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Exhibit: “The Quest for the Fountain of Youth in Florida History, Mythology and Art”

March 29, 2013 @ 8:00 am - June 22, 2013 @ 5:00 pm

THE QUEST FOR THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH in Florida History, Mythology and Art Commemorating the 500th Anniversary Ponce de Leon’s Landing in Florida over 30 original art works by contemporary Florida artists that will document the history of the Fountain story in Florida and explore interpretations of the significance of the story in their own lives and in the life of our community. Cortada’s installation from 2001, “Prime: The Residual Fountain of Youth,” will be on display.

Xavier Cortada, “Prime: Residual Fountain of Youth,” 2001.  (Image: Screengrab from video by Bill Bilowit)

THE QUEST FOR THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH in Florida History, Mythology and Art
The Thomas Center Gallery, Gainesville, FL.

Commemorating the 500th Anniversary Ponce de Leon’s Landing in Florida over 30 original art works by contemporary Florida artists that will document the history of the Fountain story in Florida and explore interpretations of the significance of the story in their own lives and in the life of our community.

 

Cortada’s installation from 2001, “Prime: The Residual Fountain of Youth,” will be on display.

On Thursday, May 2nd, Cortada will lead participants in “Agua,”  a participatory ritualistic performance about rejuvenation.  Click here for more information.

 

 

Ponce de Leon’s Journey:

Xavier Cortada, In 1512, King Ferdinand of Spain awarded Juan Ponce de Leon (who had governed Puerto Rico for Spain) a charter to discover and conquer the lands north of Cuba. The young Spaniard, who accompanied Columbus on his second voyage, was now set to discover new worlds of his own.  On March 3, 1513, Ponce de Leon set sail from Puerto Rico on the Santa Maria de Consolación, Santiago, and San Cristóbal.

On Easter Sunday 1513, Ponce de Leon landed his three ships on the eastern shore of our peninsula. Claiming the land for Spain, he planted his flag and named it La Florida, (for the Spanish word “flor” or flower) because of the lush landscape and because of the day the explorers arrived, Pascua florida, Easter.

The first European to sail to Florida then made his way down the coast seeing some of the same mangrove forests and coral reefs that remain today. Along the way he encountered the ancestors of the manatees and pelicans we see in the same waters.

 

(above): Xavier Cortada, “1513 (Florida mangroves),” digital art, 2012.

Details

Start:
March 29, 2013 @ 8:00 am
End:
June 22, 2013 @ 5:00 pm

Organizer

Russell H. Etling

Venue

The Thomas Center Gallery