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JEWISH JOURNAL by Jonathan Maseng “Rebel Spies,” by Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik, mixed media, 2013. On loan from Scott and Gayl Gluck. CALIFORNIA---The Jewish art scene in Los Angeles is a small but vibrant community that spans generations, styles, and the full length and breadth of the city itself. Now, for the first time, three of L.A.’s preeminent Jewish institutions — Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), University of Southern California Hillel and American Jewish University (AJU) — have teamed up to produce a collaborative exhibition that stretches across three venues and features more than a dozen local artists. “Sacred Words, Sacred Texts,” which officially opened Oct. 6 with a reception at AJU, is an exhibition that celebrates Jews as a People of the Book: Torah, Talmud, Midrash and sacred poetry are all explored through various media by more than a dozen Jewish artists from the L.A. area. It was curated by Anne Hromadka, Sara Cannon and Georgia Freedm...

BAY STATE BANNER By Susan Saccoccia “Roja,” by Shirin Neshat, is a gelatin silver print with India ink MASSACHUSETTS---Beauty and harmony are paramount in Islamic art. These qualities are also integral to the photographs, videos and films of Shirin Neshat . Her ravishing images show women crossing boundaries and asserting power despite Islamic norms that constrict their freedom. Yet as Neshat composes images, she is guided by Islamic aesthetic principles she has absorbed since childhood. “Harmony is the essence of Islamic art,” says Neshat. Neshat’s new photographic series, “The Book of Kings,” borrows its name from the epic poem of Iran, the Shahnameh. The ensemble of 80 portraits casts contemporary Iranians as nation builders. [ link ]

THE PENDULUM By Jessica Petrocchi An Indian craftsman paints clay 'diyas' (earthen lamps) ahead  of the Hindu festival of Diwali in Amritsar on October 29, 2013. NORTH CAROLINA--- Diwali , one of the most celebrated Hindu holidays around the world, will get its recognition at Elon University for the second year in the Numen Lumen Pavilion Nov. 5. Interns in the Truitt Center for Religious Life and Assistant Chaplain Adam Miller-Stubbendick are putting this holiday celebration , sometimes referred to as the Festival of Lights, together. The event is open to Elon’s campus, no matter if they are a Hindu student or just want to learn more about a culture different from their own. The interns are still in the planning process, but they already have a good idea of what the celebration will look like. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By TAHLIB NEW YORK---The Museum of Biblical Art presents " Take Me to the Water: Immersion Baptism in Vintage Music and Photography " beginning on Friday, November 1 in Manhattan. The installation is a video and audio installation which will transport the viewer and listener into America’s early twentieth-century, baptism immersions in rivers, lakes, and ponds from 1890-1950. Rare vocal recordings of sermons and preaching, which highlight the fervor leading up to the moment of baptism, are also included. A companion book and CD will be available in the MOBIA Store.  Museum of Biblical Art: " Take Me to the Water: Immersion Baptism in Vintage Music and Photography " (November 3-February 16, 2014); 1865 Broadway at 61st Street; New York, NY; (212) 408-1500; mobia.org

BLOOMBERG NEWS By Frederik Balfour Love Bed" (2012) made of stainless steel razor blades by Tayeba Begum Lipi.  HONG KONG---A bed made of razor blades, a Buddhist monk carved from a baseball bat, and minimalist goats are on display at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center. “ No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia ” features works specifically acquired by the Guggenheim Museum to create the touring show of artists you won’t find at many auctions or international art fairs. The show feels fresh and edgy. Take Bangladeshi artist Tayeba Begum Lipi’s “Love Bed” (2012), composed of gleaming stainless steel razor blades that challenge traditional notions of marriage, childbirth and gender. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS Yesterday, Justice Shirley Werner Kornreich of the Commercial Division of the New York State Supreme Court ruled in favor of The Metropolitan Museum of Art by granting its motion to dismiss claims that the Museum’s longstanding pay-what-you-wish admissions policy violates both its 1878 lease with the City and a State appropriations act from 1893. The following is a statement from the Museum on this decision: "The Met is delighted with the ruling and trusts this decision once and for all validates its longtime pay-what-you wish admissions policy—which, as the judge has declared, guarantees fairness and access for visitors of all economic means.”

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By TAHLIB INDIANA---In addition, to a week of A&O Prize inductions and honors, the Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts is pleased to present "Religious Risks," opening November 1, as part of the 18th annual  Spirit & Place Festival . The full program includes more than thirty artist works (believers and skeptics too), representing the imaginations of a wide range of Indiana artists. The exhibition portion includes thirty  emerging artists, as well as professionals such as Anila Agha , Tom Torluemke, Nhat Tran, and Constance Scopelitis . In addition, there is one youth scholarship honoree; and three poet honorees, Norbert Krapf, Tasha Jones , and Bonnie Mauer , who will present and join a group dialogue entitled, " Artist+Faith+Risk " on Saturday afternoon, November 9. Alpha Omega Prize: " Religious Risks " (Nov. 1-29), at Indiana Interchurch Center's IIC Gallery, 1100 W. 42nd Street, Ground Fl...

EXPRESS TRIBUNE By Myra Iqbal Iqbal explores the relationship between the divine and the secular through calligraphy. PHOTO: EXPRESS PAKISTAN---For calligraphist Azeem Iqbal , the canvas is an extension of his relationship with the secular and the divine. Iqbal’s calligraphy exhibition opened at the National Library on Monday, revealing his dedication to the craft through his prolific collection. A shift from the more austere technique of calligraphic expression, Iqbal’s work is unreserved and inquisitive, while the colour palette, material and forms are traditional, the strokes and narratives are personal, with an imperfection that is endearing. Iqbal uses bold gestures, unrestrained lettering and sometimes even abandons the paint brush to use his fingers. [ link ]

PHOENIX NEW TIMES Bishop Thomas Olmsted kicked the ADL out of Phoenix Catholic schools and continues to pursue a hard-line stance even as Pope Francis softens the church's tone. ARIZONA---With the challenges and dangers that young students face today (online bullying, offline bullying, gossip, hate, and the increasingly common school shooting) programs like the Anti-Defamation League's "World of Difference" has arguably never been more important. But Phoenix Catholic Bishop Thomas Olmsted disagrees. In this week's cover story, " Bishop Thomas Olmsted Expels the ADL's Sensitivity Training from Catholic Schools ," Michael Lacey details how Olmsted has clung to outdated church doctrine in his vendetta against the ADL. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By TAHLIB On view: November 1-29, 2013 Artist dialogue & reception: Saturday, November 9, 2:00 p.m. The board and members of Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts are pleased to invite all believers, and skeptics too, for its inaugural exhibition, "First & Last: Religious Risks." Thirty-works are being showcased, and seven prize categories are being announced as part of the 2013 Spirit & Place Festival . The festival is a 10-day collaboration of congregations, cultural institutions, universities and colleges, schools, civic groups, museums, designed to build community through dialogue and engagement. The Alpha Omega Prize is an annual recognition of art that influences community-building across the religious divide.

BLOOMBERG By Catherine Hickley This early Renaissance painting of the virgin and child was handed to the Max Stern estate by a museum. The estate is seeking a total of about 400 missing works.  GERMANY---The heirs of Max Stern , a Jewish art dealer who fled Nazi Germany after he was forced to close his gallery, today announced the recovery of a painting he lost 76 years ago. That is only half the story. They may have lost track of two more pictures that Stern was forced to sell for good. The Stern estate’s experience spotlights the difficulties heirs face in tracing and reclaiming the countless Nazi-looted artworks that have vanished into German private collections, even when they are offered for sale by auction houses. While museums are morally accountable under international principles endorsed by the German government on returning Nazi-looted art, German art dealers and auction houses often pursue strictly legal arguments. Under German law, the statute of limitations fo...

THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE Yoga: The Art of Transformation" exhibit at the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery includes items that showcase the history of yoga. WASHINGTON, DC - Yoga is moving from the studio mat to the museum gallery.The Smithsonian Institution has organized what curators believe is the first exhibition about the visual history and art of yoga, its origins and evolution over time. The Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery will showcase the exhibit, "Yoga: The Art of Transformation," through January. Later, it will travel to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Curators brought together Indian sculptures, manuscripts and paintings, as well as posters, illustrations, photographs and films to showcase yoga's history. [ link ]

THE HINDU By LAKSHMI KRUPA "Thyanam" by Sirpi Jayaraman INDIA---Over two dozen paintings dot the walls, and Sirpi Jayaraman’s technique shines through in each piece. Strokes — small, curvy and pointed, come together all across the canvas to create breathtaking details. The central piece at the exhibit is ‘Thyanam’. A colourful image, in which a tree, on whose trunk a face has been fashioned, looks upon serenely as if meditating. [ link ]

TEXAS GOP VOTE By Sonja Harris Lawn ornaments have religious but also secular meaning---all on display TEXAS---If residents of San Antonio don’t wake up to the reality of what is overtaking their city, there won’t be any resemblance to the quite conservative place I call my hometown. San Antonio is not alone in the ‘dumbing down’ or perversion of the arts. An old Victorian style house close to downtown San Antonio is the home of Art SA Gallery. Needless to say, I was totally disappointed by what I saw. The ‘art’ displayed at this gallery reflects the anti-Catholic, anti-Christian theme that is prevalent throughout our country today. It is obvious that this gallery caters to the homosexual and anti-Catholic clientele rather than to the general public. [ link ]

CCTV By Zhang Hao CHINA---Tibet's first and only contemporary art gallery is located on the Barkhor Street, a well-known street for pilgrimage and businesses in downtown Lhasa, where a few young artists seek their artistic dream. Ten years ago, 12 Tibetan youngsters often got together at a Sichuan restaurant on the Barkhor Street for their common ideal to develop the Tibetan contemporary art. They raised money and bought the restaurant later, turning it into a small and nonprofit art gallery. They named the art gallery after Gedun Chophel, a renowned Tibetan humanism pioneer and academic master, sowing the first seed of the local contemporary art in Tibet. [ link ]

GLOBAL POST A Buddha from the pagoda at Hwangboksa Temple site is displayed on October 28, 2013 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as part of an exhibition of treasures from ancient Korea (AFP, Don Emmert) NEW YORK---Drawn to bling? A fan of gold jewelry? Keen on Buddha? If so, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art offers the newest ticket to fend off the winter chill. An exhibition of exquisite treasures from ancient Korea opens in New York next week, marking the first display anywhere outside Asia of the little known Silla kingdom. The exhibition is divided into three parts: glittering golden treasures -- beautifully intricate and in perfect condition -- from fifth and sixth century tombs. [ link ]

SAINT LOUIS | JEWISH LIGHT AMSTERDAM---Dozens of Dutch museums are in possession of at least 139 items with “problematic origins,” a special commission on stolen Holocaust-era art in the Netherlands has determined. The list that the Committee for Museum Acquisitions from 1933 onwards published on Tuesday includes priceless items that are in the hands of 41 museums, including world-famous institutions like the Rijks Museum and the Stedelijk Museum, which have nine and 11 “problematic” items respectively. Sixty-one items were flagged because “of the name of the owners and most of these 61 items belonged to Jews,” The full findings were to be published on the Dutch-language website www.musealeverwervingen.nl Tuesday. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS  Bodhisattva in pensive pose, probably Maitreya (Korean: Mireuk). Korea, Silla kingdom, late 6th–early 7th century. Gilt bronze; H. 36 7/8 in. (93.5 cm). National Museum of Korea, National Treasure 83 NEW YORK---The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present " Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom ," an exhibition dedicated to the magnificent art created between ca. 400-800, the seminal era of this intriguing kingdom, beginning November 4. This is the first exhibition in the West to focus exclusively on the art of Silla, tracing its rise from a small polity to a powerful and cosmopolitan kingdom both on the peninsula and within the broader framework of Eurasia, to which Silla was connected via trade, and at times political and diplomatic exchanges. Drawn from the holdings of the National Museums of Korea in Seoul and Gyeongju. Metropolitan Museum of Art: Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom ,"(November 4, 2013 – February 23, 2014); 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY;...

AHRAM A Moroccan manuscript on surgery dated 610 AH (in the Islamic calendar) is displayed at the “Nur: Light in art and science in the Islamic world” exhibition in Seville (Photo: AP) SPAIN---A private museum in southern Spain is opening an exhibition of rare Islamic art and scientific objects that highlight the use of light in decoration and studies in the Arab world. The exhibition, " Nur: Light in art and science in the Islamic world ," is sponsored by the energy company Abengoa and has gathered 150 pieces from collections such those of the Bodleian Library at Oxford University and private collectors from around the world. Curated by Sabiha Al Khemir , a Tunisian writer and expert in Islamic art, the exhibition opens on Saturday at the Focus-Abengoa Foundation's gallery in Seville. From there, it travels next year to the Dallas Museum of Art in Texas , where it will be open to the public from March 30 to June 29. [ link ]

UPI NETHERLANDS---A group of Jewish people in the Netherlands have called for the prosecution of an Amsterdam shop that is selling German dictator Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf." In the Netherlands, it is not illegal to own "Mein Kampf," but since 1974, it has been illegal for stores to sell the book, DutchNews.nl reported. The Federation of Dutch Jews has instigated legal action against the Totalitarian Art Gallery, which has three copies of the book for sale. Gallery owner Michiel van Eyck said he is not surprised about the legal action, adding that the "Mein Kampf" is not displayed in store windows, but is part of a collection of historic items that also includes memorabilia from the Nazi era, relics of Stalin's rule in Russia and China under Mao. The Jewish group said it wants the books confiscated from Van Eyck's store. [ link ]

ARTDAILY El Greco, The Disrobing of Christ. Oil on canvas, 300 x 178 cm, 1577-1579, Cabildo S. I. Catedral Primada de Toledo. SPAIN---From today and until it returns to the Sacristy of Toledo cathedral where it will feature in the events to mark the 400th anniversary of the painter’s death organised by Fundación El Greco for 2014, visitors to the Museo del Prado can see this major work by El Greco on temporary display in Room 9B. This is one of the three galleries devoted to the artist in the Prado that also display The Trinity, another great creation by the artist executed shortly after his arrival in Spain. The Disrobing of Christ, which was painted for a room used to house religious relics in Toledo cathedral, depicts the moment when Christ has ascended to Calvary and is stripped of his clothes before being nailed to the cross. [ link ]

THE ROOT By Henry Louis Gates, Jr. The Story of the Adulterous Moor, from Las Cantigas de Santa Maria, 13th century. Cantiga CLXXXV. Escorial, Real Monasterio. SPAIN---Among the most revealing insights into the devotional culture of medieval Spain are the cantigas, a type of monophonic music. A large corpus of this distinctive song form was composed during the 13th century at the court of Alfonso X, called the Wise, ruler of the Spanish kingdom of Castile. A visual dimension is added to these works in the form of illustrated narrative pages facing the text of the song. The stories are, as in this example, usually divided into six scenes, each headed by a short descriptive text based on the lyrics of the songs. The event illustrated here relates the predicament of a woman falsely accused of adultery by her mother-in-law. The unwilling agent of the fraud is the mouro, or Moor, a servant of the mother-in-law. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By TAHLIB Throughout human history, religions and art have been joined as part of the wider quest for meaning. That is why we need both. Since 2008, Alpha Omega Arts has been surveying our members  (including digital readers) about the impact of Religious Art experiences in the United States. The results reflect the majority opinions of A&O members and INSPIRE ME! Artists of the Month , and are a judgement about the impact of the past year. The survey ends on Thursday, October 31. One Alpha Omega Prize winner (inductee) will be announced online each morning at 10:00 a.m., November 1-9, 2013 at the news site: alphaomegaarts.com .

THE JERUSALEM POST By Benji Rosen Dead Sea Scrolls, Photo: david vinkur ISRAEL---The Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem is opening an exclusive exhibit showcasing the connections between Judaism and Christianity. The exhibit, “Book of Books,” juxtaposes Jewish and Christian biblical texts from thousands of years ago, beginning with fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls, through to 19th century relics. “We’ve never had an exhibition that shows the powerful link between Judaism and Christianity on this level,” said director of the Bible Lands Museum Amanda Weiss. [ lin k]

THE NEW YORK TIMES NEW YORK--- Emma Butterfield Presler and Steven Yong Lee were married Saturday at Grace Church in New York, where they met. The Rev. J. Donald Waring, an Episcopal priest and the rector of the church, performed the ceremony. The bride, is the manager of the department of architecture and design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The groom, is the site director of the New York branch of National Justice for Our Neighbors, a ministry of the United Methodist Church that provides programs for immigrants. He is also studying for a Master of Divinity at the General Theological Seminary in New York. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS "Diomedes Devoured by Horses" (1866) by Gustave Moreau CALIFORNIA---Featuring a selection of close to 40 drawings dating from the Renaissance to the 19th century, " Gods and Heroes: European Drawings of Classical Mythology ," opens on November 19 at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Getty Center . The exhibition explores the pictorial representation of myths that have been instrumental in the formation of Western culture. The stories involving the mythical gods and heroes of Greco-Roman antiquity have inspired artists for centuries, testing their abilities to represent complex narratives in visual form. The world of gods and heroes could also be a violent one, and drawings such as Gustave Moreau's representation one of Hercules’s labors, when the hero had to capture the flesh-eating mares of Diomedes, the evil king of Thrace. Hercules, having succeeded in seizing the animals, feeds Diomedes’s body to his own horses. J. Paul Getty Museum, Getty Ce...

WALL STREET JOURNAL By Tom L. Freudenheim More than a work of scholarly interest, it's a rich visual feast. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, for Michael and Judy Steinhardt, by Ardon Bar-Hama NEW YORK---One page of a spectacular illustrated volume of the Mishneh Torah, a Jewish-law codex, is now on view in a modest special exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The book—created in Northern Italy in the 1450s and jointly acquired this year by the Met and the Israel Museum, where it had been on loan—is far more than a work of Judaic scholarly interest. It's a rich visual feast, though we get only a delightful first course in the Met display. But even that single serving deserves serious attention. [ link ]

JOURNAL SENTINEL  By Annysa Johnson The Milwaukee Public Library is one of six libraries across the country to host an exhibit on Muslim art, as well as books about Muslim culture. WISCONSIN---So, here are a few things you might not know about Islam: It has a long history in the Americas, arriving with slaves from West Africa as early as the 1600s. One of the bestselling poets in America over the last decadeis the 13th century Muslim mystic Jalaluddin Rumi . Those are just some of the revelations to emerge from a collection of books and other materials now available at hundreds of libraries across the country, under a program financed by the American Library Association and the National Endowment for the Humanities. But two local libraries, Milwaukee Public Library's downtown branch and the Golda Meir Library at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, are taking readers further, with an exhibit and programs exploring Islam in the arts and the American Muslim experience. [ link...

WOMENS E-NEWS By Reshmi Kaur Oberoi A wounded goddess Lakshmi from the Abused Goddesses campaign. INDIA---The subject of who can tap Hindu goddess imagery and for what reasons has been stirring rising discussion, particularly in India, where some female artists are invoking goddess power in a year of notoriously brutal gang rapes . In India, taking such artistic license can stir controversy over crossing a religious line. When the Indian ad agency Taproot released an "Abused Goddesses" campaign in India in September, Jasmine Wahi , an American artist of Indian descent, had a two-part reaction. First she liked it; then she didn't. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS "St. Jerome in His Study" by Albrecht Dürer NETHERLANDS---From October to 2 February 2, 2014, the Städel Museum presents " Albrecht Dürer: His Art in Context " (1471–1528) – presumably the most important artist of the German Renaissance – in a comprehensive special exhibition ( Watch video ). The show encompasses more than 280 works, including some 200 by Dürer himself. Now an internationally celebrated artist, Dürer was held in high esteem and received several commissions there. In Antwerp, for example, he painted "St Jerome in His Study" (1521, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon). An entire room on the upper floor is dedicated to juxtaposing the various depictions of St Jerome. [ link ]

CHANNEL NEWS ASIA The current fresco in Yunjie Temple in Chaoyang, northeast China's Liaoning province. (AFP PHOTO) CHINA---Chinese authorities have "restored" ancient Buddhist frescos in a temple by painting them over with cartoon-like figures from Taoist myths, reports said Tuesday , prompting outrage online. It is the latest example of controversial heritage preservation in China, where many ancient structures have been destroyed in recent decades, sometimes to be replaced by replicas of the original. The temple in Chaoyang, in the northeastern province of Liaoning, was built more than 270 years ago and the delicate original paintings had survived, albeit crumbling, until the "refurbishment". The new paintings are bold, simplistic, and of completely different subjects, pictures showed. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS  By TAHLIB While receiving artworks for our upcoming exhibition exploring " Religious Risk ", one artist asserted they did not have a written statement to explain their work. Why not? "I am an Atheist," they responded, and that absence makes Neha Choksi's  “ Iceboat ” (above) my  NEWS OF WEEK . Dressed in the white of a pilgrim, she is videotaped rowing across water in a melting boat of ice. It made me think of atheism, a subject Oprah explored with swimmer Diana Nyad; and Bill Maher celebrated with scientist Richard Dawkins; but what is absence? Choksi is not the artist who dropped off the artwork this week, but in a world where atheists, skeptics and non-believers want to be seen as both different and acceptable, she does help frame the question of what is gained or lost by melting away?

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Holland Cotter A processional sweep through Byzantine iconography, with about 170 items for many centuries. WASHINGTON, D.C.---After arriving with no particular buzz, then being kept on ice by the government shutdown, “ Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium From Greek Collections ” has finally opened at the National Gallery of Art here, and it’s ambushingly resplendent, like a somber cloud with a fire inside. Like many government-sponsored treasure shows, this one — organized by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports in Athens, in collaboration with the Benaki Museum there — has a promotional angle: It would love to get us to go to Greece and spend some tourist dollars, especially given that country’s recent fiscal woes. I’m out the door, based on some of what’s here. [ link ] National Gallery of Art: “ Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium From Greek Collections ” (October 6, 2013, through March 2, 2014); 2000B South Club Drive, Landover, MD; (202) 84...

LANCASTER ONLINE By Tom Knapp Sandow Birk, Sura 100, 2008 PENNSYLVANIA--- Sandow Birk doesn't pretend to understand the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam. And his illustrations, layered beneath excerpts from the sacred text, don't claim to interpret it. "He's not actually illustrating the text — he's illustrating his reactions to it," explains Millersville University gallery coordinator Gloria Mast. "He's illustrating his own preconceived notions, in a way," she says. "It's very much a postmodern example of finding your way through something." The process began nearly a decade ago, Mast says, when Birk began his personal journey to understand the Qur'an through his art. The pieces hanging through Nov. 9 at MU's Winter Center are gouache, acrylic and ink on paper. Each is highly distinctive, although somewhat uniform in presentation. [ link ] Winter Visual and Performing Arts Center: Sandow Birk's journeys with ...

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Roderick Conway Morris Francisco de Zurbarán painted the martyrdom of Saint Serapion in 1628. ITALY---The Italian art historian Roberto Longhi described Francisco de Zurbarán as “the greatest constructor of form with light, after Caravaggio and before Cézanne.” Longhi’s comment not only acknowledged the 17th-century Spanish artist’s mastery of light as a means to create form in paint, it also hinted at the powerful influence that this almost exclusively religious painter had on the primarily secular art of the 19th and 20th centuries. “ Zurbarán ,” at the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara, is the first show dedicated to the artist since the landmark publication of the first volume of Odile Delenda’s catalogue raisonné of the artist’s work in 2009. [ link ]

HUDSON VALLEY REPORTER By Dan Curtis NEW YORK---Artist Suzanne Kraus-Mancuso of Putnam Valley has produced an art display at Graymoor’s Our Lady of Atonement Chapel that consists of 1,500 postcard-sized paintings of holy places throughout the world, many from the Hudson Valley. The massive display, which has taken her three years to amass, is considered to be the largest of its kind in the world. Many of the churches, temples and other holy places in the mural depict specific places throughout the Hudson Valley from Manhattan to Troy, N.Y. People from around the state and throughout the world have sent Kraus-Mancuso photos of holy places for her to paint and add to the massive display.[ link ]

THAILAND NATIONAL NEWS BUREAU THAILAND---The Ministry of Culture presides over the Youth Culture camp opening ceremony in order to support religious, art and cultural learning for youngsters during summer vacation. Minister of Culture Sontaya Khunplome has presided over the opening of the Youth Culture camp, which is opened during summer vacation in order to help children and adolescence to prioritize and manage their time for religious, art and cultural learning. Interesting activities have also been held to give participants a golden opportunity to learn about the biography of the late Supreme Patriarch or Phrasangkharat of Thai Buddhism at the Bowon Temple, observe the Department of the Ten Crafts or Chang Sip Mu’s art and craft demonstration, and watch traditional Khon dance rehearsal. [ link ]

BUSINESSWEEK By Dave Michaels WASHINGTON, DC---Startups and small businesses could sell ownership stakes in their companies by soliciting investors over the Internet under a proposal advanced by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC’s proposal, open for public comment for 90 days, becomes the second regulation from the JOBS Act advanced under Chairman Mary Jo White. Businesses using crowdfunding could raise no more than $5,000 a year from someone whose income or net worth is less than $100,000. Investors with income or net worth greater than $100,000 could contribute as much as 10 percent of their annual income or net worth, to a maximum of $100,000 in one year. Other portal operators that have shown interest in equity crowdfunding include Indiegogo Inc., EquityNet LLC, and RocketHub Inc. Kickstarter Inc. (0772240D:US), the most popular crowdfunding platform to date, has said it doesn’t intend to participate in equity crowdfunding.[ link ]

NSCHRISTIAN COUNTRY By Moriah Isringhausen, College of the Ozarks Michael Buesking, Healing of the Blind Man MISSOURI---The Boger Gallery will present “ Touch, Anoint, Heal: God with Us ” Oct. 28 through Dec. 1. The exhibition, which will travel across North America for the next two years, features works by prominent artists of faith and is presented by the organization, Christians in the Visual Arts . Artwork for the exhibition was selected by Richard Cummings, associate professor of art at College of the Ozarks. For more information, call (417) 690-2255 or email bogergallery@cofo.edu . [ link ]

THE HINDU By Harshini Vakkalanka Similar, yet different: Ritu’s imagery and choice of colours INDIA--- Ritu Gupta interprets Indian miniatures and the Radha and Krishna motif in her latest exhibition. The iconography of Krishna and Radha and their idealism has survived and inspired art for hundreds of years through Indian folk art, notably through the tradition of miniatures and murals. And it still continues to inspire, as the Kanpur-based artist Ritu Gupta shows in her exhibition “Radha Raman” that is on view at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. “People look upon their relationship with so much respect and till today, worship the couple. So I was clear that I wanted to depict their relationship.” Ritu’s paintings are inspired by different styles of Indian folk art, predominantly miniatures such as those of the Kangra school or even Chola bronzes. [ link ]

CHABAD.ORG By Israel Noach Sauer Acrylics, Indian Ink & pencils 50 cm X 35 cm on canvas paper 2013 ARGENTINA---The numerical value of the letters in the Hebrew word "Simcha" - "joy" is 36. In this painting I depict human positions that express joy, using the forms that those letters allow. I used Indian ink to facilitate the hand movement as we see in Chinese art. The result is 36 figures with bones full of joy. Israel Noach Sauer was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he currently lives. He enjoys drawing, painting, playing music, writing and photography. Since discovering Torah Judaism, Sauer uses his artwork to express himself and the ideas he studies. [ Purchase Print ]

BBC Arts & Culture By Paul Hastie The paintings from the Mogao caves show the development of Chinese art over a period of 1000 years CHINA---In a secret cave on China's ancient Silk Road, one of the world's most incredible collections of art lay locked away in darkness for 900 years. It held a treasure trove of 50,000 Buddhist paintings and manuscripts dating back to the 5th Century. And it would have remained hidden from the world if it had not been accidentally uncovered by a curious priest - who sold it away for a fraction of its worth. The cave is one of the 500 surviving caverns at the Mogao Caves, on the edge of the Gobi desert, at Dunhuang in western China. Their wonders are on show in London next week as part of the V&A's new " Masterpieces of Chinese Painting " exhibition. [ link ]

CITYBEAT By Steven Rosen MICHIGAN---ArtPrize, which is promoted as a “radically open, independently organized international art competition,” began in 2009 as a “social experiment” to rally a city — an entire region — around visual art. It was the creation of Richard DeVos, a local billionaire who co-founded Amway. Within the ArtPrize District, anyone whose property has public access — from an auto body shop in a gritty industrial strip to downtown’s prestigious Grand Rapids Art Museum — is free to select artists to display work. This year, there were 169 venues — including outdoor sites like parks and plazas. Artists and venues connect via the artprize.org website — ArtPrize does not curate entries. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS QATAR--- In one of this year's most well-received Islamic Art displays, “Hajj, the Journey through Art” opened on October 9th and draws on objects, documents and art to explain the ceremonial aspects and the significance of the pilgrimage to Mecca. ACCIONA Producciones y Diseño , a Europe-based event and exhibition designers were responsible for the design and installation of “Hajj, the Journey through Art”, an exhibition at the Doha Museum of Islamic Art, in Qatar, which will run until January 5th, 2014. This is the third cultural exhibition they've designed in Qatar. In the current exhibition, the designers have used a range of objects to reflect the art and traditions that surround the pilgrimage to Mecca.

THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER By Janelle Gelfland “Crystal Night” by Maria Lugossy will go on display at Hebrew Union College, Nov. 10 OHIO---A newly acquired sculpture will be dedicated in memory of Rabbi Dr. Alfred Gottschalk, president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion for 25 years. “Crystal Night,” a glass sculpture by award-winning Hungarian artist Mária Lugossy , will be unveiled in Mayerson Hall at HUC on Nov. 10. The sculpture evokes a night of terror known as “Kristallnacht” (The Night of Broken Glass), when, across Germany, Nazis attacked Jewish citizens by breaking windows in their buildings, shops and synagogues and killing them or dragging them off to concentration camps. [ link ]

SCARSDALE "Tree of Life" Judaica pendant NEW YORK---A dazzling array of Judaic crafts and jewelry will be shown and sold at the annual Bet Am Shalom Synagogue Judaica Craft Show , now celebrating its 20th year. The show begins on Saturday, November 16, at 8 p.m. and continues on Sunday, November 17, 10:00 a.m.-–5:30 p.m. The juried show features hundreds of unique works in all price ranges, created by 50 artists – nearly half from Israel, the rest from the U.S. and Canada; they include many well-loved favorites along with a dozen entirely new to the show. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Sei Chong A still frame from Neha Choksi’s film "Iceboat," in which she rows a boat she crafted from ice, until it melts. INDIA---For many artists, the creative process is about making something from nothing. But Neha Choksi seeks to do just the opposite: to make nothing out of something. “How do you form nothing? How do you perform absence?” Ms. Choksi, 39, said in an interview at her home in Mumbai. “These are all repeating questions.” To demonstrate absence in her art, Ms. Choksi remains very much present. In the name of her work, she has lost consciousness, fallen silent for 10 days and submerged herself in a lake. [ link ]

ALET EIA The Church calls upon the arts to give expression to the beauty of her faith, the Holy Father says. VATICAN CITY---The creative arts help proclaim the gospel, explore the mysteries of Christian faith and reflect the quest for the “supreme beauty” found in God, Pope Francis has said. “In every age the Church has called upon the arts to give expression to the beauty of her faith and to proclaim the gospel message of the grandeur of God’s creation, the dignity of human beings made in his image and likeness, and the power of Christ’s death and resurrection to bring redemption and rebirth to a world touched by the tragedy of sin and death,” said Pope Francis on Oct. 19 at the Vatican. More information about the patron organization can be found on its website, www.vatican-patrons.org . [ link ]

SAINT LOUIS BEACON By Nancy Fowler "Paranirvana" (1999-2012) by Lewis deSoto, installed at MOCRA in 2013. MISSOURI---An invitation to cross thresholds into unfamiliar territory is the theme as Saint Louis University’s Museum of Contemporary Religious Art ( MOCRA ) marks two decades of existence. “ Thresholds: MOCRA at 20 ” is a two-part exhibit reprising segments of previous shows dating back to the museum’s 1993 debut. Part One, open through Dec. 15, revisits MOCRA’s first 10 years. Works examining all religions and spiritual quests have always had a place at MOCRA. Founding director Terry Dempsey wants to continue and expand that diversity. “We’re trying to build a bridge among various faith traditions,” Dempsey said. [ link ] Museum Of Contemporary Religious Art: " Thresholds: MOCRA at 20 " (Part One ends Dec. 15); Saint Louis University, Saint Loius, MO; 221 N. Grand Blvd; (314) 977-7170; slu.edu/mocra

STORYTELLER | EITELJORG MUSEUM By Linda Montag-Olson Catrinas, one of the most popular figures of the Day of the Dead celebrations at Mexico. Image courtesy of Wikipedia INDIANA---On Saturday, Oct. 26, join us for the annual Day of the Dead celebration at the Eiteljorg . In Mexican-Christian culture, skulls, skeletons and marigolds are important elements of ofrendas (altars) created to honor and celebrate the lives of family, friends and ancestors who have passed on. Fresh foods, candles, photographs and personal items are also placed on the public and private ofrendas , to welcome the spirits' return for a brief restful visit on Nov. 2. This is the essence of Dia de los Muertos , a traditional Mexican holiday, with roots in Aztec culture and Catholic traditions. Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art: " Dia de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead) "; Saturday, Oct. 26, 11-4pm; White River State Park, 500 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN; (317)636-...

LIMERICK LEADER By Anne Sheridan Stripped bare: Fr Tom Ryan stands in front of one the frames where the paintings were cut out with a stanley knife, in the Holy Rosary church on the Ennis Road, where the theft occurred. Picture: Michael Cowhey IRELAND---Prayers were said at the weekend for the return of five paintings stolen from the Holy Rosary church in Limerick, which are estimated to be worth at least €25,000. The religious paintings by the renowned artist the late Fr Jack Hanlon had been hanging proudly in the Ennis Road church for over 50 years. But on Wednesday last - some 20 minutes after Fr Tom Ryan left the church - a thief with a newspaper covering his face entered the church and cut the five paintings out of their frames with a stanley knife. [ link ]

THE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE  By Rod Dreher Inferno Canto I, by William Blake, 1826-27 This summer, I was browsing the shelves at a Barnes & Noble, when I picked up Dante’s Inferno . Along the way, I’ve learned things about life, and about myself, that I did not know. I’ve also been writing in this space lately about how the Terrence Malick film To The Wonder has become such a powerful force in my spiritual life since I first watched it a couple of weeks ago. To admire the icons and the great masterpieces of Christian art in general, leads us on an inner way, a way of overcoming ourselves; thus in this purification of vision that is a purification of the heart, it reveals the beautiful to us, or at least a ray of it. Just as the I need less thinking and more silent prayer, the world needs less Christian argument, and more Christian art. [ link ]

ARTS BEAT | NYT By Dave Itzkoff Rihanna posed for a photo in front of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. ABU DHABI---Rihanna was asked to leave the site of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi after posing for photographs there over the weekend that the shrine’s overseers said had violated the “sanctity” of the site. In photos that Rihanna posted on her Instagram and Twitter accounts, she is seen posing at the mosque site, in the United Arab Emirates capital city. Though she is fully covered in the photographs, with only her face, hands and painted fingernails visible in some of the shots, these images drew some negative responses from online commenters, like one who responded with an obscene word, adding: “Leave our holy place and keep your filth away from it. We don’t need you.” [ link ]

ARGUS LEADERS By Jill Callison Fifteenth-century map by Piri Reis of the coastline of Andalusia and the city of Granada. The Walters Museum of Art, Baltimore MICHIGAN--- Siouxland Libraries and the Multi-Cultural Center on Wednesday start a three-part program to promote an understanding of Islam and remove stereotypes. The library system is one of 840 libraries and state humanities councils across the United States selected to receive the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys program from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association. The program aims to familiarize public audiences with the people, places, history, faith and cultures of Muslims here and around the world. [ link ]

AHLULBAYT NEWS AGENCY "Magnetism" by Saudi artist Ahmed Mater depicts the Kaaba in Mecca IRAN---The Islamic Jurisprudent, Ayatollah Hussein Nouri Hamedani underscored the telling role of art to proselytize Non-Muslims to the divine religion of Islam. The religious cleric mentioned that using art for introducing the teachings and instruction of Islam and it is incumbent upon officials to give special attention to this realm. To the religious cleric, Art, its eye catching nature, have important effect on promotion of Islamic rules and doctrines. Qom Seminary instructor urged Islamic clerics not to turn a blind eye to this field, all the same using it to fulfill their religious objectives. Ayatollah Hussein Nouri Hamedani also warned about misusing art and called on Muslims to be more vigilant about this issue, taking their steps in the right track. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Isabel Kershner Much of Nazareth’s economy depends on tourism generated by its Christian past. ISRAEL---Ramiz Jaraisi has been the mayor of this bustling Arab city in northern Israel for nearly 20 years. For 20 years before that, he served as deputy mayor. The local party slate he heads, the Nazareth Democratic Front, a coalition of the Communist Party and other groups, has been running the city since 1975. There is a lot to be said for tradition and continuity in a city revered by Christians as the childhood home of Jesus. Though the city’s population of 80,000 is now about 70 percent Muslim, much of the economy of Nazareth, considered the capital of Israel’s Arab minority, depends on the tourism generated by its Christian past. [ link ]