‘Portraits on the Margin’ and other reasons to visit Pacific School of Religion

Sometimes discovering a little, hidden wonder becomes a big adventure. I remember the excitement when I first came upon the pocket parks in Point Richmond, and the one-room museum inside Oakland’s state building. In both cases I was simply out on a stroll and I ended up finding some incredible mini gardens and one stellar gallery.

This week I was walking Dutsi, my research assistant poodle, and we found ourselves on the campus of Berkeley’s Pacific School of Religion (PSR). The gothic stone buildings, moated by neat green lawns, was welcoming, even more so when I saw the box of doggie bags, and multiple water bowls set down, Dutsi-ready. We headed across the compact campus to a formal brick staircase at the far end, which framed a magnificent view of the Berkeley Marina and bay waters below. If you come after 5:30pm dogs can be off leash.

As per my usual, I poked my head around, talked to strangers and found out some pretty cool things. Housed inside the PSR Library is, what else, but a small museum. The Badé Museum of Biblical Archaeology exhibits artifacts from various biblical anthropological digs. One shard, in particular, caught my eye. The little clay nubs on the bottom of this former cooking vessel were like the griddle pans of today! Nifty!

The gallery hosts rotating exhibits from local and national artists. The themes of their past shows peaked my interest: Muse/Reuse: Visual Reflections on Sustainability; From Hobos to Street People: Artists’ Responses to Homelessness from the New Deal to the Present; Picturing the Word: The Visuality of Text.

Currently hanging is Portraits on The Margin: Alternative Religious Communities in California, portrait photographs by Michael Rauner and Mark Thompson, including a piercing shot of Robert Maplethorpe. It will be on the walls until August 27th, and on July 19th there will be an artists’ reception, more details at the end of this post. The museum and corresponding events are all free. There’s more – the PSR hosts free, Tuesday night talks on a slew of religious and theological subjects throughout the summer. July 19th’s talk is Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing: A New Movement, July 26th is The Double Lives of Powerful Leaders: Is it Safe to Tell the Truth?

Carin Jacobs, the curator of the Badé, included the oft-misused Gertrude Stein quote about Oakland (“there is no there, there.”) in her introduction to the current show. It was in a list of California monikers, making the point that this state has a propensity to inspire proclamations, thus ignite new movements. I was lucky to catch her and talk to her about the quote, in which Gertrude was referring to her burned-down childhood home and not to her general opinion of the city of Oakland. I was thrilled to meet a curator, and in a small museum that can actually happen! (Can you imagine bumping into Philippe de Montebello in the Metropolitan Museum of Art before he retired?)

Across the street there was a pink peppercorn tree with a few whisp-y fronds pocked with rosy seeds. They were just in reach, shading the sidewalk, and made an unexpected finale. Most pepper hasn’t flowered yet, so this was an early treat. Not the average dog walk, no sir.