Review: Contemplative, Culture-Crossing Eork in “Geometric Aljamía,” at Zuckerman Gallery

ARTS ATLANTA
By Donna Mintz

Reni Gower: Papercuts: white/copper, white/emerald, white/cobalt. Acrylic on hand-cut paper. (Photo by Mike Jensen)

GEORGIA---"Geometric Aljamía: A Cultural Transliteration" transforms the Malinda Jolley Mortin Gallery of Kennesaw State University’s Bernard A. Zuckerman Museum into a place of quiet, and sometimes disconcerting, beauty. (Open through February 21.) The exhibition’s title is instructive. The very idea of transliteration, the linguistic term for letters or words made from a different alphabet or language, is critical to understanding this show of work by six artists with multicultural backgrounds. [link]

Savannah Christian Church Offers 11th Year of ‘The Journey’

DO SAVANNAH
By Adam Messer

"The Journey" will tell the Nativity story at Savannah Christian Church from Dec. 3-7 and Dec. 10-14.

GEORGIA---Most people know the Nativity story, or have at least heard of it. “The Journey” brings the story to life in an interactive way, breathing life into the Nativity story through authentic storytelling and a beautifully crafted town of Bethlehem. Savannah Christian Church is offering the 11th production of “The Journey” this year. Last year, more than 29,000 people visited the recreated town of Bethlehem to hear the traditional Christmas story. [link]

#SAVFF Review: Paradise Garden: Howard Finster's Legacy

CONNECT SAVANNAH
By Anna Chandler

Paradise Garden in Summerville GA

GEORGIA---If you haven’t heard it, the legend goes like this: bike repairman and preacher Finster was working on an old bike when he got a dab of paint on his finger. A face appeared in the paint and spoke to him: “Paint sacred art.” From then on, Finster, who’d never created a work of art in his life, made tens of thousands of numbered works, riddled with Bible verses and wonderful quips of his own philosophy and wisdom. He painted on wood, telephones, Cadillacs, and anything he could find, but his greatest work was his own Paradise Garden, a Garden of Eden-inspired oasis of art and scripture. Spread over four acres in Summerville, Georgia, the Garden featured a Bible House, Mirror House, Hubcap Tower, Bicycle Tower, Machine Gun Nest, and the iconic four-story Folk Art Chapel, all crafted by Finster. [link]

40 Contemporary African Artists Take On Dante's 'Divine Comedy'

THE HUFFINGTON POST
By Priscilla Frank

Aida Muluneh, 99 Series, 2013. Courtesy of the artist.

GEORGIA---Wangechi Mutu, Yinka Shonibare, Aida Muluneh, Dante Alighieri. These are some of the brilliant minds involved in "The Divine Comedy," a contemporary art exhibition at the the Savannah College of Art and Design Museum of Art. One of these names, as you may have keenly ascertained, is not like the other. Dante's Italian heritage and an approximately 700-year age gap certainly separate him from the other figures listed on the press release. But 40 contemporary African artists have assembled in his honor, each creating an artistic homage to his timeless depictions of heaven, purgatory and hell. [link]

Atlanta Meetup Was an Inspiring Success

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

Three of the participants in the July 2014 Meetup in Atlanta, Georgia

GEORGIA---A&O members met yesterday in Atlanta at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. The gathering was hosted by Verneida Britton, Executive Director for the Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts. Click here for more about A&O Meetups or register for the weekly newsletter.

RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

This past week, the Center for Civil and Human Rights opened in Atlanta and gay couples earned their freedom to marry in Indiana. For three days, gay couples married as part of the equality movement inspired by Civil Rights heroes like Coretta Scott King, Bayard Rustin, and current Congressman John Lewis. It is Lewis's life and example that are told in 37 expressionistic works by Georgia artist Benny Andrews, now in the center's collection. The works feature John Lewis’s recollection of key episodes in his life and his unwavering fight for civil rights. For a week when freedom both waxed and waned, "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Speaking" (above) by Benny Andrews is my NEWS OF WEEK.

A&O Meetup on July 14 in Atlanta at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights

ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION
By Bo Emerson

Portraits of rights activists.

ATLANTA---On Monday, June 23, 2014 the National Center for Civil and Human Rights opens its doors, offering visitors a history of the freedom movement in this country (told from Atlanta’s perspective) and an accounting of the modern human rights activism that civil rights pioneers inspired.The museum is in downtown Atlanta, to the east of Atlanta's Auburn Avenue District. Its immediate neighbors in the Pemberton Place tourist mecca are the World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium. Nearby are Centennial Olympic Park and CNN Center. [link]

Haunted Spaces: Photographs Explore the Arab Female Identity

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By Chelsea Matiash

“Converging Territories #24″ by Lalla Essaydi

HAWAII---For the past six years, Moroccan-born photographer Lalla Essaydi has labored over a body of photographs made in a large, unoccupied home in her native country. The house is not just a distant studio space, though; it is a vital part of the narrative in Ms. Essaydi’s images that explore the Arab female identity. Ms. Essaydi’s work, made on large-format cameras and printed directly from unaltered negatives, incorporates Islamic calligraphy and Orientalist imagery from Western painting traditions while revisiting memories of her girlhood in Morocco. Ms. Essaydi’s work is on view in exhibitions at Jackson Fine Art in Atlanta  and at The Honolulu Museum of Art. [link]

From From King David to Apostle Simon Peter: Black Bible Characters According to James Lewis:

HUFFINGTON POST
By Sara Roncero-Menendez

GEORGIA---Plenty of films have taken a stab at bringing Bible stories to life, from "The Ten Commandments" and "Jesus Christ: Superstar" to this year's "Son of God" and "Noah." But despite those movies' different genres and tones, these films all tend to share one similarity: They have white casts, even though the Bible's characters would have been from parts of Africa or the Middle East. Photographer James C. Lewis of Noire3000 | N3K Photo Studios has decided to rectify by presenting these iconic figures in a new light. For those who'd like to see the entire collection, "Icons Of The Bible" will on display from November 2014 to February 2015 in Atlanta, GA. Check out just a few of the images: [link]

Reverend Howard Finster's Paradise Gardens Continue to Inspire

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS 
By TAHLIB

"Weaned Child on the Cockatrice's Den ca. 1979" by Howard Finster

GEORGIA---Atlanta's High Museum owns the largest public collection of objects from Paradise Garden, an outdoor installation Reverend Howard Finster. In the early 1960s, Finster bought a parcel of swampy land, which he cleared and drained by hand. Beside the walkways, he modeled figurative concrete sculptures; over the years, he built many structures, including a tall tower of bicycle parts and a chapel, the World's Folk Art Church. Finster's Paradise Garden was built to celebrate all the inventions of mankind, but dedicated to the glory of God.

Dustin Yellin's Monumental Works Explore the Way Consciousness Forms and Arrests Itself

ANOTHER MAGAZINE
By Derek Peck

Dustin Yellin Photography by Derek Peck

NEW YORK---Dustin Yellin has long rejected the traditional parameters of artistic education and development. His works are momentous in scale and ideas....Yellin’s work is varied and vivid. Starting first with oil on canvas, he has experimented with many mediums, his works growing and expanding in the real world in correlation with the concepts he aims to portray. The Triptych, an epic 12 ton amalgam of glass, paper and acrylic, took a year to make, and portrays the artist’s multifaceted view of the world and the universe, seething with unknowable forces, “overflowing with joy and disaster”, and his new works are on a similar – if more fragmented – scale. "I'm concerned with the way consciousness forms and arrests itself. These figures dramatise and literally encase, freeze, and hold, in a mesmerised abeyance, this cultural process." [link]

SCAD Museum of Art: "'The Triptych' by Dustin Yellin," (Ends June 8); 601 Turner Blvd, Savannah, GA; (912) 525-7191; scadmoa.org

Monday's "Madonna & Child" by Atlanta Printmaker Ben Smith

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

"Madonna" (1967) by Ben Smith. Wookblock print 6 of 25.

GEORGIA---Atlanta based artist Ben Smith is today perhaps best known for creating enormous woodblock prints of shamans, wizards, and ceremonial figures, but in the 1960s, he held a fascination for religious stories. At the age of 23, he produced one of his largest wood-block prints, "Samson Enchained" (1964). "Literary content is important to Ben," wrote Jim McLean in 1967 "and his work is continually nurtured by references to classical mythology, literature, and the drama of the Old Testament." Smith creates large scale figures with a carnival fascination reminiscent of James Ensor and with presence impossible to ignore, including his four foot "Madonna" (above) from 1966.

Christian Youth Theater is the Largest Youth Theater Group in America

THE CITIZEN

GEORGIA---Christian Youth Theater Atlanta, an after-school theater arts training organization, is starting a new location in Fayette County. An organizational “Vision Night” meeting is set for Friday, Jan. 31, at Peachtree City First Presbyterian Church with separate sessions for parents and students. Students, ages 6-18, should arrive at 6 p.m.Christian Youth Theater (CYT) is an after school theater arts training program, founded in 1981 in San Diego, Calif., and has grown to be the largest youth theater in the nation.There are dozens of branches across the country providing training to approximately 10,000 students every year. Children of all religions are welcome. [link]

LGBT Stations of the Cross Shows Struggle for Equality

JESUS IN LOVE | BLOG
By Kittredge Cherry

Jesus is condemned to death and “faggot” by Mary Button

GEORGIA---“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the sufferings of LGBT people. Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free. The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian. [link]

Teacher Removes Student Artwork Following Pressure From Angry Parent

FOX NEWS - ATLANTA 
By Kaitlyn Pratt

GEORGIA---Controversial artwork with the words "God is dead" has been removed from the wall of a Newton County high school after attracting worldwide attention. The posters, featuring a quote from the Arthur Miller play "The Crucible," were displayed at Alcovy High School as part of a language arts project. Crystal Mitchell complained that the artwork upset her 10th grade daughter. Earlier this month, Newton County school district officials told FOX 5 that they would not remove the artwork, saying that the poster reflects literature and is not an attack on religion. However, this week Mitchell said that the artwork was removed. A district spokesperson told FOX 5, "The teacher made the decision to remove the art work until such time that she teaches the American literature course and 'The Crucible' as part of the associated curriculum." [link]

Parent Upset About 'God is Dead' Art Work at School

FOX NEWS | ATLANTA
By Paul Yates

GEORGIA---A parent in Newton County is concerned about art work hanging on a classroom wall. One picture in the Alcovy High School has words that say, "God is dead." The Newton County School System says language arts students made the drawings from a quote in Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible". The pictures were posted as part of student art work for several years without receiving a complaint. "The student was not reflecting religious preferences. Basically, he's just reflecting a quote in the book," said Sherri Davis-Viniard, Newton County School System's spokesperson. [link]

Inspired by Prayer, Evelyn Williams Art Takes Flight in Georgia Art Gallery

TIMES  FREE PRESS
By Clint Cooper

"Freedom Flight" by Evelyn Marie Williams

GEORGIA---A bluebird flies free as the cage and chain imprisoning it break apart and fall through the air in a dusky light. Artist Evelyn Marie Williams said the idea was given to her during prayer. The painting symbolizes the heritage of the United States but could well be her life. It illustrates "the freedom to be who we are, to worship God, to be who we are created to be," she said. [link]

Artist Georges Rouault’s Celebration Of Life

GEORGIA BULLETIN
By David King, PhD

“Head of Christ” (1937) by Georges Rouault

GEORGIA---The priest and philosopher Jacques Maritain argued in his book, “Art and Scholasticism,” that “we must above all be careful not to disengage and isolate Christian art from the great movement of contemporary art.” Maritain knew that the Christian artist could not dissociate himself from the spirit of his times; in fact, Maritain argued that the Christian artist simply needed to look for God in different places and in different ways. For Maritain, one essential Christian artist of the 20th century was the French painter Georges Rouault, the artist who was a central influence upon the writing of “Art and Scholasticism,” and who in many ways represents the ideal Christian artist Maritain describes in that work. [link]

Christian Artist Gina Hurry: 'Painting Connects Me to God's Heart'

OND
By Marissa Martin

"The Great Unraveling" by Gina Hurry is inspired by the scripture Hosea 6:1

GEORGIA---Torn between being an artist or missionary when she was younger, [Gina] Hurry had to overcome the mental block that only official missionaries were of any use to the church and artists merely peripheral. “How could art be redemptive in itself?” she puzzled, with few books on the subject to refer to at the time. A few decades later Hurry tends to a prosperous painting career and a busy family, but her vision extends just past, to a place where art and the church intersect and revive each other. A nebulous and undefined land to labor, it is also scarred with theological and cultural divides. Still Hurry digs up the soil, invites the neighbors and sets about planning and planting with eyes toward a future spiritual and aesthetic feast. [link]

Following Protests, Online Game Maker Pulls Hindu Deities From Marketing Website

ATLANTA CONSTITUTION JOURNAL
By  Christopher Seward

GEORGIA---An Alpharetta online video game developer has removed Hindu deities from some of its marketing for a new game due out next year but said the deities will remain in the product when it goes on sale. The Hindu American Foundation called inclusion of the deities “disrespectful and offensive to Hindus worldwide.” Hi-Rez’s Chief Operating Officer Todd Harris acknowledged Wednesday to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that “some portion” of the Hindu community objected to the inclusion and depiction of deities in SMITE. [link]