Mocra Voices

MOCRA 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, a leading center of research in the intersection of contemporary art and religion. Dempsey discusses how these important scholars shaped his thinking and practice in ways that ultimately led to the establishment of MOCRA. The episode includes excerpts from archival recordings of the scholars themselves. Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about the people behind the voices.   Recording Engineer and Editor: Mike Schrand Host: Linda Kennedy Theme and Incidental Music: Stephen James Neale Producer: David Brinker Ori

Menachem 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

Journalist 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 Voices website to learn more about Menachem Wecker and to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.   Recording Engineer and Editor: Mike Schrand Host: Linda Kennedy Theme and Incidental Music: Stephen James Neale Producer: David Brinker Original release date: 5/7/2015 This episode was made possible with financial support from the Regional Arts Commission.

Ellen 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

Ellen 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

Author 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 Dempsey, S.J., about her distinctive point of view, as well as the implications of her research for assessing and understanding contemporary art.  Be sure to listen to the Audio Extras, “Where Do Book Covers Come From?“ and “Every Mother’s Child, an Artist.” Visit the MOCRA Voices website to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.   Recording Engineer and Editor: Mike Schrand Host: Linda Kennedy Theme and Incidental Music: Stephen James Neale Producer: David Brinker Original release date: 4/24/2015 This episode was made

Tobi 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 Engineer and Editor: Mike Schrand Host: Linda Kennedy Theme and Incidental Music: Stephen James Neale Producer: David Brinker Original release date: 1/20/2015 This episode was made possible with financial support from the Regional Arts Commission.

MOCRA 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 episode we bring you conversations and reflections with some of the folks who were with MOCRA at the beginning (and before). Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about the people behind the voices.   Recording Engineer and Editor: Mike Schrand Host: Linda Kennedy Theme and Incidental Music: Stephen James Neale Producer: David Brinker Original release date: 6/12/2014 This episode was made possible with financial support from the Regional Arts Commission.

Showing 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 Death of Klinghoffer, and how that opera became a springboard for interfaith conversation and action through the arts. Listen to Part 1 of the conversation here. In Part 2, Ambramson-Goldstein and O’Leary discuss the genesis of an interfaith September 11 memorial service, and other lasting positive consequences of the interfaith collaboration that began with The Death of Klinghoffer.  Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about Batya Abramson-Goldstein and Timothy O’Leary, and to explore a Listening Guide to the conve

Showing 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 Death of Klinghoffer, and how that opera became a springboard for interfaith conversation and action through the arts. In Part 2, Ambramson-Goldstein and O’Leary discuss the genesis of an interfaith September 11 memorial service, and other lasting positive consequences of the interfaith collaboration that began with The Death of Klinghoffer. Listen to Part 2 of the conversation here. Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about Batya Abramson-Goldstein and Timothy O’Leary, and to explore a Listening Guide to the convers

Mary 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

From 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 Listening Guide to the interview.   Recording Engineer and Editor: Mike Schrand Host: Linda Kennedy Theme and Incidental Music: Stephen James Neale Producer: David Brinker Original release date: 6/7/2014 This episode was made possible with financial support from the Regional Arts Commission.

An 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

Multi-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., and Dr. Olubukola Gbadegesin, Assistant Professor of Art History and African-American Studies at Saint Louis University, for a rich and varied discussion of Campos-Pons' work as an outgrowth of her life experiences and passions, as well as her work’s place in the wider context of diaspora art. Campos-Pons notes, “I am always in awe of the extent of mystery that is there present in our surroundings . . . I see myself not just as an artist but a healer, a messenger dispensing small amulets of good energies to my viewers and

Revered 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

Rev. 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." Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about Ralph Peterson and Jane Daggett Dillenberger, and to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.   Recording Engineer: Joe Grimaldi Editor: Mike Schrand Producer: David Brinker Original release date: 7/8/2013 This episode was made possible with financial support from the Regional Arts Commission.

Museum 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    

MOCRA 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 range of responses each director has fielded from visitors and critics alike. Be sure to listen to the Audio Extra, "Favorite Exhibitions." Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about Pamela Ambrose and Ena Heller, and to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.   Recording Engineer: Joe Grimaldi Editor: Mike Schrand Host: John Launius Producer: David Brinker Original release date: 6/6/2013 This episode was made possible with financial support from the Regional Arts Commission.

Artist 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

Israeli 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