The sounds of silence: how Chileans said no to General Augusto Pinochet

WCU Author/Contributor (non-WCU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Caitlin Ann Tierney (Creator)
Institution
Western Carolina University (WCU )
Web Site: http://library.wcu.edu/
Advisor
Beth Huber

Abstract: Art provides an image of reality from the creator's perspective which sparks interaction between the viewer and the piece. Throughout history, metaphor-infused art has inspired dialogue and social change as a means for oppressed people to speak out in a society where a violent, political oppressor has silenced their voices. Employing art, oppressed people can communicate safely with the outside world through individual cultural expression. Through creating and viewing political art viewers are invited into a national discourse which contributes to building cultural identity. This study examines how political movements, focusing on Chile's 1988 No campaign against their dictator, Pinochet, can be facilitated by nontraditional, traditional, and performance arts because they each contain similar political messages and discrete expressions of emotion, hopes, and desires. Therefore, political art embodies a form of rhetoric that can potentially provoke emotional responses in viewers through visual images and inspire people to join movements by promoting the recognition of violence and images of peace for the future.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 2009
Keywords
Chile, Dialogue, No campaign, Nonviolence, Political Commercials, Rhetorical Analysis
Subjects
Art -- Political aspects -- Chile
Chile -- History -- 1973-1988
Politics in art

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