Activist Artists Subvert the Message

by Marcela Valente

From a distance it looks like an ordinary traffic sign, a
yellow rhombus like so many others in the Argentine capital.
But on approach, the sign can be seen to contain an unusual
warning message: "A former torturer lives 100 metres from here."

BUENOS AIRES, Feb 13 (IPS) -- The sign, quietly placed in a
public area, will not stay in place for long, but the Street
Art Group (GAC) does not care. "It may last a day, a week,
or a little longer," Carolina Golder, a member of the group, told IPS.

The aim of this collective of eight artists, designers and
photographers is to infiltrate traditional communication
systems and "subvert the message," she commented.

The GAC was formed in 1997 to back a protest by teachers
demanding wage hikes and a greater share of the budget for
education. The teachers had pitched a massive tent in front
of Congress, and took turns camping there for more than two
years.

The artists adorned the White Tent, as it was called, with
black and white silhouettes of the white coats worn by
teachers in Argentina.

The group became famous, however, when the Parque de la
Memoria (Memory Park) was inaugurated. This is a green area
along the bank of the Rio de la Plata commemorating those
who were detained and 'disappeared' during the 1976-1983
military dictatorship. The GAC put up a set of "road signs" with messages to recount the last few years of Argentine
history.

"At first we were just trying to do things in the streets,
outside the traditional exhibition circuit. Later we got
into a dialogue with the public and our messages became more
political," Golder said. At present the group works with
organisations that defend human rights and unemployed
workers. It also takes part in protests.

"We define ourselves more as activists than artists," said Golder, the group's spokesperson. Passersby react with
surprise and curiosity. Many drivers think they must have
been imagining things after seeing the usual symbols of law
and order transformed, for one brief moment, into a new and
unexpected message.

The GAC has worked with HIJOS, a human rights group made up
of children of people who were forcibly 'disappeared' by the
dictatorship, in actions (known as "escraches") to make neighbours aware of where former torturers and other agents
of repression are living.

That gave rise to the idea for the rhombus-shaped signs to
alert people to the possible presence of former torturers.
Maps have also been made, similar to the maps of the Buenos
Aires subway system, but which show in red where clandestine
concentration camps were located during the dictatorship.

Later on, the group's activities expanded and took on a
higher profile.

On the eve of Argentina's late 2001 economic and political
collapse, the members of the GAC encircled the Congress
building with red-and-white tape like that used on the
streets to warn about danger.

They also made signs reading "closing down sale," like those used in shops getting ready to shut their doors. But they
put them up on the front of the Casa Rosada -- the
government palace -- and on the Congress building and the
Obelisco monument in the city centre.

"What we do isn't art, but collective interventions aimed at opening up a dialogue with people," said Golder. She added
that their work is always unsigned because the idea is to
create an ambiguous message which looks like a quirk within
the information system itself.

In spite of the short-lived nature of the messages, they are
welcomed by the public, even though they sometimes touch on
sensitive issues. "Usually it's the police who take them
down," the artist said. But members of the group are
persistent, and often replace their sign, map or poster on,
or near, the same spot.

The GAC has also put up plaques and altars, similar to those
that commemorate the country's independence heroes, in
memory of the 29 demonstrators killed by police in December
2001 during the brutal crackdown on the popular uprising
which forced then president Fernando De la Rúa to step down
halfway through his term of office.

The artists mark the place where the victims fell, along
with their name, age, and the date they were killed, with
printed paper covered in resin, which makes it hard to
remove. These markers tend to disappear after a few weeks,
but the group and the relatives of the victims merely
replace them.

Another controversial initiative is printing tickets
identical to those sold by the subway company, with the same
typeface and colours, but with the name and photo of a
former torturer who currently works as head of security for
the subway firm Metrovías.

Sometimes the activist artists resort to a quicker method of
production which is nonetheless just as effective. They
merely add their message to billboards and advertising
posters. For example, to a poster for a recital by Puerto
Rican pop star Chayanne, they added a bubble in which the
singer is calling for freedom for those arrested in a street
demonstration.

With organisations of the unemployed, the GAC took part in a
traditional pilgrimage to the church of San Cayetano, patron
saint of work, and distributed the usual small pictures of
the saint among the faithful.

But instead of a prayer on the reverse side, their cards had
a summary of a proposal to reduce the working day from eight
to six hours.

The group's latest contribution to street art has already
crossed borders and has been used in Germany and Brazil.
They produced silhouettes that look like shooting targets,
but have a printed message saying "we are still the targets
of . . . ," and the message is completed with the particular user's reply: "consumerism," "precarious employment", or "repression."