9 questions with an assistant art museum director
 |
| Submitted photo/ David Brinker |
Brinker also enjoy playing musical instruments and directing choirs.
Q: Did you begin working at the museum as a student?A: I volunteered at MOCRA while still a student, but I didn't begin working there until after I graduated. I began as a museum assistant and a couple of promotions later, my current title is assistant director.
Q: How did you first learn about MOCRA as a student?
A: The Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA) opened at Saint Louis University in 1993, while I was still an undergraduate. I volunteered to help staff a pre-opening conference held in November 1992, then went off to Spain for a semester of study in Madrid. After I returned, I made a point of visiting each new exhibition at the Museum. MOCRA was (and is still) a one-of-a-kind museum. Under the direction of the Rev. Terrence Dempsey, S.J. we consciously seek out art and artists who engage with religion and spirituality. But MOCRA also has an interfaith outlook, which makes it a forum for several different kinds of dialogue: between an artist and a faith tradition, between the viewer and the art and even among the artworks themselves.
Q: What year did you graduate from Saint Louis University? What were your plans after graduation?
A: I graduated with bachelor's degrees in English literature and in music from SLU in 1994, but neglected to develop any post-graduation plans. Fortunately, I was offered a part-time choir directing job at a church before I graduated and also had a job as a courier for the Muny lined up for the summer, so I dove into life after SLU to see where it would take me.
Q: What has been your favorite exhibit at the museum and why?
A: My friends know I always resist trying to name favorites. Let me identify three. My first exhibition as an employee was "Consecrations: The Spiritual in Art in the Time of AIDS" (1994). I was impressed by the diversity of artists involved, the quality of the work and the candor and sensitivity with which the artists addressed what remains a difficult topic. "Rito, Espejo y Ojo/Ritual, Mirror and Eye" (2004) was an introduction to three of today's top photographic artists, each of whom treated topics related to their country of origin - Cuba, Argentina and Guatemala - using intriguing techniques. And, of course, during Andy Warhol's "Silver Clouds" -which filled MOCRA's spacious gallery with free-floating pillow-shaped balloons - I could look forward to the end of the day when visitors left and I could lie on the floor watching the "clouds" drift by.
Q: You have a bachelor's degree in music and English literature. Why did you choose to major in theology and where are you attending for that degree?
A: I am currently pursuing a master's degree in pastoral studies at Aquinas Institute of Theology in Midtown - very close to SLU's campus. My program is similar to a traditional master's degree in theology, but has some additional "hands-on" components to it, geared towards people who work in parishes or other non-academic settings. Between my work as a musician for churches and the religious and spiritual focus of MOCRA's mission, my studies in theology seem perfectly suited.
Q: What was the first musical instrument you played and why? What inspired your love in music?
A: I began playing flute at the age of 9 -over 25 years ago now. A family friend played flute and he let me try my hand at making sounds on his instruments. He ended up being my first teacher and helped lay a great foundation, balancing joy in making music with the discipline and devotion it takes to master an instrument. Since then I have been fortunate to study with some excellent teachers, including Jan Gippo and the late Jake Berg, both with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. I often joke that I chose the flute because it is so portable, but in truth it has more to do with its relative simplicity, yet remarkable diversity and flexibility in tone and technique. It is among the oldest known sorts of instruments - along with percussion and the human voice - and so there are variations on the flute found in cultures worldwide. I have accumulated quite a few instruments from around the world, though I certainly haven't figured out how to play all of them successfully.
Q: What is your most memorable musical experience and why?
A: My musical activities have ranged from the grand - singing and playing for events during Pope John Paul II's visit to St. Louis - to the intensely personal - playing for my grandfather's funeral. Recently, I was involved in the Saint Louis Symphony's Communities LinkUP program, which brought over 2,500 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders to Powell Hall. They weren't just there to hear the Symphony perform, however. Throughout the school year they had been learning music to sing or to play on recorder and on that day they joined in singing and playing their pieces with the symphony. It was a real thrill to hear such a joyous cacophony filling the hall and to witness the students' excitement. Early experiences - hopefully first-hand - with music are so important. And of course, it was a privilege for me personally to be on Powell's stage hearing our great symphony perform up close.
Q: You mentioned you like to freelance as a choir director and piano player for various churches. What do you find most rewarding about sharing your talents with various congregations? What parish do you belong to and what is your role there in musical terms?
A: I am currently a member of St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church in the Shaw neighborhood. I play flute and sing with the choir on Sunday mornings. I suppose it's apparent by now that I wear quite a few hats, so it shouldn't be a surprise that I am called away from St. Margaret's periodically to assist with music at houses of worship around the metro area. On the one hand, the experience of working with a choir over a period of many years (as I did at St. Anselm parish in Creve Couer), growing together musically, spiritually, and personally, is a treasure. I am deeply indebted to the people involved with music ministry at St. Anselm's and they remain very dear to me. On the other hand, subbing gives me the opportunity to experience worship with a wide range of people and congregations. In a way analogous to the interfaith dimension of MOCRA's exhibitions, my itinerant music-making exposes me to a wide range of expressions of the fundamental human impulse to reach toward the spiritual and the sacred. My experiences with different denominations and faith traditions enrich my own faith life and music is often the bridge to that sharing.
Q: Who are some of your favorite musicians?
A: I really have difficulty with questions like this. Where to begin? There are so many fantastic musicians in the St. Louis area alone, both instrumentalists and vocalists, in so many musical idioms. And the proliferation of technology that records and delivers music to us, makes music from around the world so much more accessible. I think I will just have to recommend to everyone that they become musical omnivores and keep their ears open to the limitless universe of musical sounds.
