2013: The 10 Best Religious Art Shows of Year
ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB
Islamic art dominated the art news during the past several years, but the year 2013 was different. In contrast to 2012 and 2011, we've just exited a year where both galleries and museums alike were on fire with a desire to spotlight the colorful diversity of the world's religious imaginations in bold new ways. There was a rich mix of ambitious new art works in galleries, and museums experimented with innovative new forms of storytelling. Is an art movement that looks inward, the new path to help see our neighbors worldwide? For now, the answer seems to be yes. Below, are my highlights for 2013.
#1. “Takashi Murakami: Buddhism's Storied Eightfold Path”
Blum & Poe gallery in Los Angeles
Buddha could not have envisioned a psychedelic teaching format for "The Eightfold Path" of Buddhism but in this age of vibrant color and sharp contrasts, Takashi Murakami has done Buddhism a real service by introducing his message to today's audiences. This past May, Murakami highlighted the eight divisions of the path to achieve spiritual enlightenment and cease suffering guided by a small army of saintly figures: the Arhat. With a frenetic intensity that brings to mind anxiety about death and suffering, Murakami combined his signature pop art colors, along with acrylic, gold and platinum leaf to transform these "perfected ones" with miraculous powers into guides for the new Buddhists of today.
#2. "Marc Chagall: Love, War, and Exile"
At the Jewish Museum of New York
Deceased since 1985, the Jewish artist Marc Chagall dominated the religious art news this fall. Drawing on elements from richly colored folk art motifs, Cubism, and Surrealism, it is his use of the symbols of the crucifixion and his depiction of the suffering of Jesus at the hands of fascists that continue to drawn thousands of non-Jews to the Jewish Museum of New York. Described by art critics as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century" he has been cited as the favorite artist of Roman Catholic Pope Francis and even American evangelicals claim him as one of their own. The exhibition includes 31 paintings and 22 works on paper and continues through February.
#3. "Saints Alive" by Michael Landy
At National Gallery, London
"Saints Alive" is not America's view of religious history, or religious art, but every Christian who got a chance in 2013 will not soon forget their taste of Michael Landy's view of Christianity. His series of towering kinetic sculptures creaked, and swiveled, and turned to tell of the gory drama of the martyrdom of some of histories most well known saints. Landy used machinery parts, cogs, and rusted wheels to create his gathering of clanky Saints. Visitors saw Saint Lucy plucking out her eyes; Saint Apollonia bashing in her teeth; Saint Peter, of the 13th-century having his head cleaved open with an axe; and the Archangel Saint Michael weighing the souls of the dead. It's the kind of twisted, farcical and over-the-top storytelling that the Brits seem to love, and which I was drawn to see. If you got the chance in London, consider yourself a lucky American. The show ended in November.
#4. "Yoga: The Art of Transformation"
At the Arthur Sackler Gallery, Wash., D.C.
Yoga is far more than we imagined, and so the curators at the Smithsonian Institute decided to explain it to us. Originating from Hinduism about 2,000 years ago, it is now claimed by many others including Buddhists, Jains, and a few Jewish friends I know too. At it's core, it is a spiritual and ascetic discipline that includes breath control, meditation, and specific bodily postures practiced for health and/or enlightenment. The Smithsonian introduces this complex history through the display of 133 artifacts (Indian sculptures, manuscripts and paintings, as well as posters, illustrations, photographs and films), which contradict many popular assumptions about religion and hippies. Holland Cotter, of The New York Times described it as one of his most anticipated shows in an "unusually interesting" season ahead for 2013-2014; and museum officials believe it is the first exhibition about the visual history and art of yoga, its origins and evolution over time. If you can't get to D.C. by January 26, the show is set to travel to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and to the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2014.
#5. "The Whole Truth, everything you wanted to know about Jews"
At the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany
The most provocative museum experiment of the year 2013 has to have been putting "Jews in a Box". The art world loves big and risky expressions of otherness, but Judaism is often a sacred cow in the art world and especially in Germany where it is a criminal act to deny the Holocaust or that six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. However, in Germany today there are still many neo-nazis groups who promote hate, deny the holocaust and continue to harass members of what is now a tiny Jewish population. In the face of this, a new show opened at the Jewish Museum in Berlin where a Jew sat in a clear box for two hours every day answering questions about Jewish life and culture. The exhibit was called, "The Whole Truth, everything you wanted to know about Jews," and I was struck by the simplicity of the experiment, but also the ingenuity. Such an exhibition format offers a real opportunity for other museums to explore religious and cultural identities, and to help visitors know more about people they never had the chance to met.
#6. Manjari Sharma: Connecting Hindu Gods and Humans
At ClampArt Gallery, New York City
When I discovered the photographs of Manjari Sharma at ClampArt Gallery in Chelsea, I was giddy with excitement over a new way to understand Hinduism visually. Born in India, Manjari studied photography in my home state of Ohio, produces her art in Mumbai, and shows it in NYC. Exploring notions of the sacred, form, space, color, and surface with the quiet power of photography, she is transforming traditional views about Hindu art. In India, I've observed that there is often little separation between religion and state, and you see paintings and other representations of Hindu gods everywhere including in taxicabs and government offices. But, of course these are prints of paintings, not photographs of the gods. Ms. Sharma's elaborate Darshan Project involved recruiting dozens of artisans and craftspeople to create sets, costumes and prosthetics, such as in a film to transform a person and take photos of a god.
#7. Religious Benches of Wood Sculptor Francis Cape
At the Murray Guy Gallery, New York City
The idea of church pews inside a Manhattan art gallery originally struck me as odd, but that changed as I reflected on the grand American experiment of Utopian communities, and I saw the benches all made of poplar sitting together. The benches symbolize a romantic American ideal lost to another time. I also found it interesting that an English-born sculptor and master woodworker would share my fascination with how art and design transform sacred space, and the people who enter in. His book, “We Sit Together: Utopian Benches From the Shakers to the Separatists of Zoar,” which I've not yet purchased has been described as "an engaging tour of craft, technology and community." Cape spent years exploring the craftsmanship of the communities but also the religious core of these communities, and their simplicity and plainness is captured in his series of benches, all crafted in poplar for artistic unity versus historical accuracy..
#8. "Paradise Lost" by Raqib Shaw
At the Pace Gallery, New York City
Either my condominium is too small, or Raqib Shaw's opulent nightmares are too big to live together. Filling three galleries, the Indian-born painter who reminds me of an Indian Pew-wee Herman fuses Hindu mythology and Christian visions of the apocalypse to transform spaces, and also the perspectives of the visitors inside. He begins by crafting intricate drawings on vellum parchment and then transferring them to absorbent, high-grain birchwood panels reinforced by metal. They look heavy because they are. Then, Mr. Shaw uses flammable enamels including auto paint to create fantasy characters in loud colors, including neon green and orange. His sculptures of athletic male nudes topped with the heads of reptiles, goats and bears demand attention, and his sparkling works dare you to touch them, which is why the security guards hover oh, so closely.
#9. "Golden Sea" by Makoto Fujimura
At the Dillon Gallery, New York City
When viewed online, the abstractness of Makoto Fujimura’s paintings teased but did not satisfy, and so after three years I finally went to see them in person. The exhibition, this past June, was an absolute revelation. "The process of creating renews my spirit, and I find myself attuned to the details of life rather than being stressed by being overwhelmed," he wrote in A Second Wind. "I find myself listening rather than shouting into the void." Using mineral fragments and gold on Belgian linen, he creates responses to the full range of emotions including awe, fear, and contentment. His recent paintings exist as cool fires, drawing you closer and closer, and are unwilling to let go until you listen. Until you see and hear, and what better thing to experience? Since then, I've bought the companion book of the same title, and his most recent book, Culture Care.
#10. Indian and Southeast Asian Art exhibition
At the Cleveland Museum of Art
Do you know more Hindus, Buddhists, or Atheists? In terms of religious identification, 76% of Americans are Christian, and 13% are non-religious, and less than 1% combined are Buddhist and Hindu. However, outside the U.S. where 67% are non-Christian, diversity matters a great deal. That's why the Cleveland Museum of Art's new exhibition wing is important. It showcases Buddhist and Hindu art and gives audiences a new way to travel with ease – artistically speaking – to engage with cultures distance and exotic, and according to experts it is one of the best collections nationally and internationally. Just days ago, before the opening of their new West Wing, the Cleveland Museum of Art even added a major Indian Islamic collection. It's now open, growing and waiting for you in 2014.
By TAHLIB
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| Detail in "Arhat" (2012) from Murakami's Buddhism series |
#1. “Takashi Murakami: Buddhism's Storied Eightfold Path”
Blum & Poe gallery in Los Angeles
Buddha could not have envisioned a psychedelic teaching format for "The Eightfold Path" of Buddhism but in this age of vibrant color and sharp contrasts, Takashi Murakami has done Buddhism a real service by introducing his message to today's audiences. This past May, Murakami highlighted the eight divisions of the path to achieve spiritual enlightenment and cease suffering guided by a small army of saintly figures: the Arhat. With a frenetic intensity that brings to mind anxiety about death and suffering, Murakami combined his signature pop art colors, along with acrylic, gold and platinum leaf to transform these "perfected ones" with miraculous powers into guides for the new Buddhists of today.
#2. "Marc Chagall: Love, War, and Exile"
At the Jewish Museum of New York
Deceased since 1985, the Jewish artist Marc Chagall dominated the religious art news this fall. Drawing on elements from richly colored folk art motifs, Cubism, and Surrealism, it is his use of the symbols of the crucifixion and his depiction of the suffering of Jesus at the hands of fascists that continue to drawn thousands of non-Jews to the Jewish Museum of New York. Described by art critics as "the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century" he has been cited as the favorite artist of Roman Catholic Pope Francis and even American evangelicals claim him as one of their own. The exhibition includes 31 paintings and 22 works on paper and continues through February.
#3. "Saints Alive" by Michael Landy
At National Gallery, London
"Saints Alive" is not America's view of religious history, or religious art, but every Christian who got a chance in 2013 will not soon forget their taste of Michael Landy's view of Christianity. His series of towering kinetic sculptures creaked, and swiveled, and turned to tell of the gory drama of the martyrdom of some of histories most well known saints. Landy used machinery parts, cogs, and rusted wheels to create his gathering of clanky Saints. Visitors saw Saint Lucy plucking out her eyes; Saint Apollonia bashing in her teeth; Saint Peter, of the 13th-century having his head cleaved open with an axe; and the Archangel Saint Michael weighing the souls of the dead. It's the kind of twisted, farcical and over-the-top storytelling that the Brits seem to love, and which I was drawn to see. If you got the chance in London, consider yourself a lucky American. The show ended in November.
#4. "Yoga: The Art of Transformation"
At the Arthur Sackler Gallery, Wash., D.C.
Yoga is far more than we imagined, and so the curators at the Smithsonian Institute decided to explain it to us. Originating from Hinduism about 2,000 years ago, it is now claimed by many others including Buddhists, Jains, and a few Jewish friends I know too. At it's core, it is a spiritual and ascetic discipline that includes breath control, meditation, and specific bodily postures practiced for health and/or enlightenment. The Smithsonian introduces this complex history through the display of 133 artifacts (Indian sculptures, manuscripts and paintings, as well as posters, illustrations, photographs and films), which contradict many popular assumptions about religion and hippies. Holland Cotter, of The New York Times described it as one of his most anticipated shows in an "unusually interesting" season ahead for 2013-2014; and museum officials believe it is the first exhibition about the visual history and art of yoga, its origins and evolution over time. If you can't get to D.C. by January 26, the show is set to travel to the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and to the Cleveland Museum of Art in 2014.
#5. "The Whole Truth, everything you wanted to know about Jews"
At the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany
The most provocative museum experiment of the year 2013 has to have been putting "Jews in a Box". The art world loves big and risky expressions of otherness, but Judaism is often a sacred cow in the art world and especially in Germany where it is a criminal act to deny the Holocaust or that six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. However, in Germany today there are still many neo-nazis groups who promote hate, deny the holocaust and continue to harass members of what is now a tiny Jewish population. In the face of this, a new show opened at the Jewish Museum in Berlin where a Jew sat in a clear box for two hours every day answering questions about Jewish life and culture. The exhibit was called, "The Whole Truth, everything you wanted to know about Jews," and I was struck by the simplicity of the experiment, but also the ingenuity. Such an exhibition format offers a real opportunity for other museums to explore religious and cultural identities, and to help visitors know more about people they never had the chance to met.
#6. Manjari Sharma: Connecting Hindu Gods and Humans
At ClampArt Gallery, New York City
When I discovered the photographs of Manjari Sharma at ClampArt Gallery in Chelsea, I was giddy with excitement over a new way to understand Hinduism visually. Born in India, Manjari studied photography in my home state of Ohio, produces her art in Mumbai, and shows it in NYC. Exploring notions of the sacred, form, space, color, and surface with the quiet power of photography, she is transforming traditional views about Hindu art. In India, I've observed that there is often little separation between religion and state, and you see paintings and other representations of Hindu gods everywhere including in taxicabs and government offices. But, of course these are prints of paintings, not photographs of the gods. Ms. Sharma's elaborate Darshan Project involved recruiting dozens of artisans and craftspeople to create sets, costumes and prosthetics, such as in a film to transform a person and take photos of a god.
#7. Religious Benches of Wood Sculptor Francis Cape
At the Murray Guy Gallery, New York City
The idea of church pews inside a Manhattan art gallery originally struck me as odd, but that changed as I reflected on the grand American experiment of Utopian communities, and I saw the benches all made of poplar sitting together. The benches symbolize a romantic American ideal lost to another time. I also found it interesting that an English-born sculptor and master woodworker would share my fascination with how art and design transform sacred space, and the people who enter in. His book, “We Sit Together: Utopian Benches From the Shakers to the Separatists of Zoar,” which I've not yet purchased has been described as "an engaging tour of craft, technology and community." Cape spent years exploring the craftsmanship of the communities but also the religious core of these communities, and their simplicity and plainness is captured in his series of benches, all crafted in poplar for artistic unity versus historical accuracy..
#8. "Paradise Lost" by Raqib Shaw
At the Pace Gallery, New York City
Either my condominium is too small, or Raqib Shaw's opulent nightmares are too big to live together. Filling three galleries, the Indian-born painter who reminds me of an Indian Pew-wee Herman fuses Hindu mythology and Christian visions of the apocalypse to transform spaces, and also the perspectives of the visitors inside. He begins by crafting intricate drawings on vellum parchment and then transferring them to absorbent, high-grain birchwood panels reinforced by metal. They look heavy because they are. Then, Mr. Shaw uses flammable enamels including auto paint to create fantasy characters in loud colors, including neon green and orange. His sculptures of athletic male nudes topped with the heads of reptiles, goats and bears demand attention, and his sparkling works dare you to touch them, which is why the security guards hover oh, so closely.
#9. "Golden Sea" by Makoto Fujimura
At the Dillon Gallery, New York City
When viewed online, the abstractness of Makoto Fujimura’s paintings teased but did not satisfy, and so after three years I finally went to see them in person. The exhibition, this past June, was an absolute revelation. "The process of creating renews my spirit, and I find myself attuned to the details of life rather than being stressed by being overwhelmed," he wrote in A Second Wind. "I find myself listening rather than shouting into the void." Using mineral fragments and gold on Belgian linen, he creates responses to the full range of emotions including awe, fear, and contentment. His recent paintings exist as cool fires, drawing you closer and closer, and are unwilling to let go until you listen. Until you see and hear, and what better thing to experience? Since then, I've bought the companion book of the same title, and his most recent book, Culture Care.
#10. Indian and Southeast Asian Art exhibition
At the Cleveland Museum of Art
Do you know more Hindus, Buddhists, or Atheists? In terms of religious identification, 76% of Americans are Christian, and 13% are non-religious, and less than 1% combined are Buddhist and Hindu. However, outside the U.S. where 67% are non-Christian, diversity matters a great deal. That's why the Cleveland Museum of Art's new exhibition wing is important. It showcases Buddhist and Hindu art and gives audiences a new way to travel with ease – artistically speaking – to engage with cultures distance and exotic, and according to experts it is one of the best collections nationally and internationally. Just days ago, before the opening of their new West Wing, the Cleveland Museum of Art even added a major Indian Islamic collection. It's now open, growing and waiting for you in 2014.