MOCRA Presents "Meditations" on Art, Abstraction, and Spirituality
ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis University's Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) will hold a program on Saturday, May 3, exploring how the wide-ranging lexicons of spirituality, abstraction and Black cultural production are intertwined.
MOCRA presents “Meditations: Black Expression, Abstraction, and the Spirit - Live” from 1:30 to 4 p.m. on May 3.
“Meditations” explores the intersection of spirituality and the artistic practice of Black creatives encountering ideas within the wide lexicon of abstraction. The series takes inspiration from the final panel in artist Frederick J. Brown’s five-painting work Life of Christ Altarpiece. Brown’s portrayal of The Descent into Hell is an abstracted meditation on the spiritual and emotional sublime within lived experience.
Drawing from the example provided by Brown, the artists featured within the series are invited to consider how spirituality, abstraction and Black cultural production are intertwined. As such, “Meditations” seeks to offer a critical narrative within the discourse of not only Black cultural production, but Western art history by opening the dialogue of the contribution of Black artists beyond the politics of representation, underscoring the importance of abstraction as a tool to express qualities of the Black experience that exist beyond the body politic.
The panel includes Bentley Brown, Dail Chambers, Damon Davis, Olubukola Gradegesin, Summer Sloane-Britt and Sydney Vernon.
Frederick J. Brown, The Descent into Hell from The Life of Christ Altarpiece (1994–1995). Oil and mixed media on canvas. MOCRA collection, a gift of the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation and UMB Bank. At left, the painting proper. At right, the reverse of the painting.
“Meditations”
- When: 1:30 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 3.
- Where: SLU's Anheuser-Busch Auditorium, Cook Hall, 3874 Lindell Blvd.
- Cost: Free.
There is also an option to join online for those unable to attend in person.
Latest Newslink
- Pestellos Honored With Honorary Street NameA stretch of Laclede Avenue that has undergone major development since President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., and First Lady Fran Pestello, Ph.D., arrived at Saint Louis University 11 years ago now has a new name.
- Disaster Assistance Center Opens to the Community in Response to the May 16 TornadoThe City of St. Louis, in partnership with the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency and Saint Louis University, opened a Disaster Assistance Center (DAC) on Monday, June 9, to serve as a central space for tornado-affected residents to connect with agencies offering guidance, resources, and assistance related to recovery and long-term support. The DAC will take place inside Chaifetz Arena.
- St. Louis Magazine Salutes SLU's Top Nursing EducatorsFour nursing educators in Saint Louis University's Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing have been honored with a St. Louis Magazine's 2025 Excellence in Nursing Award. This recognition underscores the dedication and leadership of SLU's nurse educators in advancing the profession and shaping the future of health care.
- University Trustees, Student Leaders Honor Pestello LegacyFred P. Pestello, Ph.D., has been named president emeritus, effective July 1, and the Student Government Association has launched a new scholarship in honor of Pestello and his spouse, Fran Pestello, Ph.D.
- William S. Sly, M.D.: 1932-2025William S. Sly, M.D., professor emeritus of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, died Saturday, May 31, 2025. He was 92. An alumnus of Saint Louis University, Sly was an internationally known physician and scientist. He is perhaps best known for his work on the disease that now bears his name - Sly syndrome, also called mucopolysaccharidosis type VII (MPS-VII). His research team described the first patient with the disease, and later he helped develop an FDA-approved treatment.
- SLU Professor Says Statistics Is the Everyday Math Everyone Needs to KnowR. Lauren Miller, Ed.D., assistant professor of mathematics and statistics at Saint Louis University, argues that a solid foundation in statistics provides people with numerical literacy and reduces math anxiety. Miller will present “A Case for High School Statistics” at the Curiosity by TEDx St. Louis event on Saturday, May 31, at the Missouri History Museum.
