MOCRA Voices

For 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 artwork based on a sacred text, and continuity and innovation in the Jewish tradition.

Be sure to listen to the two Audio Extras, "Dropped Blade" and "Hiddur Mitzvah."

Also, check out the related MOCRA Voices video episode, "The Jewish Experience and the Haggadah."

Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about Archie Granot, and to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

Recording Engineer and Editor: Joe Grimaldi Host: John Launius Producer: David Brinker

Original release date: 8/9/2012

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

These 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

Curator 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 creation of the red ribbon for AIDS awareness. Also addressed are Sokolowski's role in introducing Dempsey to the late artist Adrian Kellard, and Sokolowski's significant role in making several MOCRA exhibitions possible.

During the interview, several references are made to Sokolowski's 1994 talk at MOCRA. Be sure to listen to the Audio Extra, "The Changing Face of AIDS," which features excerpts from that lecture.

Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about Sokolowski, and to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

Recording Engineer and Editor: Fojammi (Daniel Stefacek) Host: John Launius Producer: David Brinker

Original release date: 12/1/2011

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

Artist 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, organized by MOCRA in 2011.

Visit the MOCRA Voices website to learn more about Kellard, and to explore a Listening Guide to the interview.

Recording Engineer and Editor: Fojammi (Daniel Stefacek) Host: John Launius Producer: David Brinker

Original release date: 11/1/2011

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

Artist 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

In 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 Listening Guide to the interview. Also be sure to listen to the Audio Extra, "The Artist as Swimmer."

Recording Engineer and Editor: Fojammi (Daniel Stefacek) Host: John Launius Producer: David Brinker

Original release date: 6/4/2011

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