MOCRA Voices
47 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 1 ratingMOCRA Voices features conversations with thinkers and practitioners at the intersection of contemporary art, religion, and spirituality. Go in-depth with artists, scholars, theologians, religious leaders, and others who are engaged in the ongoing dialogue between visual art and the religious and spiritual dimensions. Be sure to check out our Vimeo channel, too.
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Episodes
Episode 26: Vicente Telles and Brandon Maldonado
April 27, 2023 17:26 - 52 minutes - 71.7 MBThe practice of making and venerating santos (painted or sculpted images of saints) originated in Spain and was carried to territories that fell under Spanish colonial rule. New Mexican santeros (makers of santos) developed distinctive approaches that diverged from the models they found in imported oil paintings, statues, and devotional prints. The Santero tradition flourished from the mid-eighteenth to late-nineteenth centuries before falling into a period of decline. Yet it recovered and t...
Audio Extra, Episode 25: Love as Strong as Death
March 06, 2020 21:09 - 5 minutes - 7.91 MBDr. Aaron Rosen reflects on an artwork that holds deep personal meaning for him, in a conversation with MOCRA Director David Brinker. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 25: Aaron Rosen. Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about Aaron Rosen and to explore our other episodes. Original release date: 3/6/2020
Episode 25: Aaron Rosen
March 06, 2020 20:52 - 49 minutes - 67.8 MBWhen MOCRA opened in 1993, many people were skeptical about a museum focusing on expressions of religion and spirituality in contemporary art. Preconceptions were firmly lodged for those coming from the perspective of art and for those coming from the perspective of faith and spirituality. By the time Founding Director Fr. Terrence Dempsey, S.J., retired from the museum on June 30, 2019, however, MOCRA had convincingly established that the religious and spiritual dimensions continue to nouri...
Episode 24, Part 2: artway of thinking / Geographica Schema
May 25, 2017 16:01 - 57 minutes - 39.8 MBHow do you know if you're an artist? Many people would reflexively say they are not, since they cannot draw or paint or sculpt. But in this two-part episode, we hear from several people who have a more expansive understanding of what makes an artist. Their focus isn't on what is produced, but on the act of art-making itself, and the cultivation of an artistic methodology. In Part 1, St. Louis-based artist, author, and educator Con Christeson interviews Federica Thiene. Thiene is an artist ...
Episode 24, Part 1: artway of thinking / Geographica Schema
May 25, 2017 15:57 - 34 minutes - 23.6 MBHow do you know if you're an artist? Many people would reflexively say they are not, since they cannot draw or paint or sculpt. But in this two-part episode, we hear from several people who have a more expansive understanding of what makes an artist. Their focus isn't on what is produced, but on the act of art-making itself, and the cultivation of an artistic methodology. In Part 1, St. Louis-based artist, author, and educator Con Christeson interviews Federica Thiene. Thiene is an artist ...
Episode 23: Martha Schneider
May 23, 2017 21:50 - 42 minutes - 29.4 MBThanks to her discerning eye and generous hospitality, Martha Schneider has built a reputation as one of the foremost gallerists specializing in contemporary Latin American photography. But 30 years ago, she had no inkling where her passion for art would lead her. She spoke with MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, about the origins of Schneider Gallery and how she came to represent world-renowned artists such as Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Luis González Palma, and Erika Diettes. They als...
Audio Extra, Episode 22: Henry Ossawa Tanner
May 18, 2017 23:36 - 8 minutes - 5.69 MBLeo O’Donovan, S.J., talks about the compelling contemporary resonances he discerns in a painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner, “The Flight into Egypt.” This is an Audio Extra to Episode 22: Leo O'Donovan, S.J. Visit the MOCRA Voices website to explore a Listening Guide to the interview. Original release date: 12/22/2016
Episode 22: Leo O'Donovan, SJ
May 18, 2017 23:28 - 41 minutes - 28.2 MBJesuit priest Leo O'Donovan, SJ, has held some prominent roles, including over 20 years as the president of Georgetown University. But he has also kept up a lively engagement with the world of art and art exhibitions, a fact well known to readers of the periodicals America and Commonweal. O'Donovan spoke with MOCRA Director (and fellow Jesuit priest) Terrence Dempsey, SJ, about his s wide-ranging career and his perspective on contemporary religious art. Be sure to listen to the Audio Ext...
Episode 22: Leo O'Donovan, S.J.
May 18, 2017 23:28 - 41 minutes - 28.2 MBJesuit priest Leo O’Donovan, S.J., has held some prominent roles, including over 20 years as the president of Georgetown University. But he has also kept up a lively engagement with the world of art and art exhibitions, a fact well known to readers of the periodicals America and Commonweal. O'Donovan spoke with MOCRA Director (and fellow Jesuit priest) Terrence Dempsey, S.J., about his wide-ranging career and his perspective on contemporary religious art. Be sure to listen to the Audio E...
Audio Extra, Episode 21: Student Reflections
May 18, 2017 22:57 - 6 minutes - 4.62 MBWhat impact can art have on those in training to become pastoral caregivers? Cristina Stevens shares reflections from three of her students about their experiences visiting MOCRA. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 21: Art, Empathy, And Healing. Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about Cristina Stevens and to explore our other episodes. Original release date: 8/30/2016
Episode 21, Part 2: Art, Empathy, and Healing
May 18, 2017 22:30 - 43 minutes - 30 MBEmpathy is a term that surfaces in a variety of fields, including museums. MOCRA Assistant Director David Brinker sets out to explore two different angles on museums and empathy. In Part 1, he talks with museum educator Adam Nilsen about how empathy is understood and studied, as well as the ways it is being applied in museum settings. Part 2 features chaplain and pastoral care educator Cristina Stevens reflecting on the role art and empathy play in the training and practice of those who ...
Episode 21, Part 1: Art, Empathy, and Healing
May 18, 2017 22:18 - 36 minutes - 25.1 MBEmpathy is a term that surfaces in all kinds of settings, including museums. MOCRA Assistant Director David Brinker sets out to explore two different angles on museums and empathy. In Part 1, he talks with museum educator Adam Nilsen about how empathy is understood and studied, as well as the ways it is being applied in museum settings. Part 2 features chaplain and pastoral care educator Cristina Stevens reflecting on the role art and empathy play in the training and practice of those wh...
Audio Extra, Episode 20: Art and Alzheimer's
May 18, 2017 19:21 - 2 minutes - 1.64 MBPamela Ambrose talks about the ways in which art museums can use their collections to enrich the lives of people living with Alzheimer's and their caregivers. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 20: Pamela Ambrose. Original release date: 8/30/2016
Audio Extra, Episode 20: Lewis deSoto's "Paranirvana"
May 18, 2017 19:16 - 2 minutes - 1.96 MBPamela Ambrose and Terrence Dempsey, SJ, discuss the inflatable sculpture Paranirvana, by Bay Area artist Lewis deSoto, a contemporary interpretation of a centuries-old Buddhist shrine. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 20: Pamela Ambrose. Original release date: 8/30/2016
Episode 20: Pamela Ambrose
May 18, 2017 19:09 - 40 minutes - 28.1 MBPamela Ambrose has had a distinguished career as a curator and museum director. On the occasion of her retirement as Director of the Loyola University Museum of Art in Chicago, Ambrose joined MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, to look back over her distinguished career managing both galleries and museums, and talk about her enduring interest in the intersection of art and the spiritual dimension. Be sure to listen to the two Audio Extras, "Lewis deSoto's "Paranirvana"" and "Art and Alzhe...
Episode 19: Jordan Eagles
May 18, 2017 16:26 - 40 minutes - 27.8 MBThe multidimensional, abstract paintings, sculptures, and installations of artist Jordan Eagles have caught the imagination of viewers and critics alike. His invented preservation technique, combining blood, plexiglass, UV resin, and other materials, permanently retains the organic material’s natural colors, patterns, and textures. Eagles speaks with MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, about his unusual artistic media and his works’ rich symbolic associations. They also discuss Eagles’ co...
Episode 18: Howard Fox
May 18, 2017 15:59 - 50 minutes - 34.9 MBHoward Fox is well-known in contemporary art circles as a curator and author. MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, speaks with Fox about his approach to curating exhibitions and discerning trends in art-making, as well as the process of writing essays on contemporary art. Along the way they discuss specific artists who engage the religious and spiritual dimensions in their work. Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about Howard Fox and to explore a Listening Guide to the interview...
Episode 17, Part 2: MOCRA Memories - Consecrations
May 16, 2017 23:32 - 26 minutes - 18.2 MBIn 2013, MOCRA celebrated its twentieth anniversary, a perfect time to talk with people who have been affiliated with the museum over the years: those who had a hand in MOCRA’s genesis, artists who have participated in exhibitions at MOCRA, and other participants in the broader dialogue between contemporary art and religion and spirituality. With "MOCRA Memories" we bring you these conversations and reflections. This two-part episode features people involved with MOCRA's groundbreaking 199...
Episode 17, Part 1: MOCRA Memories - Consecrations
May 16, 2017 23:30 - 31 minutes - 21.8 MBIn 2013, MOCRA celebrated its twentieth anniversary, a perfect time to talk with people who have been affiliated with the museum over the years: those who had a hand in MOCRA’s genesis, artists who have participated in exhibitions at MOCRA, and other participants in the broader dialogue between contemporary art and religion and spirituality. With "MOCRA Memories" we bring you these conversations and reflections. This two-part episode features people involved with MOCRA's groundbreaking 199...
Episode 16: Daniel Ramirez and Buzz Spector
May 16, 2017 22:55 - 47 minutes - 32.6 MBArtists Daniel Ramirez and Buzz Spector were studio mates in the MFA program at the University of Chicago in the 1970s, forging a friendship that has lasted ever since. In this wide-ranging conversation with MOCRA Voices, they trace the evolution of their artistic output over the decades. They touch on the thought of Ludwig Wittgenstein, the music of Olivier Messiaen, divine geometries, book design, and even the finer points of bowing technique. Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn mo...
Episode 15: MOCRA Memories - Sanctuaries
May 16, 2017 22:09 - 38 minutes - 26.5 MBMOCRA has been shaped by many people and events over the years. “MOCRA Memories” episodes delve into particular moments in MOCRA’s history. In 2013, MOCRA celebrated its twentieth anniversary, a perfect time to talk with people who have been affiliated with the museum over the years: those who had a hand in MOCRA’s genesis, artists who have participated in exhibitions at MOCRA, and other participants in the broader dialogue between contemporary art and religion and spirituality. In this ep...
Episode 14: MOCRA Memories - Berkeley
May 16, 2017 21:21 - 27 minutes - 18.7 MBMOCRA has been shaped by many people and events over the years. “MOCRA Memories” episodes delve into particular moments in MOCRA’s history. In this episode, MOCRA director Terrence Dempsey, S.J., reflects on three people who played pivotal roles in the creation and development of MOCRA. He encountered art historian Jane Daggett Dillenberger, theologian John Dillenberger, and art historian Peter Selz during his doctoral studies at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, California...
Audio Extra, Episode 13: The Crucifixion Market
May 16, 2017 19:11 - 3 minutes - 2.22 MBMenachem Wecker shares his observations of how religious art fares in the international art market. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 13: Menachem Wecker. Original release date: 5/7/2015
Episode 13: Menachem Wecker
May 16, 2017 19:05 - 54 minutes - 37.8 MBJournalist and author Menachem Wecker has had a long-standing interest in art and religion in contemporary society. He joins MOCRA Assistant Director David Brinker to talk about a wide range of topics, including how he identifies and researches topics for reporting, the role social media is playing in the dialogue between art and religion, and how religious scriptures are interpreted in graphic novel format. Be sure to listen to the Audio Extra, "The Crucifixion Market." Visit the MOCRA...
Audio Extra, Episode 12: Every Mother's Child, an Artist
May 16, 2017 18:38 - 8 minutes - 5.76 MBEllen Dissanayake talks about the evolutionary adaptations that contribute to the influence of mothers on their children’s development as artists. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 12: Ellen Dissanayake. Be sure to listen to the other Audio Extra, “Where Do Book Covers Come From?“ Visit the MOCRA Voices website for a Listening Guide to this Audio Extra. Original release date: 4/24/2015
Audio Extra, Episode 12: Where Do Book Covers Come From?
May 16, 2017 18:34 - 2 minutes - 1.64 MBEllen Dissanayake knew that a well-known work by Paul Gauguin was the perfect match for her book. But that was just the beginning. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 12: Ellen Dissanayake. Be sure to listen to the other Audio Extra, “Every Mother’s Child, an Artist.” Visit the MOCRA Voices website to explore a Listening Guide to the interview. Original release date: 4/24/2015
Episode 12: Ellen Dissanayake
May 16, 2017 18:09 - 45 minutes - 31.3 MBAuthor and scholar Ellen Dissanayake approaches art through the disciplines of evolution and ethology (the biological study of animal and human behavior), and makes a case for art being necessary for the biological survival of the human race. In 1988 her critically acclaimed first book, What is Art For, drew the attention of both the scientific and art worlds with its exploration of the impulse to make art, which Dissanayake calls “making special.” She speaks with MOCRA Director Terrence D...
Episode 11: Tobi Kahn
May 16, 2017 17:34 - 34 minutes - 23.6 MBTobi Kahn is a New York-based painter, sculptor, and educator, who for over thirty years has been steadfast in his commitment to the redemptive possibilities of art. MOCRA director Terrence Dempsey, S.J., spoke with Kahn about integrating faith and heritage with his artistic practice, his commissions for public sacred spaces, and how MOCRA has impacted his career. Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about Tobi Kahn and to explore a Listening Guide to the interview. Recording ...
Episode 10: MOCRA Memories - The Early Years
May 16, 2017 00:09 - 43 minutes - 29.7 MBMOCRA has been shaped by many people and events over the years. “MOCRA Memories” episodes delve into particular moments in MOCRA’s history. In 2013, MOCRA celebrated its twentieth anniversary, a perfect time to talk with people who have been affiliated with the museum over the years: those who had a hand in MOCRA’s genesis, artists who have participated in exhibitions at MOCRA, and other participants in the broader dialogue between contemporary art and religion and spirituality. In this ep...
Episode 9, Part 2: Batya Abramson-Goldstein and Timothy O'Leary
May 15, 2017 23:36 - 34 minutes - 23.7 MBShowing how art can be a vehicle for interfaith understanding is a key element of MOCRA’s mission. But MOCRA isn’t the only arts institution exploring that possibility. In this two-part episode, MOCRA Assistant Director David Brinker speaks with Batya Abramson-Goldstein, Executive Director of the St. Louis Jewish Community Relations Council, and Timothy O’Leary, General Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Part 1 focuses on Opera Theatre’s 2011 production of the John Adams opera The D...
Episode 9, Part 1: Batya Abramson-Goldstein and Timothy O'Leary
May 15, 2017 23:33 - 57 minutes - 39.3 MBShowing how art can be a vehicle for interfaith understanding is a key element of MOCRA’s mission. But MOCRA isn’t the only arts institution exploring that possibility. In this two-part episode, MOCRA Assistant Director David Brinker speaks with Batya Abramson-Goldstein, Executive Director of the St. Louis Jewish Community Relations Council, and Timothy O’Leary, General Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Part 1 focuses on Opera Theatre’s 2011 production of the John Adams opera The D...
Audio Extra, Episode 8: Serra Shows the Way
May 15, 2017 22:53 - 2 minutes - 1.85 MBMary Reid Brunstrom explains how two major sculptures by Richard Serra prompted a new direction in her life. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 8: Mary Reid Brunstrom. Original release date: 6/7/2014
Episode 8: Mary Reid Brunstrom
May 15, 2017 22:50 - 53 minutes - 37.1 MBFrom the late 1980s through 2000, Austral Gallery brought St. Louis audiences the best in contemporary Australian art. In this episode, Mary Reid Brunstrom talks with MOCRA director Terrence Dempsey, S.J., about founding Austral Gallery, her collaborations with MOCRA, and her decision to return to school to pursue studies in art history. Be sure to listen to the Audio Extra, "Serra Shows the Way." Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about Mary Reid Brunstrom and to explore a Lis...
Audio Extra, Episode 7: Porcelain Doll
May 15, 2017 22:07 - 6 minutes - 4.87 MBAn invitation to China's Guangzhou Triennial leads artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons to the unexpected realization that her Cuban family includes Chinese relatives. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 7: Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons. Original release date: 11/15/2013
Episode 7: Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
May 15, 2017 21:59 - 57 minutes - 39.7 MBMulti-disciplinary artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons came to Saint Louis University in March 2013 to deliver The Kristen Peterson Distinguished Lecture in Art and Art History. Her talk, titled “Rituals and Spirituality in the Performative Photographic Work of Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons,” concerned her exploration of themes of separation, fragmentation, and memory through multiple artistic disciplines. The day before her talk, Campos-Pons sat down with MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, S.J...
Audio Extra, Episode 6: Taking the Narrative Seriously
May 15, 2017 17:08 - 6 minutes - 4.64 MBRevered Ralph Peterson and Dr. Jane Daggett Dillenberger reminisce about commissioning artist Louis Nevelson to design the Chapel of the Good Shepherd at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Manhattan. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 6: Ralph Peterson and Jane Daggett Dillenberger. Original release date: 7/8/2013
Episode 6: Ralph Peterson and Jane Daggett Dillenberger
May 15, 2017 16:56 - 55 minutes - 38.1 MBRev. Ralph Peterson has had a lifelong passion for incorporating the arts into his ministry. He speaks with MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, about his role in commissioning the Erol Beker Chapel of the Good Shepherd, designed by artist Louise Nevelson, and located in St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Manhattan. They are also joined by art historian Dr. Jane Daggett Dillenberger, who consulted on the chapel project. Be sure to listen to the Audio Extra, "Taking the Narrative Seriously." ...
Audio Extra, Episode 5: Favorite Exhibitions
May 11, 2017 21:38 - 6 minutes - 4.19 MBMuseum directors Pamela Ambrose, Terrence Dempsey, S.J., and Ena Heller, talk about their favorite exhibitions from their respective museums. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 5: Pamela Ambrose and Ena Heller. Original release date: 6/6/2013
Episode 5: Pamela Ambrose and Ena Heller
May 11, 2017 21:30 - 51 minutes - 35.3 MBMOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, S.J., is joined by two fellow museum directors: Pamela Ambrose (Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago) and Ena Heller (Museum of Biblical Art). All three museums focus on art that engages the religious and spiritual dimensions. Ambrose, Heller, and Dempsey discuss a range of topics, including the place of religious art museums in the ecosystems of both art and religion, the challenges of presenting art in a spiritual and religious context, and the wide r...
Audio Extra, Episode 4: Hiddur Mitzvah
May 07, 2017 04:34 - 2 minutes - 1.6 MBArtist Archie Granot and collector Max Thurm discuss the Jewish concept of hiddur mitzvah and its application to The Papercut Haggadah. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 4: Archie Granot. Original release date: 8/9/2012
Audio Extra, Episode 4: Dropped Blade
May 07, 2017 04:29 - 54 seconds - 632 KBIsraeli artist Archie Granot describes a harrowing experience with his chosen artistic tool: a surgical scalpel. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 4: Archie Granot. Original release date: 8/9/2012
Episode 4: Archie Granot
May 07, 2017 04:23 - 48 minutes - 33.6 MBFor this episode of MOCRA Voices, MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, S.J., and Assistant Director David Brinker talk with Israeli artist Archie Granot and American collector Max Thurm. Thurm and his wife Sandra commissioned a body of work from Granot titled The Papercut Haggadah, which was displayed at MOCRA in 2012. They discuss a range of topics, including how Granot was drawn to the art of papercutting, how the commission came about, the special considerations engaged in creating an artw...
Audio Extra, Episode 3: The Changing Face of AIDS
May 07, 2017 04:08 - 27 minutes - 19 MBThese are excerpts from a talk called "The Changing Face of AIDS" delivered by curator and art historian Thomas Sokolowski at MOCRA in 1994. The talk was in conjunction with the exhibition Consecrations: The Spiritual in Art in the Time of AIDS. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 3: Thomas Sokolowski. Original release date: 12/1/2011
Episode 3: Thomas Sokolowski
May 07, 2017 03:53 - 39 minutes - 26.9 MBCurator and art historian Thomas Sokolowski is no stranger to MOCRA audiences, having lectured at the museum in 1994 with a talk called "The Changing Face of AIDS" and again in 2002 with a talk called "The Last Impression: Andy Warhol's Art as Belief." In this interview, MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, and Sokolowski discuss issues related to art and AIDS. Topics include Sokolowski's experiences in presenting some of the earliest exhibitions of art about AIDS, and his role in the crea...
Episode 2: Adrian Kellard
May 07, 2017 03:33 - 37 minutes - 25.7 MBArtist Regina DeLuise and gallerist Susan Schreiber join MOCRA Voices to talk about the life and art of Adrian Kellard (1959–1991). DeLuise and Schreiber share stories of Kellard that serve to illuminate his artistic aims and influences, his distinctive visual style and treatment of his woodcut medium, and the ways in which Kellard's upbringing, sexual orientation, and faith found expression in his work. Kellard was the subject of a retrospective exhibit, The Learned Art of Compassion, org...
Audio Extra, Episode 1: The Artist as Swimmer
May 06, 2017 23:30 - 2 minutes - 1.37 MBArtist James Rosen proposes swimming as a metaphor for the act of painting. He's talking with MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, SJ. This is an Audio Extra to Episode 1: James Rosen. Original release date: 6/4/2011
Episode 1: James Rosen
May 06, 2017 23:23 - 31 minutes - 21.5 MBIn this wide-ranging conversation with MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, artist James Rosen discusses his childhood in Detroit, his friendship with art critic Meyer Schapiro, the development of his distinctive oil/wax-oil emulsion painting technique, and his use of "veils" to camouflage his images. Rosen was the subject of a retrospective exhibit, The Artist and the Capable Observer, organized by MOCRA in 2010. Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about Rosen, and to explore a...