Pursuing the Spirit in Contemporary Art: A Celebration of Terrence Dempsey, S.J.
Release date: May 28, 2020
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, held on November 19, 2019, reflected on and celebrated Dempsey’s rich and varied scholarship and his accomplishments with MOCRA. It featured special guest Aaron Rosen, Ph.D., who spoke about the intersection of art, faith and spirituality, in a talk titled “Brushes with Faith: Encounters in Contemporary Art.”
This video includes a tribute to Fr. Dempsey and his personal reflections.
Credits
Related exhibition: Gratitude
Related episode: Aaron Rosen: Brushes with Faith - Encounters in Contemporary Art
Producer: David Brinker
Videography and editing: Matt Peterson