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THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By TAHLIB "If I Forget Thee o Jerusalem" now on view at the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas This past week, Texas-based artist Barbara Hine s was featured in The Houston Chronicle for her discovery that she has Jewish ancestors. Hines is an abstract painter whose recent work is inspired by her discovery of that religious connection. Hines paintings are now on display at the  Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas  in a show, titled " Mysteries, Signs and Wonders " at the museum's center for Jewish Art. Religious connections make " If I Forget Thee O Jerusalem " my NEWS OF WEEK .

THE NEW YORK TIMES By A. O. Scott Add caption HOLLYWOOD ---Like the great space epics of the past, Christopher Nolan’s “ Interstellar ” distills terrestrial anxieties and aspirations into a potent pop parable, a mirror of the mood down here on Earth. Stanley Kubrick’s “ 2001: A Space Odyssey ” blended the technological awe of the Apollo era with the trippy hopes and terrors of the Age of Aquarius. George Lucas’s first “ Star Wars ” trilogy, set not in the speculative future but in the imaginary past, answered the malaise of the ’70s with swashbuckling nostalgia. “Interstellar,” full of visual dazzle, thematic ambition, geek bait and corn (including the literal kind), is a sweeping, futuristic adventure driven by grief, dread and regret. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Dave Itzkoff The less-than-90-second trailer from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" offers a tiny glimpse at a movie to come in December 2015. Credit Lucasfilm Ltd HOLLYWOOD ---This will be a day long remembered by fans of science-fiction fantasies, aficionados of mega-budget movie franchises and viewers who regard the “Star Wars” series with a reverence bordering on the religious. On Friday morning, Lucasfilm released a teaser trailer online for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the first new live-action “Star Wars” film in nearly a decade, which will open theatrically in December 2015. Though less than 90 seconds long and offering only the barest glimpses of a motion picture that audiences cannot see for more than a year, the “Star Wars” trailer set off an instantaneous wave of online analysis and armchair commentary: a cycle of approval, criticism, and criticism of that criticism after the trailer’s release. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Ben Kenigsberg HOLLYWOOD ---The documentary “ Little White Lie ” would be provocative simply for what it says about race and identity. The director Lacey Schwartz grew up Jewish in Woodstock, N.Y., yet something seemed off. Only gradually did Ms. Schwartz, now 37, begin to suspect what might seem obvious to an outsider: that her biological father was black. “Little White Lie ” is, in part, the story of Ms. Schwartz’s evolving view of her background. The film is a searing portrait of collective denial — a diagnosis from which Ms. Schwartz doesn’t exempt herself.   This film has been designated as a Critics’ Pick . [ link ]

VARIETY By Scott Foundas HOLLYWOOD ---The ideal place to meet Ridley Scott would be on a raging battlefield, in the furthest reaches of outer space, or in the midst of any of the other vast canvases on which he creates his movies. Instead, we’re sitting in a basement salon at London’s trendy Ham Yard Hotel, where the 76-year-old director has parked himself, however briefly, to discuss his new biblical epic “ Exodus: Gods and Kings ,” and to ruminate on his long career. The box office gold standard for Bible movies, of course, remains Mel Gibson’s 2004 drama “The Passion of the Christ,” which grossed $612 million globally, and forced Hollywood to take note of a vocal and underserved Christian audience. [ link ]

THE HINDU By T. Appala Naidu Buddha idol in pure white colour from 2nd A.D. and 3rd A.D. period INDIA---A smiling Buddha idol made of Dachepalli limestone was unearthed from an agricultural field falling under Penneramma mound, a Buddhist site, at Ghantasala village in Krishna district. The idol, six inches in height and four inches width, was found by a local farmer while he was preparing land within the range of the mound, which witnessed flourishing Hinayana sect of Buddhism during the 2nd A.D and 3rd A.D. period. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Vanessa Friedman Models in designs by Calvin Thoo at the Islamic Fashion Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Credit Vincent Thian/Associated Press MALAYSIA---There are so many fashion weeks these days, from the Big Four (London, New York, Paris and Milan) to Tokyo, Rio, Miami and Abu Dhabi, among others, that I often think I could pass the year going from one to another, the way John Cheever’s Swimmer stroked his way across the pools of the suburbs. But even to a jaded observer, a fashion event took place last week that seemed — well, not like the other ones: the Islamic Fashion Festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I was not the only one who found it confusing. But that, it turned out, was precisely the point. [ link ]

ORISS DIARY Ratnagiri, Lalitgiri and Udayagiri in Jajpur district from an important Buddhist complex. CHINA---Magnificent remain of Buddhist edifices and images of the Vajrayana pantheon have been unearthed at Ratnagiri. The Buddhist art in the region attained a high degree of excellence under the patronage of the Bouma-Kararulers, most of whom were devout Buddhists, said Dr Bimalendu Mohanty the vice –president of Maha Bodhhi Society of India and the former vice-chancellor of Utkal university of culture on Saturday. Ratnagiri was an important centre of Buddhist art. Numerous Buddha idols were unearthed during excavation by the Archeological Survey of India under the supervision of Debdata Mitra between 1957 and 1961. [ link ]

ARTNEWS By Judith Harris A sculpture of the Holy Child in the church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome is a copy of a 15th-century original stolen in 1994. MATTHIAS KABEL/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS ITALY---Italy's embrassment of riches---with 50 officially recognized sites, it tops UNESCO World Heritage List---has long made the country particularly vunveralbe to looting. Neverleless, heritage heists have declined in recent years. In 2013, they dropped by one-quarter, to 676 from the previous year's 891. The drop can be attributed to that fact that museums are more closely guarded than in the past, and stolen objects, offeredn for sale at auction, art fairs, galleries, or online can be identified more easily thanks to the massive data bank maintained by the art squad of the Carbiniera paramilitary police. [ link ]

THE ART NEWSPAPER By Tim Cornwell Before and after EGYPT--- The story since the bomb blast at Cairo’s Museum of Islamic Art in January has brought twists worthy of a detective novel. Amid reports that social unrest and economic crisis in Egypt may be fuelling the black market in cultural artefacts, photographs have emerged showing that a large wooden frieze has been stripped from the interior of the 1304 Mausoleum of Salar and Sanjar, in Saliba Street, old Cairo. Doris Behrens-Abouseif, an author and academic, who was given the photographs by activists, said: “The whole frieze has gone. This is a disaster after 700 years. Under everybody’s eyes, it has been removed. It must have been very, very recently.” [ link ]

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By TAHLIB A jaw-dropping “Wow” was my reaction. Jed Malitz’s spectral " Hidden Face of God " is a life-sized 3D cut glass sculpture. "I completed it this past Saturday," he wrote this week. "Please pardon the objects in my gallery being reflected in the glass including an exit sign, other artworks, my iPhone, etc." Pardoning them---is easily done because the glass sculpture is unlike any other religious art before on the pages of A&O.  We first introduced our readers to this project in January as we and also Jed were beginning the Lenton journey. [ Video ]

THE TIMES OF INDIA INDIA---Archbishop of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Ferrao inaugurated the Indian Christian Art Exhibition at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Archiepiscopal palace chapel, Se Cathedral premises, Old Goa. "This inter-religious dialogue was actively promoted by the likes of Angelo da Fonseca and Angela Trindade, both from Goa through their art, a bridge of understanding between Christianity and eastern, particularly, Indian religions," the archbishop said. The exhibition highlights the images created by the late Goan artists Angelo da Fonseca and Angela Trindade , apart from Alfred Thomas , Sr Genevieve SMMI and Sr Claire SMMI . The exhibition is conducted by Art-i, Christian Artists' Forum, Art-i established by the Office for Social Communications, Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, Delhi. [ link ]

THE SAINT LOUIS AMERICAN By Erica Smith Of St. Louis Public Radio Credit Jeffrey Vaughn / Courtesy of the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art MISSOURI---After 20 years, the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art has its first site-specific installation. That work, “Axis Mundi,” was created and installed by Rebecca Niederlander, who grew up in St. Louis but now lives in California. Niederlander said the installation works specifically with the MOCRA building, a former chapel used by Jesuits at Saint Louis University. “The space is this former place for contemplation and a place where the philosophical side of the Jesuits was explored, and I think that the spirit of that history is still very rich in the space,” she said. [ link ] Museum of Contemporary Religious Art: "Axix Mundi" (Ends December 14, 2014) 3700 West Pine Mall Blvd., Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO; slu.edu/mocra

DO SAVANNAH By Adam Messer "The Journey" will tell the Nativity story at Savannah Christian Church from Dec. 3-7 and Dec. 10-14. GEORGIA---Most people know the Nativity story, or have at least heard of it. “The Journey” brings the story to life in an interactive way, breathing life into the Nativity story through authentic storytelling and a beautifully crafted town of Bethlehem. Savannah Christian Church is offering the 11th production of “The Journey” this year. Last year, more than 29,000 people visited the recreated town of Bethlehem to hear the traditional Christmas story. [ link ]

SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST By Vivienne Chow The thangka was made in the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. Photo: Christie's CHINA---Shanghai billionaire Liu Yiqian paid HK$348.4 million for a Tibetan tapestry at a Christie's auction yesterday, 10 times what it sold for a little over a decade ago and breaking the auction record for a Chinese work of art he set in April. It was also a record for any Chinese work of art sold by an international auctioneer. The pre-sale estimate was HK$80 million. The sale raged for 22 minutes at the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai before Liu captured his prize with a telephone bid.In April, he paid HK$281.24 million for the Meiyintang Chenghua "chicken cup" at Sotheby's spring auction in Hong Kong. "I am proud to bring back to China this significant and historic 15th century 'thangka', which will be preserved in the Long Museum for years to come," Liu said. [ link ]

JEWISH WEEK By Jacqueline Mitchell CJN / BOB JACOB OHIO---Representatives of almost every faith group and culture in Northeast Ohio gathered in one room to celebrate Nov. 24 at B’nai Jeshurun Congregation in Pepper Pike. About 600 people attended the synagogue’s fourth annual arts of thanksgiving, an inter-religious and multicultural celebration sponsored by a coalition of religious and cultural institutions. Artists and vendors spread out across the Gross Atrium displaying religious and cultural art. Attendees could participate in a drum circle or have their hands painted with traditional Indian and Arabic henna. Gross Schechter Day School in Pepper Pike hosted a dreamcatcher art project, and the Persian Unity Center translated names into Farsi. [ link ]

THE HINDU BLOG Upcoming mythological show 'Jai Malhar', based on the  life of Khandoba who is considered as an incarnation of Lord Shiva Martand Bhairav Festival is annually held in the marathi month of Maragaishra at the famous Jejuri Temple near Pune in Maharashtra. Martand Bhairav Festival 2014 (date) is from November 23 to November 27. The festival is popularly known as Khandoba – Malhari Martand Bhairav Rathotsav. Martand, or Malhari Martand , is an incarnation of Hindu God Shiva. It is believed that Martand fought demons Malla and Mani for six days and finally defeated them and restored Dharma on earth. The festival is dedicated to this victory of Malhari Martand. [ link ]

THE JEWISH NEWS By Rebecca Wallersteiner UNITED KINGDOM---More than 350 years after it was painted, Rembrandt’s "Jewish Bride"  remains an enigma. The portrait of a young couple as Isaac and Rebecca, better known as ‘The Jewish Bride’ 1665 depicts the couple’s tender affection for each other in a sympathetic depiction of this Old Testament pair. It is currently being shown at the National Gallery until January 18th, as part of the ‘Rembrandt: The Late Works’ exhibition and lent by the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. It is likely that this exquisite painting has hidden layers of meaning. Rembrandt was friends with Rabbi Manasseh Ben Israel, the founder of the Modern Jewish community in England, and it’s been suggested that he dreamt of reconciliation between the two religions. This picture may secretly represent this desire. [ link ]

OUT MAGAZINE By Michelle Ehrhardt A sermon for the celebration of the wedding of Paul Schulz and Jim Cline on Friday, August 29, 2014. Rev. Dave Kovalow-St. John, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Valparaiso, Indiana INDIANA--On August 29, 2014 in Valparaiso, a small former train hub with a population of just over 30,000 in Northwest Indiana, gay couple Jim Cline and Paul Schulz were married inside their church by their minister. What for most couples would be a standard venue proved to provide a challenge for Jim and Paul, as their congregation divided over the minister’s decision to perform the ceremony. With same-sex marriage not yet legalized in Indiana and a strong cultural, often religious, bias against it, the wedding proved controversial, losing the minister an unfortunate number of worshippers and putting his job at risk. [ link ] >>>Click through to read the full sermon

PORTLAND PRESS HERALD By Meredith Goad MAINE---How does our big, multicultural nation say grace nowadays? Let us count the ways. Families and friends all over Maine will gather around the table on Thanksgiving Day and say grace. With kids, it’s a lot about learning to be grateful Some will join hands, Norman Rockwell -style, and listen to the family patriarch say a Christian prayer. Others will skip the deity altogether and thank the turkey for its ultimate sacrifice. Or there may be a round robin of thanksgiving as each person at the table takes a turn counting blessings from the past year. “Too much of our life is scrubbed clean of the sacred,” said Dana Sawyer , a professor of philosophy and world religions at the Maine College of Art . “We’re drowning in materialism, not just in the consumer sense of that but in this idea that there is no metaphysical aspect to life, and I think people are kind of starved for the sacred.” [ link ]

AL ARABIYA NEWS By Walid Jawad WASHINGTON, DC---It wasn’t the first time the Muslim call to prayer was echoed in the Washington National Cathedral , however, last week marked the first time a Friday prayer service was held in the church. It was a symbolic event exemplifying tolerance, coexistence and shared humanity. The cathedral is a marvelous architectural beauty, the magnanimity of its façade is complemented by the warmth of its hosting clergies’ hearts. On Friday morning, serene and inspired faces walked through the cathedral's arches, many of them Muslim women wearing their hijabs passing the pews to the front of the grand hall where prayer rugs were unfurled facing Makkah. [ link ]

THE WASHINGTON POST By Menachem Wecker Donatello’s “Saint John the Evangelist” will be among the sculptures from Florence’s Museo dell’Opera del Duomoat at an exhibit at New York’s Museum of Biblical Art that opens in February. (Antonio Quattrone; Copyright Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore) ITALY---There are still three months before nearly two dozen sculptures from the late-14th and early-15th centuries must leave Florence for New York, but Monsignor Timothy Verdon is nervous about the treasures, which are moved only rarely. “I will be in uninterrupted prayer until the works are back in my museum,” said the priest, who directs Florence’s Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, which is lending the art out while the museum undergoes renovations. The sculptures, which were created for the Florence Cathedral (Il Duomo), are headed to the Museum of Biblical Art on Manhattan’s Upper West Side to be showcased in the exhibition “Sculpture in the Age of Donatello,” opening Feb. 20. [ link] Museum ...

ARTNEWS By Lilly Wei Boushra Almutawakel’s series “Mother, Daughter, Doll” (2000) challenges Western conceptions of the hijab. ©BOUSHRA ALMUTAWAKEL/COURTESY HOWARD GREENBERG GALLERY, NEW YORK NEW YORK---Remarkable in its breadth and depth, the recent exhibition “ Here and Elsewhere ” at the New Museum offered New York its first comprehensive survey of contemporary art from the Middle East and North Africa. Even more remarkable, of the 45-plus artists on view, many shown for the first time in the United States (although they’ve often appeared in international exhibitions and biennials, including Documenta, Venice, São Paulo, and Sharjah)—almost half were women. It’s a percentage, still rarely mustered in major exhibitions in the United States or elsewhere, that raises a number of questions. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Randy Kennedy Thornton Dial (American artist, 1928-) The Last Day of Martin Luther King 1992 " NEW YORK---The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced Monday that it had received a major gift of 20th-century works by African-American artists from the South, including 10 pieces by Thornton Dial and 20 important quilts made by the Gee’s Bend quilters of Alabama. The works, 57 in all, are being donated by the Souls Grown Deep Foundation , which was begun in 2010 by the scholar and collector William S. Arnett to raise the profile of art by self-taught African-Americans. An exhibition at the Met devoted to works from the foundation is planned for the fall of 2016. [ link ]

AL MONITOR By Iraqi artist Wissam Ghadi paints a portrait of Shiite Imam Ali in his Sadr City studio on the outskirts of Baghdad, Dec. 25, 2003. (photo by REUTERS/Ali Jasim) IRAQ---Painter Mohammed Hetlr has been preoccupied with drawing and painting sacred Shiite figures from Iraq and around the world. He has been making good money selling his work and, in an interview with Al-Monitor , said that he considered his painting to be part of his “religious duty” to express his faith and ideological commitment. This art, which often comes from the Naive school of painting, has become very popular with many Iraqis, who have acquired the custom of hanging the paintings on their walls, in their grocery stores or official institutions and mosques. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Doreen Carvajal The South African artist and playwright Brett Baily, right, working with an actor this month during a rehearsal of "Exhibit B" at the Musée Saint-Croix in Pitiers, France. The show is a live performance of 12 scenes of silent actors. FRANCE---Jelle Saminnadin plays a black odalisque, a seminude Congolese slave gazing in a gilded mirror. A leather bond encircles her neck and chains her to a bed of lace and pillows in a scene mimicking a colonial human zoo of the early 20th century. The image is one of a dozen living portraits in a traveling art installation, “ Exhibit B ,” by the South African playwright and installation artist Brett Bailey, who calls it a critique that exposes the roots of racism in the human menageries that flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, mainly in major cities of Europe, starting in Germany.[ link ]

RELIGION DISPATCHES By Jas Chana NEW YORK---An eye-catching building on the south side of Washington Square Park in New York City houses NYU’s Global Center for Academic and Spiritual Life . From a distance its walls seem covered in the tangled pattern of tree roots, giving the place an organic feel. This architectural embellishment symbolizes the naturalistic approach the Center promotes in its capacity as host to worship spaces of three historically disparate religious traditions. Within its walls, an open-minded individual could spend a weekend dabbling in the spiritual worlds of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. [ link ]

W MAGAZINE By Lynn Hirschberg PUBLISHING---No playing it safe for the Hollywood darling. Jake Gyllenhaal is plunging into uncharted territory—starting with this collaboration with the video artist Bill Viola . Viola is also interested in extremes: His medium is video, and he creates scenarios that have biblical undercurrents, usually involving fire or water. Viola, who is an enthusiastic man, explained his process to Gyllenhaal: The actor would lie down in a tank of warm water—which resembled a rectangular bathtub made of clear Plexiglas—and hold his breath in darkness as the lights slowly came up. There was a death-to-life feel to the idea, but Viola rejected the notion of his art having a narrative. [ link ]

JEWISH ART SALON Add caption NEW YORK---The Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, New York, will be exhibiting Robert Kirschbaum’s print folio/artist’s book, “ The 42-Letter Name ,” along with 3 pieces from the artist’s “Devarim" series of machined aluminum sculpture, from December 12, 2014–April 12, 2015, in MAG’s Lockhart Gallery . Fusing Judaic concepts of sacred space with forms derived from traditional South Asian religious art, Robert Kirschbaum’s The 42-Letter Name is a meditation upon divinity, creation and faith. [ link ]

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By TAHLIB Unidentified artist, active in Cuzco, Peru. Our Lady of Bethlehem with a Male Donor, 18th century. Carl and Marilynn Thoma Collection. ILLINOIS---The Art Institute of Chicago has a long tradition of collecting and displaying works from the pre-Hispanic cultures of South America, but this long-term installation offers the museum’s first presentation of work from the viceregal period. Fourteen paintings and related works on paper—including pieces from the collection of Chicagoans Marilynn and Carl Thoma never before displayed in a museum, as well as important loans from the Newberry Library and Denver Art Museum—introduce visitors to explorers, artists, and patrons who lived in the Spanish-governed Andes during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The Art Institute of Chicago: " A Voyage to South America: Andean Art in the Spanish Empire ," (Ends February 21, 2016); 111 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, ILL; (312) 443-3600; artic.edu

THE VANCOUVER SUN By Douglas Todd The Hindu activist from Arizona objects to the way Ganesh is shown sitting on a bench in Fairview Elementary school in Vancouver, being bullied. CANADA---A Hindu leader in the U.S. is attacking a photo exhibition by Vancouver’s Dina Goldstein , claiming her provocative project is “trivializing the highly revered deities of Hinduism, Ganesh and Lakshmi.” Rajad Zed, an American Hindu who is offended by a Vancouver photo project, has many defenders and critics, in both the Hindu and wider population. He has defenders and critics in both the Hindu and wider population. At the same time, some in the Indian media and elsewhere have accused him of doing more damage than good for Hinduism, claiming he is an attention seeker. Of course attention seeking can cut both ways: Zed’s denunciation has created publicity for Goldstein’s cheeky photo-illustration project. [ link ]

THE HUFFINGTON POST By Antonia Blumberg Tibetan Monks from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery complete a Chenrezig Sand Mandala in Salisbury Cathedrals Chapter House on October 3, 2013 in Salisbury, England. In Buddhist tradition, a mandala is a sacred image that graphically represents the universe and is intended for use during meditation. Typically circular in shape, a mandala has a central point -- called a "seed" or "drop" -- toward which all energies are thought to converge. Buddhist monks frequently create mandalas out of paper, cloth or as three-dimensional models -- but occasionally they use bowls of colored sand, which must be delicately placed in a painstaking process that can take weeks. Once completed, the sand mandala is said to represent the fleeting nature of life and is shortly thereafter destroyed by the same monks who labored over it. We are blown away by the intricacy of these ephemeral mandalas and thought we'd take a closer look...

RELIGION NEWS SERVICE By Kimberly Winston and Sally Morrow A large carving of St. Francis of Assisi – the city’s namesake – spreads his arms wide just inside the cathedral’s front door. The thrum of the city outside is stilled by stone walls. Religion News Service photo by Kimberly Winston CALIFORNIA---Grace Cathedral is the spiritual home of San Francisco’s Episcopal community and is almost as old as the city itself. It was established as Grace Chapel in 1849, when the city pulsed with Gold Rush fever. That church fell to the massive fire that followed the 1906 earthquake. Today’s Grace Cathedral, begun in 1928, is now an epicenter of spirituality in the City by the Bay. Fifty years after its formal completion, the landmark cathedral attracts pilgrims from around the world. [ link ]

ARTNET NEWS  By Coline Milliard TUNISIA---Tunisia's Culture Ministry intervened last week to prevent the sale of several artifacts due to go under the hammer at Paris' auction house Millon Drouot, the Quotidien de l'art reports. The pieces under scrutiny were due to feature in the “Civilisation" sale last Friday, and include a Roman headstone and El Aouja ceramics. As the QdA points out, it is the first time a North African country has made such a significant move. The illegal traffic of stolen antiquities has longed plagued Tunisia and its neighboring countries (see “Egypt's “Indiana Jones" Zahi Hawass Questioned Over Pyramid Theft").[ link ]

MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE By AP The Ascent of the Prophet to Heaven, page from a copy of the Khamsa of Nizami, c. 1600. Iran. Lucy Maud Buckingham Collection. ILLINOIS---Art from across the Islamic world is on display in newly transformed galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago . Painting, calligraphy, textiles and carpets are among the items. The exhibition groups 100 pieces altogether. They range from small tiles and utensils to large architectural objects, like a pair of 12-foot wooden doors from 14th century Morocco. New calligraphy acquisitions on display for the first time include two pages from a 12th or 13th century Quran that feature colored ink on vivid pink paper. Another display shows art produced under the Mongols in Iran between the mid-13th and mid-14th centuries. Curator Daniel Walker says the collection spans the Islamic world, from Spain and Morocco to Central Asia and Indonesia. [ link ]

HUNTERDON DEMOCRAT Detail of painting from exhibition of works by Giovanna Cecchetti NEW JERSEY--- Hunterdon Art Museum in Clinton is showing an exhibition containing several artworks devoted to Hindu deity Siva. The exhibition, titled “ The Consciousness of Infinite Goodness ” by Giovanna Cecchetti will run until January four next. One of its paintings is titled “Mahamrityunjaya” (Mahamrityunjaya Mantra is a well-known mantra of Hinduism). Founded in 1952, HAM whose tagline is “center for art, craft & design”, is a regional art center. Jorge Blanco and Marjorie Frankel Nathanson are its Trustees President and Executive Director respectively. In Hinduism, Lord Siva, along with Lord Brahma and Lord Visnu, forms the great triad of Hindu deities. Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion in the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation) is its ultimate goal.[ link ]

THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE By Jennifer Latson "If I Forget Thee o Jerusalem" now on view at the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas TEXAS---Discovering the Jewish roots her parents had long kept secret was a turning point in Barbara Hines' life - and in her art. More than 50 of the Houston artist's Judaism-inspired paintings and works on paper are now on display at the Museum of Biblical Art in Dallas. The show, titled "Mysteries, Signs and Wonders," opened as the inaugural exhibit in the museum's newest addition, the National Center for Jewish Art. The artwork, a combination of Jerusalem cityscapes, Israeli landscapes and abstract, color-driven paintings inspired by spiritual themes and stories from the Torah, will be on view through next August.[ link ]

ARTDAILY Northern Qi (550-577), Head of a Bodhisattva. Sandstone, 13 3/8 x 7 1/4 x 7 3/4 inches. Art Properties, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University in the City of New York, Sackler Collections. NEW YORK---"China Then and Now" brings together exemplary Chinese works of art from the classical, early modern and contemporary periods. The exhibition explores three millennia of one of the world’s most important artistic traditions from the perspective of American collectors on Long Island, such as Childs and Frances Frick and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler. The exhibition is at Nassau County Museum of Art from November 22, 2014 through March 8, 2015; it was organized by guest curators Amy G. Poster, Curator Emerita of Asian Art at the Brooklyn Museum, and Kaijun Chen, Ph.D., post-doctoral Fellow at the Max-Planck-Institute for the History of Science. [ link ]

THE WASHINGTON POST By Philip Kennicott “The Lamentation of Christ.” Credit ayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich WASHINGTON, DC--- “Bartholomeus Spranger: Splendor and Eroticism in Imperial Prague” is billed as the first major exhibition devoted to Spranger, who not only served Rudolf from the early 1580s until the painter’s death in 1611, but also Rudolf’s father, the emperor Maximilian II; Pope Pius V; and one of the greatest arts patrons of any age, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Born in Antwerp, Spranger studied with Flemish landscape painters before heading south, by way of Paris and Milan, to Rome, where he was deeply influenced by the prevailing Mannerist painters of the day. But it was the call to serve the Habsburgs, and particularly the febrile court of Rudolf, that allowed Spranger to produce the sensual, fleshy, sexually charged works for which he is most famous. [ link ]

DAILY SABAH By Kaya Genç Descend the stairs of SALT Galata building on Bankalar Caddesi, turn right and you will hear amplified voices of Shiite Muslims who commemorate the Battle of Karbala during Muharram in an Istanbul neighborhood. TURKEY---Religion is not the favorite subject of Turkish contemporary art. In the past, artists rarely touched on the subject. Realized with the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw and curated by Sebastian Cichocki and Galit Eilat in collaboration with SALT , " Rainbow in the Dark " is one of the most evocative shows of the year. "One of the major phenomena in contemporary society is the growing influence of monotheistic religious practices," the exhibition program informs us. "Radical movements in Islam, Christianity and Judaism appear to penetrate the ever-widening areas of social life, to the point where they threaten the more traditional understanding of religion." [ link ]

FREE PRESS JOURNAL By FPJ Bureau "Turning the World Upside Down" by Aneesh Kapoor at Israel Museum, 2010 ISRAEL---A massive hourglass figure of stainless steel installed by the internationally renowned Indian/Jewish artist, Aneesh Kapoor , and commissioned by the Jerusalem Development Authority, greets one at the threshold of the renovated Israel Museum in Jerusalem . The untitled work has since been dubbed as ‘Upside down’ as the piece of art reflected the world upside down, just as it is to discover Jerusalem, from the present in to the past! As part of a team of architects and journalists participating from around the world in the ‘ Open House Jerusalem ’, festival from 18 to 20 September 2014, I precisely got this opportunity – to explore the vitality of this ancient city. [ link ]

THE WASHINGTON TIMES By Gary Baurer At a time when many Republicans have embraced a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to same-sex marriage (“Don’t ask me what my position is because I won’t tell you”), Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has proposed a characteristically audacious solution to judicial assaults on traditional marriage: a constitutional amendment. Mr. Cruz’s proposed marriage amendment would prohibit the federal government or the courts from overturning state marriage laws. It may be the only way to restore the people’s voice in defining society’s most fundamental institution. [ link ]

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By TAHLIB Photo taken by Amit&Naroop for The Singh Project The self-styled "turbaned fashion-blogger" Pardeep Singh Bahra was featured in The Wall Street Journal this week. Singh is a photographer and founder of Singh Street Style , a menswear fashion blog. He is also a " Sikh " who believes that the meticulous care of his beard and his clothing are a reflection not of fashion but his faith. In October, he was even awarded a " Sikh Award " for his example. Why don't more of us seize opportunities to reflect our faith in our hair and clothing? That inspiration makes Singh's turban and beard, my NEWS OF WEEK .

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Holland Cotter Stuart Cairns for The New York Times MASSACHUSETTS---Six years is a long time for an art museum to go dark, and at Harvard, make that two museums, and eventually three. Now there’s a happy ending, and a beginning. As of last Sunday, the three museums, identities more or less intact, are back as the one-title Harvard Art Museums . The best thing about Harvard’s new museum headquarters is that it feels as if it really was designed, as advertised, for students of all persuasions and disciplines, and for accessibility, not just as a material fact, but as an aesthetic and ethical ideal. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Manhola Dargis Dressed in all-white garb in a white room, Peeta Mallark (Josh Hutcherson) stands dutifully by the side of a sanguine President Snow (Donald Sutherland), who addresses the people of Panem from a white throne. HOLLYWOOD ---“ Mockingjay Part 1 ” is indisputably a war movie, from tearful start to unsettling end. Its director is Francis Lawrence, who did the honors in the second one, and he does a serviceable job again of pulling the parts together. If you haven’t seen the earlier movies, you may get a little lost; it doesn’t matter. If you’ve watched them and forgotten certain details, it also doesn’t matter. “ Mockingjay Part 1 ” is streamlined, blunt and easy. The Capitol, the base of Panem power, is after Katniss, who is squirreled away in a part of the country, District 13, once thought to have been destroyed. Led by President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore, equal parts iron and silk), District 13 is now leading the charge against the Capitol. [...

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Neil Genzlinger A Texas church that burned, from “Little Hope Was Arson.” C redit Jamie Maldonado/The Orchard HOLLYWOOD ---Ten churches were burned in January and February 2010 before two young men, Jason R. Bourque and Daniel G. McAllister , were arrested. There’s nothing fancy about “ Little Hope Was Arson ,” a documentary on the 2010 church fires in East Texas, and that’s the beauty of it. The filmmaker, Theo Love, presents the people in the story as they are, without passing judgment and without apology, whether they are investigators or pastors or just ordinary folks caught up in the inexplicable. It’s Americana unvarnished and, because of that, as absorbing as it is respectful. [ link ]

BRIEBART NEWS By Daniel Nussbaum Selma, directed by Ava DuVernay, starring David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King Jr., opens in the United States on January 9, 2015. HOLLYWOOD ---" Selma ," the new Oprah Winfrey-produced film about a year in the life of Martin Luther King Jr., received "two thunderous standing ovations" at its first screening in New York Monday night, film critic Roger Friedman wrote on his website, Showbiz 411. Friedman wrote that Selma was so well-received, "It leaps right into the top tier of this year's Oscar race." "David Oyelowo gives the performance of a lifetime as King, defining him on film finally after all these years," Friedman continued. "Watching 'Selma,' you really feel like all the plays, movies, TV shows, songs - every theater piece about King - all of it culminates in this film." In addition to Winfrey, the film was also produced by Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B Entertainmen...

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Ben Kenigsberg Nicholas Vreeland taking photographs in Naples, Italy. Credit Kino Lorber HOLLYWOOD ---Becoming a Buddhist monk and “renouncing worldly ways” apparently don’t preclude starring in a documentary about your life. In “ Monk With a Camera: The Life and Journey of Nicholas Vreeland ,” the conceit is that the subject, known to his friends as Nicky, went from a lifestyle of privilege to one of asceticism and simplicity. Mr. Vreeland, a photographer who worked with Irving Penn and Richard Avedon and a grandson of the legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland, is now an abbot at a monastery in India. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Stephen Holden James Noel and Patricia Rhinvil as a married couple in Patricia Benoit’s “Stones in the Sun,” a film about the Haitian diaspora. Credit William Serber HOLLYWOOD ---“ Stones in the Sun ” is a wrenching portrait of Haitian exiles struggling to build new lives in New York City after fleeing their country in the late 1980s. Jean-Claude Duvalier had departed, but his generals remained in power and continued his reign of terror. The film, written and directed by Patricia Benoit, is a powerfully acted exploration of the different ways that people deal with the traumatic wounds of the past. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Ben Kenignsberg Kirk Cameron in a film directed by Darren Doane. Credit Samuel Goldwyn Films HOLLYWOOD ---“ Kirk Cameron’s Saving Christmas ” begins with its host, the former star of “Growing Pains” and now an evangelical Christian, sitting in an easy chair in front of a fully decorated Christmas tree. In his view, the holiday is under siege. “There are some people who would love to put a big wet blanket on all of this,” he says. “They don’t want us to love Christmas so much and celebrate it the way we do.” To illustrate this Bill O’Reilly-ready premise, Mr. Cameron stages an intervention — his word — with a hypothetical brother-in-law, Christian (played by the director, Darren Doane), who isn’t feeling the seasonal cheer. Christian worries that Christmas has become too materialistic, too removed from the Bible. [ link ]

THE HUFFINGTON POST By Igor Bobic SOUTH CAROLINA---The Supreme Court has declined to issue an emergency stay of same-sex marriages in South Carolina, according to WISTV . The ruling means marriage applications will be accepted at noon Thursday. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel ruled the state's ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional last week. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to issue stay on that ruling, prompting an appeal to the Supreme Court. A judge issued the first gay marriage licenses in the state on Wednesday. [ link ]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL By Joanna Sugden Pardeep Singh Bahra Singh Street Style UNITED KINGDOM--- Pardeep Singh Bahra says he never aimed to make the turban a fashion accessory.  The self-styled “turbaned fashion blogger” from the U.K. does though make the signature Sikh headdress a sartorial sine qua non for those who feature on his website. He teams it variously with sharp suits, bow ties, blazers, white slacks and leathers and features pictures of his outfits in entries on his blog, Instagram and Facebook FB +0.37%, on which he has over 100,000 likes. In the past year, on the back of the success of his blog SinghStreetStyle.com , Mr. Bahra has featured in Vogue and Time and become the face of a Samsung Electronics 005930.SE +1.07% advertising campaign. [ link ]

BOSTON REVIEW By Alana Shilling-Janoff MASSACHUSETTS---At the beginning of the twentieth century, museums were considered august guardians of cultural wealth. By the late 1960s the association between culture and wealth remained intact, though the terms had changed: culture was no longer just a kind of metaphorical wealth; it was a way of procuring the real thing. Over the last fifty years, museums have become even more entangled in consumerism. There is, moreover, hope elsewhere. Another kind of museum offers the public what commercialized counterparts might—and often more cheaply and effectively. Ironically these museums are sheltered under the aegis of institutions perceived as so exclusionary that they are collectively labeled the “ivory tower,” a synecdoche that suggests an improbable wedding of spun-sugar fantasy and contemptuous anti-intellectualism. [ link ]

THE ART NEWSPAPER By Julia Halperin The Islamic State allegedly permits the widespread ransacking of archaeological sites in Syria and Iraq and then cashes in by levying a tax on looters operating within its territory. Here, Free Syrian Army fighters walk in the Umayyad mosque of Old Aleppo, 15 December 2013. Photo: REUTERS/Molhem Barakat WASHINGTON, DC---A new bill introduced in Washington, DC last week seeks to block looted Syrian cultural heritage from entering the US. The Protect and Preserve International Cultural Property Act asks Congress to appoint a cultural property protection czar and establish emergency import restrictions to protect endangered cultural patrimony. The bill aims to “deny terrorists and criminals the ability to profit from instability by looting the world of its greatest treasures,” says the congressman Eliot Engel, a Democrat from New York, in a statement. Engel is co-sponsoring the legislation with Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey. [ link ]