Arte e memoria. Il Parque de la Memoria y de los derechos humanos di Buenos Aires

Abstract

The essay explores the relationship between art – visual arts, installation, sculptures, videos - and traumatic collective memories by analysing a peculiar site of memory: the Parque de la Memoria y de los Derechos Humanos in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After a short introduction aimed at clarifying some of the ways in which a work of art can be called upon to transmit, recount, expose, reflect or work through a traumatic past such as that of the Argentinian state terrorism and the “guerra sucia”, we discuss the space of the Parque along the Rio de la Plata, that includes a monument for the desaparecidos, an actual park with sculptures and installations, a space for temporary exhibitions and an archive. In particular, we devote the second part of the essay to Alfredo Jaar’s 2015 temporary exhibition “El punto ciego de la historia”, in which the Chilean artist dialogue with Argentinian’s past and his own works on the Chilean dictatorship.

Keywords

• memory
• art
• trauma
• memorials
• argentina
• guerra sucia
• parque de la memoria
• alfredo jaar