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Michael Byron, 2003, Cosmic Tears 12. Mixed media on paper, courtesy of the artist.
Unless you have been to the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art at Saint Louis University, you might still hold to the popular misconception that religious art is treacly, sentimental and vapid. Really, I'd say that a lot of contemporary work suffers for its lack of spiritual perspective, a problem that MOCRA began to remedy when it opened its doors in 1994 as the the world's first interfaith contemporary art museum.
When I first moved to St. Louis, I went to MOCRA to cover "THE GREATER GOOD: An Artist's Contemporary View of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment" for STLToday, and was blown away. Since then, they've continued to curate superlative international shows, including the Junko Chodos solo exhibition in 2005, "Oskar Fischinger: Movement and Spirit," in 2007, and last year's "Miao Xiaochun: Last Judgement in Cyberspace." MOCRA is also supportive of local artists, sprinkling them into group shows, hanging Ed Boccia in the same gallery with Salvador Dali. This month, the galleries ared dedicated soley to the work of local artist Michael Byron, professor of painting at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art at Wash. U. The show, titled "Cosmic Tears: Word and Image," explores "the relationship of the individual to the universal." From the artist's description:
"In the evocative paintings of the 'Cosmic Tears' series, Michael Byron explores the relationship of the individual to the universal. The works are based on a text by the artist that meditates on the inevitable mix of emotions that accompanies the act of creation; pain and joy together elicit a 'cosmic tear' that is the 'womb of our psyche.' Yet the paintings themselves attest to the potential of art to 'shape that tear into Meaning.' The abstract works simultaneously suggest both microcosmic and macrocosmic perspectives, and evince a quiet, reflective quality. In some of the works there are forms that suggest continents or constellations; in others, the artist introduces trompe l'oeil images of water droplets that bring to mind the opening lines of William Blake's 'Auguries of Innocence':
To see a World in a Grain of Sand,
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour."
Michael Byron's giving a gallery talk on his work this Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m. MOCRA is located on the SLU Campus, 3700 West Pine; you can get more info by calling 314-977-7170, or visiting their website. The show hangs till December 13, and museum hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is free, though there's a suggested $5 donation, $1 for kids and students.
Leroy Johnson, 2009, One Foot Man, digital color print, 10.6 x 8 inches
A very different exhibit is taking place at the Public Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri-St Louis. PPR has been doing a series of documentary projects where they go into communities and teach people how to operate photography equpiment, so that they can document their own lives, rather than being the passive subjects of a professional photographer's lens. This summer, they worked with St. Patrick's Center and City Seeds Urban Farm. St. Patrick's, as you know, provides services to homeless clients, many of them dealing with substance abuse or mental health issues. City Seeds provides St. Pat's clients with horticulture training through Gateway Greening, which provides not just job training, but a sort of therapy through digging, mulching and planting. The crops they raise are sold at the North City Farmer's Market, providing inner-city residents access to organic, fresh, healthy food.
In full disclosure, this photography project is really close to my heart because I live on the border of Old North and Hyde Park, and serve on the Old North St. Louis Restoration Group board. That puts me down at the market every odd Saturday, often next door to the City Seeds produce tent. I've gotten to be really fond of the folks who work in that booth, and have seen firsthand how quickly the greens and tomatoes and eggplants sell out.
Here is Chinyere E. Oteh, Photography Project Instructor, on the experience of working with City Seeds:
"As I got to know the City Seeds participants and saw the inner workings of the program that enriches their lives, my own life was made better by the opportunity to teach in a natural setting. It was a privilege to share the participants’ perspectives through the images they created and their unequivocal and eloquent poetry. In a superficial world, where we often judge each other on appearances, participant, Gerald Hooks’ poem, reminded me that we can all strive to live more harmoniously. He wrote, 'I am just an ordinary person like you / I am in good spirits / I accept everybody as they are / We are all equal / We live in this world together.'"
"City Seeds Urban Farm," A Photography Exhibit
PPRC Photography Project Gallery, November 17, 2009 thru January 10
(South hall, fourth floor, Social Science/Business Building at UMSL)
Info. 314-516-5273 • Website: http://pprc.umsl.edu
Gallery hours: daily 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Opening Reception: November 17, noon to 1 p.m.
Gallery talks with Photography Project director, Mel Watkin, Instructor, Chinyere Oteh, and Gateway Greening’s Annie Mayrose, and and Ariel Roads-Buback with City Seeds participants
--Stefene Russell
