Disney-Britton

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Disney-Britton "Nativity" by Christina Saj While we usually wish "Merry"  Christmas , this year is different. This year, following the Nativity Fast, we are placing less focus on the merry, and more on "Mary," and her son "Christ." We'll be back on " Little Christmas " - Wednesday, January 6, 2016, and until then, we wish you a very "Mary Christmas."

ARTSY By Konstantina Karterouli Nativity, 2014Collage with Japanese paper, sequins, acrylic and watercolor on canvas48 × 60 in Despite its associations with popular culture, the Nativity still proves fruitful subject matter for contemporary artists. Contemporary Colombian artist Maria Berrio’s Nativity (2014) surprises with the exotic ornamental nature of the figuration allotted to the subject. Berrio’s work is an intricate collage of patterned Japanese paper, sequins, watercolor, and acrylic paint on canvas. The scene, taking place at night, is populated by three pairs of mothers and children, and hosts a plethora of animals against a patterned landscape that imbues the scene with a dreamy, fairy-tale quality. [ link ]

THE SPECTATOR By Theo Hobson UNITED KINGDOM---This sign adorns a local church in Harlesden. I suppose it could be called a Pop Annunciation. Who says religious art is stuck in the past? Then again, it is a perennial – and fascinating – question in Christian art: how much contemporary life to include in biblical scenes. For centuries artists have shocked the public by including ordinary-looking young beauties as Mary, ordinary working blokes as shepherds or apostles. Caravaggio is a good example, but even before him nativity scenes were transposed to Tuscan landscapes. In fact the first realistic landscapes in Western art were posing as biblical backdrops. [ link ]

THE VANCOUVER SUN CANADA---Taiwan is home to 16 officially recognized aboriginal groups of Austronesian peoples and Han Chinese of various backgrounds, as well as other long-term settlers and recent immigrants. T (In)visible: The Spiritual World of Taiwan Through Contemporary Art " explores how traditional and religious beliefs and modern values are integrated in this vibrant country. The exhibition features works by seven contemporary Taiwanese artists, who express and visualize religious beliefs, myths and the spiritual world with modern sensitivities. [ link ]

VOCATIV By Allee Manning While the religious right continues bemoaning the War on Christmas, atheist activist Chaz Stevens is poles apart in his seasonal mission. The Florida-based software designer and executive director of the two-man equal rights advocacy organization the Humanity Fund has launched a national campaign of “elite trolling”: erecting glittery, 6-foot-tall “rainbow gay pride”-decorated Festivus poles topped with disco balls at various city halls, public spaces, and capitol grounds across the country. One will even blare the iconically campy anthem “It’s Raining Men.” [ link ]

THE HERALD EXTRA By Casey Adams Oil on panel, "I Am He, Revelations 1:18" by Dan Wilson. Wilson won first place in the 30th Annual "Spiritual & Religious Art of Utah Exhibition" at the Springville Museum of Art. UTAH---Add another layer to your date this week with a visit to the "30th Annual Spiritual & Religious Art of Utah Exhibition" now at the Springville Museum of Art. With more than 160 uplifting works of art on display in the exhibition, this Perfect Date won't be short of any conversation starters. The historic, Spanish-themed interior of the museum also has several tucked-away spots for you and your special someone to snap little romantic photos of your outing. [ link ]

ARTSY.COM By Konstantina Karterouli "Nativity" Presepe Cuciniello, Museo di San Martino, Napoli, Wikimedia Commons The plastic Nativity scenes most of us are familiar with today—brought out on church lawns and domestic mantelpieces around Christmas—derive only in part from this iconographic tradition. In fact, they ultimately go back to the late Middle Ages, when they were used in religious plays. Drawing on these, the famous presepi (“cribs,” in Italian) of 18th-century Naples were elaborate, stage-like settings containing numerous figurines, typically made from terracotta, combining street scenes, costumes, and landscapes that provided realistic and lively depictions of Neapolitan life. [ link ]

ARTSY.NET By Konstantina Karterouli Domenico GhirlandaioNativity and Adoration of the Shepherds, Sassetti Chapel panel, altarpiece, 1485Santa Trinità, Florence Strikingly dissimilar to Ghirlandaio’s idealized Mary is Caravaggio’s depiction of her in the Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence (1609). (In one of the most renowned—and still unsolved—cases of art theft, the work was stolen from the Oratory of San Lorenzo in Palermo in 1969, and has yet to be returned.) Here, Mary is depicted as a modern woman, wearing a sleeveless dress and chemise typical of working-class women of the time. Because the painting showed Mary weary from exhaustion after giving birth, it was perceived as not befitting her holiness. [ link ]

THE CREATOR'S PROJECT By DJ Pangburn "When Something Inside You Dies" 24x36'' Woven work NEW YORK---Artists occasionally react to technology in blatantly obvious ways. Brooklyn-based artist Lala Abaddon , whose work straddles the analog and digital divide, is more interested in exploring the less obvious interconnections between beings and technology. Abaddon's work ranges from the woven pieces Martyr Syndrome and Fractal Realities that look digital, to 35mm photographs of existing images to create pixelated effects, and 35mm macro images of paintings that can appear luminous. And in her Transfiguration project, Abaddon explores the concept of artistic ritual within the context of internet live-streaming. [ link ]

THE GUARDIAN By Jonathon Jones The Adoration of the Shepherds, circa 1640, by Guido Reni. Photograph: Alamy British artists have painted the bleak midwinter often enough, but they have not created any great images of the nativity (or even an annunciation worth its salt). There may seem an obvious explanation. In the early 16th century, Henry VIII decided to break with the Roman church. While Catholicism values art as a way to convert and inspire the flock, the Protestant ideas that took hold in Britain rejected religious images as “idolatrous”. At just the time when Italy was making the nativity one of art’s greatest themes, British Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries were smashing stained glass windows and vandalising religious statues. [ link ]

ARTSY.NET By Konstantina Karterouli One of the most recognizable scenes of Christian art, the Nativity may be surpassed in popularity only by the Crucifixion, its historical counterpoint. Nativity scenes recount the birth of Christ and his adoration, which is narrated tersely in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. For centuries, the centrality of the subject for the Christian religion meant that it attracted the wealthiest patrons and most acclaimed artists. [ link ]

ARTSY.NET By Konstantina Karterouli The Sarcophagus of Marcus Claudianus from San Giacomo in Settimiana, ca. 330MarbleVia della Lungara, Museo Nazionale, Rome The earliest depictions of the Nativity were very different from our current conception; they typically formed part of a larger cycle narrating the life of Christ carved into the surfaces of Roman sarcophagi, thus bringing the message of death inherent to a sarcophagus in direct relationship to the most important birth in the history of Christianity. The earliest securely dated example of the Nativity scene is from 343 A.D., from a sketch of a now-lost fragment of a sarcophagus from the catacombs of Saints Marcellinus and Peter in Rome. [ link ]

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE By Rebecca I. Denova PUBLISHING---When a newly discovered gospel or fragment makes the news (The Gospel of Judas; “Jesus’s Wife”), the media hype suggests the idea that the early Catholic Church suppressed these texts. The implication is one of a tyrannical attempt to control belief systems, a characteristic we assign to institutional power-brokers. Biblical scholar Phillip Jenkins refutes such a conclusion, claiming that these lost gospels and stories (known as apocrypha, or non-canonical) were well-known and in some cases, beloved, throughout late antiquity and the Middle Ages. They are not, in fact, a new discovery of modern academics. [ link ]

CHICAGO TONIGHT | WTTW By Marc Vitali It is called a "crèche." It's a traditional Nativity scene with the infant Jesus, the Holy Family, and the three Wise Men. But this one has a cast of hundreds. ILLINOIS---For six weeks each year, a dramatic work of religious art is unveiled in Chicago. The Christmas season is the only time to see a rare Nativity scene that blends both spiritual and earthly pursuits. “Chicago Tonight” visited the Art Institute and found an elaborate piece of art originally seen in churches in 18th century Naples. This crèche was made in Naples, beginning in the mid-1700s, by artists and craftsman commissioned by the Catholic church and local nobility. They really went for Baroque. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEW YORK---This highly acclaimed international loan exhibition will close in just two weeks—on Sunday, January 3. Drawn from more than 50 institutional and private collections across Europe and the United States, Kongo: Power and Majesty presents 500 years of Kongo culture—from the end of the 15th century, when a Portuguese explorer first set foot in the kingdom, through the early 20th century. From a dynamic assembly of 15 monumental power figures to elegantly carved ivories and finely woven textiles, this landmark exhibition explores the art created by Central Africa's most gifted artists.

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Mustafa Akyol In the face of ...bloody chaos, the proponents of irja said that the burning question of who is a true Muslim should be “postponed” until the afterlife. Aware that irja is its theological antidote, the Islamic State presents it as a lack of religious piety. It is, however, true piety combined with humility — the humility that comes from honoring God as the only judge of men. On the other hand, the Islamic State’s zeal to dictate, which it presents as piety, seems to be driven by arrogance — the arrogance of judging all other men, and claiming power over them, in the name of God. [ link ]

ASIAN FINANCIAL FORUM By NORIYUKI TOMITA Takashi Murakami stands in front of a section of his painting "The 500 Arhats." JAPAN---Call it his homage to modern Japanese art or a spectacular work of Buddhist salvation. Either way, Takashi Murakami is once again providing the world with a view on Japan through the lense of otaku culture. "The 500 Arhats" -- a 3-meter tall by 100-meter wide painting -- is now on exhibit at the Mori Art Museum, in the capital's Roppongi district. Arhats are entities considered to be enlightened disciples of the Buddha who spread his teachings and salve humanity from its worldly desires. [ link ]

RUETERS By Reuters Staff The shahada, the Muslim profession of faith, in a ceramic tile from Iznik, Turkey VIRGINIA---Schools in a Virginia county closed on Friday as a safety precaution after a class assignment asking students to practice Arabic calligraphy using a Muslim statement of faith sparked an angry outcry from parents and threats against school officials. Augusta County Public Schools officials said no specific threat had been made against students, but some calls and emails received by the district posed a risk of harm to school officials. [ link ]

THE GUARDIAN By Associated Press Vicars Lucas Ludewig and Ulrike Garve holding the church service centred on Star Wars. The theme for their sermons featured excerpts from Return of the Jedi. Photograph: Getty A church in Berlin invited Star Wars fans to attend a special service on Sunday, themed on the sci-fi blockbuster, in an attempt to attract more young people into the pews. About 500 people heeded the call and attended the service, some carrying lightsaber props or wearing Darth Vader masks. It was more than twice as many as usually come to Zion church on a Sunday. “Star Wars picks up religious images, including Christian images and maybe some from other religions,” said Ludewig. “In doing so, it shows that the Bible and the church are part of our culture that keeps being reworked and reinterpreted.”[ link ]

A LPHA OMEGA ARTS Jan van Eyck and Workshop Assistant (Netherlandish, Maaseik ca. 1390-1441 Bruges). The Crucifixion; The Last Judgment, Ca. 1430. Oil on canvas, transferred from wood. NEW YORK--- A New Look at a Van Eyck Masterpiece , a focus exhibition opening at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on January 25, 2016, will present the findings of a recent study of Jan van Eyck's Crucifixion and Last Judgment paintings (ca. 1440-41). Whether the paintings were always intended as a diptych, or whether they were originally the wings of a triptych whose centerpiece has long disappeared, has been in question.

THE HUFFINGTON POST By David Gibson & Rosie Scammell VATICAN CITY---Pope Francis celebrated his 79th birthday on Thursday (Dec. 17) with a gift to the many devotees of Mother Teresa of Calcutta: The pontiff gave final clearance for “the saint of the gutters” to become an official saint. According to a report in the newspaper of the Italian bishops conference, Francis signed a decree declaring that the inexplicable 2008 cure of a Brazilian man who was diagnosed with multiple brain tumors was due to the intercession of the Albanian-born nun, who died in 1997. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Ernest Disney-Britton "Pharaoh Taharqa" by James C. Lewis from Black Icons of the Bible Taharqa was a pharaoh of the Ancient Egyptian 25th dynasty (690–664 BCE) and king of the Kingdom of Kush, which was located in Northern Sudan. In biblical depictions, Taharqa is the saviour of the Hebrew people, as they are being besieged by Sennacherib ( Isaiah 37:8-9 , & 2 Kings 19:8-9 ). Atlanta, Georgia photographer James C. Lewis' "Icons Of The Bible" photo series depicts some of the most famous characters from the Old and New Testament exclusively as people of color, including Simon Peter, Elijah, King Solomon and Pharaoh Taharqa.

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS [ AOPrize Finalist: Click to Vote ] By Ernest &  Gregory  Disney-Britton "The Magi" by James C. Lewis (Book of Matthew, 2:1-12) What gift(s) will you bring for Christmas this year? After 26 days of Advent  fasting ,  repentance , and  penance ,  Christmas Day  comes this Friday, and Christians will celebrate Christ's birth by giving gifts . In our home, we give three gifts in the tradition of "The Magi" ( Matthew 2:1-12 ), and as photographed by  James C. Lewis  ( above ). These gifts mark a new life. Gold is the gift that is on the receiver's mind; Myrrh (red) is for their body, and Frankincense (white) is for their soul. That's why "The Magi" by James C. Lewis is our  NEWS OF WEEK .

CHRISTIANITY TODAY By Jackson Cuidon Star Wars: The Force Awakens Official Theatrical Poster HOLLYWOOD---Yes, it's good. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a spectacularly good movie. Going in blind is absolutely the best way to see this film. Star Wars operates on the level of a police procedural, or an oral history, or a Biblical parable (take your pick): there's both the excitement of wanting to see what happens and the fact that you already know what's going to happen. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Nicholas Kristof As we celebrate the holidays, let’s remember that this is one of those savage epochs when some families must choose between their faith and their lives. It is an echo of when Nero burned Christians alive, or when self-described Christians unleashed pogroms against Jews. Partly because of allergies about religion, the international response has been utterly ineffective. Liberals are sometimes reluctant to champion Christians who are persecuted for their faith. And conservatives are too quick to champion only Christians, neglecting other religious minorities — such as the Yazidis — who suffer even worse fates. One result of this “God gulf” is that the Western response to atrocities against religious oppression is pathetically inadequate. [ link ]

THE ART NEWSPAPER By Garry Shaw The rabbi Solomon Schechter in Cambridge around 1898, working with documents from the Cairo Genizah, a group of around 300,000 Jewish manuscript fragments that were once stored in the Ben Ezra synagogue in Old Cairo. UNITED KINGDOM---Religious development—its continuation and transformation—is at the heart of Egypt: Faith After the Pharaohs. It is what makes the show so fascinating and ambitious. The themes are made clear from the outset. In the first gallery, three books are displayed together: a Hebrew Bible, the oldest known copy of the New Testament and a Qur'an. As presented, the 1,200-year story of these three monotheistic religions is a lot to absorb. [ link ]

THE GUARDIAN By Mark Brown The Lampedusa Cross, made by Francesco Tuccio and donated to the Museum in October 2015 and Neil MacGregor's official British Museum portrait by Wolfgang Tillmans (2015) © Trustees of the British Museum UNITED KINGDOM---A simple but powerfully symbolic wooden cross made by a carpenter from the wreckage of a refugee boat that sank in the Mediterranean is to be the final acquisition made by the British Museum under the leadership of Neil MacGregor. Known as the Lampedusa Cross , the object was made by Francesco Tuccio from the wrecked timbers of a boat that sank near the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa in October 2013. MacGregor called the 38cm high cross “a simple yet moving object” which was a poignant gift to the collection. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Darren Ford, Op-Ed The origins of formal philanthropy date from at least 1889, when the American industrialist Andrew Carnegie composed his “ Gospel of Wealth .” The world may need a reimagined charter of philanthropy — a “Gospel of Wealth” for the 21st century — that serves not just American philanthropists, but the vast array of new donors emerging around the world. This new gospel might begin where the previous one fell short: addressing the underlying causes that perpetuate human suffering. In other words, philanthropy can no longer grapple simply with what is happening in the world, but also with how and why. Darren Walker is the president of the Ford Foundation.  [ link ]

MAGAZINE | NYTIMES The Ethicist By Kwame Anthony Appiah A good friend of ours is an aspiring painter. Recently she held an exhibition at her studio of her latest efforts. We love her, but we’re not fans of her art, which is definitely a work in progress. Friendship and sympathy might make you want to help her, but they don’t oblige you to pretend to admire her paintings. Indeed, if she’s struggling, it may be because no one is a fan of her art — and she may never progress to the point where she’s making a living from it. Buying art and suggesting you think it’s good denies her the feedback she needs to make a reasonable decision. In this respect, false support may not be so very friendly or sympathetic. [ link ]

ARTLIST Meet Kenneth Schlenker , curator of the sale. Kenneth is cofounder and CEO of ArtList . Kenneth lives in NYC and is passionate about art and technology. Named on ArtInfo’s 2015 Power 100 list, Kenneth used to work at Google and now helps people collect some of the world's greatest contemporary art. [ link ]

THE CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPY By Eden Stiffman Pope Francis’s September visit to the United States may be boosting Americans’ charitable contributions this year — especially among Catholics, according to a national survey of more than 1,000 adults. Of all the people polled, Catholics as well as non-Catholics, 61 percent said they are giving more or the same amount to charity in 2015 as they did in 2014. [ link ]

ARTLYST Illustrations by Rebecca Strickson for Artsy. Credits for original photographs in the full article. As 2015 draws to a close, Artsy parsed the year’s art to determine which artists, exhibitions, and creative hubs wielded the greatest influence. We scoured a vast cache of information: Using UBS’s art news app Planet Art, we scanned 146,000 articles, searching for artists mentioned, influential exhibitions, and hotly debated news. From Artsy, we culled pageviews, follows, and inquiries for over 50,000 artists. And from influential curators and collectors, we gathered input on creatives they believe are influencing the art landscape—and culture at large. [ link ]

ARTBEAT | NYTIMES By John Koblin Tyler Perry (left) and Jim Caviezel in The Passion of the Christ. Photo: Getty Images, Icon Productions HOLLYWOOD---Fox is to broadcast a live musical in March about Jesus Christ, titled “The Passion,” the latest live music special to appear on network television. “The Passion” will be hosted and narrated by Tyler Perry , and broadcast live from New Orleans on Palm Sunday. The special will be shot throughout New Orleans, including a scene in which hundreds of people will carry a cross from just outside the Superdome to a stage next to the Mississippi River, the network said. [ link ]

ARTNEWS By Nate Freeman "Meeting" (1986) by James Turrell. COURTESY MOMA PS1 NEW YORK---When MoMA PS1 shut the doors to James Turrell’s Meeting (1986), a large installation work in a former classroom on the third floor of the Queens institution, in 2013, it meant visitors could no longer experience the artist’s first-ever public skyspace—the name he gave to his signature type of work that can, through a careful calibration of light and angles, make the colors of the sky burn with an otherworldly intensity. Now the museum’s director, Klaus Biesenbach, announced at a press breakfast at MoMA this morning (Wednesday) that Meeting will reopen this summer, following renovations. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Christine Hauser Larycia Hawkins, an associate professor of political science at Wheaton College, wore a hijab at a church service in Chicago. Credit Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune, via Associated Press ILLINOIS---Wheaton College, an evangelical Christian institution, has disciplined a professor who put on a head scarf in solidarity with Muslims and said they worship the “same God” as Christians. The private liberal arts college said in a statement on Tuesday that Larycia Hawkins, an associate professor of political science, had been placed on administrative leave over “significant questions regarding the theological implications” of recent remarks she made about the relationship between Christianity and Islam. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Dionne Searcey SENEGAL---For years, even as Boko Haram and other radical Islamist groups in West Africa have seized territory and carried out suicide bombings, rapes and kidnappings, Senegal, where more than 90 percent of the population is Muslim, has remained free from violent extremism. But recent events across the world, and now accusations of ties to Boko Haram in Senegal, have put the nation on the defensive. President Macky Sall has spoken of a need to restrict personal freedoms, tighten borders and even ban women from wearing burqas, saying that in Senegal, there was no place for radical Muslims. [ link ]

KSL BROADCASTING By Megan Marsden Christensen J. Kirk Richards oil painting, "Cristo CCCXL (Crown of Thorns)." (Photo: J. Kirk Richard) UTAH--- J. Kirk Richards has been interested in art for as long as he can remember. Richards has been inspired by art created in a wide variety of time periods and movements, like prehistoric art and postmodernism. "I wanted to make sacred art that acknowledged and was inspired by the aesthetic of all of these art periods," Richards said. Richards largely creates art with Judeo-Christian themes; some of it depicting scripture stories from the New Testament. [ link ]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL By Jennifer Smith NEW YORK---An effort to measure whether New York City’s cultural organizations reflect the famously diverse metropolis they serve has focused fresh attention on a concern that has bedeviled some in the arts world for years. In January, the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs plans to release a report showing how New York City’s museums and performing-arts groups stack up. “The emphasis is more carrot than stick,” said Edwin Torres, the city’s acting Cultural Affairs commissioner. The idea, he said, was to uncover practices that boost diversity and share them with other groups, “versus an interrogation for the sake of finger-pointing.” [ link ]

RUETERS By Reuters Staff (A Fairfax County police officer controls traffic as women make their way to the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia just outside of Washington December 11, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque) From the suburbs of Los Angeles to the outskirts of Washington, D.C., mosques around the United States are warily stepping up security in the face of growing fears about reprisals on American Muslims. The increasing safety concerns described by American Islamic leaders – and the steps they are taking in response, including hiring armed guards – represent the flip side of the rising public anxiety about Islamic State-inspired terror after attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. [ link ]

ARTNET | NEWS By Blake Gopnik "Staircase & two rooms" (2014) by Jeff Wall When I came across this recent piece by Jeff Wall at Marian Goodman gallery in New York, it struck me as one of the best things he's ever done. Maybe that's because at this time of year my mind tends to be filled with Christian imagery, and Wall's work suddenly seemed to be a good fit. His huge triptych instantly evoked the multi-panel altarpieces of the European Renaissance. I'm not saying I'd rather live in a world of belief, but the contrast between Wall and, say, Bellini makes clear that religion once had its rewards. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Dave Phillips Cadet Singh had grown up a Sikh. As part of his faith, he had never cut his hair or beard. But his faith also encouraged protection of the oppressed, which inspired him to join the Army. On his first day at the United States Military Academy at West Point, Simratpal Singh sat in a barber chair where new cadets get their hair buzzed short, forced to choose between showing his faith and living it. Last week, the Army finally granted now Captain Singh, 27, a religious accommodation that allows him to grow his beard and wrap his hair in a turban. [ link ]

MASHABLE By Heidi Moore Andrew Hozier Byrne Not since Mariah Carey radically improved Christmas playlists with "All I Want for Christmas Is You" has there been a grown-up version of a holiday song begging to be put on repeat — until Hozier's slow version of " God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen " came along. The smokey-voiced Irish singer of 2014's omnipresent hit Take Me to Church transforms the old-fashioned, jaunty Christmas carol into a chill, sexy tune. [ link ]

BBC NEWS Merry Christmas © Imranovi. “Our symbol of joy.” UNITED KINGDOM--- Imranovi (not his real name) is a Syrian artist in exile, now living in Dubai. His first UK solo exhibition, "Modern Face of Syria," is hosted by Art Represent - an organisation that offers a platform and support for artists affected or displaced by conflict and social upheaval. In his work, Imranovi, a graphic artist, uses his first-hand experience of the ongoing civil war in Syria as inspiration and reflects on the continuing refugee crisis in Europe. While the western world debates what to do about Assad and Islamic State, Imranovi wants us to remember that the bloody civil war rages on. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS A pregnant "Mary & Joseph" by James C. Lewis (Book of Matthew) is the perfect image for the Advent season of waiting and expectation for what is ahead. GEORGIA---Just in time for Christmas, the creative shop of James C. Lewis (N3k Photo Studios) is making his "Icons of the Bible" available for every home. The "Icons" series of contemporary Black actors portraying Biblical figures was launched today on FineArtAmerica.com . N3K Photo Studios is a one stop creative shop located in Atlanta, GA. The "Icons of the Bible" are available as prints and even throw pillows. In his own words, "Experience the Gospel in living color" this holiday season. [ Purchase ]

STYLE MAGAZINE | NEW YORK TIMES By Alexander Lobrano Musée Unterlinden's Isenheim Altarpiece was sculpted and painted by the German artists Niclaus of Haugenau and Matthias Grünewald respectively between 1512 and 1516. FRANCE---Located in a cloistered 13th-century Dominican convent, the museum is one of the most visited small museums in France and is best known for its Isenheim Altarpiece , which was sculpted and painted by the German artists Niclaus of Haugenau and Matthias Grünewald respectively between 1512 and 1516. Less well known is its exceptional collection of modern and contemporary art — with major works by Pablo Picasso, Jean Dubuffet and Robert Delaunay, among others — which it could never display in its entirety for lack of space. And so the remodel served to expand — and modernize. 1 Rue des Unterlinden, 68000 Colmar, France, musee-unterlinden.com. [l ink ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Randy Kennedy Book cover for "Mark Rothko: From the Inside Out" PUBLISHING---Christopher Rothko gave up a profession as a clinical psychologist to oversee his father’s complex legacy and to lecture about his work. And now, more than a dozen years into that full-time life in the art world, he has published his first collection of critical essays about his father’s painting and its still-unsettling effect on viewers, “ Mark Rothko: From the Inside Out ” (Yale University Press). [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Sara Lipton No historian can claim to have insight into the motives of living individuals. But history does show that a heightening of rhetoric against a certain group can incite violence against that group, even when no violence is called for. The experience of Jews in medieval Europe offers a sobering example. In the decades around 1100, a shift in the focus of Christian veneration brought Jews to the fore. Ferocious anti-Jewish rhetoric began to permeate sermons, plays and polemical texts. The first records of large-scale anti-Jewish violence coincide with this rhetorical shift. [ link ]

HYPERALLERGIC By Carey Dunne Peter Doig, “Horse and Rider,” oil on canvas (2014) (all images courtesy Michael Werner Gallery) NEW YORK---A lion with a blue-plumed pirate hat, an obsidian nude with her face blacked out, a mysterious rider on horseback — the settings and characters in Peter Doig’s newest paintings, now on view at Michael Werner Gallery, are at once strange and somehow totally familiar, like scenes from myths or dreams. All too rare in the modern art world is Doig’s lack of pretense, his embrace of vibrant color and the physicality of paint, and his childlike wonder. He’s the perfect antidote to the Koons-ification of the commercial art industry, which threatens to crush itself to death with a clone army of “balloon dogs.” [ link ]

CHABAD.ORG By Yoram Raanan "Menorah Six" By Yoram Raanan Artist’s Statement : Painted in a way where the creation evolves and changes, what began as a landscape on two panels grew into this image of a menorah emanating light and color over six canvases. The fiery raw sienna and umber are countered by blues and greens that temper the fire. The light that shines within also evokes the image of the burning bush. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Sheila Marikar Top, a live band, lit by multicolored spotlights, brings worshipers to their feet at Mosaic. Credit John Francis Peters for The New York Times CALFORNIA---While Christianity is on a decline in the United States, at Mosaic and other churches like it in the Los Angeles area, the religion is thriving. Despite the neon lights, social media accounts and the casual style of dress, these churches preach about the same God and the same things that, as Reality LA’s Mr. Treat put it, “most Christians have believed for the last 2,000 years.” But they can scramble the signals of traditional churchgoers, even young ones. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Devorah Blachor “We definitely aren’t in Kansas anymore,” I told my husband. I was showing him “Jesus’ Christmas Party,” the school library book my daughter brought home in early December. By Kansas, I meant Israel. Predictably, my children are now asking me if we can celebrate Christmas. Like with everything else in parenthood, there is no perfect resolution or ending to this story. [ link ]

DAILY O By Harsh Chaturvedi Devaki is a Hindu mother Goddess. She was the daughter of Devaka and wife of King Vasudeva. Devaki's cousin, INDIA---One "ideal" that binds us all in the society beyond the limitations of time and space, beyond any bounds of geographical and cultural practices or of time and age is the ideal of the all-glorified mother. Worshipping God as mother has been an inherent part of ancient cultures. Here in India, it has been a part of our unbroken living traditions in which the ideals of universal divinity seamlessly transcend physically as our personal mother. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Disney-Britton "Jesus and Babies Over Mountain Pool Landscape" from the collection of Jim Shaw I am obsessed with news of Donald Trump's latest " performance art ." It's as captivating a work of appropriation as the New Museum's "Jim Shaw: The End is Near" exhibition. "Appropriation" simply means "to take or make use of without authority or right." During this third week of Advent, we are called to take and make use of the previous weeks of constraint and repentance , to recreate ourselves like a new " color of the year ." That's why " Jim Shaw: The End is Near " (above) in NYC is our  NEWS OF WEEK .

CHRISTIANITY TODAY By Alissa Wilkinson HOLLYWOOD--- Chi-Raq is based on Aristophanes' ancient comedy Lysistrata, performed first in Athens in 411 BCE. In the play, the title character—a woman—decides she’s had enough of the Peloponnesian War. She convinces the women of the town to withhold sexual relations from their husband and lovers until the war is ended. As a film, it’s also just messy and repetitive, with tonal shifts that can be especially strange if you don’t know what’s it’s spoofing; in several cases, it’s obviously referring to Dr. Strangelove , another biting sex comedy that took no prisoners in its indictment of systemic stupidity. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Ben Kenigsberg Movie poster for "The Tainted Veil" HOLLYWOOD---“ The Tainted Veil ” explores the history and the contradictions of the hijab, the head and neck covering that many Muslim women wear. This documentary’s subjects variously describe the garment as an expression of, and a denial of, femininity; a source of beauty and a concealment of it; a backward-looking symbol and a modern fashion accessory. " The Tainted Veil ," Not rated. In Arabic, French, Danish, Dutch, Turkish and English, with subtitles in English (Running time: 1 hour 18 minutes) [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By A. O. Scott HOLLYWOOD---A true crime story and a madcap comedy, a heist movie and a scalding polemic, “The Big Short” will affirm your deepest cynicism about Wall Street while simultaneously restoring your faith in Hollywood. It’s a trip. At the end, your brain hurts and you feel sick to your stomach, as can happen when too much adrenaline has been surging through your system. But that queasy, empty feeling is the point: This is a terrifically enjoyable movie that leaves you in a state of rage, nausea and despair. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES By A.O. Scott HOLLYWOOD---With its supporting cast of ambitious megachurch pastors and naïve churchgoers, this might look like a satire of religion, or at least of certain aspects of 21st-century American Christianity. But “ Don Verdean ,” written by Jared and Jerusha Hess, the couple who cooked up “Napoleon Dynamite,” “Nacho Libre” and “Gentlemen Broncos,” and directed, like those movies, by Mr. Hess, is more accurately described as a religious satire. Its intentions are, to some degree, corrective: It mocks some of the popular corruptions of faith so as to invite the audience to reflect upon what real faith might be. [ link ]

THE NEW YORK TIMES  By Manhola Dargis HOLLYWOOD---As the ice caps melt, the trickle of movies about nature’s revenge may turn into a deluge. There are oceans already sloshing through “In the Heart of the Sea,” the latest from the director Ron Howard, about the shipwreck that was an inspiration for Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick.” It’s at once a biopic and an adventure yarn that, with harpoons and ploddingly good intentions, turns a story of survival into an ecological cautionary tale. [ link ]

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEW YORK---The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea signed a memorandum of understanding today at the Museum, establishing a long-term relationship of cooperation in the area of Korean art and culture. The agreement was signed on behalf of the Metropolitan Museum by Daniel H. Weiss, President, and on behalf of the Ministry by Seung Je Oh, Director of the Korean Cultural Service of New York. On this occasion, the Ministry further announced a gift of approximately $1 million (KRW 1,250,000,000) to the Metropolitan Museum, where the gift will fund initiatives over a three-year period, 2016–2018, including a major exhibition in 2018, enhancement of the presentation of Korean art in the Museum's Arts of Korea Gallery, and support for new collaborative scholarship.

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Vanessa Friedman For the first time, Pantone chose a blend of two colors: Rose Quartz (a kind of mineral pink) and Serenity (a light blue). What’s in a shade? If you are Pantone , the “color authority” and the dominant color trend forecaster, and you get to choose a “color of the year” every year, potentially a lot. For the first time, it’s a blend of two colors: Rose Quartz (a kind of mineral pink) and Serenity (a light blue). Explaining the choice, the company cited “societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity, the consumer’s increased comfort with using color as a form of expression, a generation that has less concern about being typecast or judged and an open exchange of digital information that has opened our eyes to different approaches to color usage.” [ link ]

HYPERALLERGIC By Alina Cohen Mark Bradford speaking in front of his painting “Dead Hummingbird” (2015) CALIFORNIA---At first sight, Mark Bradford’s paintings attract viewers with their bright colors and often grand scale. "There were certain elements of the AIDS crisis that really formed my personality. The ’80s haunted me," (said MB) "and I ran — I travelled the world, I stayed five minutes ahead of the Grim Reaper." Bradford was born in 1961 in Los Angeles, where he still lives and works. Major awards have included a MacArthur Fellowship in 2009 and his election as a National Academician in 2013. Earlier this month, he opened his newest solo exhibition, Be Strong Boquan , at the Chelsea location of Hauser & Wirth. [ link ]

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR By Stephanie Wang INDIANA---The Indiana Family Institute and American Family Association of Indiana, two conservative lobbying groups, filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging local nondiscrimination ordinances in Indianapolis and Carmel that protect sexual orientation and gender identity. In claiming the ordinances strip the groups of their religious freedom protections, the lawsuit also contends that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act “fix” — which upholds such laws from religious objections — is unconstitutional. [ link ]

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR By Wei-Huan Chen INDIANA—The release of the new "Star Wars" is, for many, a remarkable occasion by itself. But one Indianapolis theatre is offering what's considered the best way to experience the long-awaited sequel. It's a high-resolution, high-contrast format that (Director) Abrams' production company tweet was the "best format ever." But only 15 theaters in the world have a copy of a 70mm IMAX version. The IMAX Theatre at the  Indiana State Museum  is one of those theaters, making Indiana one of nine states in the U.S. to offer what many consider a superior experience to digital IMAX and the standard widescreen formats, according to the IMAX website . There will be theaters in Canada, England and Australia showing the 70mm IMAX version. [ link ]