This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: An invitation to cross thresholds into unfamiliar territory is the theme as Saint Louis University鈥檚 Museum of Contemporary Religious Art marks two decades of existence. is a two-part exhibit reprising segments of previous shows dating back to the museum鈥檚 1993 debut. Part One, open through Dec. 15, revisits MOCRA鈥檚 first 10 years.
Works examining all religions and spiritual quests have always had a place at MOCRA. Founding director Father Terry Dempsey wants to continue and expand that diversity.
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to build a bridge among various faith traditions,鈥� Dempsey said.
A Buddha reveals new meaning
The most prominent returning piece is Lewis deSoto鈥檚 25-foot long nylon Paranirvana, a word for a reclining Buddha. it was meant to be displayed in its inflated state, with the pump turned off at night. But 30 minutes after the opening exhibit was to end, dozens of visitors lingered, and Dempsey needed to move things along to get the artist to his next stop.
鈥淚 said to one of our assistants, 鈥楲et鈥檚 pull the plug on the Buddha,鈥欌�� he remembered.
Guests first noticed the cessation of the pump noise, then began to watch in silent amazement as the Buddha collapsed in on itself, a half-hour process.
鈥淔or a few minutes you didn鈥檛 think anything would happen and then a shoulder would cave in," Dempsey said. 鈥淲e saw the Buddha figure slowly deflating, and it was the closest thing I鈥檝e ever experienced in an artwork to being at the bedside of a dying person."
After checking with the artist, MOCRA began opening the exhibit each day with a completely deflated Buddha so the first guests could see it come to life.
鈥淭hen other people would come for the death of the Buddha, a half-hour before the closing. We鈥檙e doing that again now,鈥� Dempsey said.
Serendipity also played a part in the history of another work . Seyed Alavi鈥檚 鈥淣oli Me Tangere鈥� literally means 鈥淒on鈥檛 touch me,鈥� reflective of the words Jesus is said to have spoken to Mary Magdalene after the resurrection. But when Dempsey first saw the honey-filled lead bowl at a San Francisco exhibit, he failed to heed the name and it ended up in MOCRA's permanent collection.
鈥淚 guess it was basic Catholic instinct. I stuck my hand right in there and I was dripping honey all over the place,鈥� Dempsey said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 like a 鈥榶ou-break-it-you-buy-it鈥� kind of a thing, but we did buy it.鈥�
No sugarcoating
In 1994, with the Centers for Disease Control launching bold TV ads promoting condom use. MOCRA, in only its second year of existence, was also in the forefront of this burgeoning national discussion.
The museum's was inspired by an artist friend of Dempsey鈥檚, who was dying of the disease. Juan Gonzalez鈥檚 鈥淔ree Fall,鈥� completed in the last seven days of his life when he was nearly blind, is back for the 鈥淭hresholds鈥� exhibit. Then and now, the piece speaks to MOCRA鈥檚 mission.
鈥淢y goal was to show people that the artists of our time can address difficult subjects and can do it in such a way that doesn鈥檛 try to sugarcoat them but offers a threshold going through a sense of suffering and loss to a sense of hope and reconciliation and sense of healing,鈥� Dempsey said.
The spirituality of Alvin Ailey鈥檚 choreography made him a subject of . One of its elements, a video of Judith Jamison dancing her is part of the 20th anniversary show. Going forward, Dempsey hopes to bring in more video works.
It won鈥檛 be difficult to exhibit new artists. As the museum celebrates 20 years, it's currently fielding inquiries from 600 people who want to bring their work to MOCRA.
鈥淣ot in my lifetime is that going to be possible,鈥� Dempsey said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 nice to know we鈥檙e getting that kind of interest.鈥�
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