On Virginity: Poetry, Visual Art, and Performance Installation at the Met Cloisters
I wake up
unclose my eyes
and I lie What beautiful, beautiful blue
in the sky
On the back of my white door
a high hook.
Two habits are hanging there
desiring a body
I think of You
I close my eyes
roll my head and my shoulders over
and I wonder
today
which will I choose
-Choices, poem by Fr. Joseph Michael, CFR
In May 2023, Fr. Joseph Michael Fino, CFR and I presented On Virginity, a collaborative installation involving poetry, painting, performance, and community engagement to explore the concept of consecrated virginity in medieval monastic life within a contemporary discourse. Fr. Joseph Michael read his poetry and prose alongside one of my paintings, set in the context of the apse of San Martín de Fuentidueña (a 12th century Spanish church structure, now housed at the Met Cloisters in New York City) for a small group of participants of various backgrounds. Participants were asked to unfold and install the artwork together at the beginning of the presentation, and were given zines with Father’s poetry and prose, my artwork, and photography by Molly Kath Lewis, to follow along and take with them.
The painting featured in this installation is inspired by Fr. Joseph Michael’s poem “Choices”.
If you are interested in purchasing a zine, please email me: erinkmcatee@gmail.com
photos and video: Molly Kath Lewis