Recognizing Perspectives Through Art

Location:
Bogotá, Colombia
Latitude/Longitude:
4.710988521576, -74.072090148926
Journal Entry:

Since arriving in South America, I have been amazed by the use of art and graffiti as a means to convey information. In fact, most of the time it's very difficult to tell whether it's art, graffiti, or both!

In Bogotá, there is art and graffiti throuhgout the University that I work at, which is called Universidad Nacional de Bogotá (UNAL). In the main plaza, there is a huge mural of two famous political activists: Jaime Garzón and Che Guevara. The first mural of Jaime Garzon shows a portrait of a famous Colombian protestor from the 1960s. The second mural is of Che Guevara, whom you might recognize. He was a communist revolutionary for Cuba in the 20th Century, but today is a pop-culture icon, and appears on lots of shirts and posters.

For students who are more interested in the sciences, there is graffiti for them, too! On another part of campus, I found this graffiti of a chemistry molecule, and a manifesto next to it explaining the importance of having an open mind. Clearly, graffiti presents itself in many different ways at UNAL.

When I was in Medellín a couple of months ago, I couldn't help but notice the differences in art and graffiti from Bogotá.

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