Art Review: John Taylor Arms at National Gallery

THE WASHINGTON POST
By Philip Kennicott

WASHINGTON, DC - The National Gallery in Washington, D.C. will presents the exhibition "The Gothic Spirit of John Taylor Arms from May 15 - Nov. 27, 2011. John Taylor Arms (also on view in VA) was a conservative artist, and he knew it. He started making prints in 1914, a year after the epic Armory Show in New York introduced European modernism to the philistine shores of the New World. Gothic churches were a perfect subject. Arms aligned himself with the Gothic revival, with artists who, for confused but charming reasons, saw the late Middle Ages as a lost paradise of holistic unity among artistic expression, spirituality and craftsmanship. The Gothic appealed to everything old-fashioned in him, especially to his monklike devotion to work and detail and his flowery belief in things such as beauty. [link]

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Asia News Channel Features Intra-Religious Art Bridges

AOA TODAY

INDIA - Founded over 50 years ago, Indian based ANI (www.aniin.com) is today South Asia 's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus. When it comes to covering South Asia , ANI goes across the globe to bring news of and from South Asia, wherever it takes place. The result is a complete service, multi-faceted in the depth of its coverage, and extensive in its reach. ANI covers almost all areas of interest including news as well as religious arts such as how faiths come together to create art tapestries. Today's video news feature is on how Muslim craftsman create Hindu god idols:

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Native American Zunis’ Shrine in the Sky, a Refuge

EL DEFENSOR CHIEFTAIN

NEW MEXICO - As far as we know, all Indian pueblos prehistoric and historic had their religious shrines. Perhaps the most common form was a simple rock cairn, at which religious leaders deposited offerings and recited prayers. A spring, a mountain, or even a lake, as at Taos Pueblo, could in itself be regarded as a holy place and have sacred cairns or petroglyphs associated with it. One of New Mexico’s most fabled shrines is Towa Yalane, a flat-topped mountain rising a thousand feet above a sandy plain, just three miles southeast of Zuni Pueblo. The name translates as Corn Mountain, tracing back to antiquity when a massive flood, according to legend, forced the Zunis to seek safety on the summit. The people carried sacked corn with them, enough to last until the waters subsided. In history, Towa Yalane is most often mentioned as a place of refuge for the Zunis during the Spanish colonial era. In these troubled times, they habitually fled there, on occasion after slaying the resident missionary. [link]

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West Virginia Church Mural Brings Bible Alive

THE RECORD DELTA
By Amanda Hayes

Artist Sheri Gaudet stands in front of the mural she
painted at Chapel Hill United Methodist Church.

WEST VIRGINIA - A local artist has helped bring the stories of Jesus to life through the creation of an 80-foot-long by 8-foot-high mural at Chapel Hill United Methodist Church. Sheri Gaudet spent roughly two months painting the scenes of Jesus on the Christian Education hallway. Chapel Hill UMC’s pastor, Chapel Hill United Methodist Church is truly blessed to be the recipient of this gift of art.” Dr. Joseph Shreve, said, “Sheri Gaudet’s mural of ‘The Life of Christ’ is both a tremendous tool for teaching about our Lord Jesus Christ and a wonderful focus for meditation and prayer for those who seek to follow Him. Chapel Hill United Methodist Church is truly blessed to be the recipient of this gift of art.” [link]

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Nick & Rosie, Founders of Minneapolis 11th Annual Spiritual Art Show

THE JOURNAL
By Michelle Bruch

MINNESOTA - Nick and Rosie Heille host the annual Art-A-Whirl trolley tour. Nick and his wife Rosie helped found the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA), they are often spotted at gallery shows, and they continually add to a personal art collection that represents about 40 artists. In addition to serving as founding members of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association, Nick and Rosie advised the city on its Arts Action Plan, which is meant to strengthen the artists’ presence in Northeast. They also founded the annual Spiritual Art Show, which is a juried exhibition of religious artwork that is now in its 11th year. “We want to get churches to realize the quality of the art that’s out there,” Nick said. One of this year’s winners is an oil painting that depicts Demond Reed, a four-year-old Minneapolis murder victim, surrounded by angels outraged by his senseless death. Nick said the painting is representative of the high-quality work he wants to highlight. [link]

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Lecture on Replica of "La Pieta" on Friday in New Jersey

AOA TODAY

NEW JERSEY - Resurrection Parish, a Roman Catholic Church in Randolph NJ, is the first venue in the mid Atlantic region to exhibit and host an informative art lecture on life-size replica of Michelangelo's masterpiece, La Pieta, May 13 at 8 p.m. The sculpture is cast from a prototype made from a mold of the original located in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and is on display now through May 31. The art lecture will be conducted by Ms. Ivannia Vega-McTighe, a current Ph.D. candidate in Art History at Rutgers University, NJ. [link]

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LADY GAGA'S CHRISTIAN VIDEO

Lady Gaga's new "Judas" video [View Video]

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Imprisoned in China, Ai Weiwei's "Zodiac Sculptures" hit NYC

12 giant-sized  Zodiac Heads on view in NYC Park [Read More]

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Salvador Dali's Ascension Coming to San Diego

"The Ascension of Christ" (1958) By Salvador Dali  [Read More]

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Osama Bin Laden Anti-Portraits at Aldridge Museum

Anti-Portraits of Bin Laden on view at the
Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum [Read More]

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Banksy's Stained Glass Window at LA's MOCA

"Stained Glass Window" (2011) By Banksy [Read More]

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A&O PROJECT REPORT:

BY ERNEST BRITTON

What a week of news! A South Korean man was crucified on a wooden cross while wearing a cross of thorns. Osama Bin Laden is dead and Pope John Paul II was Beatified. Also, the future head of the Church of England got married; we celebrated the 400th birthday of the King James Bible; and of course Lady Gaga released her controversial Judas video. In the midst of all this religious news, pageantry and art, I prepared for the Spring board meeting of the Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts. The board of directors meets twice a year: Spring (Indianapolis) and Fall (New York City). As Executive Director, I want to thank the board and all our supporters for a remarkable first six months, and I'm excited about continuing to spread the good word about religious art. See you in NYC, and thanks you for being a part of it all.

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RELIGIOUS ART | TALK OF WEEK

"BEHOLD THE MAN" (1606) by Caravaggio, and other religious and spiritual arts news stories of the past week are listed below. The stories are grouped into five faith categories: Buddhist; Jewish; Islamic; Christian; and Other.

BUDDHIST-HINDU:

• Norton Simon Museum's "Sculpture from the Hindu-Buddhist World" (AOA Today)
• Getty Museum's "God's of Angkor" (AOA Today)
• The art, the truth and the compassion (The Epoch Times)
• Ai Weiwei's Zodiac Heads Come to NYC (AOA Today)

JEWISH:

• Marc Chagall's Biblical Works on Display in Russia (Voice of Russia)
• Dor Guez, an interview with an "Arab-Jew" (Haaretz)

ISLAMIC:

• Islamic Council Welcomes Death of Osama Bin Laden (AOA Today)
• Iran Unveils Shia Shrine (Press-TV)
• Drawing Bin Laden, Before and After Death (Ridgefield Press)
• Al-Abbas Holy Shrine Participates in Baghdad International Flower Festival III (ABNA)

CHRISTIAN:

• King James Bible Turns 400 (The Birmingham News)
• Future Head of Church of England Weds (AOA Today)
• Residents Ask for Reprieve for Surfer Madonna (Coast News Group)
• Beatification of Pope John Paul II (Catholic Online)
• Signs of Crossing Over: Secular and Sacred Art (Charlottesville News)
•  San Diego Hosts "From El Greco to Dali: The Great Spanish Masters" (San Diego Museum)
• Canadian Temple of Art & Music (The Metropolitain)
• Indiana Church Hosts Book of Psalms Art Exhibit (Evansville Press)
• National Art Museum Gathers Secular and Spiritual Belarus authorities (Belteler Radio Co)
• Honey Methodist Church "Steering Wheel" (AOA Today)
• Cross Becomes a Work of Art at Truro Cathedral (BBC)
• S.Korean Man Found Crucified on Wooden Cross (USA Today)
• Ethiopian Christian art on view in Oregon (The Oregonian)
• Caravaggio's "Behold the Man" to be centerpiece of exhibit (The Columbus Dispatch)
• Artist uses "The Book of Mormon" to create a 41-ton sculpture (The Salt Lake Tribune)
• Lady Gaga denies that Judas video is blasphemous (Contact Music)
• Former Marine now makes Christ inspired art (Highlands Today)
• Lady Gaga means to "celebrate faith" in her new video (USA Today)

OTHER/INTERFAITH:

• Photographer captures Bin Laden Meal promotion (AOA Today)
• Oldest religious symbol discovered in France (World News Report)
• Banksy's "Stained Glass Window" (Flavorville)
• Creating art brings Oklahoma artists closer to their God (Oklahoman)
• Couple uses their art to battle religious bigotry of Westboro Baptist Church (South Florida Gay News)
• Power of Giving on display in German Museum (ArtDaily)

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Exhibition Features Leonard Piha's Jewish Traditions

THE TENNESSEAN
By MiChelle Jones

"Judah Buddha" by Leonard Piha, 69 x 80 x 3 inches

TENNESSEE - The Arts Company’s loft-like second floor has been taken over by The Intimate World of Leonard Piha, a whimsical marriage of religious iconography, personal symbolism and folk art traditions. Piha had been expressing his self-described obsession with Judaism through prints, drawings and other works filled with “little Jewish men with yarmulkes.” He dropped such imagery after a professor encouraged him to explore art history and contemporary art; now the imagery is back. Judah Buddha, a wall sculpture of wood and rusted tin, captures Piha’s obsession and exhibits his sense of humor. With multiple arms and legs pulled from Hindu imagery, the figure holds a ladder, a window and a candle as it climbs a short staircase. For Piha, Judah Buddha is a commentary on the coexistence of orthodox, conservative and reformed Judaism. [link]

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Lady Gaga means to "celebrate faith" in her new Judas video

USA TODAY
By Ann Oldenburg

Gaga's as a swaggering Mary Magdalene biker chick
opposite actor & rapper Rick Gonzales' smoldering Jesus.

NEW YORK - Lady Gaga's new controversial video for Judas, her second single from her May 23 album, Born This Way, has arrived. In it, Gaga stars as Mary Magdalene leading a motorcycle gang on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Gaga explained last week to MSN that "theme of the video and the way that I wanted to aesthetically portray the story was as a motorcycle Fellini movie where the apostles are revolutionaries in a modern-day Jerusalem. Her goal, she says, is to show that "forgiveness and betrayal are hand in hand ... video puts destiny above all things and postures that the mistakes in your life are in fact not mistakes at all, they are just part of your overarching potential and your destiny." And, she said, "It's meant more to celebrate faith than it is to challenge it."[link]

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Drawing Bin Laden, Before and After Death

RIDGEFIELD PRESS
By Macklin Reid

"This is not a portrait" (2011) by James Esber

CONNECTICUT- Since January, Osama bin Laden’s face has glared out from the walls of The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum on Main Street. New York artist James Esber’s ‘This is not a portrait’ exhibition features more than 100 drawings of Bin Laden’s face, created by a variety of people he invited to trace from and remake a drawing he’d done, based on a familiar photo image of Bin Laden. He is interested in the way common media images take on a life of their own. [link]

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Ai Weiwei's Zodiac Heads Come to NYC

AOA TODAY

NEW YORK - Internationally acclaimed Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei has re-interpreted the twelve bronze animal heads representing the traditional Chinese zodiac that once adorned the famed fountain-clock of the Yuanming Yuan, an imperial retreat in Beijing. "Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads" is the artist’s first major public sculpture project. "Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads" is the centerpiece of a global, multi-year touring exhibition that will be presented in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The set of twelve zodiac heads was recently on display at the São Paolo Biennale in Brazil (September – December 2010). The official world tour for Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads by Ai Weiwei will launch in New York City at the historic Pulitzer Fountain at Grand Army Plaza near Central Park and the Plaza Hotel. The heads will be on display there from May through July 2011. [link]

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An Interview with "Arab-Jew" artist, Dor Guez

HAARETZ
By Dalia Karpel

Dor Guez (2011)

ISREAL - On his father's side he's a third-generation Holocaust survivor, on his mother's side the scion of a prominent Palestinian Christian family. In his work, artist Dor Guez, 29, explores his roots while refusing to be labeled. "I have full confidence in my identity. All the definitions such as I'm a Jew, I'm an Israeli, I'm a Palestinian, I'm a Christian Arab, are something that I don't want to use or contain. "What is art, if they're trying to castrate it of the only condition that justifies it - the test of criticism. I have no interest in abstraction or in imitating the traditional Western artistic narrative, but I have a desire to use the tools of that language. These are two different activities. Time will tell if my exhibition within the walls of Israeli museums is an activity that makes me a part of the quasi-Western Israeli canon or establishes the presence of another narrative. It's a real dilemma: Is an exhibition like 'The Nation's Groves' a Trojan horse or a fig leaf?" [link]

"Georgiolopolis" (2009) By Dor Guez

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The Art of Truth, Compassion, Tolerance

THE EPOCH TIMES
By Hon. David Kilgour

"A tragedy in China" Oil on Canvas 48"x 36" (2004) By Yuan Li.

CANADA -Since 2004, this exhibition has toured more than 200 cities in 40 countries. The pieces were done by artists who practise Falun Gong (or Falun Dafa), an ancient discipline which seeks to improve body, character, and ethics. It contains the essence of traditional spiritual systems, like Buddhism and Daoism (Taoism), combined with a set of gentle exercises. Its core principles are “truth, compassion and forbearance.” It today evidently has millions of practitioners of diverse backgrounds in more than 100 countries. In China where it first became public in 1992, Falun Gong grew within seven years to 70-100 million by the government’s own estimate. [link]

Hon. David Kilgour speaking at art opening

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Retired Marine Now Makes Christ Inspired Art

HIGHLANDS TODAY
By Pamela Glinski

James Ward painting

FLORIDA - Artist James Ward (b. Ohio) creates from his "heart and soul" and has found his inspiration not only in his vast life experiences and in nature but also in his strong faith in God. Ward's vividly colorful paintings, sketches and pottery are on display at the Highlands Art League at 1989 Lakeview Drive in Sebring. A very lean, healthy 64-year-old, he still works out vigorously five days a week and teaches kickboxing. He explains, "It is a yen and yang kind of thing…. getting out aggression on the heavy bag with gloves and then (being) calm and collected for the rest of the day when I am painting." This devotedly religious man attends Independent Baptist Church in Sebring and says his work comes from "deep within" and is deeply influenced by his faith. Through all of his experiences in life and in art he has learned, "Life is too short to be that uptight… especially when you create." [link]

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Power of Giving on Display in Germany

A visitor walks behind an ancestor spirit mask (AP) 

GERMANY - The U’mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections) in Dresden, Germany are collaborating on an exhibition project that will examine, compare and contrast the role of the gift as well as illustrate the gift-giving rituals and ceremonies within two very different cultures: the Kwakwaka‘wakw First Nation and the German aristocracy. “We have all experienced gift-giving. By exploring ceremonial gift-giving in the baroque Saxon court and the Kwakwaka’wakw Big House, this exhibition challenges us to look under the surface of this everyday human activity and think about how gift-giving is both a physical and symbolic exchange. Participating in this ground-breaking collaboration creates an exciting opportunity for us to share Kwakwaka’wakw culture with European audiences. [link]

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Lady Gaga - Gaga Denies Judas Video Is Blasphemous

CONTACT MUSIC

NEW YORK - Lady Gaga has downplayed the religious aspects of the video for her latest single Judas, insisting she had no plans to launch an "attack" on the Christian faith. The star revealed the promo for the second single off her Born This Way album on Thursday (05May11), and the controversial star immediately came under fire from religious groups for its imagery. The video shows Gaga as Mary Magdalene, who is embroiled in a modern-day love triangle with Jesus and his betrayer, Judas, with Christ's disciples represented by leather-wearing, motorcycle-riding Hell's Angels. [link]

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Artist Uses The Book of Mormon to Create 41-ton Sculpture

THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
By Glen Warchol

"The Fourth Thousand Words" By Adam Bateman

UTAH - The museum’s “The Matter of Words,” a three-artist exhibit that has been attracting and challenging visitors since it opened last month, is a case in point. The eye-popping, jaw-dropping sculpture is Adam Bateman’s “The Fourth Thousand Years,” some 100,000 books formed into a towering monolith. In installing the 41-ton Bateman sculpture, a base had to be built to protect the museum’s floor. A number of copies of The Book of Mormon, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ most sacred text, were cut to make a façade to hide the base. About 70 percent to 80 percent of the 100,000 books in the sculpture are Mormon-related, including church publications, teaching manuals, writings of church leaders, and scriptures, including Bibles and copies of the Book of Mormon, says Bateman, a Weber State University art instructor and a BYU graduate. The books were donated by the Provo nonprofit Worldwide Book Drive, which will get them back when the sculpture is dismantled. [link]

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Caravaggio's "Behold the Man" to be Centerpiece of Ohio Exhibit

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
By Nancy Gilson

"Ecce Homo" Behold the Man (1606) By Caravaggio

OHIO - A painting by Italian master Caravaggio will serve as the centerpiece of an exhibit opening in October at the Columbus Museum of Art. "Ecce Homo" ( Behold the Man) - to be lent by the Musei di Strada Nuova, Palazzo Bianco in Genoa, Italy - will headline "Caravaggio: Behold the Man! The Impact of a Revolutionary Realist" as part of the museum's celebration of the Columbus bicentennial. "Last year was the 400th anniversary of Caravaggio's death, and there has been Caravaggio mania since then," said Dominique H. Vasseur, director of curatorial administration and curator of European art for the museum, 480 E. Broad St. Ecce Homo (1606) will be teamed with 10 works by artists inspired by Caravaggio. The biblical-themed painting depicts Pilate showing a bound Jesus to a hostile crowd. [link]

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Ethiopian Christian Art on View in Oregon

THE OREGONIAN
By Nany Haught

Ethiopian Christian manuscript

OREGON -The Hallie Ford Museum of Art has created an exhibit titled "Glory of Kings: Ethiopian Christian Art From Oregon Collections." It continues at the museum, 700 State St. in Salem, through June 12. Ethiopia, clinging to the rugged highlands of sub-Saharan Africa, has been home to a unique strand of Christianity that traces its history back to the Queen of Sheba and ancient Israel's King Solomon. The museum exhibit gathers examples of Ethiopian art and crafts, including murals, iconic images painted on wood, elaborate crosses made of metal and carved in wood and illuminated manuscripts that are different from European examples but vibrantly colorful in their own way. A few magic scrolls also are on display, each made to protect a particular person with images of guardian angels and watchful eyes. [link]

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FL Couple Deploys Art in Fighting Hate by Westboro Church

SOUTH FLORIDA GAY NEWS
By J.W. Arnold

FLORIDA -Since the development of language, words have been used to uplift and celebrate, but also to denigrate and hurt. In response to the hateful language of the fervently anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, Kevin Cobb (b. Indiana) and Andres Almeida (b. Ecuador) are using the fundamentalist sect’s own words against them to celebrate love and diversity. The couple created the God Loves Poetry project, an art installation that features press releases from the church with most of the text blacked out, leaving affirming poems and messages. The title is also a play on the very words the Church writes on picket signs – God Hates Fags, God Hates America, etc. “By doing this,” adds Almeida, 24, a self-described advocate for equality, “we make them look even less powerful.” Several God Loves Poetry works are currently on display at O Cinema in Miami, but the project really took off on the Internet. Cobb says, “It’s creative and therapeutic, taking interesting words and creating something that completely changes their message.” [link]

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Video: King James Bible Story as Docudrama

AOA NEWS

Just in time for the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, Lionsgate is set to release a docudrama that portrays the story of one of the most venerated books in history. “KJB: The Book That Changed the World,” hosted by award-winning actor John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade), walks viewers through history, explaining the origin, significance and impact of the King James translation. The host recounts how the King James translation was birthed, beginning with the ascension of James I to the English throne in 1603, in short dramatizations of the events surrounding the Bible’s creation. It took seven years to finish the translation. It was first published on May 5, 1611. In honor of the 400th anniversary, many churches and organizations have created various projects commemorating the KJV. “KJB: The Book That Changed the World” is available on DVD at http://www.kjbthefilm.com/.

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Korean Man Found Crucified, Wearing Thorn Crown

USA TODAY/AP

KOREA -  The body of a man with his hands and feet nailed to a wooden cross and a crown of thorns on his head has been found in an abandoned stone quarry, South Korean police said Wednesday. A man wearing only underwear, with a wound on the side of his torso and nylon strings tied around his neck, arms and stomach, was found crucified Sunday in Mungyong, about 115 miles southeast of Seoul, said Chung Ji-chun, chief of the violent crime section at Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency. Two smaller crosses were erected on each side of the cross he was nailed to, Chung said. [link]

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Creating Brings OK Artists of all Faiths Closer to God

OKLAHOMAN
By Isra Cheema

OKLAHOMA - Uzma Muzaffar feels a closeness to God whenever she paints. “I wrote one of the chapters of the Quran on a tile,” Muzaffar said of the Muslim holy book. “I made it with so much effort and it filled me with feelings of satisfaction.” The Muslim artist lives in Oklahoma and paints with oil, acrylic and watercolors and paints ayahs, or verses of the Quran, on her canvases. “We're driven to capture the beauty we see in the world in whatever medium we create in, and I'm no different,” said Oklahoma artist Cynthia Daniel Wolf. “The beauty is there, I have to capture it.” Wolf is a Christian photographer by trade and loves to photograph Western and Southwest landscapes. But how do religious artists express themselves? “Sometimes through strokes, sometimes in colors and sometimes with different mediums,” Muzaffar said. “It's not a conscious process,” said Rabbi Juan Mejia, who is also an artist. “I'm not really expressing my feelings. It's more of an expression avenue, a sort of release valve for unconscious emotions.” [link]

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Islamic Council Welcomes Death of Osama bin Laden

WASHINGTON, DC - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) immediately issued a statement which said: "We join our fellow citizens in welcoming the announcement that Osama bin Laden has been eliminated as a threat to our nation and the world through the actions of American military personnel. As we have stated repeatedly since the 9/11 terror attacks, bin Laden never represented Muslims or Islam. In fact, in addition to the killing of thousands of Americans, he and Al Qaeda caused the deaths of countless Muslims worldwide. We also reiterate President Obama's clear statement tonight that the United States is not at war with Islam." [link]

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Banksy's Stained Glass Window at MOCA

FLAVORVILLE

"Stained Glass Window" (2011) By Banksy

CALIFORNIA - The Museum of Contemporary Art's first major U.S. museum survey of graffiti and street art traces the genre from the 1970s to the present, concentrating on key cities where a unique visual language or attitude has evolved. It runs through August 17 in Los Angeles. Art in the Streets will feature paintings, mice media sculptures, and interactive installations by 30 of the most dynamic artists to emerge from the street art scene, including Shepard Fairey (Los Angeles), Os Gemeos (Sao Paulo), Risk (Los Angeles), and Swoon (New York). [link]

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The Cross Becomes a Work of Art at Truro Cathedral

BBC

'Cathedral Works' enables visitors to see contemporary art in a religious context

UNITED KINGDOM - The Cross is the most potent and revered religious symbol in Western art and culture. It is this symbol that has become the subject of a new exhibition at Truro Cathedral. Local artist Michael O'Donnell has installed 25 paintings, each of which depict a cross. The show will start in Truro and remain there for a month before travelling to other cathedrals across Britain. Mr O'Donnell has been working as an artist in West Cornwall for over 40 years, establishing a close working relationship with the previous generation of acclaimed Modernist artists, particularly the sculptor Denis Mitchell, painter John Wells, along with artists such as Breon O'Casey and Sir Terry Frost. Mr O'Donnell explained that the future and travelling journey of these "Cathedral Works" paintings is as fragile as our own individual passage through life. "In making each of these paintings I draw upon that deep well of symbolic expression surrounding the meaning of the Christian Cross, which has existed for over two thousand years." The artist has created a box set of the work, with all funds going directly to the cathedral. When creating the works, Mr O'Donnell's own faith in God is at the forefront of his mind. "It's a part of my life to such an extent that I cannot separate my life, my faith and my work." [link]

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Honey Methodist Church, "Steering Wheel"

"Steering Wheel" (2011) By Greg Disney



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National Art Museum Gathers Secular and Spiritual Belarus authorities.

BELTELER RADIO COMPANY
By Yelena Bormotova

Vladimir Prokoptsov, director of the National Art Museum of Belarus

RUSSIA - The exhibition of scared art is being showcased at the National Art Museum during the Easter days. The restorers worked hard on the icons forwarded from the Zhirovitsy Monastery. Seven restorers of the National Art Museum opened the holy beauty. Presidential grant in the amount of 55 million rubles was allocated for the restoration of the sacred masterpieces. These are masterpieces saved in the years of atheism. [link]

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Oldest Religious Symbol Discovered in France!

WORLD NEWS REPORT

FRANCE - 34,000 years ago, cave art of a horse with wing(s) was etched into the wall of the 'Hillaire Chamber' in France's government run 'Chauvet' Cave System. This earliest known graphic of a Cherub pushes back the 'Dawn of Religion'. Artistic stylized grooves of the head and wing look dramatic in this white limestone carving, which also depicts insemination of a cloud and the earth. This 'new' oldest religious symbol graces the cover of just released, "God's Steed- Key to World Peace" (C) Breese/D'Aoust 2011 http://www.lulu.com/ $84.95 (8.5"x 11"); $5.99 E-book. The Angelic Horse is known through Scripture and Traditional Stories as 'The Living Being in The Wheel'. This Chauvet Cave 'set in stone' Spirit appears without It's Wheel (Chariot; Drum; Throne; Key) thus becoming our first religious art and first religious symbol. The Winged Horse predates It's Wheel and all subsequent religious symbols- including the 'Solar Cross'; 'Circumpunct'; 'Tree of Life'; early Hindu 'Swastika' and numerous Crosses. Sir Knight Daryl Breese names this first Peace Icon "Rhose". [link]

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Al-Abbas Holy Shrine Participates in Baghdad International Flower Festival III

Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA)

IRAQ - AlAbbas Holy Shrine participated for the 2nd year respectively via Agriculture Division in the Department of service Affairs in the International Flower Festival III, held by the secretariat of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad on the gardens of (Zawra Park), lasted for a week. Agronomist Sarmad Naji Abboud spoke to Alkafeel website, saying, "More than 90% of the flowers and seedlings were to participate in the festival produced by the nursery of the Holy Shrine, and the rest are seedlings imported by the Holy Shrine from Thailand for use in afforestation project in the center of the holy city of Karbala, implemented by the Divisions of Agriculture in the two Holy Shrines reaching the 2nd phase." Eng Sarmad Explained "Among the most prominent flowers we showed were Phlox, deltoid flowers and many other plants and flowers, in addition to many dozens of flowers and shrubs." [link]

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Indiana Church Hosts "Book of Psalms" Olive Tree Art Pieces

EVANSVILLE COURIER & PRESS
By Sara Anne Corrigan

"King David and the Harp" by Carol Bosko, painting enter in the Third Annual juried exhibition at Christian Fellowship Church.

INDIANA - The Third Annual Olive Tree Art Show and Sale will run through May 15 at Christian Fellowship Church at 4100 Millersburg Road. This year, the theme is the book of Psalms. Josh Schuler, internal communications director and college pastor at CFC, said Olive Tree Arts was conceived as a way to reach out to area artists as an "underserved, underappreciated" segment of the population. "Artists in Evansville are like redheaded stepchildren. ... They are not valued outside of their own community," he said. [link]

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Chagall's Biblical Works on Display in Russia

VOICE OF RUSSIA

Marc Chagall "Wedding ceremony". Photo: RIA Novosti

RUSSIA - Works of the great painter Marc Chagall on biblical themes, imported from France, have first been displayed at the St. Petersburg Art Center. The exhibition «Le Bible» offers 60 lithographs of the Master, illustrating events of the Old Testament. The biblical theme deeply moved the artist all throughout life. He admitted to having been fascinated by the Bible at an early age. He felt that this book was the greatest source of poetry of all time, and he began looking for its secret reflection in life and art. [link]

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Canadian Temple of Art and Music

THE METROPOLITAIN
By Alan Hustak

Montreal's former Erskine American Church

CANADA - The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts newest pavilion is as calm and as uplifting as ….. well, a church. Which it once was. The old Erskine American Church, a brownstone Sherbrooke St. landmark since 1894, has been converted into a $40-million temple of art and music known as the Claire and Marc Bourgie Pavillion. The run of galleries adds 2400 square metres of exhibition space to house the museum’s Canadian art collection is behind the old church. What was once the church sanctuary has been turned into a splendid 444 seat concert hall. The project was designed by Provencher Roy + Associates, who have restored the church and discreetly added the gallery space behind it. [link]

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San Diego Hosts "From El Greco to Dali: The Great Spanish Masters"

SAN DIEGO MUSEUM OF ART
PRWeb

Salvador Dalí. The Ascension of Christ, 1958.
Oil on canvas. Pérez Simón Collection.

CALIFORNIA - For the first and only time in the United States, The San Diego Museum of Art presents the exhibition "From El Greco to Dalí: The Great Spanish Masters from the Pérez Simón Collection." Displaying 64 Spanish oil paintings, sculptures, and drawings from more than 25 master painters, the exhibition, on view from July 8 to November 6, 2011, presents a remarkable overview and visual representation of the progression and history of art in Spain over the last 500 years. With the works of El Greco, José de Ribera and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, the visitor is taken to the heart of the different faces of Catholic Reformation art in the 16th-18th centuries. Goya and Sanchez Coello counter this religious art with beautiful, and sensitive, court portraits of Spanish Monarchs, balancing the portrayal of power with realistic representations. [link]

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Artist and Restaurant Promote Osama Bin Laden Celebration

"Osama's Restaurant Gimmick" (2011) by Greg Disney



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Signs of Crossing Over: Secular and Sacred Art

CHARLOTTESVILLE NEWS & ARTS
By Andrew Cedermark

VIRGINIA - Locally, the melding of religious and secular arts communities can thank groups like the New City Arts Initiative, the Garage, and Bifrost Arts. These groups, their ties to faith invisible, serve up some of the most vital art in town, pushing back against the widely-held notion that the church, today, is a cultural regurgitator or a voice against risqué, challenging art. Providing patronage for the arts “grows out of our understanding of who God is, that God is the God of creation and beauty,” says Collier. “Part of God’s character is to create things that are good.” Maureen Lovett is the arts director for the New City Arts Initiative. The local nonprofit is an offshoot of the International Arts Movement, an organization founded to “gather artists and creative catalysts to wrestle with the deep questions of art, faith, and humanity.’” The International Arts Movement was founded by the New York-based painter Makoto Fujimura who has said in a recent interview that major critics have told him that, if he did not identify as a Christian, he would be among today’s leading artists. [link]

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Getty Museum's "God's of Angkor"

Bronze (samrit in Khmer)

CALIFORNIA - Bronze (samrit in Khmer) is of enduring significance in Cambodian culture. The Cambodian mastery of the medium will be highlighted in a focused exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum, "Gods of Angkor: Bronzes from the National Museum of Cambodia," on view through August 14, 2011 at the Getty Center. The ancient capital of the Khmer people at Angkor, located in northwest Cambodia, once formed the heart of a large sphere of influence that extended over much of mainland Southeast Asia. [link]

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Norton Simon Museum's "Sculpture from the Hindu-Buddhist World"

Goddess

CALIFORNIA - The Norton Simon Museum presents "Where Art Meets Science: Ancient Sculpture from the Hindu-Buddhist World, a focused exhibition of primarily Cambodian sculpture from the Norton Simon foundations’ permanent collections, examines the connoisseurship and conservation involved in identifying and preserving these ancient objects. The exhibit is on view in the Museum’s small rotating exhibitions gallery on the main level through August 1. [link]

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Iran Unveils Shia Shrine Designs

PRESS TV

Mahmoud Farshchian explains his designs
for the shrine of third Shia Imam, Hussein (PBUH).

IRAN - Iran has unveiled the designs created for the shrine of the third Shia Imam during a ceremony with veteran Iranian miniaturist Mahmoud Farshchian. The prominent artist and creator of the designs announced that Imam Hussein's (PBUH) shrine would be built during the next six months and promised that it will be a masterpiece of religious art. “I was invited to design the shrine five years ago and I accepted the proposal as an honorary work,” said master Farshchian, adding that the designs will be realized through the works master embosser Khodadadzadeh and master calligrapher Movahhed. [link]

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King James Bible Turns 400 Years Old Today

THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS
By Greg Garrison

This is the flyleaf for the King James Bible, which was
first published 400 years ago, in May 2, 1611. (Contributed)

ALABAMA - It's now 400 years old, archaic, dated and some would argue not as accurate or easy to read as later translations. But there is something special about the King James Bible, which was first published in May 1611. "I love the King James Version; it's my favorite translation," said Beeson Divinity School Dean Timothy George. "I listen to the King James Version on my iPod. It just sounds like the Bible to me." The King James Bible has been surpassed now by the best-selling New International Version and the Bible market has been inundated with a wide variety of high-quality translations, George said. [link]

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Future Head of Church Gets Married

AOA TODAY

ENGLAND - I hadn't planned to watch the royal wedding live, but in the end, I am glad I did. Admittedly, it was magical watching the future Head of the Church of England join in marriage to his future Queen inside the grand Anglican church, Westminster Abbey.

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Beatification of Pope John Paul II

CATHOLIC ONLINE
By F.K. Bartells

ROME - Today on this Divine Mercy Sunday [Yesterday] the Mass for the Beatification of Venerable Pope John Paul II will begin at 10:00 a.m. It is truly a sacred moment for which the world has long yearned. During the Rite of Beatification, Pope Benedict XVI will raise to the Altar his beloved friend and predecessor, a truly extraordinary Pope whom the entire world knew and loved, and whose memory will remain infused within us all with deep tenderness and veneration for all ages to come. [link]

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Residents Ask for Reprieve for Surfer Madonna

COAST NEWS GROUP
By Wehtahnah Tucker

CALIFORNIA - A few residents urged City Council on April 27 to grant amnesty to a surfing Madonna mosaic secretly installed under a railroad trestle along one of the town’s busiest roadways. The speakers requested that the piece of art be left alone to adorn the city’s main entrance. “It fits the definition of graffiti,” said Richard Phillips, assistant city manager. Several people asked the council to let it remain in place for at least 90 days and urged the city to grant amnesty to the mosaic’s creators if they step forward and admit that they made it. “As vandals go, we are dealing with a highly evolved species here,” Leucadia resident Kathleen Lees said. She said she considered the mosaic to be lovely and beautifully installed. [link]

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A&O Meetup at Kentucky's Creation Museum, August 6 & 7

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton



KENTUCKY - This August, join the AOA Meetup at the "Creation Museum", a one-of-a-kind, high-tech museum, filled with animatronic displays that tells the compelling story of the creation of life on this planet to proclaiming the Bible as supreme authority in all matters it addresses. The weekend theme is Prepare to Believe.

Highlights of this two-day, August 6 & 7 AOA Meetup includes:

• Saturday, Aug. 6 - 6pm Meetup at Dewey's Pizza followed at 7:15pm by movie, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. (Both Meetups at Newport on the Levee).
• Sunday, Aug. 7 - 12noon Meetup at the Creation Museum. Walk through time at the striking exhibits designed based on the “Seven C’s of History” according to Scripture: Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross and Consummation.

Since it opened on Memorial Day 2007, the $27 million museum museum has attracted over 1 million visitors and captured the attention of the world's major media. Whatever you Believe, this is one AOA Meetup you will not want to miss. To register for the August AOA Meetup, please RSVP at meetup@alphaomegaarts.org by August 5, or simply meet us there.

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INSPIRE ME! Artist, George Rouault

"My only objective is to paint a Christ so moving
that those who see him will be converted."
~ GEORGE ROUAULT, artist

By TAHLIB

LAST EASTER, we visited Saint Louis, Missouri to see the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, and we were so impressed that we immediately put it on our calendars for Easter 2011. This past week though, I received the bad news that the museum would be closed for Easter weekend. Sad, but undeterred, I contacted the museum's founder/director Father Terrence Dempsey, SJ who graciously offered to meet us, and then gave us an inspiring tour of the current exhibition, "George Rouault: Miserere et Guerre" (See #58 above and #32 below).

Inspired by the horrors of World War I, Rouault worked for nine years on this masterpiece collection. They capture the human misery he experienced in Paris – probing portraits through a war ravaged-religious lens: tragic faces of the pompous, the homeless, and through it all the suffering of Christ. Rouault himself said, "All of my work is religious for those who know how to look at it."

Last year's visit to the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art's exhibition, "Good Friday: The Suffering Christ in Art" left me in tears of despair. As I walked out of the museum this year, I felt lighter. Certainly Rouault understood suffering as much as the previous year's collection of artists, but through his stunning works I also felt the hope.

 
Georges Henri Rouault was born in Paris on May 27, 1871. He studied under Gustave Moreau at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and also under Elie Delauney. Rouault's early work was influenced by his teachers as well as by the artist's fascination for medieval art and stained-glass techniques. "Miserere" was finished in 1927 but was not published until 1948. Rouault died at the age of 87 in Paris on February 13, 1958.

Other Rouault's in US Museums

I've been a fan of Rouault's work for some time, and have seen his works at nearly every major museum I've visited including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Most recently, we saw Rouault’s painting, “Head of Christ.” at the Cleveland Museum of Art (see below). 

"Head of Christ" at Cleveland Museum of Art

"Three Clowns" at the Indiana University Art Museum

"The Crucifixion" at the Minneapolis Institute of Art

"Circus Act" at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC

Recommendation

The 58-piece collection that makes up "George Rouault: Miserere et Guerre" at the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art far exceeded our wildest expectations. The exhibition runs through July 31, and we strongly recommend the experience. Lastly, special thanks to Father Dempsey for sharing his Easter Saturday morning with us, and we'll be back in September for the opening of the next season!

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Culture-Hopping in a Fedora

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By John Ortved

Theophilus London, a hip-hop artist.

NEW YORK - Called either a “black hat” or Borsalino, for the style’s most famous and expensive brand, the simple hat is most commonly associated with ultra-Orthodox non-Hasidic Jews, as well as members of the Chabad-Lubavitch sect, the Hasidic group based in Crown Heights.

While the tradition of Jews wearing black headgear goes back ages (it was a sign of mourning for the loss of Jerusalem), it wasn’t until the 1960s that ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students, as well as Chabad-Lubavitch Jews, began wearing the black fedora to distinguish themselves. “As the differences between left and right begin to crystallize — when the trauma of survival is behind the Orthodox Jews and they’re re-establishing themselves in North America and Israel — they’re looking for some way to ensure they’re not assimilated, that they don’t disappear,” Professor Heilman said. “It’s not just the black hat. It’s the black suit jacket, the black pants and the white shirt, black shoes and glasses with black frames.” [link]

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A&O Meetup in Oklahoma City Museum of Art + Film: "Tree of Life"

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Britton

There is no place like Oklahoma City, and there's no larger collection of Abrahamic Bibles on display anywhere else in the world. Join us for "Passages" at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art on Saturday, July, 9, 2011.

• Connect with: Greg Disney (@GregoryDisney)
• Exhibit Title: "Passages, The Bible Experience"
• Day/Time: Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 10 am
• Location: Oklahoma City Museum of Art
• Cost: $10 for non-members
• RSVP: Call (317)755-8400 for an iteniary for the entire weekend including Muslim cemetary, Hindu Temple, and Buddhist Temple.

A&O will also Meetup at 8:15pm the evening of Saturday, July 9 to view the new film, "Tree of Life" starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. This limited release film is being shown at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, 2501 West Memorial. Categorized as Drama/Sci-Fi/Fantasy, many interpret the film as an allegory about God and nature, life and death.



Join A&O for coffee and dialogue right after the movie at Cafe NOVA, 4308 North Western Avenue, open Saturday 'til 2am; or follow on Twitter @ErnestBritton.

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Sand Sculpture Honors Hindu Holy Man

Sathaya Sai Baba (1926-2011),
A sand sculpture by Sudarshan Pattnaik [Read Post]



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Buddhist Monk Displays Art in Bangkok

Conceptual work by Chitti Kasemkitvatana [Read Post]

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Saudi Artwork Sets Auction Record: $843,000

"Message/Messenger" by Abdulnaser Gharim [Read Post]



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