New Kansas Arts Commission Accepting Grant Proposals

KMUW | KANSAS
By Briana O'Higgins

KANSAS---The new state-run arts commission announced funding opportunities for Kansas arts agencies Tuesday. The 7-month-old Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission was created in response to the backlash over Gov. Sam Brownback's veto of arts funding in 2011. The new programs require grant seekers to propose projects that create jobs and grow the Kansas economy. Henry Schwaller is a commissioner on the Creative Arts Industries Commission, he says they are under pressure to grant funds by June 30 because the governor does not want to provide a full appropriation for the arts in the next fiscal year. Deadlines begin in March. [link]

Deadline for Christian Art Exhibit Friday in Kansas

THE TOPEKA CAPITAL-JOURNAL
By Phil Anderson

KANSAS---Entries are due Friday for “To Him be the Glory,” an exhibition of Christian artwork that will be on display at Warehouse 414 during February and March. Michael Mize, an organizer of the exhibit, said the goal is to fill Warehouse 414 with artwork that acknowledges Jesus Christ. “Because of the unique nature of this exhibit, there will be no prizes awarded to specific artists or works of art.” Entry fees are $20 for the first piece and $10 for additional ones, with a limit of four per artist. Christian artists, both amateur and professional, are encouraged to submit artwork for the show, Mize said. High school and elementary students also are welcome to submit work for a student display as part of the overall exhibit. Those interested in displaying work in the exhibit should fill out an online entry form found at tohimbetheglory.weebly.com. [link]

(VIDEO) Todd Dayton Fox: "Portrait of the Passion" to Petra's "We Exalt Thee"

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest O. Britton



Artist Todd Fox is one of America's amazing religious artists, and he lives in Kansas. This past March, A&O named him our INSPIRE ME! Artist of the Month, and since then we've continued to monitor his progress closely. His new video series of his works is a wonderful way to get another introduction to this wonderful artist who we all should consider collecting. I'm also interested in a new line of Artist Trading cards he's producing, and am looking forward to details on collecting those too.

INSPIRE ME! Artist, Todd Fox

I didn’t just decide to paint
on the Passion on my own. It was a calling.
~ TODD DAYTON FOX 

By Ernest Disney-Britton

When I first glimpsed Todd Dayton Fox's series: "Portraits of the Passion", I was stunned with absolute excitement for what I experienced. In the tradition of Surrealists, such as Salvador Dali (and also Walt Disney), Todd turns a story we Christians know so well, and creates a uniquely different dream-like journey from it. It's the kind of visual journey that makes you "re-think" what you thought you already knew. Todd has gone through his own set of challenges during his journey, but his faith in God, unique imagination, and creator spirit makes this Midwestern talent, the INSPIRE ME! Artist of the Month for March 2012.

Bethel College in Kansas Looks at Role of Arts in Worship

BETHEL COLLEGE NEWS
By Melanie Zuercher

KANSAS – Bethel College's first major symposium in a decade, “Think, Celebrate, Sing: Worship and the Arts,” brought to campus two nationally known resource people in the areas of church music and preaching: John Ferguson from St. Olaf College and Thomas Long from Emory University.“Music is an art form that unfolds over time,” Ferguson said. “No matter how creative the structure, the final question is: ‘Does it work?’” The visual arts were also part of the symposium, through the cut-paper banners created by members of Hope Mennonite Church in Wichita that hung in Memorial Hall for the hymn festival and in the work of Martha Becker Yoder, a Bethel graduate who spent 22 years working at the University of Iowa Museum of Art before accepting a call to pastor at West Union Mennonite Church, Parnell, Iowa. The four-year liberal arts college is affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. For more information, see http://www.bethelks.edu/.

Restorations on the "Garden of Eden" in Kansas Move Forward

SALINA JOURNAL NEWS
By Gary Demuth

KANSAS - Eighty years after Samuel Perry Dins-moor died, his body is getting a brush-up. Beginning in 1907, Dinsmoor, a 64-year-old Civil War veteran and former schoolteacher, built a series of concrete sculptures depicting his religious and political beliefs.  By the time of his death in 1932 at age 89, Dinsmoor had created more than 200 concrete sculptures on a lot in Lucas he named the Garden of Eden. These sculptures included a limestone house, 40-foot-tall concrete trees, animals, angels, devils, soldiers, American flags, the Goddess of Liberty and life-size depictions of Adam and Eve. Earlier this year, the property was sold to the Kohler Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in Kohler, Wis., that specializes in the preservation and restoration of folk architecture and art environments. Since May, art conservators from Kohler and area volunteers have been working to restore the garden to its original condition. [link]

Objects of Jewish Faith Inspire Objects of Art in Kansas Gallery

KANSAS CITY STAR
By Elizabeth Kirsch

Asheer Akram and Linda Lighton collaborated to create this steel and porcelain fixture, “Everlasting Light" ( 2011), inspired by a 200-year-old bronze synangogue chandelier in the Judaica collection of Michael Klein.

KANSAS - A yad, or Torah pointer, inspired three artists to create wildly different works. Marcus Cain, curator of the Epsten Gallery, suggested an invitational exhibit in which artists of different ages, backgrounds, religions and nationalities were instructed to “go into a religious artifact collection and see if something speaks to you.”  In art parlance, a “super-object” is a work that refuses to be pigeonholed within the traditional framework of art criticism. A room full of such objects is now installed in “Between Thee & Me: Artists Respond to the Judaica Collection of Michael Klein” at the Epsten Gallery. “Between Thee & Me: Artists Respond to the Judaica Collection of Michael Klein” continues through Sept. 4 at the Epsten Gallery at Village Shalom, 5500 W. 123rd St., Overland Park. [link]

Kansas Art Gallery's Exhibit Inspired by Judaica Collection

KANSAS CITY JEWISH CHRONICLE
By Barbara Bayer

Photo by Kevin Blayney: Michael Klein (left) discusses the upcoming ‘Between Thee & Me’ exhibit at Epsten Gallery with the gallery’s curator, Marcus Cain. Klein is holding a 1950s Bible with beautiful sterling silver bookbinding.

KANSAS - Michael Klein began collecting Judaica quite by accident. Now his Judaica is the inspiration for a new exhibit, Between Thee & Me — Artists Respond to the Judaica Collection of Michael Klein and the Van Ackeren Collection of Religious Art at Rockhurst University. This project features two independent, invitational group exhibitions, the first of which will be presented at the Epsten Gallery at Village Shalom July 24 through Sept. 4. It opens with a reception at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 24, with an artists’ discussion at 3 p.m. A second group exhibition will be presented at The Greenlease Gallery at Rockhurst University Aug. 26 through Oct. 1. [link]

Nazarene's Heading to Oklahoma City Museum of Art

NAZARENE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKOKLAHOMA - MidAmerica Nazarene University (KS) extends an open invitation to see one of the world's largest private collections of rare biblical texts and artifacts with MNU Christian Ministry and Formation professors Randy Cloud and Jim Edlin July 22-23 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Passages, the worldwide traveling exhibition featuring a portion of Hobby Lobby president Steve Green's The Green Collection, has set the scholarly and religious worlds ablaze. The interactive exhibition premiered at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in May. [link]

Artist Scott LoBaido: Victory from the Right to Hate

STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE
By Ben Johnson

"The Truth" A Portrait of Rev. Phelps

KANSAS - Staten Island artist Scott LoBaido brought some of his work to church yesterday, though the people at Westboro Baptist Church weren't keen to let him in. The intrepid Staten Islander, who is on a trip across the country with his paintbrushes this month, went to the Topeka, Kansas church yesterday -- an independent Baptist church infamous for its hate speech protests at U.S. Marine funerals -- to unveil a painting and have a little protest of his own. The artist finished a composition titled "The Truth (Welcome Home)," a portrait of the church's leader Fred W. Phelps Sr. wearing high heels and ladies underwear, sitting on the lap of Satan. Phelps' daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper was also in the painting.  [link]

Exhibit: The Sacred Tripod: Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism in Harmony

USC US-China Institute
February 19, 2011

MISSOURI - The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri hosts the traveling exhibition of Chinese religious art, "The Sacred Tripod: Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism in Harmony," through August 2011. In traditional China, the Three Teachings (sanjiao)—Buddhism, Confucianism and Daoism—were likened to the legs of the ancient sacred tripod known as ding. All three religions were vital creative forces for art, and art, in turn, was crucial for strengthening the faith of adherents. Although the paintings, prints and rubbings displayed here are associated with a specific religion, they often share imagery or stylistic features borrowed from one of the others. Indeed, the same artists often created works for more than one religion. [link]

Statue is a gift to the artist, and the Hindu community

Kansas City Star
February 15, 2011

Laura Harris-Gascogne’s sculpture of the goddess Saraswati was dedicated Saturday.

MISSOURI - American artist Laura Harris-Gascogne (b. Florida) created the Hindu goddess Saraswati for the Kansas City Bengali Association. The Hindu deity represents art and learning and all over India, the goddess is celebrated with rituals and festivals that herald the coming of spring. Thousands of effigies of Saraswati are sculpted out of straw and clay and then ceremonially dissolved in rivers sacred to Hindus. Harris-Gascogne credits her stepfather, who was a Buddhist for her fascination with asian art which led to her study of the religious artform in India. [link]

Celebrating Chinese New Year

Two Rabbits, 20th century.
Qi Baishi (Chinese, 1864–1957)
ink and color on paper; 8 9/16 x 18 5/16 in.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

CHINA - This week is the beginning of "The Year of the Rabbit" according to the Chinese lunar calendar. It occurs once every 12 years, and museums and houses of worship across the country have joined with the nation of China to celebrating the start of a new year. The annual Chinese New Year celebration brings together both Chinese-Americans, observers of Chinese culture and just the curious spectators. Look up your Chinese astrological sign and enjoy the celebration.

Holy Hometowns (Top 10 & 100)

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

Just in time for the holidays, Mens Health Magazine compiled a listing of America's Most Religious Cities. Can you find your city on the list of America's most religious hometowns? My own NYC is near bottom at #84...shocking?

1. Colorado Springs, CO
2. Greensboro, NC
3. Oklahoma City, OK
4. Wichita, KS
5. Indianapolis, IN
6. Jacksonville, FL
7. Portland, OR
8. Birmingham, AL
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Little Rock, AR

Museum: "Baptism in Kansas" | Manhattan

Baptism in Kansas
C. 1928, Oil on Canvas, 40 x 50 in. 
John Curry (b. Kansas, 1897-1946)
Collection of the Whitney Museum of Art.




WIKI - Curry was best known for his oil paintings and mural cycles. In August 1928 Curry painted Baptism in Kansas, which was exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C.. The painting was praised by the New York Times and earned Curry the attention of Mrs. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney. In 1931 Mrs. Vanderbilt Whitney purchased the painting for the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, thus establishing him as a major artist. Baptism in Kansas reflected the fanatic religious sects that held open-air baptisms. These popular religious groups were part of the scene of rural life that Curry saw in Kansas. Traditional religious scenes are depicted by Curry with all the reverence one would expect from such a subject. No well known Baptismal representations by old world masters employ the unique compositional layout that Curry favors. Curry's painting was a shock to Easterners who would have never associated a baptism with full immersion or with a barn yard setting, but Curry painted what he was familiar with, as Lawrence Shmeckebrier said he "saw this scene as conceived and executed with sincere reverence and understanding of one who had lived it."^[3] Curry's religious painting is therefore an observance rather than a satire on religious fundamentalism.