RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS 
By TAHLIB

HOPE brought people of different faiths together this week, with Pope Francis leading "much" of the way. It was a week where Hindus, Jews, and Christians all celebrated their holy days. It was a week where many US congregations celebrated as the US Supreme Court listened to arguments supporting the "freedom to marry" for their gay members; and it was a week where Muslim Turks and Jewish Israelis renewed a commitment to cooperation.  There is hope in the world this week, but with hope also comes dark shadows. That is why Easter Sunday celebrations are a choice to focus on hope, and it's also why Christina Saj's "Hope" (above) from her March 2013 INSPIRE ME! profile is my NEWS OF WEEK.

As a Christian, this holyweek in Indinaapolis is the most special week of my year:

• Passover 2013: The Maccabeats - (Video) [More News]
• Maundy Thursday: Roberts Park United Methodist Church 
• Good Friday: Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis 
• Easter 2013: Unity of Indianapolis with Mom & Greg 

To follow my holyweek journey, I'm providing links for the years of Alpha Omega Arts: 2012, 2011, 2010, and 2009. Whether Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jew or non-denominational, we are all members of a giant spiritual family, united in the search for human meaning through art from the religious imagination. For us, it's more than Art. It's Religion.

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Pope Appeals for Peace in Easter Message

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Rueters

More than 250,000 people filled St. Peter's Square to hear Pope Francis deliver his first Easter Sunday address.

ITALY --- Pope Francis, appearing before more than 250,000 people for his first Easter Sunday address, called for world peace, respect for the environment and a diplomatic solution to the crisis on the Korean peninsula. In his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message, he also appealed for a resumption of peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, an end to the civil war in Syria and political solutions to conflicts in several African countries. The former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina, who has made defense of nature an early hallmark of his pontificate, also condemned the "iniquitous exploitation of natural resources" and urged everyone to be "guardians" of creation. [link]

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Easter Sunday Celebration at Unity Church of Indianapolis

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

INDIANA --- On Easter Sunday 2013, A&O heads to Unity Church of Indianapolis to hear a dynamic message that is practical, positive and relevant, to meditate, and to enjoy uplifting contemporary music with other enthusiastic, miracle minded people. Unity is a positive, practical, progressive approach to Christianity based on the teachings of Jesus and the power of prayer. Unity honors the universal truths in all religions and respects each individual's right to choose a spiritual path. The Pre-Service Meditation begins at 9:30 am; The Service starts at 10:00 am. 907 N Delaware Street in downtown Indianapolis.

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Pope Francis Kissing Feet: How the Visuals Matter

RELIGION NEWS SERVICE
By Mark Silk

Pope Francis kissing feet of Muslims, prisoners, and women on Holy Thursday

During the Reformation, Protestant propagandists scored a lot of points with woodcuts contrasting the Pope and His Minions unfavorably with Jesus and His Disciples. Here, for example, are a couple of pages from a German pamphlet, “The Passion of Christ and Antichrist,” that show humbly garbed Jesus washing the disciples’ feet even as the enthroned pope is getting his slippered tootsie bussed by royalty. So when Pope Francis goes to a prison and proceeds to wash (and kiss) the feet of a dozen inmates, the historical resonances are deep. Catholic traditionalists may be freaked out by it–girls! Muslims–but this is the new face of Roman Catholicism.

German pamphlet from Reformation

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African-American Passion Play in Indianapolis (Zionsville)

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

INDIANA --- "Easter weekend just isn't the same without seeing Upon This Rock. It's more than a play, it's an experience!" These words from a faithful patron of the Upon This Rock Passion Play speak the resounding sentiments of faithful attendees of this annual production. On Saturday, March 29, 2013, Indianapolis based Upon This Rock Productions will again present the annual passion play that completes Easter weekend in the city of Indianapolis. The 2013 performance will be held today in Pike Performing Arts Center, Zionsville, Indiana at both 11am and 7pm. Tickets are now on sale through the producers website or call (317) 285-0551 for more information.

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Good Friday at Saint Mary Catholic Church in Indianapolis

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

INDIANA --- The A&O Holy Week journey continues at Saint Mary Catholic Church as we align our faith journey with the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday  (See video). Saint Mary Catholic Church was founded in 1858 and the current location, built in 1910, has a capacity for 500 parishoners. It is part of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis which is in turn part of The Holy See. It is said to have the largest concentration of Latino Catholics in Indianapolis. Saint Mary Catholic Church is located at the corner of New Jersey Street and Vermont Street in the historic Lockerbie Square district of downtown Indianapolis.

Good Friday Services: March 29 

Noon The Passion of the Lord 

5:00 p.m. Living Way of the Cross 

 7:30p.m. La Novena de la Divina Misericordia

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Good Friday 2013: 5 Facts You Didn't Know About the Christian Holy Day

POLICY MIC 
By Andrea Ayres-Deets

Good Friday is the Friday before Easter and is the most solemn day in the Christian calendar as it is the day Jesus was crucified. On this day Christians around the world pray for forgiveness and repentance as part of the observance of the day Jesus died for our sins. Here are five facts that you probably didn't know about Good Friday. [link]

1. The origin of the name "Good Friday" is not known.
2. Scientists debate and study the date of Jesus’s crucifixion.
3. The services for Good Friday start much earlier than you think.
4. Some Good Friday reenactments involve people willingly nailing themselves to crosses.
5. Jesus was crucified by nails driven into his wrists, not hands. 
6. *Scholars also continue to debate whether a cross as traditionally is depicted or the more common X shaped structure for crucifixion would have been used.

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Maundy Thursday Service in Indianapolis at Roberts Park United Methodist Church

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

INDIANA -- In the historic heart of downtown Indianapolis, Roberts Park United Methodist Church offers Maundy Thursday services on Thursday, March 28 at 7:00 p.m. It is known by Catholics as "Holy Thursday" but Jehovah Witnesses know it as the "Lord's Evening Meal," and celebrate it on the same day as the Jewish Passover (Tuesday, March 26 of this year). Roberts Park United Methodist Church was initially organized as the Methodist Society "Roberts Chapel" in 1821, the same year Indianapolis was founded. It was named after Bishop Robert R. Roberts, the first Methodist bishop to reside in Indiana. The current building was constructed from 1869 to 1876. Throughout the second half of the 20th century, as many downtown churches closed or moved to the suburbs, Roberts Park retained its commitment to being "the heart of downtown."

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Exploring The Cosmos: The Stupa as a Buddhist Symbol

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS 

Shanti Stupa. Courtesy of Buddha Channel

SINGAPORE --- The Asian Civilizations Museum presents "Exploring The Cosmos: The Stupa as a Buddhist Symbol" through August 18, 2013 at Empress Place. The stupa is the principal and most characteristic monument of Buddhism. This exhibition features 29 works from the ACM’s collection, covering a period from the 3rd to the 19th century, as well as a hanging mobile stupa by the internationally renowned Thai artist Jakkai Siributr. Stupas can take on different forms; they can be domed, cylindrical, or pyramidal. The domed shape originates in simple burial mounds. Its original purpose was to enclose relics associated with the Buddha or Buddhism. The pagodas of China and Japan are also an extension of these ideas.

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Today, Hindu's Say "Happy Holi" With Love

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

Happy Holi HD Wallpapers

Today is Holi 2013, the festival of colors is the most awaited festivals of India due to its own relevance and livelihood. Celebrated on Phalgun Purnima of Hindu calendar. In Indian mythology, Holi is considered as the celebration of the triumph of 'good' over 'bad'. It is known to fill the gap between societal gaps prevailing in the society and spreads the message of love, affection, equality and sweet relationships. People on this day hug each other and wishe 'Happy Holi' to each other with love.

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In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art

THE BOSTON GLOBE

Bowl inscribed with sayings of the Prophet Muhammad and ʿAli ibn Abi Talib

MASSACHUSETTS --- Harvard University: In Harmony: The Norma Jean Calderwood Collection of Islamic Art. Ceramics, illustrated folio pages, and drawings on paper, most of them exquisite, make up this exhibition of Persianate work from the ninth to 19th centuries. Through June 1. Arthur M. Sackler Museum, 617-495-9400, www.harvardartmuseums.org/visit [link]

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Believe it or Not: Art Was, And is a Faith-Based Business

FRIEZE MAGAZINE 
By Dan Fox

Art is a faith-based system that, to paraphrase philosopher Simon Critchley, combines ‘an uneasy godlessness with a religious memory’. Religious conviction is taken to be a sign of intellectual weakness, and yet meaning in art is itself often a question of belief. Sol LeWitt wasn’t joking when he wrote, in his ‘Sentences on Conceptual Art’ (1967): ‘Conceptual artists are mystics rather than rationalists.’ Art involves a conceptual investment in objects and images just as any religion invests significance in its icons and the ritual use of objects. People go to galleries on Sundays rather than churches. Is the idea that art has nothing to do with faith or religion just a lie we tell ourselves to hide the fact we crave something to believe in? Is it because the subjectivity of art provides the perfect ideological supplement to capitalism? Does God prefer Modernist abstraction or Italian Renaissance painting? Is there an afterlife with a gift shop that sells Mark Rothko postcards? [link]

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Freedom to Marry Contribution Made in Honor of Alpha Omega Arts

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

By Tahlib



Today, the debate over the Freedom to Marry began in the halls of the US Supreme Court. In response Ernest Disney-Britton made a significant gift of support for the movement in honor of the Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts. "For me, this is a matter of religious freedom of expression" said Ernest Disney-Britton, and "I am proud to join Christian evangelicals like Pastor Rob Bell to stand on the right side of religious history."

Dear Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts,  

This email is to inform you that a contribution has been made on your behalf to Freedom to Marry by Ernest Disney-Britton. This contribution helps us to do our work and best collaborate with new gay and non-gay allies, advancing the cause of securing the freedom to marry nationwide.  

2013 will be an important building year for the movement and we are truly appreciative that you have joined us in this human rights struggle. Winning marriage and family recognition in more places and talking to more people about why marriage matters are the key to ending marriage discrimination nationwide.  

With the help of fair-minded Americans like you, we will continue to advance on all three tracks of our Roadmap to Victory. By working to win more states, grow public support, and overturn federal marriage discrimination, Freedom to Marry is leading the fight to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage once and for all.  

Again, thank you for supporting our important work and for joining the national movement to secure the freedom to marry for all loving and committed couples.  

Sincerely, Evan Wolfson President, Freedom to Marry

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Indiana's Linda Witte Henke in "The Art of the Passion"

STUDIO NEWS | TRIDUUM 2013
By Linda Witte Henke

INDIANA --- "The Art of the Passion" is an invitational exhibition featuring artists' interpretations of the Stations of the Cross. It is sponsored by and held at Saint Paul Lutheran Church, 2029 South State Road 39, in Frankfort, IN, during Holy Week. My work (above), titled Cross WORD, depicts Station #12: Jesus Dies on the Cross. The seven background panels were constructed from manifold layers of opaque and translucent fabrics, tissue paper, newspapers, pages from discarded bibles, old sheet music, handwritten text of the four Passion accounts, screen-printed versions of the Seven Last Words in English and Greek, etc., that were stitched together, then slashed and coarsely frayed to reveal glimpses of the layers. A three-dimensional corpus constructed from fiber and metal completes the work. A video pilgrimage of the exhibition is available here.
The exhibition hours for Art of the Passion are Passion Sunday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.; Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.; and Holy Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The 2013 Art of the Passion will be open March 24th – 30th (exhibit hours listed below) and will feature the following artists:

• Linda Witte Henke | Mixed Media 
• Wayne Shedler | Leather Work 
• Ed Selvidge | Painting 
• Stephanie Robertson | Fabric 
• Mirvia Rivera-Eckert | Acrylic Painting 
• Ann Lahr | Wood Fired Ceramic 
• Barbara Kinsler | Block Print 
• Cheryl Kaldahl 
• Elias Garza | Mixed Media/Block Printing 
• Lauren Ehrman | Block Print 
• Daniel Driggs | Acrylic Painting 
• Bill Dahman | Sculpture 
• Ann Dahman | Color Etching on Granite 
• Dwayne Daehler | Photography 
• Marge Burkholder 

You can read more about these artists and follow the event on the Art of the Passion Facebook page!

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‘Albrecht Dürer: Master Drawings, Watercolors, and Prints,’ at the National Gallery

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Holland Cotter

“Virgin and Child With a Multitude of Animals and Plants,” (1503) by Dürer

WASHINGTON, DC — Albrecht Dürer had it all: the eye of a Raphael, the brains of a Leonardo, the looks of a cleaned-up Kurt Cobain. He produced the earliest known self-portrait drawing in European art when he was 13, and some of the first stand-alone landscapes. Before he hit 30, he was the polymath star of what we now call the Northern European Renaissance. If he was personally vain — in his adult self-portraits he looks like Jesus — you can’t blame him.. [link]

National Gallery of Art: “Albrecht Dürer: Master Drawings, Watercolors, and Prints From the Albertina” (Ends June 9) at the National Mall between Third and Ninth Streets, along Constitution Avenue NW, Washington; (202) 737-4215, nga.gov.

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Same Love Feat. Mary Lambert on iTunes (Video)

YOUTUBE | MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS
Posted by Ryan Lewis



Paul B. Raushenbush ‏@raushenbush: If you haven't seen this amazing video/song called Same Love, please take the time - mindblowing http://bit.ly/16JKFqB

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The Maccabeats - Les Misérables - Passover (Video)

YOUTUBE | MaccabeatsVideos
By Drive-In Productions

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Op-Ed: Ending Poverty by Selling-off the Vatican Art Collection

CATHOLIC HERALD
By William Oddie

Pope Francis addresses diplomats in the Sala Regia on Friday (CNS)

Should Pope Francis sell off the Vatican’s art collection and give the money to the poor? The answer is an emphatic ‘No.’ There are some irreversible actions which cause lasting damage: others which are both good and necessary. I have no doubt at all that Pope Francis, with the guidance of the God whose representative here on earth he undoubtedly is, will know the difference. And that Michaelangelo’s Pietà will remain immoveably where it is, and where it was always meant to be. [link]

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Holi Cannonballs in Colour Coming on March 27th

THE HINDU

Gulal gotas: An art in itself. Photos: Rohit Jain Paras

For those interested in a traditional touch while playing colours during the Holi, Jaipur’s famous gulal gotas could be the answer. A people’s festival, celebrating societal “liminality”, that has a dash of everything — vivid colours, loud music, social sanction for psychotropic drugs, public display of the society’s collective eroticism; and all this on a much grander scale than any “woodstock festival” ever held anywhere in the world. [link]

Yes, Holi is around the corner; and like every year, the market has geared up to outdo itself — throwing at consumers all sorts of colour-toys, water pistols, pichkaris and what have you. But for those who have had enough of the pink and yellow plastics, thankfully our country continues to preserve the charm and crackle of the old world — in small discreet parts of the urban bazaar, the discreet cameos of these traditional arts often come to the rescue of the discerning. One such piece of traditional art is the gulaal gota — a beautifully decorated, flattened ball of lac, filled with soft gulaal in different colours. This was how people threw colour at each other before the synthetic rubber water balloons took over. And Jaipur in the only place in the whole world where these little beauties are made, claim their makers.

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

The facsimile of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

A&O Believer's seek truth instead of dogma. That's what makes contemporary religious artists our Holy Priesthood. Artists like Abdel Abidin, whose art defies extremists; sculptors like David J.P. Hooker, who challenge traditional views of humanity vs. divinity; and painters like Siona Benjamin, whose work let's us see that "there are deeper stories than what meets the eye." Another group of artist-priests are the nameless who create the exhibitions in our museums. These masters of insight help us to focus on what we most need. The work of these artist-priests is why this week's visit to Cincinnati Museum Center's exhibition of the Dead Sea Scrolls (above) is my NEWS OF WEEK.

In other religious art news from across the USA, and around the world:

• Buddhism in Art: Yoshihiro Hirakawa's design research on offertory boxes  [More News]
• Christianity in Art: David J.P. Hooker's "Corpus" at the Billy Graham Center [More News]
• Hinduism in Art: M.F. Husain's "Mother Teresa" via his Hindu lens [More News]
• Islam in Art: IM Pei's temple to Islamic Art in Doha, the captital of Qatar [More News]
• Judaism in Art: Playwright Matthew Lopez's "Whipping Man" in Indiana [More News]

Are your friends A&O Believers yet? If not, please invite them today! We are believers, but also skeptics too united in the search for human understanding through Religious Art. Some join by making the annual $100 commitment to become a member of the governing A&O Society; others join as donors supporting the A&O Scholarship & Exhibition Prize; and others as member-subscribers of this RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK. Please invite a friend to join the journey. It's for Believers, and Skeptics too.

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Movie Synopsis: "Olympus Has Fallen"

FANDANGO 

HOLLYWOOD---The unthinkable happens when heavily armed and highly trained terrorists launch a bold daytime attack on the White House. The building is overrun, and President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) and his staff are taken hostage. Luckily for Asher, former presidential security officer Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is on the scene. With time running out, it's up to Banning to locate Asher's son before the extremists do and rescue the president before his captors unleash their ultimate plan. [link] (A&O Rating: ★★)
Cast: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett Director: Antoine Fuqua Genres: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller

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Get Lucky: Amulets and Ketubah Art by Judith Joseph

JEWISH ART SALON

Amulet by Judith Joseph

NEW YORK --- The Jewish Art Salon and the Kraft Center present " Get Lucky: Amulets and Ketubah Art by Judith Joseph" at Columbia / Barnard Kraft Center, 606 West 115 Street, New York, NY 10025 (April 18 - May 21, 2013). The art of Judith Joseph springs from illuminated manuscripts: decorated, hand-written texts. She loves miniature medieval illustrations with their quirky, often bizarre imagery that ranges from holy inspiration to bawdy violence. Her love of letters encompasses both their calligraphic form and the story they tell. [link]

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Tibetan Buddhism Inspires Move From Academia to Collecting and Giving Back

THE EPOCH TIMES

Moke Mokotoff in his temporary gallery on the Upper East Side, where he is currently exhibiting for Asia Week. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK --- If Indiana Jones had been a student of Tibetan Buddhism, he might have turned out to be Moke Moketoff. Moketoff lives in New York now, working as a private art dealer, like so many others in the city’s enterprising art community. But he has lived many lives—as a National Geographic photographer training scholars to preserve manuscripts on the Nepal–India border, as a fundraiser for a Tibetan lama’s dream school, and as a builder of the Rubin, one of the most respected Himalayan art museums in the country. “Most Westerners are attracted to Buddhism mostly through the art, and have an emotional reaction to the art,” he said, explaining that the art itself is integral to the practice of Tibetan Buddhism. “The thangkas (devotional wall hangings) are meditation objects. All the artistic renderings are all based on meditations and prayer.” [link]

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Theatre Review: 'The Whipping Man' at Indiana Repertory Theatre

INDIANAPOLIS BUSINESS JOURNAL
By Lou Harry

Courtesy of Portland Center Stage

INDIANA --- There's nothing subtle about the idea of two former slaves and their former master creating a makeshift Passover meal as the Civil War is ending. But tempered with subtle, nuanced performance by its trio of actors, a remarkably well-paced script from playwright Matthew Lopez, direction that allows time for the complex emotions to percolate, and design that's gorgeous and sad, the Indiana Repertory Theatre's production of "The Whipping Man"—is sublime, easily the best show so far in the IRT season. [link]

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Jesus Was a Jew, and Other Forgotten Believer Memories of Christianity

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS 
By Tahlib

When I moved to NYC, I came as a Follower. The man who I left family and friends to follow was a Jew who was leading a movement of believers. As a Christian, I believed I was reliving Christ's call. And to a large degree, that's exactly what happened, and just as surely it didn't happen in the way I imagined. Isn't that's the story of the authentic Jesus? He surprised us beyond our expectations.

Yet a surprising number of Christians and Jews forget that Jesus never converted to Christianity, but was born and died a Jew.  In "Jesus Uncensored: Restoring the Authenic Jew," psychologist, teacher, and spiritual writer Bernard Starr explores biblical texts and spotlights that Jesus, like Paul, the founder of Christianity, never gave up his Jewish identity.  Starr's aim is not to prove Believers on either side as wrong, but in detailing the evolution of the "fair-skinned Jesus" he hopes to heal a rift between religions, and to foster a new spirit of reconciliation. As my friend Leslie reminded me many times (and she's a Jew) especially during Christian Lent and Jewish Passover: "Jesus was a Jew" -- By God she was right.

Does France's George Roualt's Jesus (1932) look Jewish? 

Does Netherlands' Rembrant's Jesus (1656) look Jewish?

Does Israeli Adi Nis' "Christ" (2009) look Jewish?

Does American, Warner Sallman's Jesus (1941) look Jewish?

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'Bible' Producers Bedeviled by Complaints That 'Satan' Looks Like Obama

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
By Don Kaplan

Mehdi Ouazanni, who plays Satan in History Channel's 'The Bible,' has been likened to Obama. 

HOLLYWOOD --- Somebody is gonna burn for this. Producers of the hit History channel show “The Bible” were in damage control mode Monday after hysterical viewers took to the Internet noting that the actor who played Satan on the show bears a a resemblance to President Obama. “This is utter nonsense,” said husband-and-wife producers, Mark Burnett (“Survivor) and Roma Downey (“Touched by an Angel”). [link]

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Dynamic Islamic Art Scene Takes Wing in Dubai

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Sarah Hamdan

DUBAI — In the center of a large room, the skeletal shape of a bird — an installation of steel and light-emitting diodes — hovers near the ceiling. "Al Warqaa 2013" by Abdel Abidin is a suspended light-based sculpture that pays homage to students stoned to death by religious extremists in Baghdad last year. About four times human size, its strong, light presence dominates the otherwise empty space. Mr. Abidin is one of many artists and gallery owners who have been drawn to Dubai to escape political turbulence in countries like Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria and Tunisia. The same dynamic is at work in the annual Art Dubai fair, running here this week. [link]

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Smithsonian Displaying Cyrus Cylinder, an Artifact With Long History and Many Meanings

THE WASHINGTON POST
By Philip Kennicott

The Trustees of the British Museum - Since its discovery in 1879, the Cyrus Cylinder has functioned rather like a snowball, gathering layers of meaning as it has been appropriated by different groups with different agendas.

WASHINGTON, DC --- The Cyrus Cylinder, now on view at the Smithsonian’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, should be considered in the same league as the Rosetta Stone, one of the greatest treasures of the British Museum, according to Neil MacGregor, the London institution’s director. Created almost 2,600 years ago to glorify Cyrus the Great, conqueror of Babylon and founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the cylinder intersects with Western and Persian history through the ages, amplifying the accomplishments of an emperor who figures in the Bible and the writings of the ancient Greeks and who has been used and misused ever since by petty tyrants, merciless autocrats and earnest Enlightenment proponents of democracy and tolerance. [link]

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Israeli Visual Culture Classes at Skirball Cultural Center

JEWISH JOURNAL
By Evan Henerson

"Shimshon, Jerusalem" (1982) by Gabi Klasmer. Collection of Skirball Museum.

CALIFORNIA --- Anat Gilboa, visiting professor of art history at UCLA’s Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, who will teach upcoming classes on Israeli visual culture at the Skirball Cultural Center and at UCLA, insists that Israeli visual culture has deeper dimensions. Gilboa plans to divide the Skirball class into five sections: religion, the Holocaust, war and conflict, ethnicity definitions and the redefinition of gender roles — male and female. The class will cover a spectrum of examples across artistic disciplines, from the work of painter and Holocaust survivor Samuel Bak, to the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design-schooled painter Reuven Rubin, to the hip-hop funk band Hadag Nahash. Painting and graphic art will be considered, along with film, photography, music and pop culture. [link]

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Indiana Leads States in Supporting Ban on Gay Marriage

THE COURIER JOURNAL
By Maureen Groppe

WASHINGTON — The two gay marriage cases that hit the Supreme Court next week have divided states, and Indiana is leading the side defending the right to ban same-sex unions. Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller is the primary author of briefs submitted by states in support of California’s gay marriage ban and of a federal law defining marriage as the union between a man and a woman. Such briefs are filed by those who are not part of the litigation and won’t appear in court, but who believe the court’s decision could affect them. [link]

Ball State University’s Hoosier Poll last fall found Hoosiers evenly split over whether same-sex marriages should be legal. But a majority supported legalizing civil unions and opposed changing Indiana’s constitution to ban gay marriage. The General Assembly has approved a constitutional amendment but legislative leaders decided to postpone for a year putting the amendment before voters because of the pending Supreme Court cases. “Hoosier opinion is changing rapidly, just like it is across the country,” said Ray Scheele, co-director of Ball State’s Bowen Center for Public Affairs.

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At 160, Baha'i Faith in Formative Stages

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

Baha'i calendar desinged by Mart Gomez

Today, members of the Baha'i faith celebrate "Naw Ruz" Day in Iran and around the world. The Baha'i faith was founded in 1844 in Persia (Iran). They are one of the youngest of the monotheistic religions, and its central purpose is the unification of humanity. Baha'is believe in progressive revelation, that God sends to humankind a teacher — manifestations of God — through the years. Those have included Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Muhammad, even Zoroaster. For today, it was Bahaullah, which means "the glory of God" and being a Baha'i means "of the glory." The faith is very much contrary to the idea of personal station. They serve the glory of God, not Bahaullah. Naw-Rúz means ‘new day, ’a spiritual springtime, and the Naw-Rúz holyday is used to commemorate it.

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Jesus & Buddha: Practicing Across Traditions (VIDEO)

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

Image courtesy of Rose of Sharon

Culture Unplugged presents a 2012 documentary featuring three leading figures in today’s Buddhist-Christian dialogue who share their personal journeys in the new documentary "Jesus and Buddha: Practicing Across Traditions." The 44 minute documentary is available in its full length online. Their experience and insight bring these two liberating archetypes alive in a way that can help guide us through our own confusion and struggle toward lives filled with joy and gratitude, compassion, and service.


The documentary features: Father Robert Kennedy, a Jesuit priest and Zen teacher; Chung Hyun Kyung, Professor of Ecumenical Theology and Interfaith Engagement at Union Theological Seminary and a Buddhist Dharma teacher; and Paul Knitter, Professor of Theology, World Religions and Culture at Union Theological Seminary in a tri-alogue that will fascinate and amaze your assumptions about belief, about Christ and about Buddhism.

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Arts Administration Training for Believers is Finally Here

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

Religious creativity is growing 
but not the arts management skills.

George Washington University has announced a new MA program to meet the needs of the American Jewish community’s steadily growing interest in Jewish culture. As opportunities in the cultural sector continue to multiply, this two-year master’s program prepares students for careers in the management of museums, theaters, YMHAs, Jewish community centers, foundations, and Jewish film, dance, literary, and music festivals. The MA is also designed to enhance the skills of professionals already in the field.

St. Mary’s University College, which is an independent Catholic liberal arts university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada is launching a Certificate in Sacred Arts. This is open to anyone. there are practical classes and lectures, but the emphasis appears to be learning through doing. The Way of Beauty program focuses on the link between Catholic culture, with a special emphasis on art, and the liturgy.

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Museum of Islamic Art in Doha: 'It’s About Creating An Audience For Art'

THE TELEGRAPH
By Mark Hudson

When they decided to build the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, the veteran Chinese-American architect IM Pei was summoned out of retirement to design it. The fact that the then 86-year-old Pei was best known for the landmark glass pyramid in the forecourt of the Louvre — still widely regarded as the world’s greatest museum — was by no means accidental. The Museum of Islamic Art was designed to make an impact: to put the Qatari capital on the map as a cultural centre and to broaden global perceptions of Islamic culture. Just five years after its opening, this groundbreaking institution is already acclaimed as one of the world’s great museums. [link]

“It’s about building an audience for art and developing the artists of the future,” says Mayssa Fattouh, artistic director of the Katara Arts Center, a pleasantly chic gallery and café. “We’re showing Qatari artists alongside international names. Visiting artists are doing workshops with local artists and schoolchildren, building on the traditional culture that’s already here. It’s an organic, ongoing process.”

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Catholic Church Turns to Anglicans to Fill U.S. Priest Shortage

CBS NEWS
By Elaine Quijano

WISCONSIN -- The number of Roman Catholic priests in the United States has steadily dropped from nearly 59,000 in 1975 to just under 39,000 last year. But the number of Catholics in the United States has increased by 17 million. So the Catholic Church is doing something once unthinkable: expanding the pool of priest candidates to include former Anglican priests, like Mark Lewis, who converted to Catholicism. He's married with two children. [link]

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Michelle Shocked: Not the First Artist to Betray Her Fanbase

ROLLING STONES

Earlier this week, folk singer Michelle Shocked reportedly spewed vicious anti-gay comments during a San Francisco performance, voiced her support for Proposition Eight and quoted Old Testament verses that denounce homosexuality. "I live in fear that the world will be destroyed if gays are allowed to marry," she said to the crowd, according to several witness accounts. "You can go on Twitter and say, 'Michelle Shocked says God hates fags.'" Since the late Eighties and into the Nineties, fans have associated Shocked with progressive liberal ideals; she's become a "born-again, sanctified, saved-in-the-blood Christian" only in the past few years. Her stance on homosexuality has a loaded history, convoluted by a 1990 interview during which she admitted to having at least one female lover. [link]

This is not the first time artists have outraged their fans by betraying their expectations – or by simply refusing sanity and reason. Read on for our list of artists taking some of the most left-field, bewildering standpoints in music history.

1. Neil Young blamed homosexuals for AIDS 
2. Bob Dylan preached radical Christianity 
3. The Dixie Chicks bashed Bush Foo Fighters pushed HIV denialist propaganda 
4. Willie Nelson supported 9/11 conspiracy theories 
5. Michael Jackson denies child molestation charges but admits to sleeping with young boys

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Visiting Professor Addresses Role of Religious Heritage in Art

THE EXPONENT
By Haley Checkley

INDIANA --- A visiting speaker Monday attempted to make her audience more aware of Jewish artists, their creative work and why it may be so obscure. Krannert Auditorium hosted “Beatified but not canonized: Jewish American artists and the formation of the American art canon,” a presentation focused on bringing the Jewish tagline back to the forefront of attention, on Monday night. Samantha Baskind, a professor of art history at Cleveland State University, was the speaker and sought to answer why oftentimes the Jewish background in famous Jewish American artists such as Louise Nevelson or Chaim Gross often is forgotten or hidden from attention. If these artists were discussed on popular social networking sites such as Twitter, it is likely that ‘#Jewish’ would not be a tagline that is associated with them. Baskind said there was a discomfort in the 20th century of discussing biblical work, a situation she attributed to the unpopularity of some Jewish artwork. “Art that is grounded in identity is passé right now. This art that claims an identity has been dismissed by some critics,” she said.[link]

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After Giving Up Religion, Atheists Try Giving Up Something Else For Lent

RELIGION NEWS SERVICE
By Kimberly Winston

What would an “atheist Lent” look like? A group of young nonbelievers are finding out, observing the Christian practice minus its religious context.They have given up alcohol, animal products, and various Internet and cellphone interactions. One has vowed to make a daily Lenten practice of telling those he encounters how important they are to him. But their observance of the 40-day period in which many Christians abstain from worldly desires in a bid to come closer to God has upset some atheists who say borrowing religious traditions is antithetical to nontheism. The exercise has also illustrated a divide in the nontheist community – between older atheists who see religion as inherently evil and younger atheists who are more open to interactions with religious belief. The idea of atheist Lent came from Vlad Chituc, a 23-year-old atheist blogger, who was inspired by the Swiss-born Humanist Alain de Botton, whose recent book, “Religion for Atheists,” suggests adapting religious rituals can create community and meaning among nonbelievers. [link]

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Westboro Equality House: Aaron Jackson Paints Rainbow Home Across From Anti-Gay Church

HUFFINGTON POST

KANSAS --- The Westboro Baptist Church is about to get a big surprise in the form of a new neighbor who plans to give the notoriously anti-gay group a taste of its own medicine. Aaron Jackson, one of the founders of Planting Peace, a multi-pronged charity that has in the past concentrated on rainforest conservation, opening orphanages and deworming programs, bought a house that sits directly across from the church's compound six months ago. On Tuesday, March 19, he and a team of volunteers are painting it to match the gay pride flag. The project -- which the nonprofit is calling the "Equality House" -- is the first in a new campaign Planting Peace plans to wage against the group. [link]

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Billy Graham Center to Display Jesus Sculpture Covered in Dirt

THE CHRISTIAN POST
By Melissa Barnhart

Add caption

ILLINOIS --- "Corpus" sculpture by David J.P. Hooker, associate professor of art at Wheaton College, Wheaton, Ill., to debut at the Biblical and Theological Studies Department on April 22, 2013. A 5-foot-tall ceramic sculpture of the crucified Jesus Christ covered in vacuum dust collected by the custodial staff at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill., will debut in the Biblical and Theological Studies department at the Billy Graham Center on April 22. At first glance, seeing Jesus covered in a mass of dirt, skin cells, human hair and carpet fibers is alarming, but Hooker explains the art is not intended to be sacrilegious, but a representation of Jesus sacrificing himself to atone for the sins of humanity. [link]

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India's M.F. Husain Conundrum

THE HINDU
By Sunil Murthy

The many colours of M.F. Husain. Photo: Deepak Harichandan

INDIA --- The recent auction in Mumbai — on January 17, of M.F. Husain’s works by Pundole’s — was nothing less than extraordinary. It was the first of its kind devoted solely to works by the modernist Indian painter anywhere in the world. His love for the country seems to have been genuine, and it is unfortunate that he is now often remembered for the rather crude depictions he made of Hindu goddesses in the 1970s that, when brought to public attention, got him into big trouble and finally exile. It would be absurd to think that he had any malicious intentions of hurting Hindu sentiments. Instead, Husain fled and, in the safety and great luxury of a Muslim country, constantly carped about his motherland's neglect and treatment towards him. [link]

M. F. Husain.Mother Teresa. FROM THE NGMA COLLECTION.

Almost the entire output of his later career was figurative in nature. In choosing his subjects, he played to the gallery, drawing upon icons of popular culture: Madhuri Dixit, Vidya Balan, and other stars and, of course, Mother Teresa, who had also become equally popular with the Indian masses. Beginning with film posters, he had graduated to painting actors. Even when he tackles a ‘serious’ personality like Teresa, the result is disappointing. He paints her like a Madonna wearing a shroud, a replica in paint of Michelangelo’s marble Pieta and numerous other Renaissance depictions. Teresa was the brand; hence she is the central and dominant figure in the composition, with the cliché of a peace dove flying in the corner. There is not much of the suffering and destitute whom she tended.

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NYC's Met Museum to Present "Making The Invisible Visible" Islamic Art Exhibition

BROADWAY WORLD

Image courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art

NEW YORK --- The exhibition "Making the Invisible Visible: Conservation and Islamic Art," on view beginning April 2, will demonstrate how our understanding and appreciation of the works of art we see in visible light can be augmented by information gleaned using other wavelengths of light, from infrared to x-rays. Through some 20 examples of works in various materials, and an additional 14 objects in the adjoining galleries, visitors will get a behind-the-scenes look at how the technical expertise and conservation resources available within the Museum are utilized in the study and preservation of Islamic art. An online feature including extensive information about the exhibition and the work of conservators and conservation scientists on objects in the collection of the Department of Islamic Art will be available on the Metropolitan Museum's website (www.metmuseum.org). [link]

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Buddhist and Shinto Temple Boxes Inspire Study

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
by Hiroko Yamaguchi

Offertory box courtesy of society website

JAPAN --- Plain and utilitarian to many people, to one enthusiast the offertory boxes at Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines are exquisite works of art. Known as "saisen-bako," the coffers can usually be found within a coin's toss of where temple-goers stand to pray. The coins clink their way through the box's slatted cover, which discreetly hides the contents from view. Retired university professor and interior designer Yoshihiro Hirakawa, 73, is on a mission to examine as many offertory boxes as possible and compile a database of their style and design. So far, he has compiled about 1,500 records.  Visit the society's official website at (http://www.e-saisenbako.com/index.html). [link]

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Artist Siona Benjamin Brings Hindu and Muslim Motifs to Portrayals of Judaism

JEWISH TELEGRAPH AGENCY
By Chavie Lieber

Finding Home No. 46 "Tikkun ha-Olam" -- (2000)

NEW JERSEY --- In the space of a single painting, Siona Benjamin juxtaposes feminism, Indian mythology and Jewish imagery. On a three-foot canvas, she’ll paint a portrait of a blue-skinned figure, usually a character from the Bible, with nods to Persian miniatures, Talmudic fables and Vishnu gods. “I want people to realize there can be a universal message in Jewish art,” Benjamin told JTA. Her favored subjects are biblical outcasts, and she aims to redeem them by presenting an alternative narrative. [link]

"If you look at biblical characters, there are deeper stories than what meets the eye. And I paint them blue because I’m redeeming myself through them, too.”

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Pope Francis' Hardline on Traditional Religious Art

ARTLYST

Two works from León Ferrari's 2004 Buenos Aires show

ARGENTINA --- The former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio now Pope Francis 1 is 76 years old and comes from Buenos Aires. But how conservative is this new Pope, and is he art-friendly? The answer is no. Pope Francis I once denounced an art exhibition in Buenos Aires by the Argentinian artist León Ferrari, stating it was “blasphemous.” Conservative protestors and Catholic church authorities in Argentina launched furious attacks on three art exhibitions during the same period, and succeeded in shutting two of them down, on the grounds that they were an insult to Christianity. The first of the censored shows, closed to the public on Dec. 17, 2004. It featured the works of renowned Argentine artist León Ferrari, who stated that his greatest sin was having confessed that he didn't believe in hell. [link]

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More Than 1,000 Bags of Jewish Ritual Items Litter New Jersey Road (VIDEO)

THE ALGEMEINER


NEW JERSEY---A New Jersey rabbi’s attempt to bury more than 1,000 bags of religious items is causing quite a stir in New Jersey. Littered along a back road in Lakewood, the bags were initially buried there before Larry Simons, a Jewish resident from the area alerted authorities to the illegal burial. “I have to obey the law, you have to obey the law— that’s what the law’s for,” Simons told Christine Sloan of CBS 2 New York. The rabbi responsible wasn’t willing to comment but his daughter said that he was originally given permission by the township to carry out the religious ritual. [link]

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Prayer Objects the Focus of Interfaith Art Show

POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL
By Nina Schutzman

NEW YORK --- An interactive arts presentation and discussion hosted by the Dutchess County Arts Council Folk Arts Program showcased more than 100 objects different faiths use for prayer at the Mid-Hudson Heritage Center in Poughkeepsie. The exhibit, called "Counting Our Blessings," brought members of four local religious communities -- Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Roman Catholic -- together this afternoon to speak about the prayer objects significant in their faiths. [link]

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New State Arts Grants Seeks Arts Partnerships as Economic Drivers

CONNECTICUT MIRROR
By Jan Ellen Spiegel

CONNECTICUT --- Barbara Schaffer, the director of development at New Haven-based Elm Shakespeare, hadn't been too worried last year when the newly reconfigured state Office of the Arts overhauled its grant system. She turned out to be wrong. Instead of giving away money mainly for general operating support as it had for decades, much of the grant system was reformulated under the philosophy of "creative place-making." A growing trend nationally, it seeks to merge the ideas of arts, community-building and partnership to present arts as an economic driver that attracts more people, arts and business to the cities and towns they serve. Grant-seekers in Connecticut this past year had to be able to prove all that. [link]

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Believers wander, but not because we don't know where we are heading but because we've forgotten  "why we started out" in the first place. Religious art and sacred texts are full of wanderings where the destination remains out of reach until we can remember "why we started". A major retrospective of the work of R.B. Kitaj raises similar questions, and is now on display at London's Jewish Museum. Ohio-born Kitaj (1932-2007) was a painter whose work deals with themes of nostalgia, loss, and Jewish identity. He was a leader in the British figurative and pop arts movements of the 1960s and 70s, and he passionately expressed his religious identity as central to "why" he painted. That is why Kitaj's "The Jew, Etc" (above) of a restless man in a railroad car is my NEWS OF WEEK.

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

• Buddhism in Art: It's Asia Week in NYC, a week for collectors and dealers [More News]
• Christianity in Art: Images of Pope Francis as leader of the Christian world [More News]
• Hinduism in Art: The Milky Ocean as a visual idea of cosmic connections [More News]
• Islam in Art: The "Hands of Fatima" by Laila Shawa for Women's Month [More News]
• Judaism in Art: The Dead Sea Scrolls at the Cincinnati Museum Center [More News]

Are your friends in the A&O family yet? If not, why not invite them today! We are believers, and also skeptics too united in seeking deeper human understanding through Religious Art. Some join by making the $100 commitment to become a member of the governing A&O Society; others join as smaller donors supporting the A&O Scholarship & Exhibition Prize; and still more as member-subscribers of this RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK. Please invite a friend to join the journey. It's for Believers and Skeptics too.

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