Estación San Martín
- Caitlin Pearson
- Jul 27, 2019
- 4 min read
Going on my 6th week, I started recognizing familiar names around Buenos Aires. Street names, plazas, and subway stations. One of them was San Martín. Many of my posts are on Line D (the green line) since that was the once I almost always used, but this time I decided to take a further travel to Estación San Martín on Line C, a connecting line from D. Although San Martín is not an artist, Chadopif (the company that controls what art is put in the subway) chose two artists that represented the history of Argentina. This first mosaic shows a variety of plants that are specifically native to Argentina. The artist, Marcela Mouján, was inspired from Plaza San Martín and the vast pampas in Argentina. **
I enjoyed the 6 meter mosaic in contrast to the tiled murals commonly used in Line D. The scenery engulfs you with the feeling of being outside— almost tricking you into thinking that you are not in a humid subway station. I imagine the weeping willow swaying in wind and the sun peeking through the clouds. This mural successfully “invites you to rest your eyes [and transmits] the freshness of the square on the surface downwards”.
**the pampas are outside the city of Buenos Aires. Fun fact, I learned that that the city of Buenos Aires is basically the hub for all of the country of Argentina. Outside of BA, it is mostly deserted plains or farming zones for Mate (a regional tea). That’s WILD if you ask me.
http://www.buenosairesinforma.com/Notas/Murales-de-la-artista-Marcela-Moujan-en-la-linea-C-de-Subte
_____________________________________PART 2______________________________________
Introducción histórica (Historical Introduction), Luis Felipe Noé
On the other side of the Subté station is an even larger mural by Luis Felipe Noé. Although there is a lack of information on this piece, I did have the opportunity to research Noé’s other pieces. His style of art and the way he views Buenos Aires very evidently is reveled in Historical Introduction. I almost gave up on writing about this piece but after studying more about the artist, I did not need some other person analyzing and publishing their interpretation or even the artist himself telling the world about his piece. Therefore everything that is said after this sentence, is my rational interpretation based off the artist's past and previous works of art.
The artist spent the majority of life moving back and forth from Paris to Buenos Aires. The peak of Noe’s work was when he one times returned to Buenos Aires and made paintings that consisted of grotesque images designed to activate political movement. He always saw Argentina as an unstable place, yet he always seemed to return.Hence, the back and forth moving. There is something magnetic about the city, yet to this day a visitor could come to Argentina and will face one protest after the other. I would hear horns blaring right outside my window at hours ranging from two in the morning to 3 in the afternoon. Classes would be cancelled because all public transportation would be on strike. And i would see people marching (thankfully peacefully) around the Presidential House. Argentina's government and financial stability fluctuates. It’s a slow fluctuation but nonetheless present to see the changes in one’s lifetime. There are moments of hope, and then there are moments of severe danger, and then moments of hope again. Noé created a large painting called “Introduccion a la Esperanza (Introduction to Hope)” which “[communicates] a sense of the overwhelming anarchy and continual unrest that defines Argentina’s political process.” I believe that Noé has the done the same here in the Subté mural. Not only is it convenient that the titles almost seem to go together as if there were in a series, but also the meaning holds true to one another. The mural transitions as one scans their eyes from left to right as if reading a history book. It starts out black and white, yet there is still some unwanted and often unmentioned blurriness if one doesn’t pay attention. One/fourth of the way in reading, one finds brilliant colors, full of life. Colors flow, creation of depth is made, and images are pieced together such as leaves and tress. A pocket of 3x4 tiles interrupts the utopia scene with a dull, smoggy city. It is as though a window opened to the future of the city that is so near and dear to many including the artist himself. I believe the smoggy city is not to show the terrible pollution of Buenos Aires (although, I have not doubt that is truly what it may look like in an aerial view) but rather an event that occurred fairly recently in Argentina : the 1976 military coups d’état. This most recent dictatorship occurred after the overthrow of Perón* the military took on a permanent dictatorship, causing the Dirty War, and resulting in around 30,000 people to go ‘missing’.
A lot happened in the little window. Afterwards, the country was never the same. And why would it be? How could it be? The last fourth of the mural shows trees and plants slowly becoming representational again just like in the Utopia phase, but this time, lacks color. There is a scar and lack of liveliness that was once there. Strained smiles and mournful memories. But don’t worry this is only the introduction of history as Noé titles it. Oh Argentina, you are strong but your wounds are clear.
*a deeply loved President and legend. Basically equivalent to John F. Kennedy in the US
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