“Believe in Belief”
A Lecture By Holland Cotter
College of the Holy Cross | 2019
In this FSA Inspirations feature, we highlight an extraordinary lecture: “Believe in Belief“ by Holland Cotter, co-chief art critic for the New York Times. Cotter shares how his encounters with art since childhood, including extended trips to Japan and Africa, shaped how he understands art and faith. “The artist Louise Bourgeois once said that she didn’t believe in God but she had a religious temperament. I’m not religious in the sense of having a specific practice, but for some reason I have a pilgrim’s temperament,” Cotter recounted. “I just like holy places. My definition of holy, like my definition of art, being very elastic.”
The lecture at College of the Holy Cross was held in conjunction with the Cantor Art Gallery exhibition, “Dharma and Punya: Buddhist Ritual Art of Nepal.” Sponsored by the Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture as part of its Deitchman Family Lectures on Religion and Modernity.
Please find the link to his lecture below.
Holland Cotter: "Believe in Belief"
"Buddha Amitabha and Eight Bodhisattvas," 13th century. Opaque watercolor on cloth. From “Dharma and Punya: Buddhist Ritual Art of Nepal.”
"Vansudhara Mandala," 1777. Opaque watercolor on cloth. From “Dharma and Punya: Buddhist Ritual Art of Nepal.”
"Usnisavijaya Stupa," 1823. Gilt copper alloy with precious stone. From “Dharma and Punya: Buddhist Ritual Art of Nepal.”
"Colossal Bilampau of the Svayambhupurana," 1876. Opaque watercolor on cloth. From “Dharma and Punya: Buddhist Ritual Art of Nepal.”
