected. We had found fifteen possible participants whom we then narrowed down to eight. These eight people were chosen based on either their deep knowledge of the street art history and culture of Chile, or due to their active role as street artists in Santiago or Valparaiso. In order to get a broader result and perspective, their age and values vary. The following paragraph will give a brief description of each participant using a fictive name, as well as how and where the interview took place. A rough interview guide that was used during the semi structured interviews can be found in the annex.

Interview 1. 29/3/18

Anna is a former street artist in her thirties who has been active within the field for over ten years. She has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and lives in one of Santiago’s most active street art areas. The interview took place outside of informants’ house.

Carlos is a thirty-year-old, active street artist who is well known for his tags in the Chilean street art scene. The interview took place in a relaxed environment outside of Santiago’s culture centre over a cup of coffee.

Interview 3. 2/4/18

Daniel is a street artist in his twenties who has friends from all over the world within the street art culture. Due to the fact that he works at the biggest spray can store in Santiago, Daniel knows all the big street artists in Santiago. He has been active within the field for over ten years. The interview took place at a restaurant after we had had dinner.

Interview 4. 10/4/18

Dr. Quiceno is in his fifties and has been a art professor for twenty years. He is working at a university in Santiago where he is educating art teacher students. He is currently doing research for a book he is writing regarding how the art scene in Chile has changed prior, during and post the dictatorship. The interview took place at Chilean university in a conference room.

Interview 5. 12/4/18

Diego is in his late twenties and is a brigade from Chile's most famous crew, Brigada Ramona Parra, who were politically active in the Chilean street art scene during the dictatorship. The definition of brigade is a group of people who come together for a political purpose. Diego has been doing street art for almost 5 years and is politically engaged in the communist party. The interview took place at a restaurant in Santiago.

Interview 6. 12/4/18

Isabella is in her thirties and is also a brigade from Brigada Ramona Parra. She has been active in street art and politics for ten years and have been painting political statements for her crew in Santiago as well as Valparaiso. She refers to herself a street art soldier. The interview took place at a restaurant in Santiago.

Interview 7. 14/4/18

Dr. Pereda is in his sixties and has been a history professor who specialises in the Chilean art since 1989. He is currently writing a book about the Chilean street art culture and teaches courses regarding the relationship between cultural heritage and cultural civics, the connection between art and politics. The interview took place in a conference room at a university in central Santiago. Due to language barriers, an interpreter who is an English linguistic professor was present.

Interview 8. 17/4/18

Victoria is in her thirties and is a full-time street artist who economically supports herself through her street art. She is well known in the street art scene, not only in Chile but all over America. She has spent the last five years traveling America painting street art for different causes. The

interview took place in her home. Due to language barriers an interpreter who is an English professor was present.

4.4. Processing of Material

After the interviews had been recorded, transcribed and printed the interviews were thoroughly analysed. We started of individually to mark subthemes that we noticed in the material, and later presented the themes to one another and compared notes. It turned out that we had noticed a lot of similarities and a total of four recurring themes were made visible throughout the interviews. The persistent themes were: historical background and cultural heritage, artivism and democracy, identity and school. The term artivism was used by an informant and is short for art and activism. When we looked at the visual field notes collected during the observation, the four themes were visible in them too. The results off the analysis and our interpretations will be presented in the following chapter.

4.5. Ethical Considerations

Based on Vetenskapsrådet (2004) four main rules while conducting research, the following ethical considerations were all implemented in this study. The first rule is making sure the informants knows the conditions and the part they play in the study, as well as making sure they know that contributing is voluntary and that they have the right to cancel the interview at any time. The second rule is that the researcher shall collect the survey participants consent. The third rule is that participants have the right to decide for how long the interview should take place and during what conditions, in order for them to feel comfortable in contributing. They should be able to cancel their participations without any negative consequences on their behalf, and they should be well aware of this fact. The fourth and last rule is that the participant should not be pressured into contributing to the study. Dependence between the researcher and the participants should not occur (Vetenskapsrådet, 2004). Therefore, all the people who have been interviewed for this thesis have been well informed about the purpose of the study as well as the research questions and they have all agreed on contributing. The informants have been asked whether or not they are comfortable with the interview being recorded and they have all given their consent on tape. Furthermore, all have been informed that the interview is anonymous and that their real names and identity will not be stated in the thesis. They have been informed that they can call off the interview at any time and without consequences. The participants have themselves decided where and when the interview should take place. If an interpreter has been present during an interview, the participant has chosen one they trust themselves. However, during interview number five and six, the participants “Diego” and “Isabella” stated during the recording that they wanted their crews name to be mentioned in this thesis. Based on their wishes and their crews’ relevance to the study, an exception has been made. The crew Brigada Ramona Parra will therefore be

mentioned without censorship in the results chapter as well as in the discussion of the findings. They are a political communist crew who are famous for using the walls in the public sphere to spread their political beliefs. They are amongst other things known for their courageous

resistance towards the government during the dictatorship, when people who shared their political views could end up tortured or even killed. They have been active since the 1940’s and have been called “one of Latin America's most remarkable and resilient artistic collectives” by BBC News (2013).

4.6. Method Discussion

The interviews and research that has taken place during this thesis have been based on the concepts validity and reliability. Validity and reliability are concepts designed based on quantitative research (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2014). However, Kvale and Brinkmann (2004) describe these concepts based on a qualitative research perspective.

First of all, according to Kvale and Brinkmann (2014) validity in quantitative research is if the research is examining what is meant to be examined. In a qualitative research however, the concept validity regards many aspects. The validity in a qualitative research must permeate the entire research.Therefore, the thematization of the entire study is of relevance for it to have validity meaning that the theory and research questions needs to have a strong connection to the purpose of the study. Furthermore, it is of importance that the researchers understand their own role and how they may influence the informant’s answers. The interview therefore does not only require that the researcher has quality questions, but that the respondent’s answers have quality too. The researcher must therefore perform thorough questioning in order to truly understand what is being said, as well as constantly control if the answers are true and therefore valid. Moreover, the researchers need to be critical while judging what information that is being made visible in the study and how the researcher choses to interpret these answers in order for the study to have validity (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2014).

Secondly, reliability regards questions such as whether or not the results would have been the same had the research been conducted at another time and by another researcher. Furthermore, reliability also regards questioning if the participants who are being interviewed for a study would share the same answers with other researchers. Moreover, the interviews reliability can be

questioned if the interviewer states leading questions, due to the fact that it may steer the answers in the direction that the interviewer wishes, rather than in the direction the participants wishes (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2014).

The first purposes of this study have been to examine the roll street art may serve in Chile with a special focus on communication, democracy and identity. The second purpose has been to examine the qualities that the street art culture in Chile possess and its possibilities to become an asset in a Swedish art education context when educators wish to highlight topics such as

communication, democracy and identity. Since this is a qualitative study with the focus on individuals’ own experiences, the methods of semi structured interviews, informal interviews and visual field notes have proven to be effective while answering our research questions as well as achieving the study’s purposes. However, the use of an interpreter can be questioned as its relevance and effect on this study can be discussed form two different aspects. First of all, since our Spanish language-skills are limited we do not know if the interpreters have been translating correctly or if the interpreters’ own views and opinions have been made visible in the answers. However, all interpreters used while conducting this study have been professors in English who are from Chile. Their translation is therefore credible since they possess the mental toolbox needed to mediate the artefacts of what is being said in a pedagogical way (Wertsch, 1998). Secondly, some of the informants have told us prior to our meeting that they speak English fluently and that an interpreter does not require to be present. This can also be questioned since we experienced that an interpreter would have been beneficial during some of the interviews that lacked one, due to language barriers.

Furthermore, in a qualitative study, the questions are adapted to the respondent and the

interviews go in different directions depending on what the answers may be (Bryman, 2011). It is therefore unlikely that the study would have the same results if it was conducted again. Despite this, all interviews had themes in common, it can therefore be argued that the interviews have high reliability despite the fact that the study had a qualitative approach since all interviews had similar answers.

5. Results and Interpretation

In the following chapter, the results of the analysis will be presented. Four overall themes were visible. These themes were: historical background, artivism, identity and school. Their relevance to the study will be presented below.

5.1. Cultural Heritage

One of the results that recurred in several interviews, as well as during the observations were the history of Chile and its cultural heritage; as well as how these aspects have affected the street art scene in Chile. Mankind is a biological, social, cultural and a historical being. The last mentioned is important to understand in order to understand the street art culture of Chile. This heading will describe the informants point of views on what impact the Latin American cultural heritage have had on the street art scene in Chile. This following will be presented in chronological order to aid and scaffold the reader towards a deeper understanding of the political changes that affected the street art scene in Chile.

During our interview with Diego we asked why he believes that the street art scene in Chile has spread to such a great degree. Diego then described how street art has become a collective artefact with its roots in Latin America “I think it's big in all Latin America. Because our, we have a very connection with our native people” (12/04/18). He explains how this culture dates all the way back to prior Columbus, when the native people used different mediating tools such as paint to make murals on their houses, which according to Diego are the roots of street art.

And they in the past painted, before Columbus came here they paint everything so I have seen in murals in the Firtiquakan. Firtiquakan is a city they make a culture similar of the Maya culture and they have all their houses painted. So, I think old cultures paint here. So, I think it might be related to our native people and the connection to the nature around us (12/04/18).

This mediating artefact, to paint their houses in decorative patterns and colours, is a part of their social and collective memory since it is still occurring today. Several houses that were found during the observation in Santiago and Valparaiso were in fact completely covered. The pictures below are examples of houses that were found during the observation in Santiago.

The four aspects of learning, that is that mankind is a cultural, historical, social and biological being can all be displayed in the mural below, which depict images from Chile’s cultural heritage.

During the observation where the visual field note above was taken, an informal interview with a professor at a Chilean university took place. He explained how the mural above depicts a Native American woman who is surrounded by different types of mediating tools that are central in Chile's cultural heritage. He explained that the woman who is being portrayed is a symbol of nature and that in Latin American mythology, the nature is female. Dr. Pereda gave a thorough description of the street art culture in Chile, both from an historical perspective as well as present. He describes how the culture of political murals in Chile has its roots in Mexico “Somewhere towards the end of the 19th century and early 20’s century, where the primary aim was to seek an ethos that would identify its people” (Dr. Pereda, 14/04/18). Using the walls in the public sphere was a way to unite the people, as well as to raise opposition and resistance. The Mexican muralists used artefacts in form of semiotic symbols with elements from the Mexican visual culture, in order to express themselves and make their voices heard. “So, during that process, communication was rather restricted, so people found walls in the public space as the main where their view could be expressed and in doing so they were able to eventually found

their own narrative” (Dr. Pereda, 14/04/2018). He later explains how the walls in the public sphere became “the boards where their social discourses were expressed, and these discourses are probably the ones that drove much of the change that took place in the Latin American history”. This was something that later became appropriating and spread across huge parts of Latin America. During the 1950’s the street art movement was appropriated all over Chile and the citizens opposed the current political scene.

So, in Chile, in face of the lack of space, city walls, walls in the city or the public space became the book, the board where these discourses of anger, repression, became the place where these discourses had to be widely known. So, in that way, in that sense, it did resemble the beginning of the movement in Mexico. The beginning of the movement (Dr. Pereda, 14/04/18).

Later during the 1960’s the movement grew and most of what was expressed was political. Dr. Pereda describes how this movement developed in Chile.

The more progressive groups at that time, found that the wall were very useful for them to communicate their ideas. So, it was then when muralist brigades began to be organized[...] And of course they were formed because they wanted to express both political messages, economical messages, they wanted to express their anger, their frustration towards the church (Dr. Pereda, 14/04/18).

After the Mexican street art culture had been appropriated in Chile, the mediating artefacts were used in the public sphere. Anna describes the central role that the brigades have played in the street art history of Chile: “I mean there is this whole history of walls in Chile. Because the wall in Chile was of the murals were made about all the Latin American movements of the 1960’s, the brigadas, that’s a lot of people painting something. It was a political way of, I don't know. Of saying something” (29/03/2018). Furthermore, Isabella who is a current member of the crew

Brigada Ramona Parra agrees with Anna. She talks about the impact Brigada Ramona Parra have had

in Chile “I think that Brigada Ramona Parra did not invented the political street art, but it make it an institution. Because Brigada Ramona Parra was the first brigada existing in Chile” (12/04/2018). The Chilean brigades appropriated muralism from Mexico and used it to raise awareness

regarding their political views, just like the Mexicans have done for centuries. During the period prior Pinochet became president, the brigades mainly used the walls amongst with pencils and paint as mediating tools to make their voices heard. During the dictatorship however, it became harder for them to use these mediating tools to express their minds in the public sphere. Diego, who himself is a member of Brigada Ramona Parra describes that they had to stop making murals due to the great danger that it meant. People who were communists or symphyses with the left wing risked being arrested, tortured or even killed. “When it was the coup, a lot of communist members were killed and all people who was participation in the left wing [...], so someone was killed and disappeared and tortured. So, word of the brigadas stopped for a little bit” (Diego, 12/04/18). Furthermore, Diego explained during an informal interview that rather than making murals like they did prior the coup, the Brigada Ramona Parra now used banderols that were pre-made and later glued to the walls. This pre-made it possible for the brigades to spread their messages a lot faster, meaning that the risk of being arrested decreased (Diego, 12/04/18). Despite the fact that Daniel is too young to have any memories of the coup, he still thinks he has a pretty good

idea of what it was like during that period “In dictator all the people was fucked up you know and it’s like… you know this time across all the country. I think all the people who lived then is like really scared you know (Daniel, 02/04/18)”. Moreover, during an informal interview Daniel described how his mother and uncle were hiding communists during the coup in their home. These communists had attempted to murder Pinochet. This resulted in his mother and uncle having to flee the country and escaped to Columbia. This was something that happened to a lot of people during that time. People who sympathized with the left wing were fleeing the country in order to seek political shelter from Pinochet's regime. Dr. Pereda describes how the resistant changed during the time of Pinochet. He described that the movement had to become

underground.

Pinochet came, it became clandestine, sort of backstreet movement, which was mainly used as a resistance mechanism against the then dictatorship. So, what they did was basically to tattoo the streets of Santiago with a view to making their resistant voices heard. This could also be found at the outskirts of the city where the poor areas were located. So, it was the poor also people expressing their voices against the power, meaning Pinochet's regime (Dr. Pereda, 14/04/18).

Using mediating artefacts meant that they could spread their messages through the written language on public walls. He continues: ”So this type of muralism found… Was mainly found in these poor housing states, on the outskirts of the city. And of course, during Pinochet's regime it became clandestine as these people had to go and paint in the night, risking being imprisoned, risking being beaten up” (14/04/2018). There is a place called Museo a Cielo Abierto which translates to The Open Sky Museum and is located in the suburbs where there is a lower socio-economic standard. This place is filled with political murals both old and new. Many of them depict what happened during the time of the coup. The visual field note below shows a band called Los Prisioneros which translates to The Prisoners and the mural was made back in the 1980’s and is therefore a mediating tool that is a part of the societies social and collective memory.

During an informal interview we learn that Los Prisioneros made provoking music during the 1980’s. The music was anti Pinochet's regime and the fact that they were able to record, and play was because the 1980’s was more open than the 1970’s, meaning that resistant voiced could make themselves heard. This artefact mediates opinions against the regime during the last years of the dictatorship. In 1990, Pinochet resigned, and decades of dictatorship was now over. Dr. Pereda describes the street art scene and what it was like for the brigades: “So right after Pinochet, as it did happen in the case of Mexico, they became normalised, they became officialised”

(14/04/2018). Street art became more popular and more people appropriated the art form, not only the brigades. Victoria describes what it was like after Pinochet resigned: “And after Pinochet there is freedom, so everybody can express themselves the way they want and that’s why there is so many kinds of expressions” (17/04/2018). We asked what kind of expressions and if she believes it was due to the fact that the hip-hop culture had been appropriated from the United States of America. She replied: “Probably yeah, actually yeah the hip hop came here after Pinochet. Mainly tags” (17/04/2018). The photograph below depicts street art in the form of graffiti and tags. This type of street art could not be found prior or during Pinochet. It has been appropriated from the United States of America through the hip-hop culture and shows more individualism rather than spreading political views.

5.2. Artivism: Street Art as a Democratic Tool

During the inspection of the results from the interviews and the visual field notes, it was clear that one of the most reoccurring themes were street art and democracy. Several of the

participants talked about street art as a mediating tool which could be used to express political standpoints. This heading regarding artivism will showcase how the street artists mediate their messages through different artefacts.

The mural that follows is an example of what a political mural in Chile can look like. It represents a portrait of a girl named Macarena Valdés. The text to the top left translates to "revenge" and the following text says that she was murdered by the Chilean government who strangled her to

death on the 22nd of August 2016. The execution took place on the very same street that this mural was found.

The public sphere is for everyone. People who may never have been introduced to art or have had an experience at an art museum, can in fact find art all over the streets of Santiago and Valparaiso. During an interview with Isabella we asked her why she thinks street art is a powerful communication tool. She answered “We the brigadist invite the people to paint with us. The people of the street they never, probably never have had an experience of art in their lives and that impact for their lives using the public space for their purpose is really great” (12/04/18). She continues to talk about her crews’ street art and explains that it is “the way of we communicate our political ideas. That is very important because we have not access to the mass media communication. No, we have no access. This is a country very, well a liberal country, but very restricted. Monopoly in everything” (12/04/2018). According to Isabella, street art is not only making art available for everybody, but it also serves as an art form for her crew to express their political messages to the people in their community. The information is therefore being made accessible for the people in the public sphere through the written language. The written semiotic language, or in this case the painted murals, become the neighbourhoods social and collective memory. One example of this is an old mural that we found in a suburb called Yungai, located just outside of central Santiago and is presented below.

This mural was found on La Calle Catedral, meaning Cathedral Street. Patricio Munita and Bautista Vanschouwen are the names of the two men who are being portrayed on this wall. The text that follows underneath the portraits translates to "Libertines and revolutionists, disappeared after being arrested by the military police on the 13th of December 1973 on Cathedral Street. The people with no memory has no future." This mural serves as a reminder of what happened there during the dictatorship of Pinochet. The mural dates back to the 1980’s and it is meant to acknowledge the murder that occurred on that very street. The text saying “The people with no memory has no future” makes the mural a part of their social and collective memory. Artefacts are connected to mankind's collective memory and has a relation to mind and action. Language is the tool of the tools and symbols are equally important to mankind’s learning process as the written or spoken language. These political murals therefore mediate information to the people in the public sphere. People who are not allowed to express their political beliefs publicly can do so through the visual and semiotic language on the streets. Language is peoples tool to get a

perspective on their surroundings, and by using the visual language in the public sphere the information is made accessible to everyone. Street art can therefore be more than aesthetically appealing art, it can be pure activism. During the interview with Isabella the brigade she stated

One of our labour is to make beautiful things in the street. But another work we do is making propaganda, only propaganda. It’s like a double sense of our work. We make political street, we don’t make only street art. We make political art, political street. We make… There is a word that I think have a very nice connections with that is artivism. It’s art but activism in the same way (Isabella, 12/04/18).

Using the streets like Brigada Ramona Parra does is using their ability to communicate through mediating tools, such as the semiotic language. While being asked how she was introduced to the street art culture, Isabella replied “We really are not artists, we are military. We are soldiers” (12/04/18). Despite the fact that the media in Chile is controlled and censored, the people cannot be silenced. During another interview on the matter, we asked Victoria what her opinion was on the relationship between street art and democracy, the answer was “It caught her

attention the way you say democracy and street art because street art is basically democracy. Everybody can express themselves in the streets. Street art is like a transforming experience in the fact that everybody can see it and appreciate it. It transforms everyone in a way” (17/04/18). If, like Victoria says, street art is in fact democracy it means that it is a tool which is mediating meaning to people who reads its language. The ideas of the person who creates the street art will be interpreted differently depending on who sees it, based on what they are capable of

interoperating by the help of their mental toolbox. In other words, one must possess the right tools in order to understand the language someone is trying to mediate. It all depends on people's previous experiences on the matter and what artefacts they have collected. Just like Isabella stated in her interview, Chile is still a corrupt country due to the fact that the media is bias and that certain political views have monopoly when it comes to mainstream news. Dr. Pereda explains what it was like during the dictatorship:

With Pinochet there was this phrase that was coined by the military agenda and that was the phrase of cultural hygiene. In other words, they were going to clean up the city, and they were going to clean up certain cultural manifestation that were very popular then in order to make the country cleaner. And that meant that certain forms of music were banned, literature, certain books were banned, certain films were banned, certain musical instrument were banned (Dr. Pereda, 10/04/18).

Cleaning up the city meant making sure that the people with certain political beliefs were silences at any cost. Like stated in The Chilean Street Art Scene; a Cultural Heritage, Dr. Pereda explains that the only way for the brigades to make their voices heard during the time of the dictatorship was in fact through street art. Not very much unlike the street art culture of Chile today, only now people are not getting tortured or murdered based on their political beliefs. The following mural was found in a suburb of Santiago and the text translates to “Turn off your TV and turn on your mind”.

This mural, like a lot of the political ones in Chile is referring to the time of Pinochet and how the media, such as television, radio, magazines and so forth only showed censured news which is still an ongoing factor today, even though it might not be as severe. The mural above however is not from the 1980’s which many of the other murals with these types of messages. This one is only a couple of years old. During an informal interview that took place while Daniel showed us around Santiago on a street art walk, he told us that this mural is communicating a clear message. According to Daniel, all Chileans who sees this mural will be able to interpret its message. The construction of the artefacts combined with people's mental toolbox affect how the artefacts, or tools, are being mediated. Those who possess the right language and the right tools to be able to interpret this can make the connection from the time of Pinochet to now. In other words, for someone who does not possess neither the right tools to interpret the Spanish language and the semiotic language, nor the right tools to understand the connection to their social and collective memory, it is harder to interpret its intended meaning. In a situation like this, a so-called master can explain these artefacts to the lesser skilled person who does not yet possess the right artefacts in their mental toolbox. The master can in that sense scaffold the lesser skilled person towards a deeper understanding of what the mural was meant to communicate.

During the interview with Diego he was asked to define the word brigade and what it meant to him. His answer was: “One thing that is important to us is to make a memory about what we make. Because our history, our communist history, is not the harmony history, so there is no book where they tell our history. So, the way we remember what we do is though memory”

(12/04/18). The murals that Brigada Ramona Parra put on the walls are a part of their collective and social memory since there are no history books that tells their story. Some of the murals date all the way back to the 1960’s and serve as a reminder of the brigades’ struggle. When we asked Diego why they are making street art, he replied:

Diego: Because it’s the way we can communicate our message. Because all communication channels in the TV, radio, all newspapers, internet, are in the hands of the rich people and they have all the power to communicate everything they want [...] Because they have all the means of communication. We find the street and a place where we can put our mission. Because I promise, we do not have the money to buy a TV-station. Last month our newspaper was burned.

Maria and Magdalena: When did they do that? D: A month ago. In February.

M & M: Really?! D: This year. Yes. M & M: Who did that? D: No one knows.

M & M: So, someone is trying to like silence you? D: Yes. Always (12/04/2018).

Brigada Ramona Parra cannot showcase their political agenda in the mass media, nor can they

showcase their views in their own channels after the destruction of their newspaper. The way some political views are being suffocated in Chile is therefore not only something that has occurred in the past, it is still ongoing today. The walls in the public sphere are therefore a tool for them to mediate their meaning through the semiotic and written language to spread their political messages to the people. The three following murals are made by Brigada Ramona Parra and were all found during our observation in Santiago at the Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral, which is a culture centre located in Pinochet’s old operational headquarters. The murals depict some of

The first mural is a protest for the workers of the railway. The second mural is a protest for the education system. The third mural is a protest for the rights of the indigenous people of Chile and Latin America. They are from the 1990’s and can all be argued to be a part of mankind’s social and collective memory. Much like the Brigada Ramona Parra, many other Chilean street artists use the streets to highlight injustices in their society. The following mural was found during our observation.

During one of the informal interviews that occurred while the observation was conducted, we were told that the mural above is a protest for the train track workers. The words on the smaller flag translate to “No + pension” while the bigger one says, “Workers of the railway”. The protest being portrayed took place in 2017 when the workers of the railway found out that their pension was going to be cut in half, meaning that some of the men and women who have been working for their entire life would only get 76 000 peso a month, which on the 28th of April 2018 was equivalent to roughly 1100 Swedish Krona. Moreover, we learned during this informal interview that the pension company in Chile is privately owned and that the elderly does not get the

pension that they have worked for their entire life due to corruption. This protest, amongst many other similar ones, may not be what the mass media choses to highlight. So, by using the artefacts language and tools, the street artists can in fact communicate these messages despite the fact that the government might not want them to. During an interview with active street artist Daniel, he was asked if he thought people were affected by the street art during Pinochet’s period as president. He replied:

You know I think that the mural in this time, like in the Pinochet was like a... Like a help you know because all the people were looking to the floor you know like all fucked up like “When is this gonna finish?” you know, and if you are walking like all fucked up and you see a wall say like “Strong” or you know “Fuck Pinochet” for sure you feel like [looks strong]. But for the people who was in a bad time for sure… Because for the other people you know like rich people was relaxed like “Ey, why the fuck this wall?” you know. For sure you have both sides (Daniel, 02/04/2018).

In other words, Daniel beliefs that people were affected differently depending on their previous experience and social status and what their thoughts on Pinochet’s regime were.

The following mural was found in Valparaiso and we learned during an informal interview that it depicts a Chilean man being tortured in a torture centre during the coup. Knowing details from these torture centres, that is possessing the right mental tools in order to make sense of what is