The art exhibition “Psychopomp,” which spotlights the multifaceted guides found often in mythology and literature, opens Saturday, Jan. 21, at Loyola Marymount University’s Laband Art Gallery.
The exhibit explores the figure of the psychopomp – a term dating back to ancient Greece that describes different beings who guide us from one place to another, from the unconscious to the conscious, from life to death, and through personal turmoil and political strife.
The exhibition will present contemporary works of art that act as psychopomps themselves by physically and mentally guiding visitors from one state of being to another. It opens with a performance by Patrick Michael Ballard and Nathan Bockelman at 5 p.m. Jan. 21, and runs through March 19.
Other featured artists are: Sandow Birk, Mowry Baden, Michael Carter, Daniel Dove, Jennifer Moon, Liz Nurenberg, Nick Rodrigues, Jimena Sarno, Marnie Weber and Liliana Wilson.
Displays of books dating back to the 15th century will introduce psychopomps in mythology and literature, such as Virgil in “Dante’s Inferno.”
Free and open to the public, “Psychopomp” is co-organized by LMU’s Marital and Family Therapy Department and the Laband Art Gallery. For more information about the exhibition and the Laband, visit lmu.edu/laband.
