In day 6, we had gone to the museum of memory, which is about the 1973 Chilean coup. Besides this museum, many other places in Santiago about this coup. The coup is an important historical event in Chile and strongly affected the Chilean culture. The appearance of the museum shocked me. It covered by bronze apertured pieces, which make museum looks like a huge bronze cuboid in the white square. The strong contrast between the dark green and white colors seems to remind people of this heavy history. Inside the building, the apertured cover pieces allow people can see the outside through the windows. This makes the museum has a strong appearance and less oppressed when people get inside there. The profiles of people who died in the coup are hang up on the walls, making me truly feel those people had gone. Also, watching those watches, drawings of children, and many their articles of daily use are exhibited on the walls, I can’t help imagining their life before the coup and feel sad about the tragedy. The museum reminded me of many World War two and Sino-Japanese war museums in my country. I think those museums around the world is telling to people that stop the war because the war always hurt the common people.
Nice observations Chang. I, too, couldn’t imagine the people’s lives after being affected by this tragedy. I couldn’t read much of the information in the museum but the drawings from the children who grew up during that period really made me think about how much of their childhood and their parents’ life would have been taken away.
Another moment that made me feel the tragedy of the time was from a video that had English subtitles. The video was of survivors talking about the torture they went through. It was shown in a less illuminated space on the second floor that was semi enclosed making the space feel more private and personal. Infront of the television screen was an actual metal bed and the electrocution device used on the victims.
After watching this tragic video, I reflected in the glass room on the third floor where the view was directed on the wall of memory. Candle-like figures illuminated the perimeter of the floor and reflected along the glass creating a contemplative space.
As a non-architecture student, I really appreciate the points about the building. It is very true that the building was solid and intimidating from the outside. Yet, it didn’t seem like that from the inside.
I seemed to notice that the exhibit was set up in a way so the guest followed the same emotional journey that the country did at this time. It set up the situation, what lead to the coup. It showed the emotions of going through the military takeover. It showed the hardship the citizens faced and what they did to fight back. Then it showed the importance of voting the military president out of power. Then the happy celebrations of the election. Finally, it made a point to reflect on everything and to make sure it never happens again. By taking guests through this experience, the emotional payoff afterwards is quite great.
This exhibit really showed me how important the planning is for a place like this. The better the planners put together the exhibit, the more the visitors and the country can remember the message.
Especially after the horrific events this country faced, it is important to never forget the message that the people learned from it.