By Deanna Howes Spiro
When the coronavirus pandemic forced Jesuit colleges and universities to move classes and activities online last spring, so too were campus museums and galleries forced to adapt. Many Jesuit institutions are homes to vast collections of art that educate and inspire students and the general public. Without in-person foot traffic, campus museum and gallery directors had to devise new ways to reach audiences virtually.
Recognizing that their fellow directors at Jesuit museums might be a good support system (and potential collaborators), Carey Mack Weber, the Frank and Clara Meditz Executive Director at the Fairfield University Art Museum, and David Brinker, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) at Saint Louis University, established an ad hoc affinity group of AJCU Art Museum Directors within the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Over the course of several e-mail exchanges and Zoom conversations, Weber, Brinker and their colleagues developed an idea for #JesuitMuseums: a new column in AJCU’s weekly e-newsletter, AJCU Higher Ed News, that would highlight one piece from each Jesuit college or university collection every week. Each piece would be selected by the curator or museum director at each school, and feature a short reflection on the history and significance of the art.
Weber said, "We are so pleased to have created the #JesuitMuseums initiative to collectively raise the visibility of university art museums in these challenging times, when most of our doors are closed. It is important that senior leadership, faculty, staff and students understand how integral museums are to the life of the university, and how we contribute in myriad ways even while operating in a virtual space."
Since the launch of #JesuitMuseums in mid-June, readers of AJCU Higher Ed News have learned about early Christian mosaics at Fordham University in the Bronx, NY; a collaborative installment from a New Orleans-based artist now on display at the Eichold Gallery at Spring Hill College in Mobile, AL; oil paintings at Boston College’s McMullen Museum of Art; and much more. No two pieces have been alike, and each reflection reflects the thought that each curator put into making their selections.
Housed at the Fordham University Museum of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art, this mosaic (above) captures the language of religious art as it was evolving into the service of Christianity from its Pagan origins. According to Jennifer Udell, curator of University Art at Fordham University, “the concept of rebirth is beautifully symbolized by the lush vegetation which springs forth magically from the vase, and the dual images of the bread basket and the grape leaves are an allusion to the Eucharist.” Photo courtesy of Fordham University.
Brinker said, "As we know from the fine scholarship of Rev. John O'Malley, S.J. and Gauvin Bailey, Jesuits have long recognized and fostered the power of the arts to inspire and educate. It is important for people to know that is as true today as is it was in the early days of the order. Moreover, it seems that including an image from a Jesuit museum in each issue of AJCU Higher Ed News might contribute in a small way to the cultivation of cura personalis in our work at Jesuit institutions of higher education."
A recent addition to the McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College, James Miller’s, “Peaceable Kingdom” (above), is among the many artistic depictions of a prophecy from the Book of Isaiah, which has often been interpreted as a description of the Second Coming of Christ. Photo courtesy of Boston College.
In addition to #JesuitMuseums, Jesuit institutions’ art collections can also be seen online in virtual galleries. The aforementioned McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College has launched McMullen from Home, featuring lectures and podcasts on its collections; the Loyola University Museum of Art (affiliated with Loyola University Chicago) was the subject of a virtual visit spotlight from Chicago’s PBS affiliate; and the Fairfield University Museum of Art has recently its first-ever virtual exhibition.
#JesuitMuseums ran through Fall 2020 and will resume in Spring 2021. To sign up for AJCU Higher Ed News, please click here.
Deanna Howes Spiro is vice president of communications for the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
The featured cover photo (above) is courtesy of Seattle University.