Sympathetic Magic: Works of Faith, Healing and Transformation contrasts Christian imagery with ritual objects from China, pre-Columbian North America and modern art as a means to explore ritual. The contemporary artists in this exhibition—Department of Art faculty María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Raheleh Filsoofi, Jana Harper and alumnus Aiden Layer, BS’19,—draw insight from distinct mediums and diverse cultural backgrounds, contributing artworks that bridge the inner life of an individual with the material world we all share.
Sympathetic Magic runs through Jan. 30, 2022, and is open to the campus community. A video tour of the exhibition is also available.
Artists Panel Discussion: Sympathetic Magic: Works of Faith, Healing and Transformation
Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, 5:00–6:30 p.m. CST.
Join us to discuss themes of healing, resilience and transformation with exhibition artists. Each will discuss their creative process and current work and respond to the installation. The presentation will be a hybrid live-Zoom event including a short video tour of the exhibition. This event is open to the campus community in Cohen Memorial Hall, Room 203, and to friends off-campus, via Zoom.
Please register for the event, and to receive the Zoom link.
The Fine Arts Gallery in Cohen Memorial Hall, 2nd Floor, will be open until 8 p.m. on Nov. 10 for the campus community.
If you are unable to participate on Nov. 10, the event will be recorded and posted to the Sympathetic Magic web page a week after the event.
Image Credits Left to Right: 1) Aiden Layer, American, b. 1997. Disturbing the Status Quo, 2021 Inkjet print on paper, Courtesy of the artist.
2) Jana Harper, American, b. 1970. This Holding: Traces of Contact, 2020 Video, 27′, Courtesy of the Artist. Movement Director: Rebecca Steinberg, Musical Score and Arrangement: Moksha Sommer & Jemal Wade Hines, Videography: Sam Boyette, Dancers: James Barrett, Kira Fargas, Lenin Fernandez, David Flores, Spencer Grady, Becca Hoback, Emma Morrison, Hadassah Perry, Sarah Salim, Rebecca Steinberg. Produced with support from the National Foundation for the Arts, The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise & Public Policy, Metro Arts Nashville, and the Office of the Provost at Vanderbilt University.
3) Raheleh Filsoofi, Iranian-American, b. 1975. Bite, 2021, Ceramic objects and performance, Courtesy of the artist.
4) María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Cuban, b. 1959. Warrior Reservoir, 2011, Watercolor, ink and Prismacolor on cotton fiber, amate (bark), and handmade papers with ribbon and African totems and spears. Dr. and Mrs. E. Williams Ewers Gift for Fine Arts Fund Purchase, with additional support provided by the Janice D. Forsythe Memorial Fund, the Julia Haddock Fine Arts Memorial Fund, and the Thomas B. Brumbaugh Fund Vanderbilt University Fine Arts Gallery, 2011.015