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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A Muscular Jesus Stars in Winning $25,000 Mandorla Art Award Winner

THE AUSTRALIAN
By Bridget Cormack

"Palm Sunday" by John Paul

AUSTRALIA---Victorian artist John Paul won the prize for Christian-themed art with his gouache and pastel drawing Palm Sunday.  He and the other entrants were asked to take inspiration from the theme "born of a woman" from St Paul's letter to the Galatians. Judges Rod Pattenden, Rachael Kohn and Annette Pedersen said Palm Sunday dealt with the text in "an unexpected way".  "As Jesus rides into Jerusalem, his side curls signalling his Jewishness, a young woman at his side brings the emotional and physical connection to women into a contemporary context," they said. This year the prizemoney for the Mandorla award was raised by $5000 and is now worth more than the $20,000 Blake Prize, regarded as Australia's most prestigious prize for religious art. [link]

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Photographing Sikhs With Fiona Aboud

THE HUFFINGTON POST
By Gina Ryder

Didar Singh Bains in Yuba City (2010) By Fiona Aboud

NEW YORK---For the past five years photographer Fiona Aboud has been traveling around the U.S. taking pictures of Sikh Americans. Part of her series, Sikhs: An American Portrait was recently featured in Huffington as the general public was gathering more information about Sikhs after the gaurdwara shooting in Wisconsin. Inspired by the color palettes and environments of the American realist painters, Aboud captures Sikhs literally in their backyards among other everyday places. The New York based Brazilian photographer has a book planned as well as a ten-city traveling outdoor pop-up exhibit. The underlying question her work seems to answer is, "How we we teach people not to hate?". She says, “My hope is that people seeing the pictures it will make them see how similar we are.” [link]

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Two Manhattan Shuls Deemed ‘Sacred Sites’

THE JEWISH WEEK

NEW YORK---Two Manhattan synagogues are among 23 “Sacred Sites” in New York State that have received grants for physical repairs form the New York Landmarks Conservancy. A $30,000 Jewish Heritage Fund Grant to the Stanton Street Synagogue on the Lower East Side will help pay for repairs on the building’s exterior walls, and a grant of $25,000 to the East Village’s Sixth Street Community Synagogue will go towards repairs of its roof and façade. “You don’t have to be religious to understand that religious institutions contain some of our finest art and architecture,” said Peg Breen, Conservancy president, in a statement. [link]

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Atheist Group Targets Presidential Candidates' Faith With Billboards

CNN | BELIEF
By Dan Merica, CNN

WASHINGTON---A prominent atheist group is using next month's Democratic National Convention to take aim at the presidential candidates' religion, putting up billboards targeting Mormonism and Christianity in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Our political system is rife with religion and it depends too much on religion and not enough on substance," said David Silverman, president of American Atheists, sponsor of the ads. "Religion is silly and religion has components that are inherently divisive. … There is no place for any of that in the political system,” he said. The billboards go up Monday in Charlotte and will stay up for a month at a cost of roughly $15,000. The Democratic convention runs September 3-6. [link]

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Movie Review: The Odd Life of Timothy Green (4 Stars)

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
By Roger Ebert

The Odd Life of Timothy Green," a warm and lovely fantasy, is the kind of full-bodied family film being pushed aside in favor of franchises and slam-bang confusion. "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" is accessible to all but the youngest children, and I suspect their parents will enjoy it, too. It respects the integrity of its story by dealing with real emotions of loss and parting. It's intelligently constructed by writer-director Peter Hedges (who wrote "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and "About a Boy"); instead of being simpleminded like too many family films, it treats the characters with care and concern. Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton are appealing together as far from perfect parents, and CJ Adams has that ability of so many child actors to be pitch-perfect. [link]

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Louvre's Islamic Galleries Still Needs $13 Million Before September Opening

AHLULBAYT NEWS AGENCY

FRANCE---The Louvre's long-awaited Islamic galleries will open on 22 September 2012, at his new public spaces devoted to Islamic art, but the museum is still searching for ten million euros [$13 million] from sponsors to finalize the funding of this ambitious project. The overall cost of the project is 98.5 million euros, of which the French state is providing 31 million. The museum has so far managed to raise 56 million euros from sponsorship from foreign states, private donors, and corporations.The main sponsor is the foundation of Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal who mad a private donation 17 million euros. King Mohammed VI of Morocco also provided an important contribution (withheld). The emir of Kuwait, the Sultan of Oman, the Republic of Azerbaijan also fund the project. Several French corporate groups have also contributed (Total Foundation, Lafarge, Bouygues Construction ...) [link]

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"Jew" in NYC Museum, Through October 7, 2012

ARTDAILY

William Anastasi, Untitled (Jew), 1987, oil on canvas.
The Jewish Museum, New York : Gift of the artist , 1987-115a-d. Photo by John Parnell.

NEW YORK---Word Symbol Space, a selection of works by six contemporary artists, will be on view at The Jewish Museum in the final gallery of its permanent exhibition, Culture and Continuity: The Jewish Journey, from August 11 through October 7, 2012. These post-1970 works from the Museum's collection all respond to mid-twentieth-century modernism. Each uses the language of abstraction - areas of pure color, geometric shapes, and gestural brushwork - and adds to it, incorporating words and symbols with specific personal, historical, and cultural meanings. Artists represented include William Anastasi, Ross Bleckner, Dana Frankfort, Alain Kirili, Brigitte NaHoN and Frank Stella. [link]

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God Turned Down on Grant Application to Create Humankind

NON-PROFIT HUMOUR

Detail of Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo

The world's only non-profit humour site. And, no, these stories aren't true...they're all fiction.

God, the devine being who created planet Earth, has been turned down on an application for seed money to start a new "humankind" project by the Snidely Family Foundation. This is the second time the Foundation has turned down the project, which it calls "premature". For his part, the Almighty said he was disappointed with the outcome. Next time, he plans to add some way cool graphics to his proposal, even though Rule 26B of the Snidely Foundation Application Manual specifically forbids images of any kind. [link]

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Movie Preview: 'Sparkle' (2 Stars)

DETROIT FREE PRESS
By Susan Wloszczyna

Whitney Houston, whose lifelong obsession with the original "Sparkle"
helped lead to the remake, stars as Emma. / Free Press file photo

Back in 1976, when Whitney Houston was a New Jersey schoolgirl on the brink of adolescence, she fell in love at first sight. Not with a boy. But with a movie. Its title? "Sparkle," a low-budget drama about three singing sisters in late-'50s Harlem as they strive for fame and face family hardships. A cult classic and an inspiration for "Dreamgirls," it was a rare film about strong black women that stood apart from the era's blaxploitation flicks. Sadly, fans were forced to let go of Houston when she died Feb. 11 at age 48, just months after she finished her labor of love — one that took a decade to become a reality and will open Aug. 17. [link]

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(PHOTO) Sikh Art: Reflections Of A Unique Spiritual, Secular Sikhism Identity

THE HUFFINGTON POST

Image courtesy of Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

While Sikh art largely celebrates the unique spiritual and secular identity of the Sikh people, it also reflects the artistic diversity of the Punjab region (an area now divided between India and Pakistan) where Sikhism originated. The followers of Sikh religion are disciples of 10 esteemed gurus, or teachers, the first of whom was Nanak (1469–1539), Sikhism’s historical founder. Although Hindu by birth, Nanak’s teachings are centered on the concept of one sovereign god and Sikh beliefs embrace aspects of other religious traditions, including Islam. [link]

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Artist Fined Over Pussy Riot Christian ‘Icon’

RIA NOVOSTI

RUSSIA---A local court upheld on the weekend a fine slapped on a Siberian artist for painting fake “icons” in support of the arrested punk band Pussy Riot, which he plastered over his native town of Novosibirsk. Artyom Loskutov, known for his tongue-in-cheek art performances, will pay 1,000 rubles ($32) for offending religious sentiments with his stunt. [link]

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29th Annual Antique Ethnographic Art Show, This Past Weekend

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

Head of Buddha, Tang period 618-907 CE
Marble 9.5 inches high.  Photo: Courtesy ArtDaily

NEW MEXICO---Called "the granddaddy of them all" by Maine Antique Digest's Alice Kaufman, the 29th Annual Antique Ethnographic Art Show was held this past weekend in Santa Fe, NM. This amazing show with over 150 dealers featuring Oceanic, Pre-columbian, Spanish Colonial, African, Oriental, Indonesian and other ethnographic art from around the world., also included jewelry and devotional pieces.

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest O. Britton

"The Execution of Christ" (above) by the Gao Brothers, two brother-artists from China, has been on view in London during the Olympics but it needs to be here in America, in every town square. The freedom of religion is under assault, but "we" Christians are holding the guns. During a week when we mourned the shootings of our Sikh-American brothers and sisters from Wisconsin, an American Mosque was burned to the ground in Missouri. As we cooled-off from the over-the-top protests over biblical marriage & fried chicken, Mitt Romney released a new religion-based attack ad targeting President Obama. Enough is enough. It's time for Christian-Americans to look at the Gao Brother's sculpture and ask, "What am I doing to stop the next execution of Christ?" This is why it is our NEWS OF WEEK.

In other Religious Art news from across the USA, and the world:

• Judaism in the Arts: Zionists in 1906 enlisted artist and visionary Boris Schatz to build an art school as the first step in building the nation of Israel. [More News]
• Islam in the Arts: In the 2012 Olympics, and beyond the Islamic hijab (hair veil/head scarf) is no longer a hurdle for Muslim athletes as the bans are eased. [More News]
• Hinduism in the Arts: Indian jewelry maker Viswa & Devji creates a new, and exceptional line of diamond studded Hindu jewelry. [More News]
• Christianity in the Arts: The Detroit Institute of Arts wins passage of a museum tax levy because of its successful Christian outreach. [More News]
• Buddhism in the Arts: Some Buddhists are outraged at Buddha's images on designer shoes from California. [More News]
• Tahlib's 5 Faiths Friday picks from the week's most provocative news stories about sacred apparel. [More News]

WANT MORE interfaith art news? Get your daily dose of Alpha Omega Arts on Facebook and/or Twitter, or just come back each day. We also invite you to join us and to "vote" for the 2012 A&O Prize for Contemporary Religious Art, and to invite a friend to join too! Member's vote, and membership is "free". It's another great way to keep up with gatherings of like-minded people who share your interest in Religious Art. After all, who is Religious Art for? Yes, it's for Believers, but also Skeptics too!

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Artist Sets Out to Bring Madonnas Back to Streets of Rome

WASHINGTON POST
By Alessandro Speciale | Religion News Service

Mr. Klevra's Street Art. Courtesy of Religious News Service

ITALY---Even in the heartland of global Catholicism, a life-size Madonna on a street wall is an uncommon sight — especially if you leave the cobblestone alleyways of the historic center for the drab concrete of the city’s former industrial districts. But bringing sacred art back to Rome’s run-down streets is exactly what a street artist known as Mr. Klevra has set out to do. Mr. Klevra, a 34-year old Italian artist and a committed Catholic, paints Madonnas and other saints on thin paper posters and then glues them onto walls under the cover of darkness. Mr. Klevra is his artist’s name — like many street artists, he doesn’t give out his real name, and prefers to keep his identity secret, even shielding his face from cameras. [link]

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(Video) Artist Helps Stafford Temple Design Ark, Torah Cover

ASBURY PARK PRESS
By Michelle Gladden
NEW JERSEY---For Philip Altland, Congregation Sha'arey Hayam filled a need. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Altland, who now serves as music director/Executive Board member, was among a group of more than 30 congregants who met at the Long Beach Island Foundation of Arts and Science in Loveladies to create a Torah cover and ark screen with nationally renowned artist Nancy Katz. The ark is the cabinet that houses the Torah. The art is a depiction of the concept of “from generation to generation” —– L’dor Vador — an important component of the congregation’s message of community and the transfer of knowledge, Katz said. [link]

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Mississippi Congregation Fights Town Square Church Ban

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
By Cain Burdeau, AP

MISSISSIPPI---A tiny Mississippi congregation is fighting a city's attempt to ban churches from the town square, a move that the pastor said is aimed at preventing the church from taking up valuable space for shops and other businesses. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments in the case Wednesday. The dispute involves a Holly Springs, Miss., ordinance banning churches from the town square. Town officials want to make the square a business district. [link]

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New Arts Path for Integrated Jewish Learning

THE WALLSTREET JOURNAL
By Arnold M. Eisen

Jewish boys engaged in NJ gathering on August 1st

I propose a different page for Jewish learning, one that is open to the larger world and bears the impact of modern thinking. It would cleave faithfully to texts, rituals, history and faith while being informed by art, music, drama, poetry, politics and law. Imagine if every Jew who wished to do so could awake to a platform of daily Jewish text not limited to Talmud—and to Jewish media not limited to text. Daily reading of Torah or psalms would be juxtaposed with their echoes in the headlines of the day; a passage from Job would be accompanied by clips from the Coen brothers' film, "A Serious Man"; the poetry of Isaiah could be explored side by side with that of the late Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai. [link]

Mr. Eisen is chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary, which trains clergy, educators and professional and lay leaders for the Conservative movement.

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Movie Review: "Hope Springs" (3 Stars)

RUETERS
By Sabrina Ford

In the popular 1979 film Kramer vs. Kramer, Meryl Streep's character walked out on an unhappy marriage. More than 30 years on, Streep plays a middle-aged woman struggling hard to keep a sex-starved relationship together in her new movie Hope Springs. The bittersweet comedy-drama brings Streep, 63, and Tommy Lee Jones, 65, together for the first time as a couple whose marriage has so lost its spark that they give each other a new cable TV subscription for their 31st wedding anniversary. "Hope Springs" has a 78-percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator website, with most critics praising the performances of the three lead actors. [link]

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Movie Review: "Bourne Legacy" (3 Stars)

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
By Steven Rea

I can't complain about The Bourne Legacy - it's smart, it's exhilarating, and Gilroy's depiction of a high-tech world where our every move is captured by surveillance cams and Big Brother-types deploying the latest spyware feels authentic, and troubling. (The idea of going off-grid gets more attractive by the minute.) Renner slips into the skin of Aaron Cross. He's keenly cognizant of his place in the world, of the danger he is in, and confident in his abilities to survive. And that's what Legacy is ultimately about: survival. Survival of the fittest, of the fastest. And the likely survival of the Bourne franchise, too. [link]

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Holydays in Art: Janmashtami, birth of Hindu God Lord Krishna

TIMES UNION
Photo by Punit Paranjpe

INDIA---Indian Hindu devotees pray before forming a human pyramid to break a dahi-handi, curd-pot, suspended in the air during celebrations of Janmashtami, which marks the birth of Hindu God Lord Krishna, Mumbai on August 10, 2012. Hindu men and boys receive prize money by constructing a human pyramid till it is tall enough to enable the topmost person to reach the pot and claim the contents after breaking it. [link]

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Is Rembrandt's Face of Jesus Responsible for Saving the Detroit Institute of Arts?

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

Riding on the heels of its hugely successful outreach to Christians for the exhibtion, "Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus", The Detroit Institute of Arts is celebrating this week's vote by residents to pass a tax millage to support museum operations. Is there a connection between the twin efforts? We think so. Would the museum have enjoyed such wide-spread support without its Christian-centered marketing campaign for this winter's exhibition? Perhaps we will never know, but one thing is for certain, it has all worked out for the good of the city and the museum. In response, beginning this week, residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties begin enjoying "free" museum admission. The property tax millage will add $23 million annually for the DIA for 10 years.

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(PHOTOS) 5 Faiths Friday: Sacred Apparel

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

History will remember this week as the moment the world took notice of sacred apparel. What does what you wear say about your faith? Yes, the killing at a Sikh temple and their dress was major religious news for Americans, but around the world others focused on hijab wearing Muslim female athletes. Back in the USA, many young Americans were surprised by the new Rastafari dress of Snoop "Lion" (Dogg), while Buddhists complained about a new line of designer shoes.  And on the other side of the world, Hinduism made the news with a new line of diamond-studded sacred jewelry, and we read news about how Zionism's leading artists captured the apparel of Judaism's leaders in the early years of the building of Israel. Welcome to this week’s 5 Faiths Fridays.

Olympics 2012: Standing ovations for hijab wearing Saudi women athletes

Hindu craftsman create stunning new lines of sacred jewelry

In 1906 Zionist leaders asked artists to lead the way to building a new nation

Rap Superstar converts to Afrocentric Christian sect known as Rastafari

Sikhs mourn Sunday morning shooting but some Christians ask why they dress like Muslims?

Some Buddhist are outraged that a California designer is putting Buddha image on shoes

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NYC's Hindu Art Scandal Includes 18 Major Art Institutions

THE HUFFINGTON POST

AUSTRALIA---The National Gallery of Australia is one of 18 major art institutions around the world that have found themselves embroiled in an international art smuggling case allegedly involving New York art dealer Subhash Kapoor, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. Kappor, owner of two Manhattan galleries that sell Indian artifacts, is currently in police custody in southern India. He is accused of trafficking stolen antiques from India and other countries. [link]

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America's First Sikh Temple Celebrates 100 Years

THE NEW YORK TIMES | OP-ED
By Bhira Backhaus

The Stockton Gurdwara in California — the first Sikh temple in the United States — is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Immigrants from Punjab, India, purchased the lot on Grant Street in early 1912. Once in a while, I bring out a black and white photograph of the gurdwara taken a few decades later. But people still sometimes ask me, why can’t they assimilate more? Dress like us. Talk like us. Perhaps, some seem to believe, that would prevent the sort of tragedy that happened in Wisconsin. I never have an easy answer. But I do know this: to wipe away what has come before, who we have been over the centuries, also means to forget who our own mothers and fathers were. It means that how they conducted their lives — the families they raised, the homes they built — didn’t matter. It denies us that basic human impulse, to remember their stories, the unique timbre of their voices. It would be as if they had never existed at all. [More]

Bhira Backhaus is the author of the novel “Under the Lemon Trees.”

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Sikh Art and Religion in the Wake of the August Massacre in Wisconsin

EXAMINER
By Mary Osbourne

Details from "Master and Disciple"

CANADA---Images by Sikh artist Kanwar Singh Dhillon reflect the Sikhs’ desire to find union with God. A portrait of a guru, walking with staff in hand across India, is reminiscent of Moses walking the desert in search of the Promised Land. While the pursuit of truth is essential to the Sikh, the Sikh faith does not promise that followers will automatically enter heaven or paradise. Rather God welcomes those who carry out righteous actions, live prayerful lives and do good deeds. [link]

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Niccolo Cosme's Catholic Inspired Imagery Promotes End of AIDS

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

"Alone"

NEW YORK---Niccolo Cosme, a 30-something Filipino fashion and commercial photographer is coming to America blending Christian iconography with the issues of HIV/AIDS in what we at A&O believe to be the single most exciting photo exhibition of this summer. Winner of the 2011 Asia Pacific District Photographic Competition of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), his work has been described by A&O readers, as "electrifying" and it is certain to provoke some conversations during this heated political season, but that's exactly what religious artists should be doing anyway---right? While Cosme doesn't claim to be a "religious artist",  we still claim him as one of our own. The exhibition entitled, "Resplendor: The Blinding Light" opens in San Francisco on August 15 before heading to New York City on August 31, 2012.

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Missouri Gallery Explores Jewish Identity Through TRADITION!

SAINT LOUIS BEACON
By Abby Abrams, Beacon intern

Frank Roth's photography capture moments from the Israeli-Palestinian conflic

MISSOURI---An array of works in a variety of media decorates the Regional Arts Commission gallery this summer. Paintings, photographs, terra cotta and mixed media sculpture all sit on display as part of the show TRADITION! (as uttered by Zero Mostel in “Fiddler on the Roof”). Curated by Franklin “Buzz” Spector, dean of the College and Graduate School of Art at Washington University, the show brings together four artists whose work explores what it means to have a Jewish attitude about life, identity and community. The exhibit’s title, Spector said, is purposefully ironic because most of the work is not traditional Jewish art. The exhibit, which opened July 13, will be at the RAC, 6128 Delmar Blvd., until Aug. 18. [link]

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Highway Artwork Depicting Religious Symbols to Move Forward

THE SANTA FE | NEW MEXICAN
By  Tom Sharpe

NEW MEXICO---Artwork proposed for two bridges along N.M. 4 between Jemez Springs and Jemez Pueblo apparently is on track for installation next summer, despite reports that questions were raised about religious symbols in a government-funded project. Historical Passes is to be cast in four concrete panels, each 28 inches by 14 feet, depicting images of corn, spirals and mountains, along with a priest, a mission church and crosses. Construction was expected to begin next March, but it could be delayed because more engineering work is needed to address environmental and utility issues at the sites. The total cost of the project is about $2 million, funded by state and federal sources. The cost of the artwork is about 1 percent, or $20,000. [link]

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Snoop Dogg is a Rasta Now, So What's a Rastafari?

CNN | Belief
By Eric Marrapodi, Blog Co-Editor

Image courtesy of Cameroononline

Rapper Snoop Dogg announced Monday that he's burying his name and old career, all because of a religious experience with Rastafari, an Afrocentric religion with origins in Jamaica. Snoop Dogg wants to be called Snoop Lion and instead of rapping on his latest album now he'll be singing reggae. "I want to bury Snoop Dogg and become Snoop Lion," he said at a Monday press conference. [link]

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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]

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Graphic Designers Team-up For Semitic Spin on Great Ideas

THE ATLANTIC
By Steven Heller

Voice & Visions / Seymour Chwast

In early 2011, Arnold Schwartzman, a graphic designer and the Academy Award-winning director for the 1981 documentary film Genocide (1981), was asked by the Jewish-interests philanthropy the Harold Grinspoon Foundation to be the creative director of a new poster campaign. The Foundation's objective was to produce a series of posters that would be presented to Jewish youngsters and adults in order to foster pride in their heritage. Each quotation was chosen to represent a different aspect of human behavior. Schwartzman provided the list of quotations to each of the invited designers to choose from them on a first-come, first-served basis. Two sets of a limited edition are signed by each artist and presented in a portfolio. Each poster has wraparound vellum containing the relevant commentary. They can be viewed at the V&V website. [link]

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(PHOTO) A Maoist "Execution of Christ"

THE HUFFINGTON POST

"The Execution of Christ" by the Gao Brothers

UNITED KINGDOM---In a recent work by the Gao Brothers, we saw Chairman Mao Zedong's firing squad taking aim at Jesus. The piece, titled, "The Execution of Christ," (2009) is forbidden to return to China due to its controversial depiction of the leader; however, it is now is being exhibited for the first time in Europe at SHOWStudio in London. "The Execution" is the centerpiece of SHOWStudio's exhibition "Death," surrounded by works that similarly access the transitional period between life and death. [link]

Head shot of Christ figure

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Olympics 2012: Standing Ovation for Hijab Wearing Saudi Woman Athlete At End of Race

THE DAILYMAIL
By Adam Shergold

UNITED KINGDOM---They say in the Olympics it's not the winning that counts, but the taking part. And that was certainly the case this morning as Sarah Attar, the first female track athlete to compete for Saudi Arabia in the Olympics, was cheered every step of the way in her 800m heat. In the end, she completed the two laps of the track nearly 45 seconds behind the winner, but her participation alone represented an historic moment. Her teammate, the judoka Wojdan Shaherkani, wrote her name into Olympic history on Friday when she was defeated by Puerto Rican Melissa Mojica in a first round bout. The Saudi Olympic Committee overturned a ban on women athletes in June despite strong opposition from many quarters of society. But officials demanded that all female competitors would be dressed 'to preserve their dignity' - hence the modest, long-sleeved garments and hijab covering the hair. [link]

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Mosque Attack Follows Church Shootings

ABC NEWS
By Yinka Ibukun, Associated Press

NIGERIA---A mosque attack that killed two soldiers followed a deadly church attack in central Nigeria, an army official said Wednesday, adding to insecurity fears that have spread across the West African nation. Lt. Col. Gabriel Olorunyomi said Wednesday that three gunmen on motorcycles shot dead soldiers on patrol in Okene in Kogi state outside Okene Central Mosque just after Muslim worshippers ended a prayer session. The assault Tuesday came a day after a church attack in a quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Okene left 19 Christian worshippers dead. [link]

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Vatican Assigns Priests to Help Visitors Find God During Museum Tours

THE GEORGIA BULLETIN

Image of priests on tour at the Vatican courtesy of Ardia

VATICAN CITY---The Catholic Church teaches that beauty can be a path to God, and in an attempt to make that path easier for visitors to follow, the Vatican Museums have assigned two priests to guide the searching. Or just to talk. "Art and faith: A priest for you," says the sign on the table where a priest from Togo and another from Nigeria took up their posts Aug. 1 on an experimental basis. Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca, general secretary of the Vatican governor's office, told Catholic News Service July 30, "Especially as the Year of Faith is about to begin, it seemed opportune to take this pastoral initiative." [link]

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"Revelation: Major Paintings by Jules Olitski" at Toledo Museum of Art

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

OHIO---In the religiously charged political-ground of Ohio, the Toledo Museum of Art is featuring an exhibition of the work of one of country's most outstanding modern painters, and he happens to also be a religious artist. A major overview of work by acclaimed American painter Jules Olitskim "Revelation: Major Paintings by Jules Olitski" continues through August 26. The exhibition brings together more than 30 significant paintings from public and private collections, highlighting important periods and themes of Olitski’s career. Olitski's later paintings are known for introducing abstract forms and shapes to narrate spiritually charged themes.

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Interview: Alex Grey's Visionary Art

THE HUFFINGTON POST
By Jonathan Talat Phillips

"Great Net of Being" 2002-2007, oil on linen, 180 x 90 in.

Among the many talented visionary artists of the global spiritual counterculture, one name rises to the top of nearly every list: Alex Grey. He and his wife Allyson (who is also a painter) relentlessly travel the world, headlining large-scale festivals, consciousness parties and packed gallery shows. In this interview, Grey discusses how he turned from suicidal nihilist to visionary artist, the convergence of psychedelics and Tibetan Buddhism, holding together a marriage involving two artists, live-painting with Beats Antique and the Disco Biscuits, and his unusual spiritual portrait of Obama. [link]

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Selling Fine Art: Assumptive Selling vs. Suggestive Selling

FINE ART VIEWS | DAILY NEWSLETTER
By Jack White

To assume is said to make an a - - out of u and me. While this is true in most cases, being assumptive in selling is an entirely different scenario.  I often use the assumptive close with art buyers. I assume they want to own my art when we begin the conversation. The moment the prospect shows real interest, I just assume they would like to take that piece home with them. My next step is to assist them in making their desire a reality. Because of my assumption that they want to own the art, I treat them differently. I don’t sell; I help the client acquire what they want. There are two types of closings, assumptive and suggestive.  [link]

On the surface they appear to be the same. In truth, they are not similar at all:

• The practice of trying to sell something by acting as though the potential client has already decided to buy is assumptive. 
• Saying the art would look good on their wall or table is suggestive. 
• Remember, just relax. 
• Assume the client has already decided to purchase the art, ask editorial questions, listen and have fun. 
• You will make a lot of sales and gain new collectors.

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Iranian Contemporary Art Collection Features Iconic Artists of Western World

THE ALGEMENIER

Israeli artist Salon Agam

IRAN---The Algemeiner has learned that the secret Iranian art collection now partially displayed at Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art includes up to ten works of Israel’s highest-selling and most iconic artist Yaacov Agam. In an interview, his son expressed concern over the future of the masterpieces. The Iranian collection, which is thought to be worth upwards of $3 billion also includes iconic pieces by Pissaro, Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Renoir, Marcel Duchamp and a number of others, and includes Pollock’s Mural on Indian Red Ground which is estimated to be worth over $250 million. Another Jewish artist whose work is also said to be featured in the collection is Russian-French painter Marc Chagall. Censors in Iran classed some as un-Islamic, pornographic or too gay, and they have never been shown in public. Others have been displayed only once or twice.” [link]

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Mosque in Missouri Burns to Ground, One Month After Arson Attack

NBC NEWS
By Kari Huus

MISSOURI---A mosque in Joplin, Mo. that was the target of an apparent arson attack a month ago burned to the ground on Monday. About 30 federal investigators from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms were working with local officials to determine whether Monday's fire at the Islamic Society of Joplin was arson. It will take a few days to determine the cause of the blaze, officials said at a news conference Monday afternoon. "If this fire is determined to be deliberate in nature it will be investigated to the fullest extent possible," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael Kaste. "Any act of violence to a house of worship is taken very seriously by law enforcement and threatens the very core of the safety and security that our communities enjoy." [link]

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Perhaps Only God's Artists Can Save Us Now

AL JAZEERA
By Santiago Zabala

Pablo Picasso's 'Guernica' is an example of art used to express reactions to significant issues [GALLO/GETTY]

Perhaps rather than God, as Martin Heidegger once said, it is art that can save us. After all, artistic creations have always had political, religious and social meanings that also aimed in some way to save us. Certainly, they also express beauty, but this depends very much on the public's aesthetic taste, which varies according to the cultural environment of each society. Pablo Picasso's Guernica is the example we all have in mind: painted as a response to the Spanish nationalist forces' bombing of a town in the Basque country, it was used not only to inform the public but also as a symbol of all the innocent victims of war. [link]

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John Cage's Zen Buddhism 101 Introduction of Silence for Today

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Reviewed by Elivi Varga

One of my favorite works to teach in music appreciation classes is John Cage's infamous 4'33''. I ask for a volunteer student to sit at the piano and not play a single note for the duration of four minutes and 33 seconds. Inevitably, a lively debate follows. Is this music? In this centennial of Cage's birth, author Kay Larson pointillistically and thoroughly maps out how Cage arrived at 4'33" 60 years ago, and how he evolved after it, in "Where the Heart Beats". The title of the book encompasses an enormous amount of subject material, which Larson covers in great detail. Drawing from a vast collection of resources, she intersperses passages from Cage's words from letters, interviews, and lectures, while explaining the influence of Buddhism and his immense circle of artist friends on his life. The debate about the merits and meaning of 4'33" continues. [link]

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Where Hindu Art & Religion Meet: Srikalahastheeshwara Temple

THE HINDU
By Aruna Chandaraju

Imporessive sprawl: The many pillared hall Photo: Ravinder Redd

INDIA---“Look at the deepam closely,” whispered the priest pointing to the large brass lamp beside the Vayu Linga in the sanctum sanctorum of the Srikalahastheeshwara Temple. “See how it flickers, as if there’s a breeze, even though it is completely still inside and there are no windows.” Indeed, intriguingly, the flame was flickering constantly as if fanned by a gentle breeze. “The Shiva here is the Vayu Linga or Wind God’s representation,” explained the priest. There are five centres in south India, the Panchabhoota Linga Kshetras, one each for the five elements, and this temple represents air. Located in the southern Andhra Pradesh town of Srikalahasthi on the Swarnamukhi river, the famous temple is named after Shiva’s three devotees — sri (spider), kaala (snake) and hasthi (elephant) — who are carved on a pillar in the main shrine. [link]

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Egypt’s Islamist President Reassures Tourists During Visit to Pharaonic Temples

THE WASHINGTON POST
By Associated Press

EGYPT---Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi pledged Friday to support tourism during a visit to the ancient Pharaonic temples of Luxor, a move aimed to assuage fears that the rise of an Islamist leader would undermine the country’s allure for foreigners. On a visit to the famed sites at Luxor and Karnak, Morsi said Egyptians are eager to ensure the safety of all visitors, urging tourists at the scene to feel safe. [link]

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Church Commissions Amazing Sculpture in Remembrance of September 11 Tragedy (VIDEO)

MESSENGER POST NEWS
By Dennis Green



NEW YORK---Mark Weisbeck, an award-winning artisan sculptor from Honeoye, has been commissioned by a Utica church to create a 20-foot Sept. 11 memorial. The Archbishop Stephen Enea of the Italo-Greek Archdiocese of the Americas and Canada commissioned Weisbeck to create the memorial after conducting a worldwide search looking for a centerpiece to complete his new September 11 Memorial Park; he chose Weisbeck, who presented his concept for the piece titled Remembrance and Renewal. [link]

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First, Build an Art School. Then Build a Nation. A Jewish Response

JEWISH IDEAS DAILY
By Diana Muir Appelbaum

"Portrait of a Man Studying Torah" by Boris Schatz, 1930, Palestine

ISRAEL---Before Zionists built Israel’s first kibbutz, first university, or first luxury hotel, they built an art academy.  The Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design opened in 1906, not because the Jewish homeland needed an art school more than it needed a university but because the Zionist leadership thought an art school would be an effective motor of economic growth. The man who built the art school was named Zalman Dov Baruch Schatz before he left his yeshiva to study art and changed his name to Boris. Arriving in Jerusalem in 1905, Schatz rapidly opened not one institution but three: an art academy, a national museum, and a series of workshops that would employ Jewish craft workers. [link]

"Art, Craft & Jewish National Identity" is a gem of an exhibition, on display through August 31 at the Bernard Museum of Judaica in Temple Emanu-El in New York.  Curated by Elka Deitsch and David Wachtel, it shows the way Bezalel artists blended the influences of the European Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements with artistic styles and techniques from Persia and the Middle East in a self-conscious effort to create a Hebrew national style. 

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