La Revolución del 25 de Enero de Egipto y la resignificación de su pasado faraónico. Una mirada al graffiti de los movimientos sociales contemporáneos y a los discursos expositivos de museos con colecciones egipcias
Fecha
2016
Autores
Título de la revista
ISSN de la revista
Título del volumen
Editor
Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Humanidades y Artes. Centro de Estudios Sobre Diversidad Cultural
Resumen
Descripción
Los habitantes del país del Nilo se han caracterizado, desde la antigüedad, por poseer un especial virtuosismo para las artes plásticas; las cuales han capturado y plasmado -inclusive en los momentos de convulsión social- el ideario y la esperanza que animan al pueblo a buscar un futuro más próspero. Aunque la cultura, estructura social e historia del Egipto contemporáneo difieren de su pasado faraónico; durante la thawret 25 yanāyir “la Revolución del 25 de Enero” de 2011 se pintaron muchos graffiti, en las calles aledañas a la plaza Tahrir en la ciudad de El Cairo, que retomaron y reinterpretaron algunos elementos del antiguo arte egipcio. Gracias a los medios de comunicación masivos -sobre todo digitales- múltiples imágenes de las mencionadas
expresiones artísticas populares dieron la vuelta al orbe y se convirtieron en íconos de la revolución egipcia e inclusive de la denominada ar-rabī al-arabī “la primavera árabe”. En este artículo se exponen algunos de los acontecimientos históricos que fomentaron la creación de algunas de las concepciones erróneas y clichés sobre Egipto, con el objetivo de comprender y valorar el contexto informativo que se difundió en los países occidentales sobre los trepidantes acontecimientos de la Revolución del 25 de Enero. Asimismo, se analiza la importancia de la resignificación del pasado faraónico en los
graffiti como una expresión de emancipación y declaración descolonizadora del pueblo egipcio. Por último, se reflexiona sobre el caso de la exposición 'Nu' Shabtis-Liberation como un ejemplo que muestra la viabilidad de implementar nuevos discursos curatoriales en los museos que cuentan con colecciones egipcias.
The inhabitants of the land of the Nile have been characterized, from the Antiquity, for having a special virtuosity for the arts; that captures and renders -even in times of social upheaval- the ideology and the hope to encourage people to seek for a more prosperous future. Although the culture, social structure and history of contemporary Egypt differ from its pharaonic past; during the thawret 25 yanāyir “the January 25 Revolution” of 2011 many graffiti, that retook and reinterpreted some elements of ancient Egyptian art, were painted on the streets near Tahrir Square in the city of El Cairo. Thanks to the mass media -especially the digital-based- multiple images of the aforementioned popular artistic expressions were seen around the world and became icons of the Egyptian revolution and even for the so-called ar-rabī alarabī "the Arab spring". In this article I discuss some of the historical events that fostered the creation of some misconceptions and clichés about Egypt, in order to understand and assess the context of information that spread in Western countries about the thrilling events of the January 25 Revolution. Also, I analyze the importance of the re-signification of the Pharaonic past in the graffiti as an expression of emancipation and decolonization statement of the Egyptian people. Finally, I reflect about the case of the 'Nu' Shabtis-Liberation exhibition as an example that shows the feasibility of implementing new curatorial discourses in museums that holds Egyptian collections.
The inhabitants of the land of the Nile have been characterized, from the Antiquity, for having a special virtuosity for the arts; that captures and renders -even in times of social upheaval- the ideology and the hope to encourage people to seek for a more prosperous future. Although the culture, social structure and history of contemporary Egypt differ from its pharaonic past; during the thawret 25 yanāyir “the January 25 Revolution” of 2011 many graffiti, that retook and reinterpreted some elements of ancient Egyptian art, were painted on the streets near Tahrir Square in the city of El Cairo. Thanks to the mass media -especially the digital-based- multiple images of the aforementioned popular artistic expressions were seen around the world and became icons of the Egyptian revolution and even for the so-called ar-rabī alarabī "the Arab spring". In this article I discuss some of the historical events that fostered the creation of some misconceptions and clichés about Egypt, in order to understand and assess the context of information that spread in Western countries about the thrilling events of the January 25 Revolution. Also, I analyze the importance of the re-signification of the Pharaonic past in the graffiti as an expression of emancipation and decolonization statement of the Egyptian people. Finally, I reflect about the case of the 'Nu' Shabtis-Liberation exhibition as an example that shows the feasibility of implementing new curatorial discourses in museums that holds Egyptian collections.
Palabras clave
Egipto, Revolución del 25 de Enero, Graffiti, Museos, Egypt, January 25 Revolution, Museums