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

Original release date: 5/29/2015

This episode was made possible with financial support from the Regional Arts Commission.

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 possible with financial support from the Regional Arts Commission.

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 conversation.

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.

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 conversation.

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.