Curator Talk: Altars, Saints, and Sacred Forms Across the Americas

Patrick A. Polk, Lilly Endowment Curator of Art and Religion, will lead an in-depth exploration of the Fowler Museum’s devotional kiosks.
About this Event

Patrick A. Polk, Lilly Endowment Curator of Art and Religion, will lead an in-depth exploration of the Fowler Museum’s devotional kiosks, highlighting devotional practices in Mexico, Haiti, and Guatemala. Together, these installations examine how artistic traditions and religious objects from the museum’s collection reflect living belief systems and the communities that sustain them.
The Mexican Trees of Life and Death feature intricately crafted ceramic sculptures that weave together pre-Hispanic and Catholic imagery. Traditionally associated with weddings and Day of the Dead celebrations, these works extend ritual traditions into broader visual narratives addressing creation, mortality, and contemporary social justice.
The walk-through then turns to the Vodou kiosk, which presents an altar assembled by oungan and Haitian art specialist Jean-Daniel Lafontant in honor of the fiery Petwo spirits. Their enduring presence evokes themes of transformation, resistance, and resilience within Haitian religious and artistic traditions.
Finally, the San Simón kiosk focuses on the Guatemalan folk saint venerated in both Guatemala and Los Angeles. Through photographs and sacred objects, this installation reveals the complex blending of Indigenous and Catholic belief systems, as well as the vibrant ritual life that surrounds this powerful and often misunderstood figure.
Across these immersive displays and through Polk’s expert commentary, the talk considers devotional art as a living, dynamic force that connects people across generations, geographies, and cultural identities.
Patrick A. Polk’s research interests encompass material religion and visual piety, faith and healing, popular devotion in North and Latin America, and African diasporic sacred arts. He has curated several Fowler exhibitions, including: The House Was Too Small: Yoruba Sacred Arts from Africa and Beyond; Botánica Los Angeles: Latino Popular Religious Art in the City of Angels; Sinful Saints and Saintly Sinners at the Margins of the Americas; and Axé Bahia: The Power of Art in an Afro-Brazilian Metropolis.
Image caption: Antoine Oleyant, flag (drapo),1991-92; beads, cloth; Fowler Museum at UCLA, X93.5.2; Museum purchase, Manus Fund