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?
In other religious art news from across the USA, and around the world:
- Buddhist Art of Week: Lewis deSoto's inflatable "Paranirvana" to Saint Louis. [More News]
- Christian Art of Week: Artush Papoian's record-breaking Jesus statue in Syria. [More News]
-
Hindu Art of Week: Neha Choksi explores absence of self through presence. [More News]
-
Islamic Art of Week: Sandow Birk's personal illuminations of Islam's holy text. [More News]
-
Judaic Art of Week: Mária Lugossy's Kristallnacht scultpure in Cincinnati. [More News]
It's more than Art. It's Religion. We are believers (and skeptics too), united in the search for human meaning through art from the religious imagination. We believe in the artists and craftsman who dare to explore religious themes through their creativity.
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