Družboslovne Razprave (May 2015)

The (im)possible representation of national history: national identity, memory and trauma in Memoria Visual de una Nación by Mario Toral

  • Hernán Cuevas Valenzuela

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 31, no. 79
pp. 7 – 26

Abstract

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This article presents an analysis of the mural titled Memoria Visual de una Nación (Visual Memory of a Nation) with a focus on its panel Los Conflictos (The Conflicts) , by renowned Chilean artist Mario Toral. The representation of divisive events in MVN raises the following questions: Why did Toral include conflictive issues in a mural representing national identity and memory? And, how did Toral deal with national identity and its demand for unity when faced with a divisive and traumatic history? The article deals first with the interconnectedness of meaning-making and social and political context and then addresses the tension between the realm of the political -or antagonism- and the realm of hegemonic politics -or order- in search of a deeper understanding of this work of art and its representation of Chilean history and identity.

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