Past MOCRA Events

Browse the chronological list of events at the Saint Louis University Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA), or search for a specific event. Click “View” for more information about an event. If you need further information about an event, please contact us.

Name

Pursuing the Spirit in Contemporary Art: A Celebration of Terrence Dempsey, S.J.

Dates

November 10, 2019

Description

On June 30, 2019, MOCRA Founding Director Terrence Dempsey, S.J., retired from Saint Louis University after nearly three decades of teaching and museum leadership. Fr. Dempsey jokes that he may be the only person ever to turn his dissertation into a museum. It’s a distinction, to be sure, but hardly the only one that marks a long, creative, and productive career in art and education.

During his doctoral studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA, a chance remark from a former student set Dempsey off in an unexpected direction that would define his career and his life: Why don’t you see what’s going on with artists now, rather than study the artists of the past? Dempsey’s imagination was soon captivated by what he saw as something significant but under-recognized happening in contemporary art. But he was not content to confine his passion for the subject to the printed page, and in 1993, MOCRA opened to the public.

Dempsey has focused on certain key qualities during his quarter-century tenure as MOCRA’s Founding Director, qualities that will continue to guide the museum in the years to come: breadth of scope in the artists, subjects, and perspectives; a deep respect for artists and visitors; an emphasis on education; an openness to collaboration; and at the core of it all, compassion as the perennial touchstone.

This program reflected on and celebrated Dempsey’s rich and varied scholarship and his accomplishments with MOCRA. It featured special guest Dr. Aaron Rosen, who spoke about the intersection of art, faith and spirituality, in a talk titled “Brushes with Faith: Encounters in Contemporary Art.”

“Pursuing the Spirit” was made possible with support from the Art History Program of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts, Saint Louis University, and a generous private donor.
The program took place in conjunction with the MOCRA exhibition Gratitude.

Dr. Aaron Rosen is Professor of Religion & Visual Culture and Director of the Henry Luce III Center for the Arts & Religion at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. He is also Visiting Professor at King’s College London, where he taught previously. Rosen began his career at Yale, Oxford, and Columbia Universities, after receiving his doctorate from the University of Cambridge. He has held various honorary posts, including Visiting Professor at University College Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Prof. Rosen is the author of several books: Imagining Jewish Art; Art and Religion in the 21st Century; and Brushes with Faith. His edited books include: Religion and Art in the Heart of Modern Manhattan; Visualising a Sacred City; Encounters: The Art of Interfaith Dialogue; and Religion and Sight (forthcoming). He is currently working on a monograph entitled The Hospitality of Images: Modern Art, Architecture, and Interfaith Dialogue.

Rosen is the visual arts editor for Image Journal. He has written widely for popular publications, including The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, CNN.com, Apollo, and Times Higher Education, and often provides commentary for US, UK, and Irish radio. He regularly curates exhibitions and is the co-founder of the arts project Stations of the Cross, which has been staged in London, New York, Washington, D.C., and Amsterdam. He also writes books for young people, including Where’s Your Creativity? and Journey through Art, which has been translated into seven languages.

above:
MOCRA Founding Director Terrence Dempsey, S.J. In the background is a painting by James Rosen, Homage to the Pietá d’Avignon. Photo by Kevin Lowder.

Related MOCRA Voices episodes

Watch Pursuing the Spirit in Contemporary Art: A Celebration of Terrence Dempsey, S.J.

Watch Aaron Rosen: Brushes with Faith - Encounters in Contemporary Art

Episode 25: Aaron Rosen

Dates	Exhibition
2018-10-07 to 2018-10-14	Walking in Hope: A Weeklong Celebration of the Canonization of Archbishop Oscar Romero October 7, 2018 to October 14, 2018 MOCRA joined with Saint Louis University's Campus Ministry, the Archdiocese of Saint Louis, and numerous other local organizations, in a weeklong St. Louis celebration of the canonization of Archbi...
2017-04-20	“The Hand Acts Out a Joyous Dance”: Celebrating the Art of Bernard Maisner April 20, 2017 A master calligrapher and manuscript illuminator, artist Bernard Maisner brings together materials and design in unexpected ways. From tiny illuminated manuscripts to large-scale paintings reminisc...
2016-09-25	Erika Diettes: “Stories Told from the Threshold” September 25, 2016 Colombian artist Erika Diettes has received international acclaim for a body of work that draws upon her training as both an artist and an anthropologist. In 2011 she set up a studio in the Colombi...
2015-12-06	So That You Know Each Other: Intercultural Reflections on Art, Beauty, and Islam December 6, 2015 This program explores historic and contemporary approaches to Islamic art, from perspectives both within and outside of Islam. The guiding concept of the program is interculturality. When...
2014-11-15	John Handley: “The Religious Art of Pablo Picasso” November 15, 2014 Art historian and theologian John Handley will shed light on a scarcely known aspect of the career of the renowned twentieth-century artist Pablo Picasso: his religious beliefs and his incorporatio...
2018-09-28 to 2018-09-29	Fleur-de-Lis Floral Art Walk September 28, 2018 to September 29, 2018 Celebrate SLU's Bicentennial with a Floral Art Walk taking place throughout campus and the nearby Grand Center Arts District, and see art in a new way through the magic of flowers. Each stop along ...
2014-02-23	“The Economy of Gift” in Socially Engaged Art Practices: A Public Deliberation February 23, 2014 Gift involves moving out of oneself. The economy of gift questions the dominant measure of value in the art world and beyond. Socially engag...
2013-10-02	Art21: The Spiritual Light screening at CAM October 2, 2013 MOCRA's neighbor institution, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, offers an opportunity to view a special ...
2013-03-02	Rituals and Spirituality in the Performative Photographic Work of Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons March 2, 2013 Hailed as a leading artist of the Afro-Cuban diaspora, Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons' work encompasses installation art, performative photography, painting and cultural activism, all of which, says a...
2012-11-11	Breaking Boundaries: A Conversation about the Art of Patrick Graham November 11, 2012 Patrick Graham has been credited with changing the face of contemporary painting i...
2012-05-20	Stephen P. Durchslag: “The Jewish Experience and the Haggadah” May 20, 2012 The Jewish holiday of Passover recalls and celebrates the freeing of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The haggadah is the book that contains the ritual guide to the Passover Seder meal, along ...
2012-03-27	2012 Loyola Chair Lecture: “The Image of the Wounded Body of Christ and the Modern Social Consciousness” March 27, 2012 MOCRA's Director, Terrence Dempsey, S.J., delivers the Loyola Chair Lecture at Fordham University. “The Image of the Wounded Body of Christ and the Modern Social Consciousness” will o...
2011-10-06	2011 Loyola Chair Lecture: “The Pursuit of the Spirit: The Renewed Interest in the Spiritual and Religious Dimensions in Contemporary Art” October 6, 2011 MOCRA's Director, Terrence Dempsey, S.J., delivers the Loyola Chair Lecture at Fordham University. “The Pursuit of the Spirit: The Renewed Interest in the Spiritual and Religious Dimens...
2011-05-01	Terrence Dempsey, S.J.: “Georges Rouault and the Art of Sacred Engagement” May 1, 2011 From his earliest works, Georges Rouault selected subjects that combined a stron...
2010-11-15	Terrence Demspey, S.J.: “Creating a Religious Environment through Contemporary Art and Architecture” November 15, 2010 Rev. Terrence Dempsey, S.J., founding Director of MOCRA, presents the lecture "Creating a Religious Environment Through Contemporary Art and Architecture." Celebrating his 25th year as a Jesuit pri...
2010-03-28	Terrence Dempsey, S.J.: “The Wounded Body of Christ and the Modern Social Conscience” March 28, 2010 MOCRA Director Terrence Dempsey, S.J., offers an overview of how images associated with the suffering and death of Jesus still have vitality, even in a pluralistic world. Images referring to the ev...
2009-12-01	Day With(out) Art December 1, 2009 MOCRA observes the twentieth anniversary of Day With(out) Art, a national day of actio...
2009-11-15	Michael Byron: “Cosmic Tears: Word and Image” November 15, 2009 Artist Michael Byron will discuss the development of his Cosmic ...
2009-03-29	Art and the Religious Imagination March 29, 2009 MOCRA assembles a panel of distinguished museum directors and theologians to discuss the roles that secular and religious art museums can play in the presentation of art with spiritual and religiou...
2008-04-15	Wu Hung: “What Is Contemporary Chinese Art?” April 15, 2008 The curator of the MOCRA exhibition Miao Xiaochun: The Last...
2007-10-07	Celluloid Bible Classics: The Ten Commandments October 7, 2007 In conjunction with the exhibition The Celluloid Bible: Marketing Films Inspired by Sc...
2007-11-04	Celluloid Bible Classics: Ben-Hur November 4, 2007 In conjunction with the exhibition The Celluloid Bible: Marketing Films Inspired by Scrip...
2007-09-16	Michael Morris, O.P.: “Moving Pictures: The Bible and Beyond” September 16, 2007 Professor and Dominican priest Rev. Michael Morris, O.P., gives a wry and highly informed survey of Hollywood's relationship with Judeo-Christian scripture (in fact, the motion picture's interest ...
2007-03-30	Peter Frank: “An Oskar Fischinger Tribute” March 30, 2007 Peter Frank, curator of the MOCRA exhibition Oskar Fischinger: Movem...
2006-12-01	Day With(out) Art December 1, 2006 MOCRA observes Day With(out) Art, a national day of action and mourning in response to...
2005-12-04	Robert Rosenblum: “DoDo Jin Ming: An Art Historian's View” December 4, 2005 Renowned art historian Robert Rosenblum places the work of photographer DoDo Jin Ming
2003-09-07	To Make Extraordinary: The Role of Sacred Objects in Life and Worship September 7, 2003 MOCRA presents an interfaith panel discussion that considers the wide range in form, use, and significance of sacred objects across the world's religious traditions. This event is held on t...
2002-05-04	The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: A University Response May 4, 2002 With this panel discussion about the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, approached from diverse disciplines and personal backgrounds, we seek to encourage the St. Louis community to assess the ramificat...
2002-04-30	Fred D. Gray: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment: A Study That Should Never Have Occurred April 30, 2002 Fred D. Gray is a civil rights attorney whose career spans...
2002-01-31	Cloudlanders January 31, 2002 MOCRA presents several of St. Louis' finest dancers performing two evenings of improvisatory dance with and amidst Pop artist Andy Warhol's Silver Clouds. The dancers respond to the mutable,...
2002-01-26	Thomas Sokolowski: “The Last Temptation: Andy Warhols Art as Belief” January 26, 2002 Thomas Sokolowski examines Pop artist Andy Warhol’s outlook on art and aesthetics as t...
2000-11-30	Day With(out) Art November 30, 2000 MOCRA observes Day With(out) Art, a national day of action and mourning in response to...
2001-04-06	Bare Naked Statues in concert April 6, 2001 The Bare Naked Statues, Saint Louis University’s premier all-male a capella ensemble, present their debu...
1999-04-15	Two Lectures: Ellen Dissanayake and Jack Renard April 15, 1999 MOCRA presents lectures by two distinguished scholars. Ellen Dissanayake “In the Beginning, Art” An innovative scholar makes a case for an innate hu...
1999-03-27	Bernard Maisner: “The Art of the Illuminator” March 27, 1999 Bernard Maisner, considered one of today's foremost practitione...
1998-03-22	Renaissance and Modern March 22, 1998 MOCRA presents a lecture and a public conversation. Dr. Carolyn Valone “Matrons and Motives: Why Women Built in 16th-century Rome” Carolyn Valone is Pr...
1997-11-15	The Role of the Computer in Contemporary Art November 15, 1997 Join artist Manfred Stumpf and members of the St. Louis arts community in an exploration of the role of the computer in contemporary art, examined from the perspectives of the artist, the art histo...
1997-07-24	Jennifer Biddle: Body, Country, Canvas: Meaning and Identity in Central Desert Aboriginal Women’s Art July 24, 1997 Dr. Jennifer Biddle, of the department of Anthropology, Macquar...
1997-06-07	Creativity as Ancestral Mind: Living with the Ancestors June 7, 1997 MOCRA presents an afternoon symposium focusing on the art of the Aborigines of Australia's Central Desert. In the unique setting of the world's first museum of contemporary interfaith art, surround...
1997-02-27	The Artist and the Theologian Dialogue: The Body of Christ as Veiling and Unveiling the Invisible God February 27, 1997 In conjunction with the exhibition Steven Heilmer: Pietre Sante...
1996-12-01	Day Without Art December 1, 1996 MOCRA observes Day With(out) Art, a national day of action and mourning in response to...
1996-05-19	The Artist as Poet: Readings by Edward Boccia May 19, 1996 In conjunction with the joint exhibition Edward Boccia: Eye of the Paint...
1995-05-20	Ian Friend: “The Edge of Belief” May 20, 1995 Artist Ian Friend delivers a lecture focusing on his series of paintings ...
1995-05-04	Peter Selz: “Degenerate Art” May 4, 1995 In this lecture, renowned art historian, author and curator Peter Selz examines the 1937 Nazi-organized Entartete Kunst (“Degenerate Art”) exhibition, the most virulent campaign ever org...
1995-02-05	Lynn Hague in recital February 5, 1995 MOCRA welcomes Lynn Hague of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra in a solo violin recital. The program includes works by Bach and Paganini, as well as original improvisations that take advantage of ...
1994-11-13	Terrence Dempsey, S.J.: “The Spiritual in Art in the Time of AIDS” November 13, 1994 MOCRA’s exhibition Consecrations: The Spiritual ...
1994-12-01	Day Without Art December 1, 1994 MOCRA observes Day With(out) Art, a national day of action and mourning in response to...
1994-11-05	Thomas Sokolowski: “The Changing Face of AIDS” November 5, 1994 Thomas Sokolowski is the Director of the Grey Art Gallery and Study Center of New York University. He is also a co-founder of Day Without Art, an annual observance by galleries and...
1994-11-01	The Amici String Quartet in recital November 1, 1994 The Amici Quartet performs an evening recital in the elegant setting of Historic Samuel Cupples House. This pe...
1994-10-15	Consecrations: The Spiritual in Art in the TIme of AIDS dance program and opening reception October 15, 1994 MOCRA marks the opening of the first national group e...
1993-10-29	I Remember Alvin October 29, 1993 Three people closely connected with Alvin Ailey reminisce about their experiences with t...
1993-11-05	An Evening with Katherine Dunham November 5, 1993 Living legend Katherine Dunham discusses the famous “Dunham Technique” and provides valuable in...
1992-11-07	The Artist and Sacred Space November 7, 1992 This symposium held in conjunction with the Fall 1992 meeting of The Society for the Arts, Religion, and Contemporary Culture ...
2019-04-14	A Conversation with Gary Logan April 14, 2019 Trinidadian-American artist Gary Logan uses the visual language of abstraction to convey encounters with the sublime and explore challenging dimensions of the human experience. In this conversation...
2019-11-10	Pursuing the Spirit in Contemporary Art: A Celebration of Terrence Dempsey, S.J. November 10, 2019 On June 30, 2019, MOCRA Founding Director Terrence Dempsey, S.J., retired from Saint Louis University after nearly three decades of teaching and museum leadership. Fr. Dempsey jokes that he may be ...
2021-10-26 to 2021-10-26	Religion and Complex Social Issues Series: Panel on Immigration, Justice, and Religion October 26, 2021 to October 26, 2021 The Religion and Complex Social Issues series began in fall 2017 to provide informative, thoughtful, discussion-oriented opportunities for students, faculty, and various other communities of Saint ...
2021-11-03 to 2021-11-03	Sobrevida: A Conversation with Prof. Daisy Vargas November 3, 2021 to November 03, 2021 Dr. Daisy Vargas explores life and death at the Mexico-U.S. borderlands through the material objects that migrants bring on their journeys. The Religion and Complex Social Issues series b...
2021-11-05 to 2021-11-05	Meet the Artist: Tom Kiefer November 5, 2021 to November 05, 2021 Join us in the gallery for informal conversations with photographer Tom Kiefer about his exhibition “Pertenencias / Belongings,” currently on display at MOCRA. No formal talk is planned. Kiefer...
2021-11-06 to 2021-11-06	Conversations with Photographer Tom Kiefer November 6, 2021 to November 06, 2021 This event took place in person at the Anheuser-Busch Auditorium on the campus of Saint Louis University, with a simultaneous Zoom feed. The event was co-sponsored by MOCRA, the Saint Louis Univers...
2022-04-07 to 2022-04-07	Tom Lucas, S.J.: Art in the Jesuit Tradition April 7, 2022 to April 07, 2022 Fr. Tom Lucas, S.J., speaks about Art in the Jesuit Tradition, an illustrated presentation that surveys the important role of art in Jesuit education and spirituality from the earliest days of the ...
2022-09-29	Artist, Poet, Curator: A Conversation with Lesley Dill, Tom Sleigh and Rene Paul Barilleaux September 29, 2022 On September 29, 2022, MOCRA welcomed acclaimed visual artist Lesley Dill for a virtual, Zoom-based presentation. Dill was joined by poet Tom Sleigh and Rene Paul Barilleaux, head of curatorial aff...
2022-11-19	What Is Viral? What Is Value? — Open Mic November 19, 2022 This event, held in conjunction with the MOCRA exhibition Jordan Eagles: VIRAL...
2024-04-14	René Paul Barilleaux: Crafting a Curatorial Practice April 14, 2024 René Paul Barilleaux, Chief of Curatorial Affairs at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, TX, traces the evolution of his curatorial practice over a forty-year period, including a sustained intere...

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