Disney-Britton

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Tahlib Can an image convey the power of faith, or can it merely hint at the mystery you are invited to discover? This week journalist Malcolm Browne died, and the world again fixated on his most famous/infamous image, "The Burning Monk". It was/is an image about faith-in-action. Others who have captured faith-in-action include: Nicollo Cosme, Barbara Krueger, Gavin Jantje and Anil Revril. [ Interfaith links ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Holland Cotter Gavin Jantjes’s painting of mythical star throwers is in “African Cosmos: Stellar Arts,” at the National Museum of African Art in Washington. WASHINGTON, DC---“ African Cosmos: Stellar Arts ” at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art here, an exhibition packed with celestial bodies and patches of darkness sending forth light, invites comparable responses. Broadly it’s a show about the extent and persistence of cosmological consciousness in art, old and new, from the African continent. It’s also a bold demonstration of a more specific reality: In Africa art and science, including astronomy, have always intersected. [ link ]

WISCONSIN GAZETTE By Louis Weisberg WISCONSIN---As religious right extremist groups have grown in number, so have their attempts to censor art they view as objectionable. “The Bible –The Complete Word of God (abridged)” features three actors taking on dozens of characters from biblical lore. Since its award-winning 1995 premiere at Washington’s Kennedy Center, the play has been performed for audiences all over the world. But it will not be seen in Delafield. Responding to a wave of protests from fundamentalist Christians incited by right-wing talk radio, the Department of Natural Resources abruptly canceled a version of the comedy that was scheduled to run at Lapham Peak State Park’s SummerStage. [ link ]

DENVER POST Sculpted cross included in the exhibiton. Image courtesy of Arts SA. COLORADO---Third annual "Religious Fine Art Show" in the Abbey Monastery through Sept. 30. More than 80 pieces of art by 25 local artists are included. Admission is free. Artist reception: 5-7 p.m. Sept. 14, tickets are $10 and include refreshments. Proceeds benefit the restoration of the Abbey Bell Tower. 2951 E. Highway 50, Canon City, 719-275-8631 [ link ]

CBS | NEWS By Peter Milo "Obamanation" (2012) by Jon McNaughton UTAH---Artist Jon McNaughton released yet another painting about President Obama. More epic in scope compared to the previous “ One Nation Under Socialism ,” [or the one before that: " Forgotten Man "] “Obamanation” depicts Obama smiling over a dystopian wasteland that McNaughton believes the president created. McNaughton, in a classical-realistic style, shows a cast of characters and objects that are included to provoke debate amongst the left and right. Some of these characters include a caricature of a Muslim man who McNaughton says represents the “Radical Islamic Free Pass” and a corpse on a gurney that represents the Affordable Care Act, or what McNaughton deems as “Obamacare.” [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Ernest O. Britton Artist Todd Fox is one of America's amazing religious artists, and he lives in Kansas. This past March, A&O named him our INSPIRE ME! Artist of the Month , and since then we've continued to monitor his progress closely. His new video series of his works is a wonderful way to get another introduction to this wonderful artist who we all should consider collecting. I'm also interested in a new line of Artist Trading cards he's producing, and am looking forward to details on collecting those too.

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Tahlib Lalla Essaydi, Converging Territories #9 NEW JERSEY---The Newark Museum of Art opens its 2012-2013 exhibition season on September 12 with, " In Her Eyes: Women Behind and in Front of the Camera " featuring photographs by women who examine female identity in their work. The artists include both historical and contemporary practitioners such as Cindy Sherman, Sally Mann, Dorothea Lange, Lalla Essaydi and Ana Mendieta . The exhibition represents a wide range of styles and interpretations including the role of religious identity for women of diverse faiths. The photographs also evoke a range of ideas related to acts of veiling, masquerade and role-play. All the works, including some just recently collected are drawn from the museum’s own collection, and many have never before been on view.

SEATTLE TIMES By Michael Upchurch "Four Noble Truths" by Alan Fulle WASHINGTON---" Rootbound: Heaven & Earth IV ," the fourth annual outdoor-sculpture show in Carkeek Park curated by the Center on Contemporary Art, is uneven in the extreme. But it does feature one piece that clearly works, although perhaps not exactly as intended. It's Alan Fulle's "Four Noble Truths," a fancifully built wooden "skyscraper" that supposedly reflects "the primary teachings of Buddhist wisdom" (from the artist's statement). On a sunny day last week, it was functioning as the perfect teenage hangout. Whether the kids inside it were pondering Buddhism is difficult to say. But they looked as if there were nowhere else they'd rather be. [ link ]

IN THE THEATER OF ONE WORLD By Randy Gener “The Trials” (“Pagsubok”) by Niccolo Cosme NEW YORK--- “The Trials” — (or “Pagsubok”) in which two men locked arm-to-arm with their backs against each other — glamorizes the strain and hardship of being thy brother’s keeper. [Niccolo] Cosme says it was inspired by St. Camillus de Lelis , the patron saint of the sick, as well as of people who provide health care. He dedicates “The Trials” to the brothers and priests of St. Camillus, those who have devoted their lives to people living with HIV and AIDS in the Philippines and around the world. “I am greatly inspired by the pain and the sorrow of Christian iconography,” Cosme says. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Ernest Disney-Britton Have you ever done anything that was plain ridiculous but also curiously fun? That's my experience with   Tweetcloud . In their own words, "Tweet Cloud is a service that lets you generate a cool looking cloud of the words you tweet about the most." While I know there is an argument for keeping track of what words you use in your personal messaging, they've packaged those words in such a way kitschy, cute way, I don't know whether to be embarrassed or proud! But either way, it's 100% all me. Thanks Karen Chinetti for suggesting this curiously delicious experience.

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Ernest O. Britton "American Jesus" (2009) by David LaChapelle INDIANA---The King of Pop, Michael Joseph Jackson was born 54 years ago on August 29, 1958 in the state of Indiana, also known as the "Hoosier" state. Following Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, NYC-based photographer David LaChapelle created a series of religious-themed portraits as a memorial to Jackson whose genius and humanitarian impact were felt throughout his home state of Indiana, but also around the world. LaChapelle's photograph" American Jesus " is based on the traditional scene of the Virgin Mary cradling the body of Christ.

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS "Noli me tangere" (about 1500), Master of the Chronique scandaleuse, French CALIFORNIA---Prayer, both personal and communal, was an integral aspect of life in Europe during the Middle Ages. The readings, rites, and prayers contained in medieval Christian devotional books were often accompanied by lavish decorations that were key in both fostering and expressing the religious zeal of the faithful. Drawn primarily from the Getty Museum’s permanent collection, " The Art of Devotion in the Middle Ages ", on display August 28, 2012–February 3, 2013, at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Getty Center, features elaborately illuminated books executed in precious pigments and gold. These prayer books not only played an important role in everyday worship, but also served as material testaments to the piety of the books’ owners. The exhibition focuses on three aspects of religious life: public devotion, private devotion, and devotional literature.

WASHINGTON EXAMINER "Wall for Peace 2011". Image courtesy of the artist's website. WASHINGTON---Artist Anil Revri's "Wall for Peace 2011," a sculpture featuring quotations about peace from Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism, is on display at Washington Dulles International Airport. Revri, originally from India, moved to the U.S. 30 years ago and lives with his family in Northwest D.C. [ link ]

EXAMINER By Paula Parker CALIFORNIA---Confident that the Bible can once again be an influence on art and culture, Jonathan Bock has founded a nonprofit organization As 1 . “For centuries, Christians were vibrant Patrons of the Arts commissioning the best artists to create some of the greatest art in human history which defined Christianity in a positive light,” said Bock, President of Grace Hill Media in Los Angeles. “But along the way, we walked away from culture, allowed our faith to be portrayed in a negative light and, as a natural result, culture moved on without us.” Bock founded As1 to unite Christians to impact the culturally significant art of today – film, television and music – through its demographic size and collective buying power. [ link ]

THE TRIBUNE | SAN LUIS OBISPO By Julia Dickey Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Drepung Loseling Monastery in southern India create a sand mandala at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art on Thursday CALIFORNIA---"It’s hard to breathe near it,” onlooker Barb Thomkins said of the sand painting that six Tibetan Buddhist monks were creating before visitors to the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art. Made of millions of tiny particles of hand-crushed and dyed river rock, such artwork could be ruined with a sneeze. But the monks, wearing deep red robes and sneakers, worked intently and stayed calm. Each held a thin metal funnel, rasping a metal rod on its grated surface to cause tiny amounts of sand to flow out like water. It had taken 17 hours over three days to create the mandala. In acceptance of the impermanence of life, the monks destroyed the artwork just after its completion Thursday in a meditative ceremony by sweeping up the brightly colored sand and distributing it to onlookers. [...

THE HARTFORD COURANT By Susan Dunne "ON-AIR Project 110-2, The New York Series, Times Square" (2005) By Atta Kim CONNECTICUT---Change is the only constant in life. That philosophy drives the work of Korean-American photographer Atta Kim , both in his cityscapes and his depictions of human interactions. His artist's statement declares "Disappearance is the reality of all existence. Reality is not clear to us; it must be interpreted to be revealed."A new exhibit of long-exposure photographs by Kim at the New Britain Museum of American Art , six photos in all, emphasize this transitory nature of human existence, a key feature in Buddhist philosophy, which Kim studies. [ link ]

USA TODAY By Eboo Patel The first time I heard my 3-year-old son say the Lord's Prayer, I felt like a fraud. We are, after all, Muslim. When I speak before audiences, one of the most frequent questions I get as the founder of an interfaith youth group is, "How young is too young for children to engage with kids from other religions?" In a world of many different people and prayers, perhaps the most relevant lesson we teach our children is this: a religiously diverse world makes your religion even more relevant; it marks your concern with and care for your friends from all religions. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Ernest Disney-Britton Co-founders of The Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts taking in the final days of the Snapshot exhibition. Closing on September 2, 2012 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art is " Snapshot ", an exhibit highlighting the influence of photography on Post-Impressionist painters. The exhibition includes both paintings and photos with information on the photographic technology available at the time to the seven artists featured. My favorite part was using the huge green magnifying glasses to view the tiny photos, along with the brushstrokes of some really wonderful paintings.

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Ernest O. Disney-Britton NEW YORK---Blending images from Christian iconography with messages on HIV and AIDS, the conceptual photographs of Niccolo Cosme delve deep into the realities of HIV and migration, particularly for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Entitled "Resplendor: The Blinding Light", the 20 conceptual photographs in this collection provoke and inspire, and share Niccolo’s thoughts and perspectives as an artist and advocate. While the exhibition opens today at the Philippine Center on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, guests may meet the artist at a reception on Friday, August 31 at 6pm at the center.

OYE TIMES By Tapa Menon CALIFORNIA---SFO Museum at San Francisco International Airport (USA) is holding an exhibition “ Deities in Stone: Hindu Sculpture ” till February next, containing sculptures of Hindu deities and other Hindu artifacts. This exhibition at F2 – North Connect Gallery on Terminal 3 contains granite, stone, sandstone, schist and gabbro stone sculptures of Hindu deities Brahma, Vishnu with Lakshmi and Sarasvati, Surya flanked by Pingala and Danda, Shiva as divine teacher, Durga killing the buffalo demon, Ganesha, Parvati, Tripurasundari, four of the seven Mother Goddesses, Chamunda, Garuda and Harihara. A collodion silver print of Kalyana Mandapa in Jalakanteshvara Temple is also reportedly exhibited. [ link ]

THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER By Jackie Demaline and Janelle Gelfand OHIO--- "A Blessing to One Another: Pope John Paul II and the Jewish People," an interfaith exhibit created by Xavier University, Hillel of Cincinnati and The Shtetl Foundation in 2005, returns to Cincinnati after a national tour where it was seen by more than 800,000 people. It opens Sept. 10 at the Skirball Museum on the Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (3101 Clifton Ave., Clifton), where it continues through Dec. 31 before embarking on a European tour in 2013. [ link ]

GLOBAL TIMES By Xu Ming Thangka painting by Gyatso CHINA---Though a favorite for collectors at the present, Thangka remains an obscure art beyond the Tibetan areas, not palpable to people outside the industry. An effort is being made at the Grand Hotel Beijing, where over 30 pieces of selected Thangka paintings by two artists are exhibited. Chudri and Tashi Gyatso , two brothers from Qinghai Province, learned the technique for painting Thangka, a type of religious scroll painting mounted on colorful satin and fabric and hung for worship, 30 years ago. In the past decade, Thangka has taken off rapidly, but meanwhile, the traditional religious aspects of the art are becoming secularized. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Tahlib "The Shambala in Modern Times" (2008) by Gonkar Gyatso MASSACHUSETTS---For Buddhists, "Shambala" symbolizes the ideal world, or "The Pure Land" where peace reigns, wealth abounds, and no illness exists. Through September 30, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is exhibiting " Seeking Shambala " featuring a collection of restored 400-year-old works of art along with six contemporary works by two artists: Gonkar Gyatso (b. 1961) and Tadanori Yokoo (b. 1936). For more information, visit www.mfa.org or call 617.267.9300. The MFA is located on the Avenue of the Arts at 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115.

COLUMBIA DAILY TRIBUNE By Amy Wilder Icons created by Rebecca Ruppar include these of Archangel Michael, left, the Holy Trinity, the original of which is in St. Louis, and Our Lady of Kazan. MISSOURI---Attempting to unmask the mysteries of life, be it through science, religion, esoteric or less conventional means, we must inevitably come to terms with our own smallness in the face of the immensity of reality. Rebecca Ruppar is interested in the mystical contemplation available through Catholicism. The Columbia resident also is interested in communicating at a deeper, more powerful level through visual art. She has amalgamated her passions, combining artistic knowledge and skill with deep and vibrant faith in the creation of religious icons. Icons are one manifestation of the Christian, particularly Catholic and Eastern Orthodox, mystical tradition. [ link ]

THE WASHINGTON POST By DeNeen L. Brown WASHINGTON DC--- Barbara Kruger’s ‘ Belief+Doubt ’ is site-specific not just to the Hirshhorn lobby but in its proximity to power: ‘It is a museum, but it is also in D.C.,’ she says. In the exhibit, which runs through Dec. 31, 2014, words confront museum visitors, confounding them, prompting them to pause in a harried world to interpret what the artist has rendered in an unexpected gallery. Kruger, whom one artist called “the poet laureate of the age of spectacle,” says the exhibit raises questions about desire, money, faith and power. Doubt is good, Kruger says. “Belief is tricky because left to its own devices, it can court a kind of surety, an unquestioning allegiance that fears doubt and destroys difference.”[ link ]

LOS ANGELES TIMES By Reed Johnson CALIFORNIA---Mary, the mother of Jesus, needs no introduction to much of humankind. But the "other Mary" of the New Testament — or "Marys," as the case may be — is a more elusive figure. So when composer John Adams' new oratorio-opera " The Gospel According to the Other Mary " had its world premiere in May at Walt Disney Concert Hall, it touched off a lively discussion among a handful of religious scholars and bloggers. In an interview before his work's premiere, Adams  said, he viewed Mary Magdalene as "an archetype of a woman who's had a hard past." In a sense she is a universal female figure, an Everywoman who transcends any specific time and place. [ link ]

THE WASHINGTON POST By Stephanie Merry Bicycle messengers have to deal with a lot of risks. Car doors suddenly fling open, minivans make right turns without signaling, potholes can be a one-way ticket for a trip over the handlebars. Or, as is the case in “ Premium Rush ,” a dirty cop can get in the way of what should be a straightforward courier job, shepherding an envelope from Morningside Heights to Chinatown. That’s the premise of the breezy and entertaining, if imperfect, action flick starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the appropriately named Wilee, a Columbia Law School grad who opted for a life of adrenaline over one of suits and torts. It might not be a noteworthy film, but “Premium Rush” delivers what it promises. The summertime diversion will give audiences a little jolt of nervous energy along with a few laughs. A rush is about making the most of the present, not creating lasting memories. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Ernest O. Britton During this week's annual physical, the doctor alerted me that my blood sugar count was high, and he invited me to do a new thing ---to go on a low-carb diet. Later, while eating a brownie along with a chocolate shake, I wrestled with the difficulty of giving up the comforting foods of my past when I saw this painting, " Eating the Known " (above) by Michal Na'aman. Changing your diet can be compared to taking a new spiritual path. In Isaiah 43:18-43:19  the Jewish people are invited to forget the past, to do a new thing. What are you being invited to forget today? Are you ready to do a new thing? That's why this work, currently hanging in a new show at the Jewish Museum in Tel Aviv, Israel is my  NEWS OF WEEK .

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Ernest O. Britton " The Odd Life of Timothy Green ", " Salmon Fishing in Yemen " and " Brave " are three of the 2012 Truly Moving Picture award winners created by people who believe that the movies we see can change the way we see the world; and on Thursday night a group of such believers gathered in Indianapolis for a gala event launching the 21st season of the Heartland Film Festival .

RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE By Robert A. Rees, Ph.D. Mormon undergarments. Image courtesy of Dr. Mike Dash's Blog It is not uncommon for Latter-day Saints to hear jokes, ridicule and derisive remarks about the sacred underclothing Mormons wear. Because Mormons tend to be regarded as square rather than as simply quaint, media commentators have less compunction in mocking their sacred clothing than they would a Jewish yarmulke, a Sikh turban, or the mitre worn by Catholic bishops. That is, every religion has liturgical practices, rituals, ceremonies, or rites of passage that they see as sacred but which others might see as strange or even aberrant. And so it is with sacred undergarments worn by Latter-day Saints. [ link ]

ARTDAILY Third folio edition of the King James Bible. Est. $12,000 - 18,000. Photo: Courtesy of Bonhams. CALIFORNIA---As part of its October 10, 2012, Fine Books and Manuscripts sale, to be held in San Francisco with a simulcast in New York, Bonhams will offer several items of literary and historical importance. Among them is a unique, extra-illustrated copy of an early printing of the King James Bible, featuring a large, mystical fore-edge painting by 19th-century bibliophile John T. Beer, one of the great practitioners of the genre (est. $12,000-18,000). The third folio edition of 1613, the book later belonged to the collection of Alfred Sutro, noted collector and president of the Book Club of California, who, in 1938,[ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Tahlib Two words dominated the religious art news landscape this week: "Hate Speech" vs. "Freedom of Speech", raising the question of how do reasonable people tell the difference between the two? The difference is simple. If you agree with the message, then blocking it is violation of your freedom of speech. That is the feeling of Buddhists whose statues were destroyed by Islamists in Afghanistan. On the other hand, if you disagree with the message, then you are fighting hate speech like the Christian leaders in Germany seeking to remove a controversial cartoon from a museum. Is there a right, or wrong way to proceed? At A&O, our position is to never restrict artistic freedom, and never to attack another's faith.

PATHEOS By Daniel Siedell "Piss Christ" by Andres Serrano The culture wars are back. And they seem to have a corporate sponsor that sells fried chicken sandwiches. With the Presidential election looming the political pundits are active, as are the Reformed and evangelical bloggers, girding themselves for battle, urging their minions not to retreat and fight for traditional middle American values in the face of those liberals on the coasts. The icon of the culture wars in the 1990s was Andres Serrano’s Piss Christ . But the power of Piss Christ is in the space it creates where grace operates, even beyond the intentions of the artist and those who would use the work as a weapon in the culture war. The chief victim in the culture wars is grace. And if we listen, we just might be able to see it at work in the world. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS "Prince of Peace" by Akiane Kramarik FLORIDA---Child prodigy, and Idaho native Akiane Kramarik's " Prince of Peace " was chosen as the Winner of the 2012 Christian Retail Choice Awards for Wall Décor . This prestigious award was presented at this year's annual International Christian Retail Show held in Orlando, Florida in July. Art & SoulWorks is the exclusive licensor of Art by Akiane(tm) including this magnificent portrait of Jesus.

RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE By David Gibson The Vatican's proposed takeover of the LCWR ( Leadership Conference of Women Religious ) had been the focus of widespread interest since April, when Rome announced that the group – which represents about 80 percent of the 56,000 nuns in American religious communities – was infected with “radical feminism,” marred by dissent and in need of a top-down overhaul. Yet the LCWR delegates, buoyed by an outpouring of public support, in the end forcefully rejected the Vatican’s charges and opted to try to pursue dialogue with Rome to resolve the dispute. But what of that other 20 percent of American nuns? Often overlooked in the coverage of the LCWR showdown, they largely belong to a separate organization, called the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious , that the Vatican set up in 1992 as traditional alternative – some say a conservative rival – to the more progressive LCWR. The CMSWR umbrella comprises convents with a total of...

BBC NEWS By Stephanie Hegarty One of the Buddhas was 55 feet tall AFGHANISTAN---The destruction of Afghanistan's Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001 led to global condemnation of the Taliban regime. But the decision by Unesco not to rebuild them has not put an end to the debate about their future. But whatever the reason, the Bamiyan Buddhas have captured the international imagination and ideas for what to do with the site still pour in from archaeologists, architects, artists and historians. [ link ]

THE INDEPENDENT By Michael Glover Mary Magdalene Meditating on the Crucifixion, 1664, By Pedro de Mena SPAIN---Art itself is a kind of prestidigitation, illusionism, magic. It cajoles us into giving credence to the reality of pretence. There is the illusionism of art – and then there are the various additional levels of illusionism that seem to be encouraged, if not demanded, by religious belief. Here on this page is another way of selling the idea of religious belief to the credulous onlooker. It involves the shock of what we have in recent years come to call hyper-realism, which was a very fashionable tactic in Spain during the 17th century. Pedro de Mena , born the son of a sculptor in Grenada, was celebrated for his intensely realistic sculptors of religious subjects. Famous in his day and much in demand, he became especially renowned for his lifelike, contemplative depictions of Christ as the Man of Sorrows and The Virgin of Sorrows. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Tahlib Chicago artist, Daniel Mitsui has moved. He wrote in his newsletter, "I now reside with my family in an apartment in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Chicago." The family's unexpected move was funded by the unique sale of his drawings and prints. "Thanks to the funds raised by this sale, the cost of moving was not difficult to bear," said Mitsui, but it has set the highly productive artist behind, and it may take months for him to catch up. We will continue to monitor the progress of this exceptional American religious artist.       

FAITH VILLAGE By Adelle Banks The number of congregations that host worship services at more than one physical location has grown to more than 5,000 in the last decade, according to a new report. Researchers say these "multisite" churches, which may share worshippers across town or many miles apart, are growing at a much larger pace than traditional megachurches. Without the burden of additional expensive buildings, congregations find they grow faster in new places, said Warren Bird, research director of Leadership Network, who announced his conclusions Tuesday (Aug. 21). While the vast majority of multisite churches are on the other side of town or at least in the same region, there are exceptions. The Bridge Community Church, a congregation based in rural Indiana, has campuses in Anderson, Decatur and Muncie but also has one in Bihar, India. [ link ]

NBC 40  By Lynda Weed NEW JERSEY---History was made this weekend when one of the last ever Thomas Kinkade paintings was unveiled. A picture is worth a thousand words, and for the dozens of paintings that hang on the walls of the Victorian Walk Gallery; a thousand is just the start. The pieces are all part of the Thomas Kinkade Limited Edition Series. On Saturday the first in a series of paintings was unveiled in historic Cape May. The works were discovered in Kinkade's studio following his death. [ link ]

HAARETZ By Hila Skolnik-Brenner    "Eating the Known" (2010) by Michal Na'aman ISRAEL---"The Absent Body," an exhibition that explores body imagery in Judaism and Christianity, presented by eight Israeli artists, is profound. Like an anthropologist, it examines the concept of the body from all directions, through artists of different generations and a wide range of media. The eight artists participating in the show are Etti Abergel, Larry Abramson, Pesi Girsch, Moshe Gershuni, Erez Israeli, Sigalit Landau, Motti Mizrachi and Michal Na'aman. They offer a variety of artistic renderings on the theme of the body, some of which clearly represent the preoccupation with the body, while others offer a jarring surprise. [ link ]

THE ADVOCATE BY Leila Pitchform-English LOUISIANA---Visual communication through art in Christian churches dates almost to the church’s beginning. Often art was used in churches because most people couldn’t read, so religious stories were portrayed in pictures to make them memorable. In addition to education, the art serves to inspire, sometimes just from the beauty of the decorative objects. Often objects were designed to point the way toward God or to honor God. In Lafayette, a museum has gathered artifacts from the region to display. See the related story , “The art of faith.” [ link ]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL By Mr. Teachout When it comes to the fine arts, things are really, really rough all over.  That's why everybody in the art world is now talking about the Detroit Institute of Arts, a world-class institution that just came within inches of closing. What to do? DIA director Graham Beal responded by hacking away at the museum's budget and raising enough money to retire its current debt. But he knew that the DIA was doing no better than running in place, and that the fiscal road ahead would soon grow sharply steeper. Mr. Beal went to the voters, asking the residents of Michigan's Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties to pass a modest 10-year-long dedicated property-tax increase known as a "millage." It would supply up to $23 million in public funding each year for the next decade—91% of the DIA's annual operating budget—thus buying time for Mr. Beal and his colleagues to build up the museum's operating endowment to the point where it ca...

THE OREGONIAN By Nancy Haught OREGON---In the Bible and in many Christian circles, the Holy Spirit is portrayed as a dove , swooping down from heaven, bearing a message from God. But in Celtic Christianity and some progressive circles, the Holy Spirit is a wild goose , one worth chasing not only as it flies but when it struts and squawks, too. Organizers of the first Wild Goose Festival in the western United States hope to attract fans of the latter to the Benton County Fairgrounds Aug. 31-Sept. 2  for a weekend devoted to what they see as the unpredictable movement of the Holy Spirit. "Wild Goose is a festival at the intersection of justice, spirituality and art ," says one of its organizers, Gareth Higgins.  "We're mostly trying to provide an alternative to some of the louder voices that sometimes claim ownership of religion and spirituality – especially Christianity." [ live ]

SPIEGEL INTERNATIONAL Mario Lars complete caricature. Image courtesy of HNA. GERMANY--- Several religious leaders in Kassel, the western German city that is currently hosting the semi-decadal art exhibition Documenta, have protested against a drawing advertising a show in the city's caricature museum. The cartoon in question is hanging outside the Kulturbahnhof, a cultural center which houses the caricature museum, known as Caricatura . It depicts Jesus in agony on the cross as a voice calls down from heaven, "Hey, you. I fucked your mother." Museum head Martin Sonntag has rejected calls to remove the poster. The artist behind the caricature, Mario Lars , likewise expressed surprise at the burgeoning debate. [ link ]

AOL NEWS By Bruce Watson NEW YORK---Art collecting often seems like a rich man's game, open only to the rarefied few who can plunk down millions of dollars without breaking a sweat. But the recent death of Herbert Vogel, one of America's most famous art collectors, points to another art world, one in which a pair of middle-class workers , following their passion and their pocketbook, can build a world-class collection. Given their limited funds -- her salary paid for household expenses, while his paid for art -- they focused on the cutting edge of the art world, where prices were lower and investments had more room to appreciate. Their rules were simple: They had to love what they bought, be able to easily afford it, and it had to fit into their tiny, one-bedroom apartment. The Vogels amassed one of the most significant modern art collections in the U.S., a treasure trove of almost 5,000 sculptures, paintings, and prints that they later donated to 51 museums across the count...

THE HUFFINGTON POST By Nigel DuaraI OREGON---The Vatican won a major victory Monday in an Oregon federal courtroom, where a judge ruled that the Holy See is not the employer of molester priests. The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mosman ends a six-year question in the decade-old case and could shield the Vatican from possible monetary damages. The original lawsuit was filed in 2002 by a Seattle-area man who said the Rev. Andrew Ronan repeatedly molested him in the late 1960s. The plaintiff tried to show that Ronan and all priests are employees of the Vatican, which is therefore liable for their actions. [ link ]

THE HINDU By Nikita Kochhar The first cause by Kota Neelima INDIA---The Hindu philosophy of karma and the first cause of creation as a series of acts is the concept that journalist-artist Kota Neelima attempted to portray through paintings in a recent exhibition in New Delhi. The paintings, displayed at the Visual Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre, till this past week, revolved around the theme, ‘The First Cause’, and evoked ideas through images reflective of time, space and nature. A total of 42 paintings explored the first nature, the first choice and change, the first rain and sun, and the first day of Creation. Her impressionist-abstract renderings in a soft subtle palette seemed to reply the concept of panch tatva. [ link ]

NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTRY By Steve Weatherbe "The Rock" by William Kurlek CANADA---A farmer stands in a vast wheat field that stretches out behind him across the huge canvas to a distant horizon and a crystalline, cloudless blue sky: The Ukrainian Pioneer painting is on display at a Victoria, British Columbia, art gallery as part of an ambitious retrospective on Canada’s great landscape painter William Kurelek .  Wait a moment: That sky is not quite cloudless. Tucked neatly into the corner is a mushroom cloud. Until Sept. 3, at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria , Americans from the Pacific Northwest will be able to get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to study one of Canada’s most popular, enigmatic — and Catholic — painters. [ link ]

ELECTRONIC INTIFIDA By Nora Barrows-Feldman After (top) and Before (bottom) photos of the bus billboards CALIFORNIA---Days after shockingly racist and Islamophobic ads started appearing on city buses in San Francisco — paid for by a notorious anti-Muslim group led by notorious racist Pamela Geller — anonymous artists wheatpasted over the ads with an image of a hand and a stamp with the words “HATE SPEECH.” Additionally, the San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority (SFMTA) posted full-sized disclaimer placards on MUNI buses that carry the Islamophobic ads. The disclaimer says that “SFMTA policy prohibits discrimination based on national origin, religion, and other characteristics, and condemns any statements that describe any group as “savages.” [ link ]

NIU TODAY Bronze drum (Burma/Mayanmar), NIU Burma Art Collection ILLINOIS---As a part of the NIU Art Museum’s upcoming Southeast Asian Exhibition Suite, “Music for the Divine” showcases Burmese traditions and musical instruments ranging from those used in Buddhist rituals, traditional royal court ceremonies and contemporary multi-ethnic expressions. This exhibition will run in the South Galleries, and will feature the Burma Art Collection at NIU from Tuesday, Aug. 28, to Saturday, Nov. 17, with a public reception from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13. [ link ]

THE INDIAN EXPRESS By Pallavi Chattopadhyay Woman portrayed as Hindu goddess by Jayasri Burman INDIA---In one of Jayasri Burman’s colourful paintings, inspired by Indian folk elements, her concern for women is visible, with the central figure assuming the form of a Hindu goddess. On the other hand, artist Venkat Bothsa, known for his mix of sculpting and painting, lends an interesting touch to his sculpture of a human face by painting it with flowers in pink, green, orange and blue. Many such works are part of Arushi Art’s annual show, Harvest, which began on August 19. The 12th edition of the annual exhibition, which is titled “Our Own Path II”, showcases works of 70 artists from various parts of the country, featuring limited editions of their sculptures, paintings and videos. [ link ]

TIME By Simon Shuster Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin speaks during a rally in support of Russian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Kirill in Moscow on July 22, 2012. RUSSIA---Long before the punk band Pussy Riot was formed last fall, Father Vsevolod Chaplin, a senior clergyman of the Orthodox Church, had made himself an icon for conservative Russian values, sort of like what you might get if Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson squeezed into the cassock of an Orthodox priest. In 2010, while campaigning for a nationwide “dress code,” he proclaimed that women who wear revealing outfits are guilty of inciting rape. On Friday, a district court in Moscow sentenced three members of that feminist punk band – founded on opposition to the rule of President Vladimir Putin — to t wo years in prison on charges that amount to blasphemy . [ link ]

IBN-LIVE NImage courtesy of New Indian Express preview article INDIA---A presentation by the Anya group, Dasha-Avatara , a blend of various art forms showcased different stages of evolution using the allegory of Dasha-Avatara from the Hindu mythology on the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu. It highlighted the unique philosophical underpinnings of each of the ten stages through a collaboration of four different media, music, dance, sand-art and storytelling, the artists vocalist Anasuya, Kuchipudi exponent Dr. Anupama Kylash, sand-artist Kanth-Risa and storyteller Deepa Kiran had the audience spellbound. It offered a unique experience of art through sound, sight, movement of body, slithering of sand, captivating words and music. [ link ]

CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPY By Emily Gipple and Ben Gose The nation’s generosity divide is vast, according to a new Chronicle of Philanthropy study that charts giving patterns in every state, city, and ZIP code. Religion has a big influence on giving patterns. Regions of the country that are deeply religious are more generous than those that are not. Two of the top nine states—Utah and Idaho—have high numbers of Mormon residents, who have a tradition of tithing at least 10 percent of their income to the church. The remaining states in the top nine are all in the Bible Belt. In states like Utah and Mississippi, the typical household gives more than 7 percent of its income to charity, while the average household in Massachusetts and three other New England states gives less than 3 percent.  The rich aren’t the most generous. Middle-class Amer­i­cans give a far bigger share of their discretionary income to charities than the rich. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Ernest O. Britton Today is the final day of Ramadan , and worldwide Muslim believers will celebrate that they didn't quit their commitment to fast for God. It is also the week the Olympics ended with amazing stories of Islamic women who against all odds did not quit. We all like to hear stories about people who won’t give up. Quitters aren’t much of an inspiration, but people who stay with a commitment even though the going gets tough are a source of great inspiration to all.  In Islam, as in other traditions, believers are asked to follow through the good and the bad, and challenged never to look back. One of the many heroes of Islam who didn't quit is Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, and son of the Virgin Mary , he who the holy Quran mentions twenty-five times, more often, by name, than the Prophet Muhammad (only four times). On a personal note, this week has been about never giving up, and in celebration of an interfaith Ramadan, I've selected this a...

CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPY By Tony Martignetti Getting to know a foundation's program officer is the smartest step a grant seeker can take. Program officers often serve as advocates at their foundations for groups they think are doing good work. And they can often help proposal writers and nonprofit leaders understand what it takes t get a grant. "Program officers are people who share your own values," says Ted Smith, chairman of Electronics TakeBack Coalition, a national organization that promotes better environmental practices in the electronics industry. "They are people who have worked in other nonprofits, who understand the whole system." [ link ]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL By E. A. Carmean Chapelle du Rosaire des Dominicaines de Vence, perched above the French Mediterranean coast FRANCE---Arguably the greatest religious art and architecture project of the 20th century, Henri Matisse's Chapel of the Rosary, provides another reading. Matisse wrote, "I consider it my masterpiece." Before and after its June 25, 1951, consecration, Matisse's chapel was sometimes disparaged. But praise won out. Pope Pius XII requested a set of the chasubles for the Vatican, and soon so many visitors began coming as to require restricted open hours to preserve the chapel's—and Matisse's—intended purpose of serving the sisters. Amusing—and telling—was the story of an English tourist asking directions to "the chapel of St. Matisse." As for the artist, Matisse said that "I wanted to create a spiritual space." He did. [ link ]

CBC NEWS Pussy Riot stages their protest performance inside Christ The Saviour Cathedralin Moscow, Feb. 21, in this still image taken from video.  RUSSIA---On Friday, after something of a show trial, three young women in a Russian punk band [ Pussy Riot ] were found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison for an anti-Vladimir Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral earlier this year. Western governments and rights groups condemned the harsh sentence – even the Russian Orthodox Church had asked for clemency. Also on Friday, as the Pussy Riot sentences came out, the top court in Moscow upheld the city's ban on gay pride marches for the next 100 years. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Tahlib It was in the non-profit news this week that God got turned down for a grant to recreate humanity, and it was his second attempt! While the story is purely for laughs, fundraising is a perennial challenge in the world of the arts, and in today's secualrized environment for the arts, it's an even bigger challenge for those engaged in religious art & architecture. So, when I came across several funding stories that highlighted unique approaches, I decided that "Funding" would be the theme for my weekly picks of the week’s biggest religious art news stories and commentary.

TIMES PUBLISHING GROUP CALIFORNIA---Applications are now being accepted for Temple Beth El’s second annual Jewish Artisans Faire. Jewish artists are invited to apply to participate in this successful event that provides an opportunity for the community to support Jewish artists. The art may be Jewish oriented or general in nature. Fine art, crafts, photography, etc. are welcome and the art will be for sale. The faire will be held at Temple Beth El – Aptos, from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, on Sunday, November 11. To get an application send an email to mstein@tbeaptos.org; the submission due date is September 14. For more information, call (831) 460-1389.

OND By Marissa Martin "The Great Unraveling" by Gina Hurry is inspired by the scripture Hosea 6:1 GEORGIA---Torn between being an artist or missionary when she was younger, [Gina] Hurry had to overcome the mental block that only official missionaries were of any use to the church and artists merely peripheral. “How could art be redemptive in itself?” she puzzled, with few books on the subject to refer to at the time. A few decades later Hurry tends to a prosperous painting career and a busy family, but her vision extends just past, to a place where art and the church intersect and revive each other. A nebulous and undefined land to labor, it is also scarred with theological and cultural divides. Still Hurry digs up the soil, invites the neighbors and sets about planning and planting with eyes toward a future spiritual and aesthetic feast. [ link ]

WASHINGTON POST By Associated Press NEW YORK — A judge should toss out a lawsuit by a national atheists group seeking to stop the display of a cross-shaped steel beam found among the wreckage of the World Trade Center, lawyers for the operators of the Sept. 11 memorial at ground zero say. The lawyers said in papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday that the 17-foot-tall beam will be displayed as a historical object because it tells part of the story of the rescue and recovery effort after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which destroyed the twin towers and killed thousands of people. The nonprofit group American Atheists sued the National September 11 Memorial & Museum’s operators last year, saying the beam’s display would be unconstitutional. [ link ]

CHRISTIAN TODAY Rev. Dr. Byron Spradlin, Founder and President of Artists in Christian Testimony Intl, TENNESSEE---The Lausanne Movement has appointed a Lausanne Senior Associate for The Arts. Rev. Dr. Byron Spradlin, Founder and President of Artists in Christian Testimony Intl, which mobilizes and equips artistic, innovative ministries and missionaries for Christian work, accepted the position in June at the Lausanne International Leadership meeting. Spradlin also serves as Department Chair for the School of Worship, Imagination & the Arts at Williamson Christian College, Franklin, TN. [ link ]

THE AUSTRALIAN By Bridget Cormack "Palm Sunday" by John Paul AUSTRALIA---Victorian artist John Paul won the prize for Christian-themed art with his gouache and pastel drawing Palm Sunday.  He and the other entrants were asked to take inspiration from the theme "born of a woman" from St Paul's letter to the Galatians. Judges Rod Pattenden, Rachael Kohn and Annette Pedersen said Palm Sunday dealt with the text in "an unexpected way".  "As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, his side curls signalling his Jewishness, a young woman at his side brings the emotional and physical connection to women into a contemporary context," they said. This year the prizemoney for the Mandorla award was raised by $5000 and is now worth more than the $20,000 Blake Prize, regarded as Australia's most prestigious prize for religious art. [ link ]