Panel discussion considers how painters, actors, and directors assist in translating religious experiences and visions of the lone witness.
Religious experiences are deeply personal, yet throughout history individuals who have spiritual or mystical encounters have attempted to share their visions with wider audiences. And others further disseminated the details of these encounters through words and images. Whether trying to persuade skeptics or to share the miraculous with believers, oral and visual accounts must communicate an essential religious experience to others. Lacking direct evidence, such as a shared vision, or physical proof, like Juan Diego offering roses from Guadalupe, how can we convey metaphysical essence in physical form? This panel, presented with Zócalo Public Square, considers how painters, actors, and directors assist in translating such visions, or depicting the agony of the lone witness.