ABSTRACT

Visual art provides a platform for activists to make political standpoints, highlight social struggles, and reinforce collective identities in a silent, yet powerful way. Protest art is a form of non-violent action that allows expressions of dissent and inspires change. Murals are a unique form of protest because they are in public spaces and reach a large audience that is then exposed to political and social critiques, often highlighting past and present injustices. In this article, we introduce the work of Yehimi Cambrón as a case study. Cambrón is an artist living in Atlanta, Georgia where her murals depict historic and current issues by mingling Atlanta’s rich history of the civil rights movement with her personal story of being an undocumented immigrant. We analyse her work through the lens of non-violent theories and in the context of street art and protest murals that have brought awareness to a variety of cultural, structural, and violent conflicts. In line with the literature on protest art and non-violent action, we argue that murals like the ones from Cambrón are a form of non-violent civic action that give voice to marginalized groups by using publicly visible space to confront social and political issues.

摘要

视觉艺术为活动家提供了一个平台，可以以一种沉默而有力的方式提出政治立场、突出社会斗争并加强集体认同。抗议艺术是一种非暴力行动形式，允许表达异议并激发变革。壁画是一种独特的抗议形式，因为它们出现在公共场所并吸引了大量观众，然后他们会受到政治和社会批评，通常会突出过去和现在的不公正。在本文中，我们将介绍 Yehimi Cambrón 作为案例研究的工作。Cambrón 是一位住在佐治亚州亚特兰大的艺术家，她的壁画将亚特兰大丰富的民权运动历史与她作为无证移民的个人故事相结合，描绘了历史和当前的问题。我们通过非暴力理论的视角以及街头艺术和抗议壁画的背景来分析她的作品，这些壁画使人们意识到了各种文化、结构性和暴力冲突。与有关抗议艺术和非暴力行动的文献一致，我们认为像 Cambrón 的壁画是一种非暴力公民行动形式，通过使用公开可见的空间来应对社会和政治问题，为边缘化群体发声。