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ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS By  TAHLIB The new film, “ Through a Lens Darkly ” on the history of black photographers features the work of Renée Cox (b. 1960), a Jamaican-born photographer, activist and curator. In her 1996 photograph "Yo Mama's Pieta" (above), which is highlighted in the film, Cox draws a controversial connection between the biblical crucifixion and American racism. The timing for the film's release coincided with this week's emotional funeral in Missouri for an unarmed black male killed by a white police officer. In honor of the family of Michael Brown, " Yo Mama's Pieta " by Renée Cox is my NEWS OF WEEK .

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Andy Webster Steve E. Bram, right, dances with Orthodox Jewish men during a visit to Israel, as seen in "Kabbalah Me," a documentary directed by him. Credit First Run Features HOLLYWOOD ---The filmmaker Steven E. Bram , a sports documentarian and the star of “ Kabbalah Me ,” was about to turn 50 and “hungry for a deeper spirituality,” he says. So he delved into kabbalah, a centuries-old mystical interpretation of the Torah. His film likens kabbalah to dessert: something to consume after internalizing the fundamentals of Judaism. Soon Mr. Bram’s friends and business partners, and even one of his daughters, are leery. But Mr. Bram reconnects with his heritage and finds a sustenance he has previously approached at Grateful Dead shows and with psychedelics.  [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Gardiiner Harris Nariman House in Mumbai, India, reopened Tuesday, six years after Pakistani militants killed six people there. George Rohr, who helped pay for the reopening, held a Torah at the ceremony. INDIA---With a cantor singing a benediction, more than two dozen black-hatted rabbis from around the world arrived here on Tuesday to reopen a Jewish center attacked and gutted during a 2008 killing rampage by Pakistani gunmen. The seven-story center will include a $2.5 million museum, yet to be completed, that will be the first in Mumbai to memorialize all of those killed in the attacks. One of the center’s floors will be left raw, with pockmarks and blast holes behind glass barriers to remind visitors of the devastation. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By A.O. Scott “Yo Mama's Pieta,” (1996) by photographer Renee Cox comments on racism by drawing on a biblical narrative in which blacks have often been excluded. Credit Renee Cox/First Run Features HOLLYWOOD ---To describe Thomas Allen Harris’s “ Through a Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People ” as a history of African-American photography would be accurate but incomplete. Inspired by the book “Reflections in Black” (2000), Deborah Willis’s groundbreaking and thorough excavation of a vital and neglected photographic tradition, Mr. Harris’s film is a family memoir, a tribute to unsung artists and a lyrical, at times heartbroken, meditation on imagery and identity. The film is always absorbing to watch, but only once it’s over do you begin to grasp the extent of its ambitions, and just how much it has done within a packed, compact hour and a half. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS By TAHLIB AUSTRALIA---Alfred University’s (AU) Drawn to Diversity 2014-15 Activist-Artist Series – “Exploring Equality Through Art” – kicks off Wednesday, Sept. 17, with illustrator/activist Vishavjit Singh . His talk, open to the public, begins at 8:20 a.m. in Nevins Theater, Powell Campus Center. Singh, a survivor of the 1984 genocidal killings of Sikhs in India, creates political cartoons that focus on the latest social, economic, and religious developments within the Sikh community and around the world. He also uses CosPlay, or costume role playing, to engage audiences in his lively presentations. His cartoons are created weekly and appear on his website, www.Sikhtoons.com . [ link ]

JACKSON HOLE NEWS & GUIDE By Frances Moody "RUN DMC" Silkscreen W gold leaf 30x22 2010 ED. 22/5 24kt WYOMING---A society persecuted by the Roman Empire, early Christians were considered outcasts. Eighteen hundred years later, Aaron Wallis says gangsters and drug dealers are the people who are harassed by legal authority. Playing with the idea of current-day counterculture and how it relates to the past, printmaker Wallis has taken the images of what he calls today’s alternative saints and has placed them in the context of early Christian art for his “ Street Bible Series .” [ link ] The Rose at Pink Garter Theatre: “ Street Bible 2: Da Return ,” (Ends September) 50 West Broadway, Jackson Hole, WY; (307) 733-1500; pinkgartertheatre.com.

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Roberta Smith Like a conjurer’s tent full of charms: an installation by R.M. Fischer at the B²OA Gallery. Credit A.B. Bovasso/B²OA NEW YORK--- R. M. Fischer is well into the second phase of his artistic career. In his latest show, at the B²OA project space, Mr. Fischer has backed off a bit from the labor-intensiveness of the stuffed works and moved on. Here Mr. Fischer borrows from folk and outsider art with the same slyness that he previously used with futurism. His crude stitching in threads of contrasting colors continues, a form of drawing that accounts for some of the works’ bristling energy. The metal rods and knobs from Phase 1 are also here, sometimes forming elaborate scaffoldings. They also provide a bit of a through line while confirming that Mr. Fischer will not be stopped. He will consume his earlier career to keep making art. Not for nothing is his show titled “Life Force.” [ link ]

THE JEWISH VOICE “Blessed is the Lord,” a mosaic by Walter Feldman RHODE ISLAND---Peace, blessings and health have been important words in the life of The Miriam Hospital since its founding by a group of women in Providence as a place for Jewish doctors to practice and a home for Jewish patients. Today, The Miriam’s roots are nowhere more evident than in the artwork on its walls. Art is everywhere, much of it with a Jewish focus. Walk into the main entrance and to the right is a showcase with a constantly changing exhibit. The latest is a display of beautiful Seder plates. To the left is a large round mosaic, “Blessed is the Lord,” the creation of Walter Feldman of Providence, who also created several paintings on display throughout the first floor of the hospital building. Feldman, a professor emeritus at Brown University, has created art in places around Providence, including in Temple Beth-El and Temple Emanu-El. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Erik Eckholm Five members of a breakaway Amish group waited to make their pleas in court in 2011. OHIO---A federal appeals court on Wednesday overturned the hate-crimes convictions of the leader of a breakaway Amish sect and his followers who sowed fear in the Amish of eastern Ohio in 2011 for a bizarre series of attacks in which they cut the hair and beards of rivals. While their hate-crimes convictions were voided, the defendants remain under indictment for those crimes and could be retried. Federal prosecutors have weeks to decide whether to appeal Wednesday’s decision, call for a new trial or drop the case. The convictions of Mr. Mullet and his followers for the lesser crime of obstruction of justice remain in place. In voiding the convictions, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in Cincinnati, ruled that the judge in the 2012 trial that convicted Mr. Mullet and 15 followers had given the jury an overly expansive definiti...

THE HUFFINGTON POST By Priscilla Frank Gelare Khoshgozaran rial & tERROR, 2011, Stereo Video Still Courtesy of the artist CALIFORNIA---How does the Western hemisphere view the Islamic world? Los Angeles/Islam Arts Initiative offers an alternative approach to understanding (or at least beginning to see) the so-called Islamic world, using art as a vessel. The first of its kind, LA/IA will bring together 30 cultural institutions from around L.A., focusing on both contemporary and traditional Islamic arts. The initiative isn't rigidly fastened to the religion of Islam; it features art by non-Muslim artists from Muslim-dominant countries, as well as work by Muslims creating art in non-Muslim dominant countries, and work by artists culturally influenced by Islam. [ link ]

ARTDAILY Tibetan Gilt and Pigment Painted Bronze Yama Dharmaraja, 18th/19th Century, height 23 inches. Estimate: $50,000-70,000. NEW YORK--- Doyle New York’s Asian Works of Art auction on Monday, September 15 at 10am presents the arts of China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia dating from the Neolithic Period through the 20th century. Offerings include jade, porcelain, pottery, bronzes, scholar’s objects, screens, snuff bottles, furniture and paintings. Chinese jades in the sale are highlighted by two lots from the Collection of Jerome M. and Rhoda S. Fischer. These include a pair of 19th century white jade bowls of chrysanthemum shape, diameter 6 7/8 inches (est. $30,000-50,000) and a pair of 18th century light celadon jade cups, diameter 4 1/2 inches (est. $25,000-35,000). [ link ]

BRIEBART NEWS By Mary Chastain Middle Eastern activist using protest art to voice opposition to ISIS Egyptian feminist Aliaa Magda Elmahdy , 23, challenges the strict nature of Islam on her blog and Facebook pages. She went a step further in her protest against the Islamic State (IS) with a photo of Elmahdy and a veiled woman pooping and menstruating on the black IS flag. Arab nations did not print the photo because the flag states “there is no God but Allah.” Elmahdy did not explain why she took the photo, but she protests Islamic laws, and IS implements strict Sharia Law. [ link ]

THE HINDU By Shankar Bennur Sand art has a unique position in Indian culture INDIA---A sand sculpture of the late scion of the Mysore royal family Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, seated on the throne, has been carved at the entrance of the Gangotri Glades Cricket Ground, on the Manasagangotri campus, as a mark of respect. Sand artist Gowri M.N., who created a sand sculpture of Wadiyar during Dasara at her sand museum on Chamundi Hill Road here, was approached for the job. [ link ]

THE TIMES-PICAYUNE By Kara Martinez Bachman Menorahs at the Northshore Jewish Congregation's Hanukkah celebration, 2009.  LOUISIANA---The Olde Towne Arts Center will present "Tradition," an exhibit of Judaica and art, to be on display in the OFFStage Gallery of Slidell Little Theatre from Aug. 22 through Sept. 1. The exhibit of items from the Jewish culture coincides with the theater's "tradition" theme for the 2014-15 season, and with the production of the beloved musical "Fiddler on the Roof," which explores the question of tradition through the eyes of a Jewish family.  [ link ]

BANGKOK POST Photo by Jetjaras Na Ranong THAILAND---Have you ever been to a Buddhist temple that has statues of a pirate, an American Indian, a Viking, ancient Chinese warriors, cupids, Che Guevara, a Pharoah, mythological figures and other world famous characters all gathered in one place? Welcome to Pariwas Ratchasongkram temple on Rama 3 area. According to the temple's chief sculptor, art has no boundaries or rules and he hopes that his artwork will attract more visitors to the holy site. [ link ]

CBC NEWS Aerial image of the museum. CANADA---The first museum in North America that will display only Islamic art will open to the public next month in Toronto. The Aga Khan Museum's permanent collection will be the Aga Khan's personal family collection, which consists of about 1,000 pieces. That may sound small, but some of those artifacts are considered to be among the most significant in Islamic art history. It opens to the public on Sept. 18 at 77 Wynford Dr., in the Don Mills Rd-Eglinton Ave. East. area. [ link ]

CINCINNATI CITYBEAT By Kathy Schwartz "After Memling’s Portrait of a Man in a Red Hat" by Kehinde Wiley OHIO---“Sexy” and “hot” aren’t adjectives that spring to mind when thinking about the stately museum and its collection. But those words do describe the international star power of New York-based artist Kehinde Wiley . And it’s tough to imagine a place better suited for his small-yet-bold Memling series than the Taft. Wiley’s signature is to rethink the Old Masters with a modern eye. Some of these canvases, measuring about 72-by-96 inches, have loomed large at 21c Museum Hotel Cincinnati. But in 2013, Wiley shifted his style to create a collection of intimate (15-by-20 and smaller) paintings modeled after portraits by 15th century Flemish painter Hans Memling. The small exhibit compels the viewer to spend time getting to know each portrait and to seek out the young man’s name inscribed on the triptych doors. [ link ] Taft Museum of Art: " Kehinde Wiley: Memlin...

THE REPUBLICAN By Cori Urban The art of Nathan Hilu is on display at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst. NEW YORK---There’s an urgency to Nathan Hilu’s art. “He wants to share his observations and thoughts about his life, and he has an urgency to be certain his … viewers fully understand the background of the images he’s presenting,” said Laura E. Kruger, curator of the Hebrew Union College Museum in New York City where several hundred pieces of Hilu’s artwork are archived. She prepared the traveling exhibition, “Nathan Hilu’s Journal: Word, Image, Memory" on display at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst. [ link ] “Nathan Hilu’s Journal: Word, Image, Memory" runs through Sept 30 at the Yiddish Book Center's Brechner Gallery; the center is open Sunday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, go to www.yiddishbookcenter.org/exhibit/nathan-hilu’s-journal-word-image-memory .

RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL By Johnathon Wright Islamic architecture, gardens, religion and art, and Doris Duke’s collection. Courtesy of Nasher Museum NEVADA---An urge to preciseness, to aesthetic numeration, comes over me as I walk through "Doris Duke's Shangri La," the exhibit of Islamic art running through Aug. 31 at the Nevada Museum of Art. Exactly how many tiles are in that stonepaste panel? How many arabesques (repeating geometric shapes) compose that screen? "There is a purpose and meaning behind everything," said Amanda Horn of the NMA, who guides my tour. Take those arabesques. Their sheer multiplicity often is used to symbolize the infinity of God. [ link ] Nevada Museum of Art: "Doris Duke's Shangri La: Architecture, Landscape and Islamic Art," (Ends Aug. 31); 160 W. Liberty St., Reno, NV; nevadaart.org

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS By TAHLIB Jerad Sears, worship arts pastor at Grace Point Church, greets visitors during the grand opening of the Story gallery. Behind him is the gallery’s one permanent piece: “Scattering Seeds” by church member Carlsen-Rogers. ARKANSAS---"In the beginning there was art" wrote Laurinda Joenks for the Northwest Arkansas Times announcing the churches new art gallery. That's the storyline behind a new art gallery at Grace Point Church in Missouri. Located at 1201 N.E. McCollum Dr., Bentonville, Arkansas, the gallery opened “Connecting the Dots” featuing works by Heidi Carlsen-Rogers , a member of the congregation. Upcoming Exhibits include “Artisan Stories,” with pieces by various artists in various media, Sept. 14 to Oct. 5; and “Work: A Curse or Calling,” the first of three exhibits by Christians in the Visual Arts, Oct. 8 to Nov. 5. For more information contact meg@gracepointchurch.net.

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Azam Ahmed Bahia Mamo, 13, in a refugee camp in northern Iraq. “We left our homes and they took Yazidi girls,” she said of ISIS militants. “I am crying because of everything we left behind.” IRAQ---Some Iraqis fear that the plight of the Yazidis, thousands of whom are missing or have been massacred by ISIS fighters, could be a harbinger of a return to the sectarian nightmare of 2006 and 2007, when neighbors turned against neighbors. As ISIS has advanced, more than 400,000 Yazidis, who follow an ancient religion with roots in Muslim and Zoroastrian traditions, have been forced to flee their enclaves. “I called my closest friend after we fled, an Arab man who owned a shop in our village,” said a Yazidi man who identified himself only as Haso, declining to give his first name out of fear of reprisal. “When I asked him what he was doing, he told me he was looking for Yazidis to kill.” [ link ]

THE CHRISTIAN POST By Michael Gryboski East County Performing Arts Center in El Cajon, California. CALIFORNIA---A megachurch based in San Diego is eyeing the usage of a shuttered performing arts center, which may involve paying El Cajon approximately $1 million over five years which the city hopes will help reopen the facility and revitalize the community. The Rock Church of San Diego and city officials are in negotiations over usage of the closed East County Performing Arts Center. Brett Channing, assistant to the City Manager for El Cajon, told The Christian Post that the Arts Center had been shuttered since the end of 2009. [ link ]

THE WEEK MAGAZINE By Jonathan Merritt Does it matter if the lyrics you sing to worship God were written by someone with whom you have deep theological disagreements? Christian rock star Vicky Beeching forced her fans to confront this question last week when she told The Independent that she is a lesbian. Her songs are among the most commonly sung in North American churches. But many within her Christian fan base believe gay sex and marriage are sinful. Beeching isn't the first major faith-filled musician to come out of the closet or change his or her views. The shift began in 2004, when Christian musician Ray Boltz , whose songs had become staples in evangelical churches and Christian conferences, came out as gay. Then, in 2009, the Grammy-nominated Anthony Williams (stage name: T onex ) became the first openly gay gospel artist. In 2010, Christian singer Jennifer Knapp came out as a lesbian. [ link ]

THE HUFFINGTON POST By S. Brent Plate "Given" 4'x8' by Erling Hope NEW YORK---On a breezy summer day, I joined a group of artists and writers in the basement of the Liberty Bar in midtown Manhattan to discuss the many places religious life meets the visual arts.* Contrary to the shortsighted views of secular art critics, one thing is clear: religion is alive and well in contemporary art. The religious and the aesthetic have never been far apart. My own shortlist of contemporaries includes Shahzia Sikander, Anselm Kiefer, Andy Goldsworthy, Ann Hamilton, Atta Kim, Bill Viola, Theaster Gates, Meredith Monk, Sanford Biggers , and James Turrell . [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS By TAHLIB One of the fiberglass sculptures created by Reda Abdel Rahman WASHINGTON, DC---The international interfaith arts exhibit "AMEN: A Prayer for the World" premieres in the US on September 4 at the Washington National Cathedral. The exhibition and program are organized by CARAVAN, based in the UK, and features sculpted figures by Egyptian artist Reda Abdel Rahman, in four poses of prayer that symbolize human diversity, community, and the many forms prayer can take. Other participating artists decorated the life-sized fiberglass sculptures. Twenty-five donkeys , painted by Egyptian and UK artists were previously on display in London. These figures join 18 figures painted by Western artists for a joint exhibition at Washington National Cathedral; all 48 figures then continue to St. John the Divine in New York City. Learn more at www.nationalcathedral.org or www.oncaravan.org .

INDIA EDUCATION DIARY INDIA--- Janab Anis Siddiqui , a renowned artist of Islamic Urdu calligraphy from Jamia Millia Islamia, will display his works in an exhibition called “Divinity in Syllables” – Exhibition of Buddhist Bhoti and Islamic Urdu calligraphy curated by Kshipra Simon. The exhibition shall also showcase the works of Jamyang Dorjee Chakrishar, one of the most respected Buddhist teachers and foremost Buddhist Bhoti calligrapher. Together Buddhist and Islamic calligraphy epitomize ancient wisdom and message of the divine for the benefit of the mankind and all sentient beings. [l ink ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS By TAHLIB "The Underground Railroad" (1893) by Charles Weber features Quaker abolitionist Levi Coffin and his wife Catherine who helped more than 2,000 slaves escape to freedom. Courtesy of the Cincinnati Art Museum. UGANDA---During America's Underground Railroad movement of the 1800s, the Quakers are most often credited as the most organized Christian denomination in the effort to bring slaves to freedom via the Underground Railroad, and they are doing it again in Africa. This time however, the Quakers are helping to transport Gay Ugandans from persecution, including execution from extremist Christians along a new Underground Railroad. Over the past month, Ugandan activists have reported the horrific murders of LGBT individuals in a rural zone of the country: gay men, lesbians and a transperson. “They were killed by stoning. One who survived (still breathing after stoning) was burnt alive using kerosene/paraffin and a match box,” stated a w...

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Editorial Board The United States cannot go it alone in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the extremist group known as ISIS whose ruthlessness and killing has dumbfounded and horrified the civilized world. American airstrikes and other assistance from the United States have brought some measure of relief to religious minorities and others that ISIS has threatened. But defeating, or even substantially degrading, ISIS will require an organized, longer-term response involving a broad coalition of nations, including other Muslim countries, and addressing not only the military threat but political and religious issues. The recent persecution of Christians and Yazidis and the murder of James Foley, an American journalist, has brought ISIS’s savagery into full view. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS By TAHLIB "Madonna & Child With St. Anne and Other Saints" by Simon Shawn Andrews Monday's Madonna and Child is by Canadian artist Simon Shawn Andrews, and includes "Saint Anne and Other Saints." "Every painting is in oil," writes Andrews on his website. "I try to use the highest quality oil brands I can afford. The painting substrates are usually 1/8 or 1/4inch thick prepared masonite or birch panel. Larger paintings are on cradled panel. I use different surface preparation depending on my mood and availability. I do not do commissions." [ Purchase ]

BROADWAY TODAY Cross-stitch technique often used in late 19th century Jewish ceremonial textiles. NEW YORK---Showcasing a colorful patchwork quilt bearing Eastern European and American imagery, " Masterpieces & Curiosities: A Russian American Quilt " continues a series of exhibitions focused on individual works in the Jewish Museum's world-renowned collection. On view from, August 22, 2014 to February 1, 2015, this exhibition highlights a rare quilt (c. 1899), a fascinating expression of the acculturation process undergone by newly arrived immigrants. The quilt was owned by a Russian Jewish family that likely arrived in America during the late 19th century and incorporates imagery from both cultures. [ link ]

THE HUFFINGTON POST By Antonia Blumberg NEW YORK---Tibetan Buddhist deity Sarvavid Vairocana, also referred to as the All-knowing Buddha, embodies a visualization practice that is said to lead meditators to enlightenment. Typically taught as an oral tradition by experienced teachers, the visualization practice comes alive this October in an exhibition of sacred Buddhist art at the Rubin Museum in New York City. " The All-Knowing Buddha: A Secret Guide " is a collection of 54 paintings and accompanying sculptures that illustrate a step-by-step guide to the ritual process of visualization. The exhibition brings together Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese works collected by a European missionary in Inner Mongolia during the turn of the 20th century. [ link ]

THE JAKARATA GLOBE By Tunggul Wirajuda A central features of Rasmono Sudarjo's painting is his use of light. (JG Photos/Tunggul Wirajuda) INDONESIA---For the painter Rasmono Sudarjo , portraying Mount Bromo and its neighboring peaks of Semeru and Tengger in a new light is all in a day’s work. Instead of taking the higher ground to show Bromo’s iconic crater or the green ridgelines ubiquitous to the three peaks, the 67-year-old chose to portray the “Sea of Sands” in the painting “Bromo.” Beams of sunlight shine on the ceremonial procession, affirming the participants’ belief that a divine presence is heeding them. Rasmono also pays tribute to the age-old ceremony for its timelessness, and how it and other traditional religious ceremonies seem to confirm the Balinese people’s identity. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS By TAHLIB Detail of "Deep Down" (2014) by Phil O'Malley INDIANA---"Deep Down" by Phil O’Malley is a site-specific 20" x 40" work is currently on display in the Main Lobby of Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University. The work is part of a new series of works exploring the moment of conception. O’Malley lived his first decade about forty miles west of Cape Cod followed with the past four decades painting in the Midwest, but is now a resident of Indianapolis. Created on the stage at Clowes Hall, this 800 square feet partnership between a visual artist and performing artist has raised $7,400 of a $10,000 goal to support the creation and installation of this monumental Wall Project. [ Donate ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Ken Johnson BROADWAY---Somewhere in New Jersey in the early 1950s, an artist who was once famous and his wife live alone in an oceanside mansion. Bitter, aging and in ill health, he hasn’t painted for more than 10 years. One day, the couple receive a visitor, an imperious woman of a certain age. Over the course of a single afternoon, the curator, the painter and his wife engage in a harrowing rehash of their history in a nearly empty studio. The women try to persuade the artist to resume working, but he resists, unable to let go of his festering grievances. This is what transpires in “ Bauer ,” a three-character play by Lauren Gunderson, which begins performances Sept. 2 at 59E59 Theaters in Manhattan. [ link ] " Bauer " at 59E59 Theaters is located at 59 East 59th Street between Madison and Park Avenues.

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS By  TAHLIB During these days when religious persecution seems the norm, who are the  Yazidi ? Two-weeks ago their persecution in Iraq brought them to our attention. The Yazidis are a tiny religious group who believe in one God as creator of the world who placed our care in the hands of seven angels including Tawsi Melek , the " Peacock Angel ." Today we know their sacred symbol is the peacock. We also know they do not wear the color blue (perhaps because of the blue in the peacock). What we also know is that those who murdered journalist James Foley are seeking to destroy the Yazidi and their religious art, and that's why their " Peacock Angel " is my NEWS OF WEEK .

THE NEW YORK TIMES By David DeWitt Hugo Catalán, left, and Emilio von Sternenfels in Julián Hernández’s film. Credit Breaking Glass Pictures H OLLYWOOD ---It’s such a poetic title, “I Am Happiness on Earth,” but it’s also a purposeful con. On earth, in the Mexican director Julián Hernández’s artful vision , there’s not much happiness, at least not in the dour, sexually explicit couplings and triplings among the men and women in this film. If you hang on, the slow-paced “ I Am Happiness ” may teach you how to appreciate its scoreless, flat, dreamlike flow. I wasn’t convinced; at one point my notes included the gut reaction “This is awful.” But the film does land somewhere — clichéd, but still — and I grew to respect its aims. [ link ]

NYT | SUNDAY MAGAZINE By James Gleick Pablo Delcán For the last half-century we’ve had a popular notion that our intellectual culture is sundered in two — the literary and the scientific. Which side are you on? V ikram Chandra is a wonderful novelist and apparently knows his way around an algorithm, too. His new book is an unexpected tour de force, different from anything he has done before. It has the oddly off-putting title “Geek Sublime,” which disguises its ambition: to look deeply, and with great subtlety, into the connections and tensions between the worlds — the cultures — of technology and art. Chandra begins a journey into what he calls the Sanskrit cosmopolis: “the Sanskrit-speaking and writing ecumene which, at its height, sprawled from Afghanistan to Java, across dozens of kingdoms, languages and cultures.” [ link ] GEEK SUBLIME The Beauty of Code, the Code of Beauty By Vikram Chandra Illustrated. 236 pp. Graywolf Press. Paper, $16.

THE NEW YORK TIMES By David DeWitt People bargain at a market in Xining, Qinghai province, for caterpillar fungus. . Courtesy of China Daily. HOLLYWOOD ---Quietly observant, “Precious Caterpillar” is a grass-roots documentary — or a dirt documentary, given that it’s devoted to watching Tibetans dig for caterpillar fungus. That’s the movie. “ Precious Caterpillar ,” part of the ContemporAsian film series at the Museum of Modern Art, focuses mostly on Tsondru, a former monk who farms for his livelihood and each year becomes a migrant fungus gatherer. Well meaning though it is, “Precious Caterpillar” is sometimes hard to follow, and only the rare audience member will find it absorbing. But it has a Zen appeal. Sometimes the smallest action — seen just as it is, without elaboration — reveals a broader interdependent reality. Even a system that hinges on the finger-size remains of a grubby insect.  [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Melena Ryzik Slide Show - 12 Images by Sasha Maslov for The New York Times NEW YORK---With a glowing paper cutout pinned over her heart, the artist known as Swoon led a procession through the Brooklyn Museum early one summer night to her installation “ Submerged Motherlands ,” a site-specific jumble that includes two cantilevered rafts, seemingly cobbled out of junk; a tree, of fabric and wire, that reaches to the rotunda; and nooks of stenciled portraits. Since she began illegally pasting images around the city 15 years ago, Swoon has inspired a lot of wonderment. Born Caledonia Curry, she started her career as a street artist, but quickly leapfrogged to the attention of gallerists and museum curators, which let her expand to installation and performance art, often with an activist, progressive bent. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Melissa Eddy Lost in Translation: Germany's Fascination With the American Old West GERMANY---Hans Grunert is no stranger to requests from Native Americans regarding the display of sacred items among the headdresses, moccasins, jewelry and hundreds of other artifacts at the Karl May Museum , housed in a faux-log cabin behind a stately 19th-century villa in this eastern German town. “Up to now, scalps have always been considered war trophies,” Mr. Grunert said. The tussles over ownership of the scalps have come to reflect a broader cultural clash between the changing mores surrounding the care and repatriation of human remains in the United States and the fascination of many Germans with the mythology of the American West, celebrated to this day in countless summer festivals and literature. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Ben Brantley Nic Rouleau, center, stars as Elder Cunningham in the current company of “The Book of Mormon” on Broadway. Credit Joan Marcus NEW YORK---Clean living, it would seem, really does keep a body healthy. Just look at those nonsmoking, nondrinking boys in “ The Book of Mormon .” They’ve been hanging around in the insalubrious, soul-sapping environs of Broadway for more than three years. Yet they don’t look a day older than when they arrived. Three years is a long time for a peppy musical to stay peppy. But gosh darn it if I didn’t feel born again all over again, ready to spread the word about the faith that this show preaches and, more important, practices. I do not mean the religion of the followers of Joseph Smith, which is so scrupulously disassembled here, but the holy faith of musical comedy, into which my mama baptized me before I could walk. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Ronald S. Lauder WHY is the world silent while Christians are being slaughtered in the Middle East and Africa? In Europe and in the United States, we have witnessed demonstrations over the tragic deaths of Palestinians who have been used as human shields by Hamas, the terrorist organization that controls Gaza. I write this as a Jewish leader who cares about my Christian brothers and sisters. The Jewish people understand all too well what can happen when the world is silent. This campaign of death must be stopped.  [ link ]   Ronald S. Lauder is the president of the World Jewish Congress.

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES By Carolina A. Miranda George Awde, Untitled, 2013, inkjet print. Image courtesy of the artist CALIFORNIA---A series of exhibitions scheduled to land in Los Angeles starting in September should help open some minds. The Los Angeles/Islam Arts Initiative (LA/IAI) , led by the Department of Cultural Affairs, will bring together nearly 30 cultural institutions in the L.A. area to stage exhibitions and events that will tell the story of Islamic art around the world. This should offer some perspective on the culture of a region whose politics and traditions are often oversimplified, when they aren't serving as a source of outright caricature. The initiative will consist of dozens of exhibitions, screenings, lectures and symposia covering topics as varied as decorative objects, contemporary art, folk traditions and architectural photography. [ link ]

THE HINDU Yazidi temple in Lalesh INDIA---A painting in the manner of Indian calendar art on the wall of a Yazidi temple in Lalesh, Northern Iraq. The Yazidis, facing attacks by IS militants, are a Kurdish-speaking minority in Iraq. Their religion is said to have similarities with Hinduism. They worship Melek Tawwus, or the Peacock Angel. Photo: Eric Lafforgue. [ link ]

THE EPOCH TIMES By April Holloway Photo: One of the Buddha statues at Yungang Grottoes in Datong, China. CHINA---The Yungang Grottoes are ancient Chinese Buddhist temple grottoes near the city of Datong in the province of Shanxi. They are excellent examples of rock-cut architecture and one of the three most famous ancient Buddhist sculptural sites of China. With their 252 caves and 51,000 statues, the Yungang Grottoes represent the outstanding achievement of Buddhist cave art in China in the 5th and 6th centuries and the power and endurance of Buddhist belief in China. The colossal Buddhist statues that sit within the Cliffside caves have survived the rise and fall of dynasties, wars, and revolutions, but it is the harmful effects of modern-day living, including industrial pollution, which is the greatest threat to these ancient wonders, according to reports. [ link ]

NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTER By Father Roger Landry A Religious Black Mass will be conducted as a public event to help educate the public about Religious Satanism. OKLAHOMA---As Catholics in Oklahoma valiantly rally to stop a Sept. 21 Satanic “black Mass” at the Oklahoma City Civic Center Music Hall, there’s much that those outside of the Sooner State can do to augment their efforts. In May, I was part of a large group that assisted Catholic students successfully to shut down the May 12 re-enactment of a Satanic mass on the Harvard campus. The first thing we did was to frame what was happening in terms by which Catholics and non-Catholics alike would be motivated to support us. For non-Catholics, we tried to convey that the Eucharist is the most sacred reality of Catholic life and worship. To desecrate the Eucharist is at least for Catholics equally revolting to our sensibilities as would be the burning of the Qu’ran for Muslims or the defacing of the Torah for Jews — outrageous ac...

OPEDNEWS.COM By Bernard Starr "Christ in a Landscape" by Jan Swart Van Groningen. About 1530-1540. Collection of Musee des beaux-arts de Montreal In a strong statement that challenges the historic divide between Christianity and Judaism, Pope Francis recently proclaimed , "Inside every Christian is a Jew." But if you look at Renaissance artworks that depict Jesus, you will not find any evidence of a Jew inside the Christianized Jesus --even though the Gospels in the New Testament tell us that Jesus was Jewish to the core . Getting that point across to the public is a daunting task, as I learned in interviews I conducted for my book Jesus Uncensored: Restoring the Authentic Jew . Recently I've discovered that some people firmly state that Jesus was Jewish but at the same time deny it. [ link ]

STATESMAN JOURNAL  By Hank Arends Love expression tattoo that is inspired from the song of Solomon and says “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” There was a day when tattoos mainly were on sailors or bikers. Rabbi Daniel Aronson of Temple Beth Shalom in South Salem said — like other faiths — there are divided opinions in Judaism on receiving tattoos. "When people see Rabbi Klaven's expressions of Jewish pride and commitment engraved on his body — yes, there are others — many undoubtedly question whether Jews, let alone rabbis, are permitted by Jewish law to have tattoos." Aronson answered with "it depends." Some point to Leviticus 19:28 prohibiting the "marking" of one self. Others say that scripture had to do with idolatrous purpose or images of God. The rabbi noted, "In short, whether Judaism permits tattoos is a legitimate matter of debate." [ link ] Hank Arends is a retired religion/community events writer for the Statesman...

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS By  TAHLIB Moroccan artist Batoul S’Himi  carves the geopolitical maps of the world into pressure cookers and meat cleavers. Her visually stunning works were recently featured at Rose Issa Projects in London, where she is represented. S’Himi began exploring this idea well before the Arab Spring, and today continues to transform these recycled objects of daily life into tools of resistance. You can find her work in the collections of The National Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian Institution and the Barjeel Art Foundation in the United Arab Emirates. As the world boils , Batoul S’Himi's " World Under Pressure " (above) is my NEWS OF WEEK .

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES By Sangeetha Seshagiri Devotees try to form a human pyramid to break a clay pot containing curd during the celebrations to mark the Hindu festival of Janmashtami in Mumbai. Janmashtami, which marks the birthday of Hindu god Krishna, is being celebrated across the country. Reuters INDIA---Devotees are celebrating Janmashtami on Sunday to mark the birth of Lord Krishna. Krishna is regarded as the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The lord was born to king Vasudeva and Devaki of Mathura at midnight on the eighth day of the Shravan month in the Hindu calendar. Devotees also observe Dahi Handi and Rasa Lila as part of the celebrations. Dahi Handi is celebrated based on the legend that Krishna would steal butter from gopis (milkmaids) of Vrindavan. To celebrate Dahi Handi, an earthen pot filled with buttermilk is placed at a particular height. A human pyramid is formed to break the earthen pot. This festival is very popular in Maharashtra. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS By TAHLIB "Love Letter" by Ruch Schreiber ITALY--- Ruth Schreiber's hand-built porcelain work “Love Letter” is inspired by the practice of over one million slips of paper containing written prayers that are slipped into the crevices of the Western Wall each year. "Love Letter" is included in the exhibition “Hear O Israel” in the Omero Museum, Alcona, Italy, as part of the European Day of Jewish Culture 2014, running from Sept 14th-28th. In Judaism, the Western Wall also known as the Wailing Wall, lies on the Temple Mount and is venerated as the sole remnant of the Jewish people's ancient Holy Temple.

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Holland Cotter "When I Believed, What I Believed" (center, and, from left, "Movements (Stage I), "Movements (Stage II)," and "Movements (Variations III)," by Jim Hodges   MASSACHUSETTS---In the 21st century, we tend to talk about new art in terms of medium and style: Performance is back, painting is back, Pop is back, and so on. But for roughly a decade, from the late 1980s to the late 1990s, the emphasis was on ideas and emotions. Even spirituality, which the New York art world handles with tongs, became an admissible subject. Jim Hodges’s career as an artist began in that in-extremis time. Mr. Hodges was shaped by it and helped shape the art that came out of it. Gay, raised Roman Catholic, living in the AIDS war zone that was New York City, he favored craft-based forms, ephemeral and found materials, and images — flowers, butterflies — traditionally associated with mortality and transience. You’ll find all of this in “ J...