RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK -- Kelvin Burzon

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton

"Incredulity" by Kelvin Burzon

We are Easter people, and as we mourn the 20,614 deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S., we also thank God. The last 40-days have been a period of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA), but Jesus gave us one thing we could control through it all: Fasting. Lent teaches that everything changes, except Jesus. During these times of doubt about the art world, vision, prayer, clarity, and generosity moves us forward. In John 20:29, Jesus blessed Thomas, who doubted, and that lesson makes Kelvin Burzon's "Incredulity" our art of the week.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK - He is Risen

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton

“Jacob Wrestling the Angel” (2017) by Michael Cook. Print #15 of 150, 27.5 x 19.5. Original is pencil on paper.

What’s it like to wrestle with God? After 9 weeks with a fractured heel, Ernest will walk back into our church today. It’s not a perfect gait, but he’s walking. Healing any foot injury is a wrestling match that changes you, and this one inspired our purchase of a print by English artist Michael Cook. His interpretation from the books of Genesis and Hosea appears as if Jacob is wrestling himself. Note even the matching bare feet. These weeks changed us, and that’s why, on this Easter morning, “Jacob Wrestling an Angel” by Michael Cook is our art of the week.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton

"Ama Namin" (Our Father) by Kelvin Burzon. Image courtesy of the Alpha & Omega Project  for Religious Arts Collection

Mark 16:9 - Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 

It's Easter, and we’re way too excited about all the ways that today's artists are depicting Jesus Christ as a man of this world. This week, we posted recent depictions by artists Douglas Blanchard (2005), Kehinde Wiley (2008), Kelvin Burzon (2017), and tonight we’ll see musician John Legend play Jesus in “Jesus Christ Superstar Live” on NBC. Instead of limiting our imaginings of what Christ looked like, these artists push cultural buttons and invite more of us to the table. Blanchard depicted him as a white gay man debating with priests. Wiley’s dead Christ in his tomb is a black man, and Burzon photographed himself portraying a dead Christ, and also as a victorious Filipino risen from the dead (above). In 2018, add the new to your collection like “Ama Namin” by Indiana-based Kelvin Burzon.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Greg & Ernest Disney-Britton

Robert Indiana (American, 1928-) creation date 1970 materials Cor-ten steel dimensions 144 x 144 x 72 in. accession number 75.174 credit line Gift of the Friends of the Indianapolis Museum of Art

Happy Easter! While we were away during the 40-days of Lent, Robert Indiana's iconic LOVE sculpture came back on display at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Things go away, and things change hopefully for the better. Months ago, we sadly announced its removal from outdoor display, but the sculpture came back on display indoors in March. It's an image inspired by his roots in the Christian Science Church in his home-state of Indiana. When we began Lent, we were not sure that AOA would return either, but below are a few of the Twitter connections/friends who helped get us through Lent this year (thank you). Most of all, God worked to resurrect our purpose: "Providing daily news to religious artists and collectors."

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK - Easter

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory A. Disney-Britton

Ron Mueck's "Youth" c. 2009 and Carravagio's "The Incredulity of Saint Thomas" c. 1601–1602

This morning we celebrate the risen Christ, but we should also celebrate that He still has His wounds, but they are no longer killing Him. Usually on Easter morning, we quickly ignore the wounds, but the entire point of Lent 2016 is to "mark" us and to change us. We always fast, as expected by Jesus (Matthew 6:16-18), but on Easter morning, we've gone back to old habits. Lent teaches that it is in changing that we honor the sacrifice. Artists from Michelangelo Merisi Caravaggio in the 1600s to Ron Mueck today have used their gifts to remind us of the power of the mark. It is those marks that remind us not to repeat the same mistakes. Lent is over. How have you been marked?

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest & Gregory Disney-Britton

No matter your religious beliefs, there's something to celebrate this weekend—Indiana's compromise in establishing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. We've requested a copy of the photo from the original signing from the govenor's office for our own collection. Whether you observe Easter (Christian), Passover (Jewish), Theravada New Year (Buddhist), Hanuman Jayanti (Hindu), Mahavir Jayanti (Jain), or Vaisakhi (Sikh), all Hoosiers now have new protections in observing their faith, and none permits discrimination against others. In the spirit of new beginnings, the "RFRA" photo (above) is our NEWS OF WEEK.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

I love listening to Quincy Owens, and I loved his work long before we'd ever met when I stumbled upon his "Holy Land" (above) at an Indianapolis gallery in 2012. He's a full-time artist, and a Christian who just returned from a Hindu immersion in India, and is now preparing for another "mission through art" to Romania (with his wife and kids). "In our western culture we talk in terms of “either/or” in a way of separating and categorizing," he said about his work. "In eastern culture there is a seamless acceptance of 'both/and.'" His work is just that – "both/and," and that's why we're celebrating this Easter with a gift of support for his journey to Romania as our NEWS OF WEEK. You can support him too by sending a check to: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 1505 N. Delaware Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202, ATTN: "Romania Mission."

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS 
By TAHLIB

HOPE brought people of different faiths together this week, with Pope Francis leading "much" of the way. It was a week where Hindus, Jews, and Christians all celebrated their holy days. It was a week where many US congregations celebrated as the US Supreme Court listened to arguments supporting the "freedom to marry" for their gay members; and it was a week where Muslim Turks and Jewish Israelis renewed a commitment to cooperation.  There is hope in the world this week, but with hope also comes dark shadows. That is why Easter Sunday celebrations are a choice to focus on hope, and it's also why Christina Saj's "Hope" (above) from her March 2013 INSPIRE ME! profile is my NEWS OF WEEK.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

On this Easter morning, we pray for Thomas Kincade and his family. Kincade, the self-styled Painter of Light died on Good Friday at the age of 54, and that is the NEWS OF WEEK. According to his website, Kinkade sold more canvases than any painter in history (above is "Risen"). That's more than Picasso, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Gaugain, Monet, Manet, and Renoir combined! While critics argue that Kinkade didn't make serious art, he is the most widely collected artist in America today.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

We are in Saint Louis today for Easter weekend, and it's been a sensational trip! The drive home will be packed with talk of the "George Rouault" exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art and the breathtaking Saint Louis Cathedral Basilica, as well as the other local sights including the great storm of 2011. This morning we are heading to 10:00 a.m. Easter service at Saint Mark's Episcopal Church with its stunning art deco design and stained glass windows which will be followed by a soul food dinner at Yummies, a local African American tradition. On the way home, we will also stop at the world's largest cross (198-ft tall) in Effingham, Illinois!

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

"I will never leave you" by Adrian Kellard

I cried. The Museum of Contemporary Religious Arts (MoCRA) was established in 1991 in the former Fusz Memorial Chapel. It’s a stately facility and an exceptional place to exhibit contemporary religious art. We saw their powerful exhibit, “Good Friday: The Suffering Christ in Contemporary Art” of works produced by artists living with AIDS. I recommend this beautiful museum, and promise we will be back again next year, if not before. This was an exceptional Easter Weekend in Saint Louis, Missouri which included, of course, Sunday morning worship at The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis:

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

GOD'S ART MUSEUMS
By TAHLIB

"Feet First" (1990) by Martin Kippenberger at MoMA

"Robo-priest" delivered the Easter homily in French today at Saint Vincent de Paul Church. I nicknamed him that because of his robot-like efficiency during weekday noon masses, but today he was different. Backed by an all Haitian choir, he was on fire before the packed congregation of pasty Parisian-born New Yorkers dressed in white. It was a beautful yet broken experience for me. Monday - Friday, this is my home church but on this Easter Sunday, I was an alien. Yesterday, at MOMA I saw Martin Kippenberger's retrospective, and his crucified frog is my image for Easter 2009. Everyday in NYC, wonder surrounds me but I remain an alien.