Ex-votos: Artistic Symbols of Contemporary Popular Craftsmanship. Inquiries into the Artistry of 'Casitas' Offerings at the Sanctuary of the Deceased Correa (San Juan, Argentina)

Abstract

In this article, we present findings from an ongoing research project that aims to investigate the artistic status of a popular, collective, and contemporary practice known as 'exvoto': a conglomerate of offerings, small houses/models located in the Difunta Correa sanctuary (Vallecito, San Juan). We believe that these popular objects, as visual images, deserve the attention and analysis of the History of Visual Arts. However, the artistic/poetic approach to these pieces reveals the absence and/or categorical limitations recognized by canonical aesthetic theory. Therefore, our approach involves a critical review of traditional theoretical concepts, the inclusion of Latin American aesthetic perspectives, and the deepening of the conceptual boundaries of reflection.

In this regard, this paper focuses on the last of the aforementioned axes and analyzes the case through the theoretical frameworks developed by the philosopher Nelson Goodman (2010, 1990) that deal with the possible modes of artistic functioning.