In Focus II: Ex Voto: Agents of Faith

This seminar continues the themes of the first In Focus class and will involve students in the researching, writing, and production of the exhibition catalogue as well as the organization of the exhibition Agents of Faith: Votive Giving Across Cultures, opening in the Bard Graduate Center Gallery in March 2017. An “ex voto” is a votive offering to a saint or a deity, given as a token of gratitude for a miracle performed and in some cases offered as vow. As part of ritual, votive objects present a deep-rooted, structural consistency across cultures, from archaic Greece to our era, from the Himalayan slopes to the forests of Brazil. Almost anything, regardless of size, weight, form, or original function, can become a votive object. Ultimately, the category refers to a subset of the material world in which a thing is not necessarily made to be a votive, but instead becomes charged with votive meaning once dedicated to a deity or deities. The seminar builds on the assumption that a shared conceptual framework underpins votive objects, and that by merit of their consecration they have become a category representing a special stage in the life of a material. Together we will explore the relationship between humans and deities through the basic act of material exchange. The seminar will consider the participation of donors and devotees, as well as theories from fields of religion and anthropology, which will serve to examine and further our understanding of the unique phenomenon of the ex voto. 3 credits. Satisfies the pre-1800 requirement.