“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” The “Arts of Resistance” exhibit held at the Museum of Anthropology in the University of British Columbia aims to show how political history of Latin America could be presented in traditional or historical art forms, and thus, communicates this knowledge to its audience. In this blog post, I will be examining how the artwork relating to “the Defence of Maize” shows its historical story as well as bringing up other concepts learned in my courses.

 

“Arts of Resistance” as a Whole

Expressing the political history of Latin America through traditional or historical art forms are helpful for increasing the vividness of our memory. It allows strong and intense emotions to be felt through the material and color used, thus allows the general audience to be more attached to the agonizing stories of Latin America.

The exhibition was fascinating and thought-provoking. It showed how people resisted when they were put into dangerous situations, yet I was left with some struggles to understand the artwork. The major problem was because I was not familiar with the political history of Latin America.

Departure from the museum left many questions in my head. I was wondering whether the government implemented any measures that time to help women who were subjected to violence.  Another thing that also interested me was why graffiti stencils instead of other art forms were used to describe the situation of the “Defence of Maize.” This question thus inspired my investigation of this artwork.

 

“The Defence of Maize” – Artist, Artwork, and Audience

 

The artwork representing “the Defence of Maize” clearly showed how “communities in Latin America use traditional or historical art forms to express contemporary political realities.” It is characterized by a scene when an Indigenous Oaxacan Mixe woman pointed a gun towards engineers responsible for the transgenic maize. As a general audience, I have first perceived the artwork as a traditional graffiti with a few layers of stencils without realizing any further meanings of it. However, to understand this art piece, there are three interrelated components that we should keep in mind: the artist, the audience and the artwork. At the beginning of the design of “The Defence of Maize,” the artist acts as a witness of the situation and remembers the story behind the artwork, which was initially only a drawing. In this case, the artwork plays a significant role in communicating the artist’s thought on the protest on transgenic maize to the audience. The artwork presented in the exhibition shows not only a drawing of the protest but also allows room for the audience to feel the intense emotions involved during that time.

 

The Relationship between Individual Memory and Collective Memory

The explanation above also brings up some of the concepts learned in ASTU class: individual memory and collective memory. Memories that are transmitted across generations must have been shared with others. Individual memory is one’s memory of a previous experience. Initially, memory was personal and limited to people such as the artist or witnesses during the protest. However, after the drawing or making the graffiti stencils, the artist was able to share this scene to the public or people interested in the political history of Latin America, thus converts individual memory to collective memory. Collective memory, which is defined as memory shared between two or more individuals, is crucial for the sharing of memory between different generations and across countries. This allows the general audience to understand and know more about the political reality of Latin America, such as the experience of people who were escaping during the Salvadoran Civil War, which thus gives them an opportunity to reflect on their attitude towards life. If individual memory was not shared, collective memory would not have been able to exist, and as a general audience, we would have never known anything about the experiences of those Indigenous people.

 

“The Defence of Maize” and “Sociological Imagination”

Throughout the exhibition, it was found that the graffiti stencils showing the resistance of citizens to transgenic maize were firmly related to the concept of “Sociological Imagination,” and this inspired my thought on the view of sociologists on this artwork. As Wright Mills writes in his book:

“The sociological imagination enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene regarding its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals.” 

It is clear that for Mills, a close relationship is found between the everyday lives of individuals and wider social or structural forces. “Sociological Imagination” does not only make it possible to link personal problems to public issues, but it also helps us understand how the environment around shapes our behavior and thoughts about the world.

As in this case, the authorization of transgenic maize in Mexico triggered my thought on how widely used genetic engineering is across the world. The use of genetically modified food such as soybean, cotton, and maize are getting more popular these days, yet it is generally associated with lower nutritional values and has a large impact on the local agricultural market. Despite the fact that approximately 70%-90% of these crops are used to feed food-producing animals, this modified food enters our body and may cause health problems in the long-term.

The concept of “Sociological Imagination” allows the particular situation in Mexico to be connected with other related issues around the world, and thus allows us to better understand the motives of people who undergo protest actions, as well as the scene when the woman was fighting against engineers in the art piece.

 

Final Thoughts

The artwork on “the Defence of Maize” enhanced my understanding of the political history of Latin America, and specifically, how artwork could be used to explain these stories. The exhibition also shows other situations including wars, causalities, violence towards women, which allowed us to reflect our attitudes towards everyday lives. We can satisfy our basic needs, attend school and have a close connection with our family and friends. We should not be taken for granted, and treasure what we have.