Lectures for MoBiA's "Reel Religion"

I have a bit more information on the Museum of Biblical Art's "Reel Religion" exhibition that I mentioned on Monday. Firstly, there are two lectures accompanying the exhibition, one of which is tonight:

REEL RELIGION: A CENTURY OF THE BIBLE AND FILM
Thursday, February 19, 2009
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Fr. Michael Morris, O.P., Professor of Religion and the Arts at the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology at the Graduate Theological Union, in Berkeley, California, owns one of the premier collections of vintage biblical film posters in the country. Fr. Morris will speak about the nature of his extensive poster collection, the fascinating history and provenance of the collection, and the history of biblical films ranging from the 1898 film documentation of the Ober-Ammergau Passion Play to Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.

THE ALTAR AND THE SCREEN: AMERICAN MYTHMAKING INTO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
Thursday, May 7, 2009
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
In this multi-media presentation, S. Brent Plate, Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Hamilton College and Managing Editor of Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art and Belief, will draw upon his recently published book, Religion and Film: Cinema and the Re-Creation of the World. Plate will discuss the ways that both religions and films operate by recreating the known world and then presenting that alternative version to the worshipper/viewer.

Michael Morris is the collector who has loaned 80 Bible film posters to the exhibition, and so he should be well worth hearing. S. Brent Plate is best known to me as the editor of "Re-Viewing The Passion: Mel Gibson's Film and Its Critics" though I've read a number of his other pieces elsewhere.

There are also some other events which might be of interest:

Concert Series - Hearing the Sacred: From the Middle Ages to the 21st Century

TRIO EOS
Saturday, March 7, 2009
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
NYC – based female vocal ensemble Trio Eos returns to MOBIA to perform a series of excerpts from film soundtracks illustrating biblical narratives and tales of influential religious figures, such as Joan of Arc.

ALLSAR QUARTET
Saturday, April 4, 2009
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
The Allsar Quartet presents a tribute to the composers of the soundtracks of the epic films featured in the exhibition, Reel Religion: A Century of the Bible and Film. Highlights of the program include string quartets by Miklós Rósza, composer of the music to the film, Ben-Hur.

Family Program

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! SPRING FAMILY DAY at MOBIA
Sunday, May 3, 2009
1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Join MOBIA for an epic event in celebration of the exhibition, Reel Religion: A Century of the Bible and Film. Star in your own film still, explore the art of silk-screening and create simple animated toys. This live-action afternoon will include movie theater snacks and free tours of the exhibition. Fun for all ages! Free with museum admission.

One thing I hadn't picked up from the earlier articles I had read is that amongst the exhibits will be a full sized copy of a billboard poster for DeMille's The King of Kings (1927). The original is too fragile to travel, but there will be a documentary on show explaining the process that is being used to preserve it.

Directions etc. should be available from the MoBiA website.