Murals as Memory Carriers. Analysis of the Meanings Given to Them and the Attitudes of Their Creators

Adriana Krzywik

doi:10.1344/waterfront2021.63.11.03

Abstract

The phenomenon of wall paintings has been developing in public space since the Mexican Revolution. Murals are used, among other purposes, to capture memories. Moreover, they are one of the most popular forms of representation of the past in public space, commonly called memory carriers. In the discussion of the research being carried out, the opportunities associated with the formation of historical awareness and attitudes towards society’s past through commemorative murals will be highlighted.The research was conducted from July to November 2020. It was based on the analysis of the existing materials – photographs of commemorative murals (significant and marked elements) and interviews with semi-structured memory agents. The first stage of the described research focused on the authors of commemorative murals.The aim of the research was to determine the meaning and values that the creators of murals have given in general and in particular to the commemorative murals made by themselves.The research allowed, among other things, to answer questions concerning the artistic path of the creators (graffiti environment), what factors influenced the process of making mural (family history, one’s own past, finances, social involvement), worldview and values of the declared creators (patriotism) and attitude to the politics of memory.

Highlights

Urban space as a socio-spatial structure is accessible to all its users (Bierwiaczonek 2018 and 2015; Smagacz-Poziemska 2017: 35; Wallis 1990: 45)
By undertaking activities in urban space – whether individual or joint activities interfering with the visual sphere of the city – communities become attached to the place, which in turn contributes to the construction of local identity (Lewcka 2008), and that affects the valuation of urban space (Bierwiaczonek 2015; Wallis 1990)
Observing the phenomena around commemorative murals, we find such collective behaviour, more often by individuals, whose aim is to paint over figures with an unclear past or who represent values incompatible with those shared by that individual

Summary

Introduction

Urban space as a socio-spatial structure is accessible to all its users (Bierwiaczonek 2018 and 2015; Smagacz-Poziemska 2017: 35; Wallis 1990: 45) It is in this space that the daily lives of the actors of public space take place, from the performance of everyday individual interactions, such as commuting or walking (Pineda 2017: 16 after Bourdieu 1999), to activities of a social nature, i.e. participation in protests, anniversary celebrations, or the collective revitalization of space (Gehl 2014). Thinkers such as Henri Lefebvre, David Harvey, and Pierre Bourdieu, among others, analysed space as a sphere in which historical, political and social events take place. As Henri Lefebvre wrote „each living body is space and has its space; it produces itself in space and produces that space” (Lefebvre 1991, 170; cited by Huffschmid 2013)

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