Sant Sebastià, from icon to legend III
For the third year, focussing on the debate of contemporary thought, Es Baluard is organising a parallel activity around the festivities held to celebrate the day of Saint Sebastian – Sant Sebastià – the patron saint of Palma. This cultural and educational activity, committed within the lines of research on gender, is based on the spectrum of perspectives on the representation of the saint’s martyrdom made possible by contemporary language.
Once again the talk will be open to the participation of citizens. On this occasion, Eva Cifre (coordinator of the museum’s Educational Development department) will introduce us to the work of the artist Louise Bourgeois, with her engraving Stamps of memories. Sainte Sébastienne from 1993, present at Es Baluard thanks to the collector Maria de Lluc Fluxà. This time, it is a work where the saint becomes a woman and represents the martyrdom of Santa Sebastiana, in reference to the suffering and anguish of the artist’s mother, who was a weaver. Maternity is an autobiographical reference to Bourgeois, who worked on the basis of psychoanalysis.
In this way, the presentation of Bourgeois’ work will give way to a panel comprised of different women who will speak on the theme of maternity from the different transversal aspects that surround it, how they have experienced it and work with it, and how it has been approached by the different feminist trends throughout the 20th century until the present.
The artist Teresa Matas, who has an extensive professional career behind her, has carried out some important work in relation to the concept of maternity, a topic that has always been bound to her as a person. To share her experience with us, during the talk she will use the illustration of two of her projects as a base – Vessar-se (Nit Niu 2009, in Cala Sant Vicenç), and L’Encontre (2013).
Carme Vidal (a nurse and researcher of gender policies and president of the Associació Felanitx per la Igualtat [Felanitx Equality Association]) will lead us through what is, and has been, the ideological image of maternity based on the feminist movements throughout the 20th century. From the contemplation of women’s suffrage to the approaches of different trends, and from feminist theories (Simone de Beauvoir, Betty Friendan, Kate Millet, Judith Butler, and others) who spoke of maternity and opened up new gender perspectives to us over the 20th century, until today, viewed through different crucial historical and political moments.
To conclude the discussions, we shall hear Glòria Julià i Estelrich, a poet, performer and musician, give a recital of poems about women, the body, maternity, etc., in what is a special collection chosen by her, accompanied by two fellow musicians (Joan Carles Vaquer and Víctor Leivakian) who make up the group Vers endins.
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