Body Snatchers

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

I am pleased to share my most recent article for ArtScene Press!

The Cornell Fine Arts Museum on the campus of Rollins College has a number of art exhibits concurrently on view in different galleries throughout the museum.  I chose to focus on a small, but powerful exhibition – Body Snatchers: Death in Culture – because the themes discussed were truly profound.

Here is a brief excerpt from the article…

Although the artwork spans a 2,000-year period, each piece is thoughtfully chosen to inspire an honest dialogue on how humans contemplate death. For example, one could argue that the Roman sarcophagus proposes that a corpse should be concealed so that the grieving can focus on the memory of the deceased. The presence of an unusual family heirloom—a taxidermy Whitetail deer fawn—suggests that the rules of death are different regarding animals: the lifeless human body is hidden, while the dead fawn’s body is perpetually on view. This exhibition challenges the viewer to consider the differences between a human death and an animal’s death, and whether the corpses of either should be displayed or entombed.

To read the entire article, please visit…

https://artscenepress.com/body-snatchers/

For more information on this exhibit, please visit…

https://www.rollins.edu/cornell-fine-arts-museum/exhibitions/2019/Body%20Snatchers%20-%20Death%20in%20Culture.html

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.