Henri Matisse: From a Master of Color, the Light of Faith

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By E. A. Carmean

Chapelle du Rosaire des Dominicaines de Vence, perched above the French Mediterranean coast

FRANCE---Arguably the greatest religious art and architecture project of the 20th century, Henri Matisse's Chapel of the Rosary, provides another reading. Matisse wrote, "I consider it my masterpiece." Before and after its June 25, 1951, consecration, Matisse's chapel was sometimes disparaged. But praise won out. Pope Pius XII requested a set of the chasubles for the Vatican, and soon so many visitors began coming as to require restricted open hours to preserve the chapel's—and Matisse's—intended purpose of serving the sisters. Amusing—and telling—was the story of an English tourist asking directions to "the chapel of St. Matisse." As for the artist, Matisse said that "I wanted to create a spiritual space." He did. [link]

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Government Sentences Rock Band to Two Years in Jail for Religious Offense

CBC NEWS

Pussy Riot stages their protest performance inside
Christ The Saviour Cathedralin Moscow, Feb. 21, in this still image taken from video. 

RUSSIA---On Friday, after something of a show trial, three young women in a Russian punk band [Pussy Riot] were found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison for an anti-Vladimir Putin protest in a Moscow cathedral earlier this year. Western governments and rights groups condemned the harsh sentence – even the Russian Orthodox Church had asked for clemency. Also on Friday, as the Pussy Riot sentences came out, the top court in Moscow upheld the city's ban on gay pride marches for the next 100 years. [link]

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(PHOTOS) 5 Faiths Friday: Funding Creation

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

It was in the non-profit news this week that God got turned down for a grant to recreate humanity, and it was his second attempt! While the story is purely for laughs, fundraising is a perennial challenge in the world of the arts, and in today's secualrized environment for the arts, it's an even bigger challenge for those engaged in religious art & architecture. So, when I came across several funding stories that highlighted unique approaches, I decided that "Funding" would be the theme for my weekly picks of the week’s biggest religious art news stories and commentary.

God gets turned down for grant to recreate humanity

A $30,000 Jewish Heritage Fund Grant to the Stanton Street Synagogue in NYC 

$25,000 religious art prize winner announced in Australia

$13 million still needed to complete the Islamic Art galleries at the Paris Lourve

Remake of movie "Sparkle" backed by a Pastor TD Jakes and traditional film producers

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California's Temple Beth El’s Call for Jewish Artists

TIMES PUBLISHING GROUP

CALIFORNIA---Applications are now being accepted for Temple Beth El’s second annual Jewish Artisans Faire. Jewish artists are invited to apply to participate in this successful event that provides an opportunity for the community to support Jewish artists. The art may be Jewish oriented or general in nature. Fine art, crafts, photography, etc. are welcome and the art will be for sale. The faire will be held at Temple Beth El – Aptos, from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, on Sunday, November 11. To get an application send an email to mstein@tbeaptos.org; the submission due date is September 14. For more information, call (831) 460-1389.

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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]

Gina Hurry is currently showing August 2012 at dk Gallery, 25 West Park Square, Marietta, Ga.

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Sept. 11 Museum Lawyers: Display of Steel Cross, No Different From Religious Art at Museums

WASHINGTON POST
By Associated Press

NEW YORK — A judge should toss out a lawsuit by a national atheists group seeking to stop the display of a cross-shaped steel beam found among the wreckage of the World Trade Center, lawyers for the operators of the Sept. 11 memorial at ground zero say. The lawyers said in papers filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Monday that the 17-foot-tall beam will be displayed as a historical object because it tells part of the story of the rescue and recovery effort after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which destroyed the twin towers and killed thousands of people. The nonprofit group American Atheists sued the National September 11 Memorial & Museum’s operators last year, saying the beam’s display would be unconstitutional. [link]

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Lausanne Movement Appoints Rev. Spradlin as Senior Associate for The Arts

CHRISTIAN TODAY

Rev. Dr. Byron Spradlin, Founder and President of Artists in Christian Testimony Intl,

TENNESSEE---The Lausanne Movement has appointed a Lausanne Senior Associate for The Arts. Rev. Dr. Byron Spradlin, Founder and President of Artists in Christian Testimony Intl, which mobilizes and equips artistic, innovative ministries and missionaries for Christian work, accepted the position in June at the Lausanne International Leadership meeting. Spradlin also serves as Department Chair for the School of Worship, Imagination & the Arts at Williamson Christian College, Franklin, TN. [link]

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