RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

"THE SILENT DAY" (above), a Hindu ritual performed on the island of Bali in Indonesia is the NEWS OF WEEK. This holy-day marks the cleansing of the "evil one" from the coming new year. The mask of the evil one is created to be as ugly and horrifying as possible. Bali's nickname is the "island of hinduism," and is home to most of Indonesia's small Hindu minority. You may know the island as the location for the 2010 film, "Eat, Pray, Love" starring Julia Roberts.

BUDDHIST ART:

• Buddhist statuette from Nepal sells for $2.49 million, and the art market in Asia countinues to heat-up (The Wall Street Journal)
• Buddhism and Mythology become one in Thanapon Junkasain's series of painting (Bangkok Post)

HINDU ART:

• Russian court rejects call to ban Hindu holybook, as worries grow about religious freedom for groups other than the Russian Orthodox Church (Chicago Tribune)
• Balinese Hinduism's Holy-day, "The Silent Day" was marked on Friday, March 23, 2012 (Alpha Omega Arts)

ISLAMIC ART:

• Desecration of Quran, mosques shocks Tunisians as perpetrators try to provoke religious conflict with the Jewish people (ArtDaily) 

JEWISH ART:

• Jewish shooting victims from France flown to Jerusalem for burial, and Christians ask, "Why?" (KTBS/CNN)

CHRISTIAN ART:

• NYC Evangelical's prepares welcome for America's most popular Christian symbol, as Denver mourns (CNN)
• San Diego's "Surfing Madonna" is homeless once again thanks to the Attorney General (Channel 10)
• Searching for the "Figure of Christ" by Heinrich Hofmann, on his 188th Birthday (Alpha Omega Arts)
• Westboro Baptist Church inspires artwork for college exhibition: “God hates you,” and “Homo sex is sin” (Sonoma  State Star)
• 28 of 40 Holy-days of "LENT" with Art (Alpha Omega Arts)

INTERFAITH MIX-UP:

• America's leading Atheist brings celebrity artists to DC to rally for Non-Belief (CNN)
• Wine, Art & Religion: An A&O Reception on Sunday, April 1st in Indianapolis (Alpha Omega Arts)
• A&O Movie Review: Go See "John Carter" (Alpha Omega Arts)
• Holy-days in Art: "Silent Day" for Hindu's; "Equinox" for Pagans; and "Naw Ruz" for the Bahai (Alpha Omega Arts)

WANT MORE? Get your daily dose of Alpha Omega Arts on Facebook and/or Twitter, or just come back each day. Whether it's Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Judaic or other, there's always something new to talk about in today's interfaith world of religious arts. Each week, we also invite you to join a dialogue about your A&O MOVIE NITE experience; and at least five times a year, A&O sponsors an A&O JOURNEY to a city around the USA to see a major new religious art exhibit, so let's Meetup!