EXHIBITION || Ria Brodell: Devotion The Cornell Fine Arts Museum, Rollins College, Winter Park, FL DEFINITION OF DEVOTION FROM MERRIAM-WEBSTER’S DICTIONARY 1. religious fervor, piety; an act of prayer or private worship2. the act of dedicating something to a cause, enterprise, or activity; the fact or state of being ardently dedicated and loyal Ria Brodell (b. 1977) disrupts traditional narratives and offers multifaceted ways to experience the concept of devotion. While Brodell’s art stems from personal experience, the works in this exhibition allow for a nuanced rumination on gender and sexuality from both historical and contemporary contexts. The exhibition includes works from the artist’s series, Butch Heroes and The Handsome & The Holy. Butch Heroes presents highly detailed paintings of historical subjects who challenged gender norms. The paintings incorporate the structure of...

From David Bartholomae – We just did another piece of the Camino de Santiago and ended up in Astorga, which has one of the pilgrimage route’s lovely small cathedrals. This one had an ex voto. The panel below the painting tells the story of the collapse of scaffolding as the cathedral was being built. With the intervention of St. James (Santiago), the men were saved.From Mariolina Salvatori –I so admire you for your persistence on this wonderful pilgrimage. Thanks for thinking of me. I am glad ex votos and prayer cards bring me to mind. I wonder how those who do not know about ex votos read this painting. And I need to think about how the presence and monumental size of this ex voto, and the fact that it is displayed next to the main altar, and that it was obviously commissioned to a reputable painter, impact the tradition of the ex voto. In this case it is not the humble person, but...

“Spiritual” Antidotes against the Plague In the Middle Ages, the plague wiped out almost one half of the European population. The epidemic broke loose in the Orient, and spread throughout Europe, carried on board ships which from the port of Caffa (Crimea) reached Constantinople (first to be hit by it) and from there sailed to Genova, from which it spread to the center of Italy, and to Messina, from which it crept up the peninsula as far as Rome. But, as it is well-known, the plague hit all of Europe. Physicians were absolutely inadequate and unprepared to deal with this terrifying disease. At that time, medicine relied on “other kinds of knowledge,” Astrology in particular. In the event of an epidemic, they would recommend: 1. Serenity of spirit 2. Sobriety 3. Healthy foods 4. Distance from contagion 5. To wear wools and minerals 6. To trust the attendant physician 7. Use of...

Gli antidoti “spirituali” contro la peste Nel Medioevo sterminò quasi metà della popolazione europea. Esplosa inizialmente in Oriente, si diffuse in Europa veicolata dalle navi che dallo scalo di Caffa (Crimea) raggiungevano Costantinopoli (fu la prima città a essere colpita dal morbo) e da lì Genova, con conseguente diffusione nell’Italia centro settentrionale, e Messina, da cui il morbo si estese al resto del Meridione fino a Roma. Ma l’epidemia – com’è noto – colpì l’Europa intera. I medici dell’epoca si dimostrarono assolutamente inadeguati e del tutto impreparati nell’affrontare questo mostro terrificante. Allora la scienza medica si nutriva di “altre conoscenze”, in particolar modo di Astrologia. In caso di epidemia, per esempio, questi erano i consigli che i medici impartivano: 1. La serenità dello spirito 2. La...