Disease Narratives Through a Humanistic Lens

What a liberal arts culture demonstrates is that there are many unexpected approaches to scientific topics. Even though epidemics and disease might seem firmly rooted in the world of medical science, acclaimed artist Maya Gurantz showed in an exhibit hosted by Pitzer College Art Galleries what a holistic, humanities-based approach to illness might look like. Spanning the 10th century through the 21st century, “The Plague Archives” presented a multilayered, transhistorical, and intercultural discourse on the shifting attitudes and definitions of disease. The exhibition’s images and texts, drawn from many film, scientific, religious, and musicological sources, created a visually dense archive. Gallery visitors witnessed a range of elements, including 14th-century depictions of the bubonic plague, a turn-of-the-20th-century promotional postcard for a tuberculosis sanitorium, and videos addressing HIV-AIDS activism in 1980s and 1990s America. While more traditional approaches to these topics might focus on their clinical aspects, Gurantz’s approach offered marginal histories and other considerations that often get overlooked despite their relevance.  

_{Photo by Christopher Wormald.}

Photo Gallery