“Maya Gurantz: The Plague Archives,” at the de Saisset Museum on the campus of Santa Clara University (SCU) through June 14, is not a traditional art exhibition of original paintings, photography, sculptures, or artifacts.
Rather, “The Plague Archives” comprises researched, copied and assembled historical records, music, original murals and videos that reveal the world’s shifting attitudes and definitions of disease, dating from the tenth century through today in the aftermath of COVID-19.
California-based, multi-disciplinary artist Maya Gurantz unearthed extensive archival photos, scientific drawings, medical records, newspaper articles, maps, documents and health posters—all documenting disease epidemics and outbreaks that have ravaged populations—the plague, cholera, syphilis, smallpox, tuberculosis, AIDS and others.
Gurantz began the five-year process of unearthing and organizing this historical documentation and reflection on disease in 2020 during COVID lockdown. She calls it her “quarantine sanity project.” It is a project that looks backwards, putting COVID-19 in historical perspective.
“Delving into history is my way of escaping the present. I’m always pouring history into the present day. It’s very grounding,” said Gurantz.
“Once you see these images [of disease], you won’t feel about it in the same way. You see how what we just lived through—COVID—links us with history. We feel history,” said Gurantz.
The installation reflects the vision of the de Saisset Museum—defining itself as a “museum in progress”—to connect art with other academic disciplines on the SCU campus. Gurantz presents disease through multiple lenses—growing scientific knowledge alongside the cultural, social, and political impact and cost of disease.
“The Plague Archives” is unique to the museum, with drawings painted directly on walls. In the foyer, one can don a headset and hear “The Sounds of Syphilis”—the later compositions of famous composers who died of the disease. Gurantz’s short videos present “Great Men and Sheep”—about Louis Pasteur, “The Plague Roots of Hate,” and “The Film Theory of Germs.”
“The artists in our contemporary program privilege the experiential through visually exciting and provocative projects that challenge accepted norms while promoting … wonderment,” said Dr. Ciara Ennis, de Saisset Museum Director since fall of 2023 and curator of “Maya Gurantz: The Plague Archives.”
“The Plague Archives” is not for the squeamish. It is for those willing to come face to face with disturbing images and hard insights into the history and politics of disease, influencing who lived and who died. It is for those who want to prevent history from repeating itself. It is for those who are curious and open to evolving concepts of art museum purpose and exhibitions.
San Jose resident Betty Ross, a 1967 graduate of SCU, attended the exhibition opening reception on Jan. 30.
“How fortunate we are to live now. We have come so far with medicine. If we were living at some of these past times, we’d all be dead,” said Ross. “We can see how fragile our life is from illness, diseases—and cruelty to one another that we still see today.
“We can control disease through medicine and science. But how do you control people’s feelings towards one another?”
The de Saisset Museum (500 El Camino Real) founded in 1955 through a bequest from Isabel de Saisset to SCU, is the only free museum of art and history in the South Bay. “California Stories from Thámien to Santa Clara” is an updated, permanent exhibition, tracing California’s local Ohlone and Mission period history.
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