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Erika Diettes: “Stories Told from the Threshold”
September 25, 2016
Colombian artist Erika Diettes has received international acclaim for a body of work that draws upon her training as both an artist and an anthropologist. In 2011 she set up a studio in the Colombian province of Antioquia, where she interviewed at length and photographed women who had been forced to witness the torture and murder of their loved ones. The resulting twenty photographs, titled Sudarios (Spanish for “Shrouds”), are printed on large silk panels and are typically displayed in sacred spaces, suspended at different heights. They attest to the women’s pain, loss and mourning. Yet the works also give evidence to life after horrific events.
In this talk, Diettes speaks about Sudarios in the context of two other projects that address the impact of Colombia's long-running armed conflict: RĂo Abajo and Relicarios. She shares stories of the subjects of her work and addresses audience questions about her process and the impact of her work.
Diettes’ talk is given in conjunction with the exhibition of Sudarios at MOCRA.
The work of Erika Diettes (b. 1978) has been exhibited in unique spaces linked to re-memoration processes developed by the victims’ movements in Colombia, as well as at other venues, including the Museums of Modern Art of Bogotá, Cali, MedellĂn, and Baranquilla in Colombia; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Santiago de Chile; CENTER in Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Museum of Fine Arts and the Fotofest Biennial in Houston; the Festival de la Luz in Buenos Aires; the Ballarat Foto Biennale in Australia; and the Malta Festival in Poznán, Poland. Her work is part of the permanent collections of the Museo de Antioquia (Colombia) and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, as well as other important public and private collections in Colombia and the United States.
above:
Erika Diettes. Photo by Jeffrey Vaughn.
| Exhibition | |
|---|---|
| 2018-10-07 to 2018-10-14 | 
Walking in Hope: A Weeklong Celebration of the Canonization of Archbishop Oscar Romero |
| 2017-04-20 | 
“The Hand Acts Out a Joyous Dance”: Celebrating the Art of Bernard Maisner |
| 2016-09-25 |
Erika Diettes: “Stories Told from the Threshold” |
| 2015-12-06 | 
So That You Know Each Other: Intercultural Reflections on Art, Beauty, and Islam |
| 2014-11-15 | 
John Handley: “The Religious Art of Pablo Picasso” |
| 2018-09-28 to 2018-09-29 | 
Fleur-de-Lis Floral Art Walk |
| 2014-02-23 | 
“The Economy of Gift” in Socially Engaged Art Practices: A Public Deliberation |
| 2013-10-02 | 
Art21: The Spiritual Light screening at CAM |
| 2013-03-02 | 
Rituals and Spirituality in the Performative Photographic Work of Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons |
| 2012-11-11 | 
Breaking Boundaries: A Conversation about the Art of Patrick Graham |
| 2012-05-20 | 
Stephen P. Durchslag: “The Jewish Experience and the Haggadah” |
| 2012-03-27 |
2012 Loyola Chair Lecture: “The Image of the Wounded Body of Christ and the Modern Social Consciousness” |
| 2011-10-06 |
2011 Loyola Chair Lecture: “The Pursuit of the Spirit: The Renewed Interest in the Spiritual and Religious Dimensions in Contemporary Art” |
| 2011-05-01 | 
Terrence Dempsey, S.J.: “Georges Rouault and the Art of Sacred Engagement” |
| 2010-11-15 |
Terrence Demspey, S.J.: “Creating a Religious Environment through Contemporary Art and Architecture” |
| 2010-03-28 |
Terrence Dempsey, S.J.: “The Wounded Body of Christ and the Modern Social Conscience” |
| 2009-12-01 | 
Day With(out) Art |
| 2009-11-15 | 
Michael Byron: “Cosmic Tears: Word and Image” |
| 2009-03-29 | 
Art and the Religious Imagination |
| 2008-04-15 | 
Wu Hung: “What Is Contemporary Chinese Art?” |
| 2007-10-07 | 
Celluloid Bible Classics: The Ten Commandments |
| 2007-11-04 | 
Celluloid Bible Classics: Ben-Hur |
| 2007-09-16 | 
Michael Morris, O.P.: “Moving Pictures: The Bible and Beyond” |
| 2007-03-30 | 
Peter Frank: “An Oskar Fischinger Tribute” |
| 2006-12-01 | 
Day With(out) Art |
| 2005-12-04 | 
Robert Rosenblum: “DoDo Jin Ming: An Art Historian's View” |
| 2003-09-07 | 
To Make Extraordinary: The Role of Sacred Objects in Life and Worship |
| 2002-05-04 | 
The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: A University Response |
| 2002-04-30 | 
Fred D. Gray: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: A Study That Should Never Have Occurred |
| 2002-01-31 | 
Cloudlanders |
| 2002-01-26 | 
Thomas Sokolowski: “The Last Temptation: Andy Warhols Art as Belief” |
| 2000-11-30 | 
Day With(out) Art |
| 2001-04-06 | 
Bare Naked Statues in concert |
| 1999-04-15 | 
Two Lectures: Ellen Dissanayake and Jack Renard |
| 1999-03-27 | 
Bernard Maisner: “The Art of the Illuminator” |
| 1998-03-22 | 
Renaissance and Modern |
| 1997-11-15 | 
The Role of the Computer in Contemporary Art |
| 1997-07-24 | 
Jennifer Biddle: Body, Country, Canvas: Meaning and Identity in Central Desert Aboriginal Women’s Art |
| 1997-06-07 |
Creativity as Ancestral Mind: Living with the Ancestors |
| 1997-02-27 | 
The Artist and the Theologian Dialogue: The Body of Christ as Veiling and Unveiling the Invisible God |
| 1996-12-01 | 
Day Without Art |
| 1996-05-19 | 
The Artist as Poet: Readings by Edward Boccia |
| 1995-05-20 | 
Ian Friend: “The Edge of Belief” |
| 1995-05-04 | 
Peter Selz: “Degenerate Art” |
| 1995-02-05 | 
Lynn Hague in recital |
| 1994-11-13 |
Terrence Dempsey, S.J.: “The Spiritual in Art in the Time of AIDS” |
| 1994-12-01 |
Day Without Art |
| 1994-11-05 |
Thomas Sokolowski: “The Changing Face of AIDS” |
| 1994-11-01 |
The Amici String Quartet in recital |
| 1994-10-15 | 
Consecrations: The Spiritual in Art in the TIme of AIDS dance program and opening reception |
| 1993-10-29 | 
I Remember Alvin |
| 1993-11-05 | 
An Evening with Katherine Dunham |
| 1992-11-07 | 
The Artist and Sacred Space |