Disney-Britton

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Holland Cotter The rice goddess Dewi Sri, made of palm leaves during the early to mid 20th century, is in this show. CALIFORNIA - [The Asian Art Museum's] vivid current special exhibition, which is as stimulating to look at as it is to think about. Among others things, it offers a plausible model for how to do a historical loan show that a) uses unfamiliar and affordable materials (many of the objects are from Dutch ethnographic museums); b) finesses the vexed issue of authenticity by seamlessly linking a high-art past with the tourist-art present; and c) gives us exoticism but tempers it with realism. [ link ]

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES Friends and family members were encouraged to make crayon rubbings of the Jonestown memorial plaque unveiled Sunday (Image Courtesy OaklandNorth ) CALIFORNIA - 32 years ago, 918 followers of Jim Jones died at Jonestown, the spiritual encampment established in the jungles of Guyana intended to be utopia. The victims were coerced by Jim Jones in the Peoples Temple to drink cyanide-laced koolaid as authorities closed in on his camp, resulting in one of the largest mass suicides in history. Red tape and conflicts among families over whether to include Jones' name on the memorial spanned 32 years until a resolution was made Thursday when an Alameda County Superior Court judge gave permission to proceed with the memorial, which includes Jones' name among the victims.[ link ]

HUFFINGTON POST By Kevin Richberg BRAZIL - The world is currently gripped in a struggle to see who has the biggest Jesus Christ. This "tourist envy" battle began in the late 1920s with this famous Art Deco Jesus featured in this postcard from The 30 Postcards Project . My prediction is that within the next two years someone, somewhere will build a larger Jesus. The tourist world's appetite for huge things will never be satiated. Build them and they will come! [ link ]

THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER By Steven Greydanus CALIFORNIA - Okay, so Jimmy got the ball rolling commenting on Rome’s New UGLY John Paul II Statue … and then a reader commented:  Speaking of ugly religious-themed art, anyone ever see the statue of Mary that is in front of the LA Cathedral? She looks like a character from Star Trek .… so I just had to say something. [ link ]

CRANSTON PATCH By Mark Schieldrop RHODE ISLAND - The Rhode Island American Civil Liberties Union is seeking a preliminary injunction for the prayer art banner to be removed until a final outcome in their April civil rights case filed on behalf of a student. The controversial art banner has been the subject of heated debate since the ACLU said it planned to file a lawsuit after the school district declined to voluntarily remove it. The prayer themed banner, one of 21 different student art banners in the auditorium, has hung on the wall for almost 50 years.

HUFFINGTON POST By David Galenson FRANCE - Saint-Jacques was born in Colombes in 1956. Growing up he had little interest in school; his two passions were art and radical politics. His love of politics did not survive the 1980s, but his love of art did. He was fascinated by the American art he saw at Ileana Sonnabend's gallery in Paris, especially the work of Frank Stella and Robert Smithson. He studied art history in Paris, and became a teacher in Colombes, where he continued to work at painting. He sees a clear change in the values of the art world since the beginning of his career: "Fifty years ago, art was a religion. It was a question of faith. Now, there's no room for this. Art today is a market, an industry with hundreds of dealers. It has become like fashion. An artist has to change his style every six months to be successful. Success today is making art that surprises people--art that makes people say 'wow!'" [ link ]

POPEATER by the Editors at Moviefone NEW ZEALAND - The official titles of the two upcoming 'Hobbit' films have just been announced and there's none of this boring 'Part 1' and 'Part 2' nonsense. The first of the two films will be called 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' and the second 'The Hobbit: There and Back Again.' The first references one of the book's chapter headings, the second is actually part of author J.R. R. Tolkien's original title, 'The Hobbit or There and Back Again.' (We're betting movie marquees will still opt for the simpler '1' and '2.'). And now fans have official release dates to circle on their calendars: 'Journey' arrives as an early Christmas present on December 14, 2012 and its follow-up also has a holiday release, December 13, 2013. [ link ]

NPR NEWS By Tamara Kieth NEW YORK - The website Kickstarter.com  has been around for two years now, helping artists, musicians and filmmakers fund their projects by getting a lot of people to make small donations. Projects that in the past had little hope of getting funding suddenly have the cash they need. Recently, entrepreneurs have started using the site to launch new products, something the company's founders never imagined. [ link ]

COLUMBUS DISPATCH By Christopher Yates "My Lord, What a Morning" By Aminah Robinson OHIO - Acknowledging and celebrating the city's bicentennial, the Columbus Museum of Art is offering several programs and exhibitions through 2012. The series will kick off with a retrospective of noted hometown artist and storyteller Aminah Robinson: "Street Talk and Spiritual Matters," a record of the people, experiences and culture of the Near East Side.

THE LIST "Desposition" (1947) By Graham Sutherland SCOTLAND - The King James Bible has given the English language more phrases than Shakespeare (including such not-at-all clichés as 'feet of clay' and 'reap the whirlwind') and it's 400 years old this month. To wish the good book a happy birthday, Edinburgh Uni's New College is showing paintings from the Methodist Art Collection, including pieces by Graham Sutherland (above), Frink, Rouault and Eric Gill, along with Scottish artists John Bellany, John Byrne, Paul Martin, Craigie Aitchison, Robert Powell and Ken Currie.

AOA NEWS India's Navagrah temple INDIA - South India has proven as a renowned holy destination that encompasses several ancient temples as the major attractions of the state. Among all these cities of South state, mostly tourists are crazy about Tamilnadu tour that is known as the journey of holy shrines of the city as well. You can tour to any of the Tamilnadu temple, but Navagraha Temple Tour is unique one that enables you to explore the beauty of this temple and lots more excitement as well.

HAARETZ.COM By Tomer Rotem Opening Reception in Jerusalem, By Tomer Appelbaum ISREAL - Female artists from the religious community face innumerable barriers to joining the art world; one project in Jerusalem aims to give them a warm home and a push out of the nest. Art study was once banned in religious schools due to the resistance to art among religious Jews that is rooted in the prohibition against making "graven images."

THE DAILY EXAMINER By Ana Vlastaras Blake Society chairman Rev Dr Rod Pattenden AUSTRALIA - An alternate and insightful look into the world of religion is on offer at the Grafton Regional Gallery, since the travelling Blake Prize exhibition came to town last week.

FOX 11 By Ben Krumholtz WISCONSIN - Our Lady of Good Help near Champion has always had a strong showing at its May Celebration. “It used to be just a local event with 200 to 300 people,” said Karen Tipps, a caretaker for the church. This year, the shrine's event drew about 700 visitors. “It's a lot of out of town people,” said Tipps. Tipps says things have picked up since last December when Bishop David Ricken made Our Lady of Good Help the first bishop recognized apparition site in the United States. The holy site is funded solely from donations. [ link ] Virgin Mary shrine drawing more visits: fox11online.com

CANADA FREE PRESS By Victor Sharpe ISREAL - Jerusalem Unification Day has again been celebrated in Israel and throughout the world with the exception of that 7th century alternate universe: the Muslim world. It marks 44 years since the amazing and miraculous event took place when the Jewish people’s 3,000 year old capital city was restored to the Jewish state in the 1967 Six-Day War. It would be a cataclysmic and symbolic act of betrayal of Jewish history and faith if any part of Jerusalem is lost to the Jewish people by this generation of Israelis.

AOA WEEKLY PICK:   "Rainbow Gravity" by Ian Davenport (above), and other religious and spiritual arts news stories of the past week are listed below. AOA NEWS is new each weekday with an email news summary on Sabbath Sunday. If you’re interested in daily updates, you can subscribe by Facebook or Twitter . This week's collection of interfaith art stories are grouped into six categories: Books, Congregations, Galleries, Film/Video, Museums, and Shrines.

This week Pope Benedict XVI closed a monastery in Rome because of a dancing nun . However this December 15 video shows bare-chested acrobats performing for the Pope at the Vatican during his weekly general audience. Is there a gender equality issue here?

THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE By Peggy Fletcher Stack "Last Judgement" by Michelangelo UTAH - The Rev. France Davis doesn’t want any nude Adam-and-Eve figures in his Salt Lake City church — even if they were painted by the famed Michelangelo himself. Davis is unequivocal in his view that there is nothing inspiring or redeeming about naked figures in religious art. “Since we sinned, as it says in the book of Genesis, the human body has certain parts that are private,” says the outspoken pastor at Calvary Baptist Church. For other Christians, though, when to celebrate or eschew artistic nudity is not that easy nor clear-cut.

THE OREGONIAN By Nancy Haught Stole of John Paul ll OREGON - Religious relics -- bits of bone, strands of hair, drops of blood -- are back in the news. For some believers, relics are a connection to saints, those men and women who endured often difficult lives without losing faith. [ link ]

RUETERS By Nastassia Astrasheuskaya Visitor explores religious artworks on display RUSSIA - Russia opened an unprecedented exhibit of religious art pulled from across the country and abroad at Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery on Thursday, in a show of Kremlin support for an Orthodox Church growing more powerful since the fall of Communism.

THE OREGONIAN Current installation at Portland Museum of Art OREGON - Since the late 1970s, sculptor Peter Shelton has made work primarily about the body. Most obviously, his objects and installations invoke the body in formal terms, as he mimics the supple curvature of flesh or employs familiar structures as anatomical stand-ins, such as pipes for veins. But Shelton, who lives and works in Los Angeles, also conceives of his sculptures as objects to be interacted with, calibrated to produce a precise relationship to the bodies of viewers.  [ link ] Animalines

THE MAIL By Nick Pisa Sister Anna's modern dance in front of an altar with a crucifix on YouTube ITALY - Pope Benedict XVI has closed a monastery visited by Madonna and where a stripper turned nun was a star attraction. Vatican officials launched an inquiry following claims of 'liturgical abuse' at the monastery, after reports that the nuns were dancing around the altar during services. Among them was sister Anna Nobili, 38, who became an overnight YouTube sensation after footage of the stripper turned nun preaching was posted on the internet. [ link ]

DETROIT NEWS By Khristi Zimmeth MICHIGAN - Debbie and Roger Novotny of Rochester are among the many people who appreciate religious art. "We have an antique religious Jesus, Mary and Joseph shadow box with music," they wrote to Trash or Treasure recently about a large and unusual piece in their possession. "I am told that it has double music box and that it might be Swiss.We inherited it from my husband's parents, who are from the Czech Republic.In the background is one of the two churches in the city of Prague. [ link ]

KEZI 9 NEWS By Susan Gagar OREGON - A public art display is sparking controversy. Patrons of the Silver Lace Strip Club are now faced with holy crosses and the words "redemption" and "salvation" on a walk into the night club. The Eugene Storefront Art Project hopes to attract new life into Springfield's downtown with a unique set of recycled crosses left over from a Riverside Church display. [ Video ]

MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE By Mary Abbee "Christ Preaching" (1652), By Rembrandt MINNESOTA - Common sense says that you need to head for a major museum to see important work by top artists such as Durer, Rembrandt or Picasso. Or you can go to the Minneapolis headquarters of Thrivent Financial, an insurance and investment advisory firm where 35 impressive pieces by many of the greatest names in European art are on now on view in a handsome gallery. Called "Faithful Impressions," the show features etchings, engravings, drawings and a few paintings on Christian themes spanning 500 years.

YORKSHIRE POST Assistant curator in the middles of “Thirty Pieces of Silver" installation ENGLAND - Blowing up a shed and squashing a brass band’s instruments aren’t the kind of things we normally associate with artists, but Cornelia Parker is anything but conventional. The renowned British-born sculptor and artist has made her name through subverting our perception of objects and one of her most recognisable works – Thirty Pieces of Silver – goes on display in the nave of York St Mary’s from Saturday.

D- MAGAZINE By Peter Simek "What the Thunder Said" (2009) by Joshua Goode TEXAS - The Dallas Museum of Art has announced its annual awards to artists, which offer grants for travel and special projects to nine individuals. One of two 2011 Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant recipients Joshua Goode combines painting and installation to explore the origins of spirituality.

ISLAM ONLINE By Alia Raffia Ullah UNITED KINGDOM - The aim of this article is to investigate the current representations of what is deemed as “non-western” art and how this has affected conditions under which it is possible to exhibit Islamic art in mainstream art gallery and museum settings. I will conclude by suggesting some of the ways in which museums can help to address current concerns by contributing to more democratic representations of multicultural and multi-faith historical identities. [ link ]

THE ST. AUGUSTINE RECORD By Staff Fernando Arango-Fernandez painting shrine icon FLORIDA - The power of Byzantium is what comes to mind when one views the icons with their gold leaf, bright-colored pigments, and burnished, smooth wood. Nowhere is this more evident than at St. Photios National Shrine, 41 St. George St.

JUST SO YOU KNOW By Nadine Cheung "Jesus" in Hebrew going down side (not the bird at waist) HAWAII - Justin Bieber recently went to Hawaii for a little R&R with his girlfriend Selena Gomez, and by walking to the beach in his swimsuit, he inadvertently showed the world his new tattoo. The new ink reportedly says 'Jesus' in Hebrew and runs along the Justin's left side. [ link ]

IDAHO MOUNTAIN EXPRESS By Sabina Plasse IDAHO - In 1996, visionary artists Allyson and Alex Grey, along with Wood River Valley resident Bex Wilkinson, co-founded the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors or CoSM. Wilkinson said it all started in the Greys' Brooklyn, NY loft.

THE HAVARD MAGAZINE By Alumni in the News MASSACHUSETTS - The one-act autobiographical theater piece, Mouth Wide Open, explores moments in actress and producer Amy Brenneman’s spiritual evolution (she concentrated in comparative religion at Harvard) as well as her life as a prominent Hollywood film and television actress.

THE SCOTSMAN By Duncan MacMillan "Gravity's Rainbow" by Ian Davenport SCOTLAND - While most protestant churches were pretty hostile to religious art, the Reformation did not mean an end to it. It did mean the game had changed, however.

JAMAICA OBSERVER By Dr Joseph Ade-Gold Bishop of Overcomers World Ministries "Body and Blood of Christ" by Laura Facey JAMAICA - I strongly suggest that Laura's Satanic Jesus be removed from public view. Whoever keeps such a sculpture keeps a satanic object which has devastating consequences. Laura needs to sanctify her soul lest she will continue to go against moral and spiritual norms. I do not doubt that Laura Facey had an ecstatic experience, but like the injunctions of Paul to the Corinthians: "the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets" 1Corinthians 14:32. Both the mystic work of art and the prophetic insight are spiritual experiences which require careful interpretation. [ link ]

ARTDAILY Modernist Pope John Paul Sculpture by Oliviero Rainaldi ITALY - The Vatican on Friday slammed a giant new modernist sculpture that portrays John Paul II, saying the bronze work outside Rome's main train station doesn't even look like the late pontiff. Commuters and tourists say the statue looks more like the late Italian dictator Benito Mussolini than the widely beloved pope. [ link ]

AOA NEWS By Tahlib INDIANA - Sometimes the secrets we keep are dying to be told. " Hole in the Head: a Life Revealed " is the story of Vertus Hardiman, age 80, who kept a secret since her was 5 years old. He grew up in a place called "Freedom Village" Indiana and during 1927 he was subjected to an experiment at a county hospital. He hides the shocking results under a wig & beanie but still praises God.

CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION CANADA - Vancouver punk band Living with Lions will return a loan from music agency FACTOR and withdraw its current album that sparked controversy with its artwork. The band and its label, Black Box, announced on Tuesday that they would voluntarily return a $13,248 loan from the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings (FACTOR) to produce its latest album. FACTOR supports the domestic music industry by distributing funding from Canadian Heritage and radio broadcasters. The band's latest album, entitled Holy Shit: The Poo Testament and released on May 17, features album artwork that emulates the look of a faded Bible and portrays Jesus as excrement. [ link ]

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER By Lacey Rose NEW YORK CITY - The History Channel, cable network is readying a 10-hour religious docu-drama for 2013 that will include live-action and state-of-the-art CGI. History has big plans to make must-see-TV out of the Bible. The project, which comes from reality producer Mark Burnett, will air as a five-part, 10-hour scripted docu-drama with live-action and state-of-the-art CGI. Given both its scale and production value, The Bible won't appear on History's schedule until 2013. "This is probably the most important book in mankind, regardless of your beliefs or religious affiliation," History president and general manager Nancy Dubuc tells The Hollywood Reporter. "This series will bring the historical stories of the Bible to life for a new generation." [ link ]

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES By Mike Boehm CALIFORNIA - The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is caught in a dispute between Russian authorities and Chabad, a prominent international Jewish group based in New York City. The suit originated in Los Angeles in 2004 could prevent or delay the loan of nearly one-sixth of a major exhibition on Islamic art set to open at LACMA on June 5.

THE GUARDIAN By Jonathon Jones "The Messenger" installation for Durham Cathedral UNITED KINGDOM - [Bill] Viola is the high priest, as it were, of the new religious art.

MCCLATCHY By Tim Johnson MEXICO - Cheryl Finnegan, 49 (b. Illinois), is the founder and creative spark behind Virgins Saints & Angels (VSA) , a boutique jewelry house that operates out of a colonial building on a cobblestone street in the central Mexico expat community of San Miguel de Allende.

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Jeanette Catsoulis Johnny Ferro, left, and Jason Elwood Hanna in "Children of God," Directed by Kareem Mortimer. NEW YORK CITY - A skinny white boy from Nassau falls for a buff black islander in “Children of God,” a lush Bahamian romance stalked by homophobia and religious hatred.

WESTSIDE TODAY By Adrienne Papp CALIFORNIA - Aros Crystos, a visionary healer, a walk in creative spirit who offers the love and ecstasy of a truly evolved soul with a transcendental ability to express the truth that helps us make sense out of it all. What began as a whim quickly turned into an art form, with each pair of jeans becoming a uniquely creative expression of spirit.

MICHIGAN - The prestigious Grundler Prize for 2011 was awarded to a University of Notre Dame scholar, Dr. Thomas F.X. Noble, chair of the Department of History at Notre Dame for his book, "Images, Iconoclasm, and the Carolingians."

TIME By Megah Gibson CALIFORNIA - After a few days of silence — as thousands reveled in the fact that they hadn't been Raptured on Saturday — Judgment Day-calculator Harold Camping figured out a way to spin his (second!) failed prediction: it actually did happen, you just didn't see it.

THE KANSAS CITY STAR By Bob Smeitana, Religion News Service A statue titled “Krishna Fluting” is among the pieces at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts in Nashville, Tenn. TENNESSEE - The exhibit, currently on display at Nashville’s Frist Center for the Visual Arts and headed back to Brooklyn in June, is billed as the first major American exhibit on Vishnu, one of the central deities of Hinduism. In Hindu tradition, Lord Vishnu shows up in many forms.

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES By Jori Finkel Marco Brambilla CALIFORNIA - Video artist Marco Brambilla knows that some people will see his decision to go 3-D as a marketing gimmick. "It is meant to get attention," he says. "When you walk into the gallery and characters start coming off the walls, it feels otherworldly." But he also sees the 3-D format as a natural fit for his recent work — which is all about the visual excesses of Hollywood moviemaking and the sped-up consumer culture that goes with it. Once a mainstream film director himself, best known for the 1993 action movie "Demolition Man," Brambilla is not afraid to use the tricks of the trade in his museum and gallery work. And he is now using 3-D technology to add another dimension to his hyperactive, super-saturated, collage-style video artworks made exclusively of film clips. "My desire was to present the most epic human themes in a way as immediate and bombastic as possible, seeing them all throu...

PATCH By Robin Collins CALIFORNIA - Routes Gallery offers Asian statuary and spiritual gifts such as garden pottery, indoor and outdoor fountains, and carved or cast statues in stone, wood and bronze. The collection includes wall art, rugs, and unique accent pieces. Prices range from $50 to $5,000, with antique furniture between $500 and $1,500.

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES By Michael J. Ybarra The princess Rangkesari, approx. 1900–1930 (spikes). Wood and pigments. Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, 809-113 CALIFORNIA - "Bali: Art, Ritual, Performance", which runs through Sept. 11, is the first in the U.S. to broadly examine the art and culture of Bali. Displayed in a show at Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the exhibition includes more than 130 objects — including sculpture, musical instruments and textiles.

SPERO NEWS By Jim Forest INTL NEWS - Thanks largely to the recovery of many ancient icons, the past century has witnessed a startling re-birth of appreciation of classic iconography.

AOA NEWS By Rev. Steve Abrams LOUISIANA - The New Orleans Museum of Art presents Ancestors of Congo Square: African Art in the New Orleans Museum of Art on May 13 to July 17. In keeping with the spirit of NOMA's centennial year, the Museum will be highlighting one of the most impressive areas of its permanent collection: its extensive holdings in African art. Additionally, the exhibition will look at the strong artistic and cultural connections between New Orleans and Africa. The New Orleans Museum of Art, 1 Collins Diboll Circle in City Park, 658.4100, noma.org. [ link ]

CATHOLIC CULTURE CHINA -Chinese government officials have set up security checkpoints around the shrine of Our Lady of Sheshan, discouraging Catholics from traveling there on May 24: the day established by Pope Benedict XVI as a special day of prayer for the Church in China.  Annual pilgrimages to the Sheshan shrine once drew tens of thousands of Catholics each year. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Manhola Dargis FRANCE - In a strong year that was nearly eclipsed by off-screen scandals, the top prize for the 64th Cannes Film Festival was given to “ ’The Tree of Life ,” the long-awaited film from the American director and writer Terrence Malick. A story about transcendence that divided critics, who were alternately transported and turned off by its religious themes and elliptical storytelling, it is the first film from Mr. Malick since “The New World” (2005). The famously shy Mr. Malick did not appear to accept his award, which was introduced by Jane Fonda, who spoke in emphatic French before saying, “And maintenant, now, let’s cut to the chase.” The competition jury president, Robert De Niro, hurriedly announced the winner. [ link ]

AOA NEWS By Ernest Britton Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Photograph: Disney Enterprises/EPA HOLLYWOOD - Critcs will hate this "Pirate" just as they've hated the previous three (and I am told there are two more in the hopper), but I loved Depp's Jack Sparrow, and this was one of the few times Penélope Cruz's accent didn't bother me (since it's just one of many).

THE MALIBU TIMES By Paul Sisolak Malibu sculptor Jon Krawczyk made this cross using metal pieces found in the rubble of the Twin Towers from 9/11. CALIFORNIA - Jon Krawczyk is a man on a mission to commemorate the victims of 9/11. The Malibu sculptor departed Malibu Wednesday morning, driving an open flatbed truck, carrying a 14-foot steel cross that will make its way to a New York City cathedral this week.

AOA NEWS "St. Francis in the Desert" (1475-1478) By Giovanni Bellini NEW YORK - Following a recent investigation, Giovanni Bellini's, "St. Francis in the Desert" will be featured in display at Manhattan's Frick Collection through August 28, 2011.

CHICAGO READER By Sam Worley Shrine photographed by Sam Lucer WISCONSIN - The Tippses' home sits on the grounds of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help outside Champion, Wisconsin.

CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY By David Kerr The Mater Ecclesiae mosaic that is in St. Peter's Square. Credit: Br. Lawrence Lew, O.P. VATICAN CITY - Today, one of his closest colleagues revealed the true story behind the mosaic of Our Lady the late Pope had installed in St. Peter’s Square.

GAWKER By Seth Abramovitch Canadian music CD cover CANADA - This etching of Jesus Christ, re-imagined as a steaming, fly-ridden turd can be found inside the CD packaging for Vancouver punk rockers Living with Lions's brand new release, Holy Shit, whose cover resembles a leather-bound bible. The problem lies with the Canadian government logo located on the back. Canada's Conservative majority government was officially sworn in last Wednesday. First order of business? [ link ]

CANTERBURY BANKSTOWN-EXPRESS By Rashell Habib Art represents expression and spirituality for Aodhan King. PICTURE: CRAIG WILSON. AUSTRALIA - Death, destruction, colour, light, God - make of it what you wish. Croydon Park’s Aodhan King’s artwork encompasses all of these but he doesn’t mind if you don’t understand it the way he meant it.

ART OF THE WEEK: One artist's imagining of Judgment Day  (above), and other religious and spiritual arts news stories of the past week are listed below. AOA NEWS is new each weekday with an email news summary on Sabbath Sunday. If you’re interested in daily updates, you can subscribe by  Facebook or Twitter . This week's stories are grouped into six categories: Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Christian, and Other.

ARTNET By Eleanor Heartney "How this all Ends" (2008) By Matthew Ritchie NEW YORK - Travelers driving into New York City on the Major Deegan Expressway may notice a huge billboard with the thundering words "JUDGMENT DAY May 21, 2011." And you can find it in contemporary art.

NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER By Pat Archbold Harold Camping, Radio Evangelist and May 21 Prophet WORLD NEWS - Jesus said no one, and I am confident this includes Harold Camping, knows the day. Beyond that, we need to read the signs of the times. You don’t need to be a ‘bible scholar’, like Camping (ahem), to know when the end approaches. God gave us these signs to look for, so we will know when the end is near. There is one prophecy I know will come true. On May 22, 2011, Harold Camping will have some ‘splainin to do.[ link ]

KSL NEWS By Carole Mikita "Image of Crucified Christ" by Jeffrey Hein UTAH - Making a statement about faith through art. That's what a group of Latter-day Saint artists hopes to do with the building of a temple in Rome. In honor of the occasion, they have come together with a current art exhibit.

DAWN By Suhail Yusuf The beautiful carvings of two Buddhas flanking a stupa. –. Photo courtesy of Harald Hauptmann / PAKISTAN - Northern Pakistan is going to lose one of the most precious rock art carvings due to construction of the Diamer-Basha Dam. The proposed site of the dam hosts some 30,000 ancient art carvings and inscriptions which may vanish forever due to the construction of this reservoir.

AOA News "Beloved" (Sarah and Hagar) By Sonia Benjamin NEW YORK - In the vibrant world created by Indian-Jewish artist Siona Benjamin (born in Bombay, now living in New Jersey), Biblical characters come in the form of blue angels who face problems and dilemmas of the contemporary world. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Holland Cotter NEW YORK - In 2005 the London dealer Sam Fogg blew us away with an exhibition of Ethiopian Christian liturgical art: open-work processional crosses cast in metal or carved from wood, along with brilliantly painted icons and illuminated Gospels, some made centuries ago in the great court ateliers of post-Byzantine Africa. Now Mr. Fogg, in association with Milos Simovic of Elizabeth Street Fine Arts, follows up with a smaller show of 18th- and 19th-century objects that emerged from Ethiopian popular religion. One of the oldest in the show, dating to the late-18th or early-19th century (Left), is punctuated by the image of an eight-pointed star, known as Solomon’s Seal, with a pair of starting eyes at its center and other eyes jutting from the sides like wings. [ link ]