Leopoldo Maler—Witness to Silence

The first object I chose during my visit to El Museo Del Barrio was Leopoldo Maler’s Witness to Silence (Testigo al silencio). The artist is from Argentina and the object was made in the year 1990. At a first glance, Witness to Silence captures one’s attention by its sheer size. It is a large (nearly reaching up to one’s knees) silver human head made of cast steel and located on the exhibit floor. Its gender is unknown, but it appears to be a man’s head because of the sharp features of the nose and thick eyebrows. The head is tilted at a 45-degree angle. There is no detail in the eyes, leaving the observer unable to determine a facial expression or any emotion. The most striking characteristic of Witness to Silence is a set of glowing neon bars around the lips, similar to the mouth bars in Hannibal Lecter’s restraint mask. However, they are directly connected to the area above and below the lips, caging them behind bars.

Witness to Silence first captured my attention because of its position. Unlike other exhibits, which were hanging on the walls or at least at level with the viewer, Witness to Silence was placed directly on the floor. The head’s tilt made it seem like it was staring straight at the viewer, which I thought was a clever method of connecting the viewer to the art piece. What I found most compelling about Witness to Silence was its powerful symbolism—there was a lot more to the object than just the object itself. For me, it symbolized the oppression of a totalitarian government, which was particularly depicted in the neon bars surrounding the lips. I thought the caged lips implied the suppression of speech that was considered inconvenient or illicit. Witness to Silence told a story of severe penalty (in this case, the impalement of bars around one’s lips) for those who voiced their opinions or refused to comply with the control of a regime. It seemed as though the artist was stressing how immoral this method of torture and punishment was, especially because the bars stood out as they glowed neon. Witness to Silence stood out to me because it was created to make a stand on a certain topic, rather than appear beautiful. I liked it because it wasn’t just a simple piece of decoration meant to attract viewers—it told the story of a significant and controversial point in human history.