“Taco Art” and the End of “The Barrio”: Murals, Community and Politics in Chicago’s Pilsen Neighborhood

This dissertation examines the political and aesthetic transformation of muralism in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood over more than five decades. Through archival research, interviews, and ethnographic fieldwork, it traces how public art evolved across three overlapping eras: the Social Movement Era, the Institutionalized Era, and the Commodified Era. In early years, Chicano artists created murals as acts of cultural affirmation and political resistance, reclaiming space in the face of displacement and neglect. This grassroots energy is captured in the concept of the “little room,” where artists, activists, and neighbors built power outside formal institutions. The election of Harold Washington in 1983 marked a shift. Murals were increasingly folded into official narratives, city-sponsored events, and nonprofit partnerships. The “big room” emerged, visible, polished, funded, and often stripped of the insurgent edge that defined earlier work. The study engages political theory, urban studies, and cultural analysis, drawing from Hannah Arendt, David Harvey, Sharon Zukin, Arlene Dávila, and John Betancur. It situates muralism within broader debates about symbolic power, neoliberal aesthetics, and the commodification of culture and identity. Chicano Movement artists like Marcos Raya critique how Pilsen’s murals, once born from struggle, are now used to brand the neighborhood for outsiders. This phenomenon, described by Raya as “taco art,” reflects a shift from political expression to aesthetic packaging. The dissertation argues that muralism has been both a site of presence and a tool of control, a canvas for community and for capital. It concludes by asking whether muralism, long a voice for the marginalized, can still speak politically in a landscape where cultural identity and resistance are increasingly commodified.

Author dc:creator

• Scott Braam (23292046)

• Political Science, General
• Urban and Regional Planning
• Art History
• Urban Studies

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright
• Open Access after 2028-01-01

DOI dc:identifier

https://doi.org/10.25417/uic.31451737.v1

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:figshare.com:article/31451737