News

Media Contact:
Steve Christensen
Communications Manager 
312.915.6164
schris6@luc.edu  

CHICAGO, February 27, 2009 – The Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) inaugurates its “Take Your Mind to Lunch” series on Wednesday, March 4. The four-part lecture series will examine Christianity in contemporary culture. Individual tickets are $30 and include a catered lunch by a prominent Chicago restaurant and floral arrangements by creative Chicago florists. The ticket price for the entire four-part series is $100. All programs are held in the William G. and Marilyn M. Simpson Lecture Hall at LUMA, 820 North Michigan Avenue.

Wednesday, March 4 at 11:30 a.m.
Michael Tueth, S.J., PhD 
Sacred Laughter: Comic Motifs in the Gospel Narratives

Michael V. Tueth, S.J., PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at Fordham University, where he has taught film and television studies since 1995. He contributes reviews of books, films, and theater to America magazine, the Jesuit weekly journal of opinion. He has published several articles on mass media, as well as a book on television comedy entitled Laughter in the Living Room. Father Tueth’s lecture will respond to the question, “Is there humor in the Scriptures?” This event is sponsored by Gibson’s Bar and Steak House and Ken Puttbach Designs.

Wednesday, April 8 at 11:30 a.m.
Richard Kieckhefer, PhD
From Modernism to Modern Churches: Architecture for Reformed Liturgy in the Twentieth Century

Richard Kieckhefer, PhD, is a faculty member in the religion and history departments at Northwestern University. His research focuses on late medieval religious culture, including mystical theology, magic, witchcraft, and church architecture in relationship to parish religion. He is the author of six books on medieval religion, most recently Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century. He has also written Theology in Stone: Church Architecture from Byzantium to Berkeley (Oxford UP, 2004). This event is sponsored by Chicago Firehouse and Oliver Dogwood Florist.

Wednesday, May 6 at 11:30 a.m.
Eileen Daily, PhD
Visions of Jesus in the 21^st Century: Reading the Bible in a Visual Age

Eileen Daily, PhD, is a faculty member in Loyola’s Institute for Pastoral Studies and the graduate program director for the master’s program in religious education. She is currently writing a book for clergy on the use of art to teach Christology. Dr. Daily will use LUMA’s Martin D’Arcy Collection of medieval, renaissance, and baroque art to illustrate her talk. This event is sponsored by Devon Seafood Grill and Larkspur Florist.

Wednesday, June 17 at 11:30 a.m.
Bren Ortega Murphy, PhD
Screen Sisters: The Curious Image of Nuns on Big and Little Screens

Bren Ortega Murphy, associate professor of communication studies and former director of women’s studies at Loyola, is making a documentary film about the images of Catholic nuns in contemporary popular American culture. She contrasts the fiction with the lives of historical and contemporary religious women. Dr. Murphy, who has been frequently interviewed on National Public Radio about topics of gender and women studies, will examine the nature, scope, and significance of these depictions of nuns, as well as reasons for their increasing popularity. This event is sponsored by Aramark, Inc.

Tickets for each event can be purchased by e-mailing luma@luc.edu or by calling 312.915.7630. Visa, MasterCard, and Discover are accepted.

About LUMA
Opened in 2005, the Loyola University Museum of Art is dedicated to exploring, promoting, and understanding art and artistic expression that illuminates the enduring spiritual questions of all cultures and societies. As a museum with an interest in education and educational programming, LUMA reflects the University’s Jesuit mission and is dedicated to helping people of all creeds explore the roots of their faith and spiritual quests. Located at Loyola University Chicago’s Water Tower Campus, the museum occupies the first three floors of the University’s historic Lewis Towers on Chicago’s famous Michigan Avenue. For more information, visit the museum’s website at LUC.edu/luma.

Art illuminating the spirit!

-LUMA-