Art can be a powerful avenue of resistance to oppressive governments. During the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile; some of the countryrsquo;s least powerful citizensmdash;impoverished women living in Santiagorsquo;s shantytownsmdash;spotlighted the governmentrsquo;s failings and use of violence by creating and selling arpilleras; appliqueacute;d pictures in cloth that portrayed the unemployment; poverty; and repression that they endured; their work to make ends meet; and their varied forms of protest. Smuggled out of Chile by human rights organizations; the arpilleras raised international awareness of the Pinochet regimersquo;s abuses while providing income for the arpillera makers and creating a network of solidarity between the people of Chile and sympathizers throughout the world.Using the Chilean arpilleras as a case study; this book explores how dissident art can be produced under dictatorship; when freedom of expression is absent and repression rife; and the consequences of its production for the resistance and for the artists. Taking a sociological approach based on interviews; participant observation; archival research; and analysis of a visual database; Jacqueline Adams examines the emergence of the arpilleras and then traces their journey from the workshops and homes in which they were made; to the human rights organizations that exported them; and on to sellers and buyers abroad; as well as in Chile. She then presents the perspectives of the arpillera makers and human rights organization staff; who discuss how the arpilleras strengthened the resistance and empowered the women who made them.
#2486477 in eBooks 2013-08-21 2013-08-21File Name: B00ENOOP5A
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Very nice; but the pictures would be more enjoyable to ...By TIM BACHICHAVery nice; but the pictures would be more enjoyable to look at if this were published in a coffee table sized hardbound. For the price; it is excellent!