MOCRA Voices

In this audio extra, MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey and museum director Pamela Ambrose talk about artist Lewis deSoto’s work “Paranirvana.”

In this audio extra, Clinical Pastoral Education supervisor Cristina Stevens shares student reflections on their visits to MOCRA.

MOCRA Assistant Director David Brinker and his guests explore the connections between art and empathy from two different perspectives. Museum educator Adam Nilsen talks about how empathy is understood and studied, as well as the ways it is being applied in museum settings. Chaplain and pastoral care educator Cristina Stevens discusses the role empathy plays in the training and practice of those who support the spiritual needs of healthcare patients. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

In this audio extra, museum director Pamela Ambrose talks about developing a museum program tailored for people with Alzheimer's.

MOCRA Director Terrence E. Dempsey, S.J., speaks with Pamela Ambrose on the occasion of her retirement as Director of the Loyola University Museum of Art in Chicago. They look back over her distinguished career managing both galleries and museums, and her enduring interest in the intersection of art and the spiritual. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

In this audio extra, MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey and art critic Leo O’Donovan discuss a painting by famed African-American artist Henry Ossawa Tanner.

MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey speaks with educator, author, and Jesuit priest Leo O’Donovan, who is well known to readers of the Catholic periodicals America and Commonweal. They discuss O'Donovan's wide-ranging career and his perspective on contemporary religious art. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

In this episode of MOCRA Voices, MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, speaks with artist Jordan Eagles. They discuss his unusual artistic medium--works combining blood, plexiglass, UV resin, and other materials-–and how it continues to evolve, including a work Eagles created to raise awareness about the FDA’s ban on the donation of blood by men who have sex with men. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the podcast.

In this episode of MOCRA Voices, MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, speaks with curator and author Howard Fox. They discuss Fox's approach to curating exhibitions and discerning trends in art-making, as well as the process of writing essays on contemporary art. They also discuss specific artists who engage the religious and spiritual dimensions in their work. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the podcast.

In 2013, MOCRA celebrated its twentieth anniversary. To mark the occasion, MOCRA Voices has been talking with people who have been affiliated with the museum over the years. In this two-part episode, we bring you conversations and reflections from people involved with MOCRA's groundbreaking 1994 exhibition, Consecrations: The Spiritual in Art in the Time of AIDS. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the podcast.

In 2013, MOCRA celebrated its twentieth anniversary. To mark the occasion, MOCRA Voices has been talking with people who have been affiliated with the museum over the years. In this two-part episode, we bring you conversations and reflections from people involved with MOCRA's groundbreaking 1994 exhibition, Consecrations: The Spiritual in Art in the Time of AIDS. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the podcast.

In this episode of MOCRA Voices, MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, speaks with artists Daniel Ramirez and Buzz Spector, who were studio mates in the MFA program at the University of Chicago in the 1970s, forging a friendship that has lasted ever since. Together they reflect on a range of topics, including the impact of philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein on their work, and the evolution of their artistic output over the decades. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the podcast.

In 2013, MOCRA celebrated its twentieth anniversary. To mark the occasion, MOCRA Voices has been talking with people who have been affiliated with the museum over the years. In this episode, we bring you conversations and reflections from people involved with MOCRA's inaugural 1993 exhibition, Sanctuaries: Recovering the Holy in Contemporary Art. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the podcast.

In 2013, MOCRA celebrated its twentieth anniversary. To mark the occasion, MOCRA Voices has been talking with people who have been affiliated with the museum over the years. In this episode of MOCRA Voices, MOCRA director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, reflects on three people who played pivotal roles in the creation and development of MOCRA: Jane Daggett Dillenberger, John Dillenberger, and Peter Selz.

In this audio extra, Menachem Wecker talks about the ways in which religious symbols that are familiar to some people can be off-putting to others.

MOCRA assistant director David Brinker speaks with journalist and author Menachem Wecker 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.

In this audio extra, Ellen Dissnayake talks about the importance of human contact in early childhood development.

In this audio extra, Ellen Dissanayake recounts the trials and tribulations of putting together a book cover.

MOCRA director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, speaks with author and scholar Ellen Dissanayake. They explore Dissanayake's distinctive approach to uncovering the origin and meaning of human art-making, as well as the implications of her research for assessing and understanding contemporary art.

MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, speaks with artist Tobi Kahn about integrating faith and heritage with artistic practice, his commissions for public sacred spaces, and how MOCRA has impacted his career. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

In this short episode, MOCRA Assistant Director David Brinker talks about MOCRA Voices on Vimeo. Visit vimeo.com/mocravoices to learn more.

In 2013, MOCRA celebrated its twentieth anniversary. To mark the occasion, MOCRA Voices has been talking with people who have been affiliated with the museum over the years. In this episode of MOCRA Voices, we bring you some of these conversations and reflections. Guests include: Pamela Ambrose, Thomas Sokolowski, Mary Reid Brunstrom, Ted Wood, Jeff Vaughn, Tobi Kahn, and Jim Morphesis. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

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. In Part Two, they discuss the genesis of an interfaith September 11 memorial service, and other lasting positive consequences of the interfaith collaboration that began with the opera The Death of Klinghoffer. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

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 One of the conversation focuses on Opera Theatre's 2011 production of The Death of Klinghoffer, and how that opera became a springboard for interfaith conversation and action through the arts. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

In this audio extra, Mary Reid Brunstrom recounts how two sculptures by artist Richard Serra prompted her to return to school for graduate studies in art history.

MOCRA director Terrence Dempsey, SJ, speaks with Mary Reid Brunstrom about her experiences introducing contemporary Australian art to St. Louis, her collaborations with MOCRA, and her decision to return to school to pursue studies in art history. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

In this audio extra, artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons recounts a surprising discovery about her family heritage.

Artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons joins MOCRA Director Terrence E. Dempsey, S.J., and Dr. Olubukola Gbadegesin, Assistant Professor of Art History and African-American Studies at Saint Louis University, in a 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. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

In this audio extra, Reverend Ralph Peterson and Dr. Jane Daggett Dillenberger discuss the ways in which artist Louise Nevelson engaged the Christian narrative in her design for the chapel at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church.

Reverend Ralph Peterson talks about his lifelong passion for incorporating the arts into his ministry, especially his role in commissioning the Erol Beker Chapel of the Good Shepherd, designed by artist Louise Nevelson. Art historian Dr. Jane Daggett Dillenberger, who consulted on the chapel project, also shares her recollections. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

Museum directors Pamela Ambrose and Ena Heller join MOCRA Director Terrence E. Dempsey, S.J., to discuss the rewards and challenges of presenting art in a spiritual and religious context. Visit mocra.slu.edu to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

In this audio extra, museum directors Pamela Ambrose and Ena Heller, along with MOCRA Director Terrence E. Dempsey, talk about their favorite exhibitions.

In this audio extra, artist Archie Granot and collector Max Thurm discuss the Jewish concept of hiddur mitzvah and its application to "The Papercut Haggadah."

In this audio extra, artist Archie Granot describes a particularly harrowing experience with his chosen artistic tool: a surgical scalpel.

Israeli artist Archie Granot and American collector Max Thurm discuss the experience of collaborating on a project called "The Papercut Haggadah." Visit mocra.slu.edu to learn more about "The Papercut Haggadah" and see sample pages, and to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

Excerpts from a talk given by Thomas Sokolowski at MOCRA on November 5, 1994, in conjunction with MOCRA's exhibition "Consecrations: The Spiritual in Art in the Time of AIDS."

Guest Thomas Sokolowski talks about the close relationship between art and AIDS activism, and reflects on the past, present and future role of art where AIDS is concerned. Visit mocra.slu.edu to learn more about Sokolowski, and to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

Guests Regina DeLuise and Susan Schreiber discuss the life and work of American artist Adrian Kellard (1959-91). Topics include Kellard’s charismatic personality, his distinctive woodcut medium, the impact on his work of his AIDS diagnosis, the Catholic sensibility that informed his subjects, and above all, the sense of compassion that suffused his life and art. Visit mocra.slu.edu to learn more about Kellard, and to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

In this audio extra, artist James Rosen proposes swimming as a metaphor for the act of painting. Visit mocra.slu.edu to learn more about Rosen, and to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

In this wide-ranging conversation, 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. Visit mocra.slu.edu to learn more about Rosen, and to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.