RELIGIOUS ART | TALK OF WEEK

AOA NEWS
By TAHLIB

"MUSLIM ICON" (above) by Komail Aijazuddin shows a woman in traditional Muslim dress. Using Christian stylized imagery of a traditional American nature (such as Whistler's Mother), Aijazuddin shows this Islamic women in a new light. Trained in NYC, the artist's work which went on display this week in a Pakistani gallery helps us to frame the struggle of Islamaphobia in America today. Two weeks into the debacle where Lowes pulled its advertising from the innocuous cable show, All-American Muslim, decent Christians are rallying to the side of American Muslims (and Jewish comedian Jon Stewart is making Lowes look appropriately stupid), this Creator Spirit reminds us that artists have a gift that can help us to celebrate our religious similarities, and to press past our differences (Image courtesy of GLAAD). Listed below are the other religions art news stories of the past week from our interfaith world. The stories are grouped by the five largest faith traditions, with an additional category for other/interfaith.

BUDDHIST ART:

• Art: On the Trail of Tintin's Tibet (The Daily Beast | Newsweek)
• New Arts of Japan Gallery to culminate five-year initiative to expand presentation of Asian art (ArtDaily)
• Major Exhibition On Tibetan Buddhist Mandalas For The First Time in Atlanta at The Carlos Museum (Music Industry News Network)
• Mumbai Artist Sketches the Life of Buddha in 80 Paintings (Hindstan Times)
• Buddhist Art Show Promotes Amaravathi, India as Destination for Chinese Tourists (The Hindu)
• Uttaporn Nimmalaikaew's Contemporary Buddhist Paintings (Bangkok Post)

HINDU ART:

• Gulbarga Symposium in India Promotes Fine Arts to Aspiring Young Artists (The Hindu)

ISLAMIC ART:

• Art & About: The Many Faces of Islamic Architecture (News Straits Times)
• News Video: Lowes Pulls Ad Support for American Muslim TV Show (Ajajeerah News)
• One American's Passion Birth's Islamic Museum in Washington DC (Voice of America)
• Florida Extremists Hijack Christianity, American Muslims Suffer (Detroit Free Press)
• Shia Islamic Art that Defies Islamic Constraint on View in Pakistan (News International)
• Islamic Art Show Depicts Parallells Between Christian & Islamic Faiths (Dawn News)

JEWISH ART:

• Art & Auctions of Judaica at Sotheby's Tomorrow (The New Yorker)

CHRISTIAN ART:

• Salem Woman was an Artist saved by Christian Faith (Salem News)
• N. Korea Threatens S. Korea Not to Put up Christmas Trees (USA Today)
• Pastors Use the Art of Video to Transform Lives During Advent (AOA News)
• Art Review: Transition to Christianity, Onassis Cultural Center, NYC (California Literary Review)
• Banksy Creates Art Commentary on Church Sex Abuse Scandal (Daily Mail)
• 'Gayest Christmas Pageant Ever!' May Shock Thin-Skinned Crowd (Los Angeles Times)
• Caravaggio's Light: Andrew Graham-Dixon's Portrait in Words (The Guardian)
• Video Conversation: Andrew Graham-Dixon, Author of 'Caravaggio: A Life Sacred and Profane' (PBS News Hour)
• Perspective: Christian Musicals with Miraculous Staying Power (Los Angeles Times)

OTHER "RELATED" MIX:

• Video: [Advent Conspiracy] Enter the Story 2011 (AC Amen)
• Video: [Advent Conspiracy] Made to Work (AC Amen)
• Video: [Advent Conspiracy] Amen for Water (AC Amen)
• Scientists Narrow Search for the "God Particle" (USA Today)
• Art Buying Time? Doing it Online is Easier Than You Think (Wall Street Journal)
• Video: How to Start a Movement, According to TED (TED)
• American Artist Ralph Brancaccio Travels to India to Inspire Young Artists (AOA News)
• Scientists Find that Atheists Trust Believers More Than Other Atheists (ABC News)

Get your daily dose of Alpha Omega Arts on Facebook and/or Twitter, or just come back each day. There's always something new to talk about in today's interfaith world of art.