Philbrook hosts largest Islamic art exhibit in state history

TULSA PEOPLE
By Tim Landes

Starting Sunday, June 23, visitors to the Philbrook Museum of Art will have the opportunity to see what museum officials describe as the largest exhibit of Islamic art in state history. "Wondrous Worlds: Art & Islam through Time & Place" features more than 150 works spanning over 1,200 years. The exhibit, which runs through Oct. 6, highlights aspects of faith, culture, and daily lives of Muslims across the globe and throughout time. Works include textiles, clothing, furniture, metalwork, paintings, photography and calligraphy. [More]

The Printmaker: Raja Ravi Varma’s Artistic Legacy

DECCAN CHRONICLES

Raja Ravi Varma's placement of the dominant character is always on the left 

In the year 1894, the aristocratic Malayali painter, Raja Ravi Varma beloved in equal measure by the British overlords and the common man, ushered in a new phase of Indian art. This was the new age: art had reached the common man. Having enjoyed the patronage of the exceedingly wealthy House of Travancore, Varma acted on the advice of then Dewan T. Madhava Rao, to start a lithographic printing press in Ghatkopar. The press produced oleographs - the remarkable pantheon of Indian gods and goddesses churned out by the hundred. [More]

After 50 years on a dusty shelf in Germany, Hebrew scrolls return to Israel

JEWISH TELEGRAPH AGENCY
By Marcy Oster

Torah scrolls sat on a dusty shelf in an office in the Martinus Library in Mainz for some 50 years.(Courtesy of Martinus Library)

JERUSALEM (JTA) — When Leor Jacobi visited a Catholic library in the German city of Mainz to examine its Judaica collection, he was surprised when library officials showed him three centuries-old Hebrew scrolls that had been sitting on a dusty shelf for some 50 years. Jacobi, a doctoral candidate in Jewish art at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, visited Mainz in March. He was there as a guest of the Johannes Gutenberg University to study the particular Mainz version of the Yom Kippur prayer book. Mainz is known as Magentza in Yiddish. [More]

Felix Nussbaum: A Painter of the Holocaust for Our Times

THE TABLET
By Pat Lipsky

‘Self-Portrait in a Shroud (Group Portrait),’ 1942, oil on canvas (Berlinische Galerie – Landesmuseum für Moderne Kunst, Fotografie und Architektur. © 2019 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York)

A couple of weeks ago I visited the Neue Galerie to see The Self-Portrait (Ended June 2019). I knew there were some small etched self-portraits by Rembrandt from 1629-30 and, another favorite, the marvelous Max Beckmann “Self-Portrait with a Horn.” After going through the exhibition, on its final wall I saw them—three self-portraits by Felix Nussbaum. Coincidentally, at the same time I was reading Timothy Snyder’s important and disturbing book, Black Earth. Looking at Nussbaum’s three self-portraits the other day I saw the horror—dispossession and depersonalization leading to mass murder—that I’d just been reading about. [More]

Joel Grey's Other Love, Art, Is Not That Far From the Stage

THE NEW YORK TIMES
Show Us Your Walls
By Robin Pogrebin

Joel Grey in his loft in front of a Richard Tuttle “rag,” “Lake” (1967). On floor: “The Kiss,” from the new book of Mr. Grey’s photographs, “The Flower Whisperer.”

NEW YORK---Yes, Joel Grey is mainly an actor and director, perhaps forever best known for his indelible portrayal of the M.C. in the musical “Cabaret” and, most recently for directing the acclaimed Yiddish version of “Fiddler on the Roof.” But Mr. Grey has also steadily — and more quietly — built something of a side career as a photographer over the last 16 years, with his work featured in books, gallery shows and even in the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. Mr. Grey, 87, also likes to be around artists and has befriended several — namely David Hockney, Jim Dine and R.B. Kitaj — who have encouraged his artwork and sold him some of their own. [More]

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton

Kehinde Wiley’s "Portrait of Moerai Matuanui" (2019); Huile sur lin/ Oil on linen; 72 x 60 3/8 in. at Galerie Templon in Paris, France through July 20, 2019

We’re back from our fantasy island trip to Key West, to finally discover the big news of the solo show, “Tahiti: Kehinde Wiley” in Paris. It’s Kehinde Wiley’s response to Paul Gaugin’s fantasy island escape to Tahiti, and his erotic depictions of their trans women known as Māhū spiritual leaders  (See  “Pape Moe"). Gauguin knew Tahiti was right for him, but he painted for Christian colonizers, and Kehinde delves more deeply into Gaugin’s fantasy. That’s why “Portrait of Moerai Matuanui” makes Kehinde Wiley, our artist of the week... again.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton

Robert H. Colescott’s “Knowledge of the Past is Key to the Future.” Collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields

At the end of our nine-day exploration of the Deep South, in Alabama and Florida, we read about  Robert H. Colescott's (1929-2009) garish portrait of a lynching on display back home. Inspired by the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, this victim is half black and half white to remind us that racial terror affects both whites and blacks. We return to Indianapolis today focused on America’s two great sins: capitalism and racism, as explored in NUVO, and witnessed daily. "Knowledge of the Past is Key to the Future" makes Robert Colescott our artist of the week.

Goodbye Deep South: Alabama, Palm Beach, and Conch Republic

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Leaving Key West After Fireworks

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

The next morning, we left Key West for lunch at Boondocks in Little Torch Key with my high school best friend, David Sweet. I noted the thatched-roofed outdoor restaurant as we drove south yesterday and the street sign that read, "The Keys Will Rise Again." It's a take on the racist confederate phrase but in this case, speaks to recovery from the hurricane of two years past. Sweet's son is 9 years old, and his name is Jacob. Ernest called him Benjamin, but Sweet diplomatically corrected the mistake without correcting me. Well played. I was not embarrassed. It was classic David Sweet. His wife is lovely, and they both love to talk, almost as much as my husband!

Key West, Our Future Home

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

It's 4th of July, and finally time for a Fireworks party in Key West given by the parents of our realtor Reagan Butler. It took six hours in heavy traffic to get here. We stayed on Duval Street, in the heart of the entertainment district, not by choice but by necessity as it was the only room available on July 4th. The room was clean, the air conditioner was adequate, and in contrast to last night's dream sleep on a Casper mattress at Dave's house, this mattress only slightly bearable. It was hot. Seriously, it was like breathing fire, but locals didn't seem to notice while I withered and melted. We made our three key stops: Kermit's Key Lime pie, Alexander's Guesthouse for the cocktail hour, and a drag bar on Duval Street with unexpected discoveries. My foot is throbbing. It's time for ice and sleep.

Living the Life in West Palm Beach

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Following an early morning photo-op with Dr. Angela Corley on campus, we drove 3.5 hours past sugar cane fields and five-foot-wide canals, as we completed the journey to Palm Beach to visit Dave Lawrence, and his partner Jim. Corley had us thinking about gators, lizards, pythons, and boas. She is obsessed. Before reaching Dave, we stopped to see my cousin Tiffany Britton at her new job at United Technologies (or maybe the CIA). Dave's offices at the Palm Beach County Cultural Council are far more to my liking. It's a former art deco movie theatre with a mural on the backside. We had seafood at Bennies on the beachfront for dinner; drinks at their backyard pool, and we drove by Mara-largo. The latter is big but not as impressive as I'd expected.

Exploring Fort Meyers and Santa Belle Island

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Entrance to Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Meyer's Florida

We explored Fort Meyers and Santa Belle Island on this 90-degree day that began with Greg's unfortunate choice of beginning with a two-mile run. We toured the beautiful campus of Florida Gulf Coast University. Nestled inside a nature reserve, it's unlike any college campus that I've visited before. Downtown Fort Meyers is a quaint vacation destination that has been popular with Midwesterners going back to Henry Ford. There is even a pub themed in his honor where the wait staff wears gas station worker shirts, and the napkins are oil rags with a rubber hose clamp as the napkin holder. That evening, we took a 50-minute drive through Santa Belle Island to visit Captiva, and had Key Lime pie at Tween Waters Inn, sandwiched between the harbor and the Gulf.

MLK Church in Montgomery, Alabama

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Our final stop in Montgomery was to take a picture by Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, MLK's church. Then we headed off for a 9-hour drive to Fort Meyer’s, FL. We arrived at the home of Dr. Angela Corley at about 6 pm, just in time for dinner. We spent an hour unloading and catching up. She’s as hysterical as ever! That night, she took us out to seafood dinner, and we had our first of four Key Lime pies for dessert. The conversation with her was fun. We’ve missed her wit, storytelling, and spirit so much. She even gave us her King-size bed for sleeping, and she slept on her twin in the guest room. She's always been such a great host.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton

Untitled #01/10 (after Caravaggio, 1602; featuring Francois Sagat) From $466.00 USD to $982.00 USD

June was a  big month for more than one artist.

From Slavery to Mass Incarceration in America

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

We went to see Montgomery, Alabama to see the acclaimed lynching memorial. Soon after arriving, I had the overwhelming urge to escape the South. It's an experience that tells the detailed and graphic story of the racial oppression from slavery to mass incarceration. The National Memorial to Peace & Justice recognizes the lynchings that took place in over 800 counties across America. While there, we also took the Civil Rights tour: MLK’s Dexter Baptist Church, Rosa Parks Memorial & Library, Freedom Riders Greyhound Bus station museum, and drove the 52 miles to Selma to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the location for Bloody Sunday, March 1965. We also searched unsuccessfully for a Gay bar. However, we did find a small but colorful Gay Pride Festival hidden away in a nonprofit garden site. I'm glad we went.

National Memorial to America’s Legacy of Lynching

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

In Montgomery, AL, we saw the White House of the Confederacy while driving to our destination, the National Memorial for Peace & Justice, aka the lynching memorial. It wasn't the plan, but I'm glad we went to the first White House for white supremacy before reaching the beautiful and horrific space that honored the African American victims of white supremacy. It was 90 degrees hot. We stayed over for two nights at the Marriott Renaissance Hotel in downtown. After showering that night, we drove to suburbs for the movie "John Wick" and had movie food for dinner. Afterward, we walked around downtown. Gosh, it was hot, and it was like that for the rest of the week.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton

"GABRIEL" by Gabriel Garcia Román ( 2011);  Photogravure w/ Chine-Colle; 11in x 14in

Gabriel Garcia Román's "Queer Icons" are marching in New York City's Pride Parade today. Román is a Mexican-American multimedia artist based in NYC, and this year the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art commissioned him to re-produce his powerful Icons portraits of LGBT people of color as a processional art installation to be carried by marchers during today's parade in Manhattan. We're in Washington, DC today (see pics below), but whishing we were in NYC too. That's why "Queer Icons" creator Gabriel Garcia Román is our artist of the week.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton

Martine Gutierrez's "Demons, Xochiquetzal ‘Flower Quetzal Feather,’ p95," (2018); C-print mounted on Sintra, hand-painted artist frame, 39 x 27 inches, Edition of 8

Do men get glamorous pedicures? What goddess told you that? Martine Gutierrez, a trans-Latinx photographer, is the queen of glamorous creations that subvert conventional boundaries. Inspired by a Guatemalan goddess, her self-portrait, "Demons, Xochiquetzal 'Flower Quetzal Feather,' pg 85" is in an upcoming show "Be Seen: Portrait Photography Since Stonewall" at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. We push boundaries by painting our toenails for Pride Month, but glamour makes Martine Gutierrez our artist of the week.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton

John Bankston's "At the Crossroads" (2006-2007) Oil on linen 54 x 48 in. (137.1 x 122 cm)

John Bankston is a self-declared storyteller and visual novelist. Born in Benton Harbor, MI, 1963, the artist now lives and works in San Francisco where he is represented by Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco. Bankston uses the coloring book’s division of line and color to establish a basic rubric of oppositional meaning that extends to our culture’s major social divisions––adult and child, white and black, male and female, heterosexual and queer. In honor of Gay Pride Month, "Art of the Crossroads" artist John Bankston is our artist of the week.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton

Luis González Palma "El Angel (The Angel)," 1991-1992 Hand-painted gelatin silver print Photography 19 5/8 x 19 3/4 in. 

Luis González Palma is a modernist photographer. Born in 1957, he draws symbolism from Catholicism and indigenous belief systems from Guatemala. Combining the visual language of these two religions, he explores the essence and culture of the Mayan people. The untinted whites of the eyes in Palma's sepia-tinted photograph "El Angel" on display at the 21c Museum Hotel had a haunting effect on us during this past week's stay in Kansas City. Although he is not a practicing Catholic, "El Angel" makes Luis González Palma our artist of the week.