RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton

Gregory Disney-Britton, co-creator of the Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Art, at home with, from left, Quincy Owens + Luke Crowley's “Prime IV” (purchased 2018) and Tony Melendez’s “Capricorn Greeting the Celtic Moon” (purchased 2014). 

Near the end of 2018’s Advent Fast, a gin loving friend asked, “When is that shit over?” We prayed for him. In Matthew 10:17-22, Jesus said, “You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.” We began 2018 with a promise to fast, pray, and praise by collecting art created in His name, but we fell short. We did however have long talks with Quincy Owens about his art of the religious imagination. Creating spirit-filled work despite distractions is why “Prime IV" by Owens & Crawley is our acquisition of the year.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton

Verneida Britton wrapped in her beach-towel, "The Virgin Martyr St Cecelia" by Kehinde Wiley. Photo taken by her son, Greg Disney-Britton at Newport on the Levee. 

Visual artist Kehinde Wiley forever changed the way we see portrait painting. He re-conceptualized history to form a contemporary vision, and inspired us to do the same in our own lives. This weekend, as we celebrated our son Kai’s job promotion he interviewed his grandmother sharing family history. Today, we’ll dine at his grandfather’s (1936-2009) favorite restaurant, Frisch’s Big Boy for what would have been his 82nd birthday. Next month, we’ll take Kai’s nana to Tybee Beach for her 80th birthday wrapped in Kehinde Wiley’s “The Virgin Martyr St. Cecilia.” It's a beach towel version of Wiley’s 18-foot original, and that's why Kehinde Wiley’s “The Virgin Martyr St. Cecilia” is our art of the week.

Collector's Kim and Michael McCarty tastes of California, imported to the East coast

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Show Us Your Walls
By Ted Loos

Kim and Michael McCarty at home in New York with, from left, Laura Owens’s “Untitled” (2005), a drawing and collage on paper; Tim Hawkinson’s “Advance Receding,” in oil on structured canvas; and David Hockney’s “Study for Santa Monica Blvd.” (1979), in colored pencil on paper. Credit Daniel Dorsa for The New York Times

Woody Allen may have called Los Angeles a city where the only cultural advantage is being able to make a right turn on a red light (that’s from “Annie Hall”), but the bicoastal restaurateur Michael McCarty and his wife, Kim McCarty, an artist, have spent 40 years proving that wrong, bringing top examples of West Coast creativity to the Big Apple. This couple have a Midtown Manhattan apartment filled with California-flavored art and objects, many of them works on paper, by Los Angeles residents like Tim Hawkinson, Frank Gehry, David Hockney, Laura Owens and Ed Ruscha. [More]

For Ernest Disney-Britton, ArtPrize is a great place to find artists worth collecting

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

Ernest Disney-Britton is surrounded by works he has collected during his travels including last year's "The Next Supper" by William Fristch. It is a print acquired during ArtPrize 2017. (upper right)

Every September, Gregory and Ernest Disney-Britton sets out for ArtPrize in Grand Rapids to find one artist whose work he'd love to bring home to Indianapolis. For 19 days, close to 1,700 artists from around the world display their work in Grand Rapids and compete for $500,000 in cash prizes—decided equally by public vote and expert jury. There is also an large percentage of the work with religious themes and messages, although much of that is bad art, some of the pieces have been exceptional. Past entries have included Mako Fujimura's "Walking the Water" and Anila Quayyum Agha's "Intersections," two artists whose related works are now also in the Disney-Britton collection. Last year Gregory took home William Fritsch's "The Next Supper" inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper." It's a print of a larger drawing that was on display in Metropolitan Community Church, one of the 200+ venues for ArtPrize.

Starting an interfaith dialogue by collecting religious art

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
Showing Our Walls
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Greg Disney-Britton stands flanked by art in the living room of his Indianapolis home

INDIANAPOLIS, IN---A week ago, on Epiphany Day a Christmas tree stood in the spot where Greg Disney-Britton was photographed in his downtown Indianapolis home. He is flanked on his right by Tom Torluemke's "Let Freedom Ring, The Wedding Bells" (2011) and to his left by Anila Quayyum Agha's "Moon Beam For My Love 1" (2016). It is representative of a  recurring theme in the Disney-Britton collection. It is an ongoing dialogue between Christian art and the art of other faiths including Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, and Jewish. The Torluemke was purchased to celebrate the freedom to marry when it became the law of the land; and the Agha work was purchased because of its message about interfaith dialogue and religious tolerance.

Collectors: Christmas ornaments, everyman's collectible and the end of Christmas

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
Showing Our Walls
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Friends gathered for the end of Christmas 2017

Who doesn't collect Christmas ornaments? Eleven friends gathered on January 6th for a Three King's Day party, and in this photo, each is holding an ornament they've each removed from the Christmas tree at the home of Ernest & Gregory Disney-Britton (Ted Givens was present too but not in photo). Top Left: Rev. Joshua Burkholder, Rev. Jackie Jackson, Donald Bievenour, Ernest Disney-Britton. Bottom Left: Greg Disney-Britton, Ginger Bievenour, Rev. Carolyn Burkholder (holding Xavier Burkholder and his ornament), Tracy Robinson, and Tina Sherrard.

NYC Rabbi's pop art lessons on Judaism finds home in Indianapolis

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

Gregory Disney-Britton seated at home in Indianapolis holding "Orange Socks" by Hasidic pop artist Rabbi Yitzchok Moully. “In truth, Judaism really asks us to find ourselves within the experience. It’s not about being a carbon copy, said Moully. "It’s asking us to find personal meaning within Judaism.”

For Greg Disney-Britton, images of Christ brings church to his home

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

Gregory Disney-Britton seated at home in Indianapolis holding newly acquired Kelvin Buzon's "Saint John the Baptist," edition 1 of 25; Nicollo Cosme’s ”Madonna & Child,” top left; William Wallace's "John 3:16," bottom left; William Fritsch’s “The Next Supper,” foreground right; and Henrich Hoffman's "Figure of Christ," center left.

Gregory Disney-Britton is surrounded by images of Christ each night as he sits down at home to manage his church's daily blog postings. “It's the most important tool our church has to share our member's journey and how they connect to scripture," he said of his work at Life Journey Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. While Greg's been collecting for years, it's a recent decision to transform his office den into an exclusive display of portraits of Jesus Christ, paintings, drawings, prints, and posters. Christ's baptism by Saint John the Baptist by photographer Kelvin Burzon is a recent acquisition, but works by Henrich Hoffman and Salvador Dali are also included.

Collector Spotlight: Ernest Disney-Britton's Passion for "Divine Blue"

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

Ernest Disney-Britton stands in his study next to "Divine Blue" (Published 2013, #83/1,000) by Romero Britto and wearing one of his dozens of blue shirts.

INDIANA---People often ask why Ernest Disney-Britton wears only blue shirts, and he typically cuts it short with: "I like blue," but there is more to his story. "Blue is the color of Heaven, and of the Virgin Mary. That is why Alpha Omega Arts is blue too," says Ernest. "Some people wear a Cross tucked away, but Blue is my visible symbol of Heaven." In 2015, he and Gregory purchased a limited edition print of "Divine Blue" by Florida-based artist Romero Britto. Following conventions from the era of the Renaissance, the artist painted the Virgin's inner garment in "red" (the color of mankind) covered by an outer garment of  "blue" for Heaven, and the divine. [link]

Tom Torluemke Book Release & New Show in Chicago on August 26

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS [AOPrize Finalist: Click to Vote]

"Tuesday's Garbage Day" by Tom Torluemke

ILLINOIS---Firecat Projects will host the book release of Tom Torluemke’s SYMPTOMS: satirical drawings by Tom Torluemke. The limited-edition, 200-page, softbound book includes 90 images from Tom’s blog, Torluemke’s Daily Punch: a series of daily impressions and ideas about our society and politics made into simple but powerful statements using acrylic paint marker on paper. Tom’s spontaneously drawn reactions and visual vocabulary touch on a variety of subject matter in this hard-hitting series. The book will be released at an opening exhibition (also titled, Symptoms) with a selection of the original drawings on Friday, August 26, 2016 at Firecat Projects, 2124 N. Damen Avenue Chicago, IL, from 7:00 – 10:00 p.m.

Collector Spotlight: Greg Disney-Britton's “Untitled” by Tony Melendez

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest & Gregory Disney-Britton

"Untitled" (2011) by Tony Melendez. Acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20"

This week, Gregory Disney-Britton acquired “Untitled” by Tony Melendez (1938-2015), a favorite in our collection. Melendez painted the work in 2011 for his ill friend Deb Elmore of Indianapolis. This photo is of Greg posing with the 16” x 20” acrylic painting on canvas at our home in Indianapolis. Melendez was born in New York City and came to religious painting late in his career. He admired the work of Henri Rousseau (1844-1910) who was also untrained and like Tony Melendez is best known for his naïve, or primitive, childlike religious scenes.

Collector Spotlight: "Lamb of God is the New Black" Finds Home in Indianapolis

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest & Gregory Disney-Britton

This photo is of Gregory posing with "Lamb of God is the New Black," a mixed media on paper work at his home in Indianapolis.

This week, Gregory Disney-Britton added Lamb of God is the New Black by Scott Brooks along with Supreme Ruling to the A&O collection. Scott lives and works in Washington, DC. His paintings are primarily figurative, with anatomical distortions to create a new reality. "Using a language that is easily understood," says Scott, "I tell stories. I weave figures, symbols, and elements together to create a narrative to share with an audience." Often using humor, he depicts many scenes inspired by his Roman Catholic background to comment on religious and political issues. His work has been described as both sentimental and also disturbing.

The Lamb of God According to Scott Brooks

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"Sheep Is the New Black" (2006) by Scott Brooks. Mixed media on paper 10" x 13". A&O Collection 

In Christian symbolism, the sheep represents Jesus as "the lamb of God." This idea runs throughout Christian and Jewish history. It can be traced all the way back to Genesis 22, when God called Abraham to go to Mount Moriah to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. It is the story sacrifice, and in the Agnus Dei symbol, the lamb was used to symbolize innocence. "Sheep Is the New Black" is a remarkable painting by Washington, DC artist Scott G. Brooks. The illustration is on one level simple, but with a profound message for contemporary Christians. The two figures: the lamb and the black figure as Christ stare directly at the viewer with the backdrop of a dramatic play. Both are being led to slaughter it is peaceful and accepting of the situation, as Christ was (note the theatrical sunburst).

Marriage Equality's Place in Black History Month

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest O. Disney-Britton

Ernest & Gregory Disney-Britton hold the ceremonial broom for Saturday's ritual 

Does marriage equality have a place in Black History Month? Enslaved blacks in America created families but did not have the freedom to marry until Emancipation in 1865. Black Americans also had interracial relationships but did not have the freedom to marry until 1967. Black gays and lesbians have always had loving relationships, but didn't have the freedom to marry until 2015. Yesterday, Indianapolis artists ended Black History Month with the African ritual of jumping the broom to celebrate marriage.

Reimagining religion, spirituality and the arts with Jessica Springman

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

"Untitled" (2015) by Jessica Springman

INDIANA---My office wall facing the street is a floor to ceiling window covered by a "Vennism" work by Jessica Springman. A graduate of Art from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, her work is now on display in "Reimagine–Religion, Spirituality and the Arts" at the Harrison Center for the Arts, and in "TINY IV" at the Arts Council of Indianapolis. Jessica describes her artistic style as 'Vennism" where she breaks "apart multivariate reality into constituent and relational elements as separated and nested 2D representations." Tonight, we collected a piece of that reality.

The Saint John's Bible's message of forgiveness and returning home

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Disney-Britton

"Parable of the Lost Son" for The Saint John's Bible by Donald Jackson with contributions

Donald Jackson’s representation of parables from the Gospel of Luke in "The Saint John's Bible" is extremely timely for this month. The parables and one story are illustrated in diagonal bands that read in descending order from left to right. In the third band is the “Parable of the Lost Son (15:11-32)" who leaves the big city, as represented by the twin towers of the World Trade Center, to return home. This month, we make our final trip to NYC to close the loop on a journey begun in 2008. [View]

A "Labyrinth" crafted by Indiana wood carver Brad Ubelhor

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Gregory Disney-Britton holds our new "Labyrinth" crafted by master wood carver Brad Ubelhor of Bristow, Indiana. We purchased the carving in August at the Richard Meier-designed New Harmony Atheneum overlooking the Wabash River in southeastern Indiana. The inspiration for the work is the iconic hedge Labyrinth built by the Harmonists in the 1800s and reconstructed in 1941.

Pastor Rob Bell's new book offers new insights on understanding marriage

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest O. Disney-Britton

INDIANA---New York Times bestselling author and pastor Rob Bell visited Indianapolis tonight. During a pre-lecture gathering with religious leaders, he autographed copies of his new book, “The Zimzum of Love” a new way of understanding marriage. [link]

Love endures forever, and so rules the U.S. Supreme Court

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest & Gregory Disney-Britton

"Let Freedom Ring, The Wedding Bells" (2011) by Tom Torluemke

Greg and I were married in a chapel in Canada in 2008, because, as a same-sex couple, we could not marry in our home states of Ohio and Indiana. Today's historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling means that other religious same-sex couples will never again have to flee to Canada for their freedom. Reflecting the support of a majority of religious Americans, this is a momentous win for hundreds of thousands of same-sex couples and our families. In honor of this day, we "give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" (Psalm 107:1)

"Orange Socks" is Rabbi Yitzchok Moully's self portrait

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

"Orange Socks" by Yitzchok Moully. Print is 7in x 16in

NEW YORK---"Orange Socks" is a limited edition print by Yitzchok Moully. "Some what of a self portrait," said Yitzchok Moully, "'Orange socks' is about conforming and being an individual at the same time." The pop artist and Chassidic rabbi explains on his website: "Torah and Judaism give us guidelines to live a fulfilling life, at the same time Torah asks us to make it personal, to find ourselves and find our individuality in expressing our faith. One does not need dreadlocks or tattoos to express our individuality, for me orange socks works."