Gays Fight Muslim Hate Advertising in San Francisco

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

CALIFORNIA --- Gay artists are standing up in defense of Muslim Americans being attacked by Pam Geller's extremist Jewish group. The Bay Area Art Queers Unleashing Power is a loose collective of artist activists with a long history of creating images that challenge attempts to restrict freedoms by corporations, government and the related groups. In this instance, the group is plastering Pamela Geller's advertisements, now posted on public transit,with a new message:  "I'm Pamela Geller and I spread Islamaphobia. I don't know why, but it's a struggle for me not to."

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The Faces of Jesus: Minister's Collection Numbers About 240

THE KANSAS CITY STAR
By DARRYL LEVINGS

KANSAS --- So think a minute. How many times have you seen Jesus depicted as laughing? Eyes lit, showing his teeth, like Mary Magdalene had just cracked a great joke or Peter had tripped overboard into his nets again. At the Broadway Church in Westport, four “laughing Jesus” portraits by different artists can be found banded together at the end of a hall. The earliest was published in Playboy in the early 1970s. [link]

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Chinese Buyers Paying Top Dollar for Ming and Qing Dynasty Items

CHINA DAILY 

NEW YORK --- A recent exhibition of ancient artifacts spans the secular and the sacred, ranging from the frivolous to the serious. "People don't realize they have a 3,000-year-old Chinese bronze vessel that they are using as a door stop or a dog's water bowl," says Erick Schiess, owner of Jadestone Fine Asian Art, Appraisal & Consulting LLC, a Portland, Oregon-based dealer of Asian art. Jadestone exhibited in New York during Asia Week, March 15-23, which was a celebration of Asian art by museums, auction houses and cultural institutions. Jadestone exhibited in New York during Asia Week, March 15-23, which was a celebration of Asian art by museums, auction houses and cultural institutions. "The majority of the pieces were sold to buyers from the Chinese mainland and are being returned to Chinese collections and Chinese dealers," Schiess says. [link]

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Broadway's "The Testament of Mary" with Fiona Shaw, Now Open

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

BROADWAY--- Tony® nominee Fiona Shaw, Deborah Warner and author Colm Tóibín are bringing the untold story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, to Broadway in The Testament of Mary. Meet the team behind this intense drama, started on March 26 at the Walter Kerr Theatre. The one-woman show is currently in previews, for 12-weeks only through June 16, 2013.

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Can 20x200 Be Saved? Anger From Collectors Mounts as Leading Art Site Flounders

BLOUIN | ARTINFO
By Julia Halperin, Shane Ferro

NEW YORK — On January 16, Esther de Hollander placed an order from affordable print purveyor 20x200 for her sister’s birthday. De Hollander is one of several customers who have ordered artworks from the well-known site, only to be left hanging after it suddenly went offline on January 31. Details of the company's troubles are murky at best, but it appears there may have been some sort of dispute between Bekman and investors. [link]

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Religion on the Runway, Via Dolce & Gabbana

THE CATHOLIC REGISTER
By Tristan Bronca

A dress from the Dolce & Gabbana Winter 2014 collection.

ITALY --- Dolce & Gabbana has borrowed from the Catholic Church for its latest fashion line. The Fall/Winter 2014 collection from the high-end designers was inspired by the mosaics of Monreale, a small Sicilian town famous for its art. The original religious images depicted on the collection date back to the 12th century, when artists “from Byzantium and Venice were called in to realize these striking works,” Dolce & Gabbana said in a press release. For the collection, the designers have replicated many of these saintly portraits across the front of dresses and bustiers. Such inspiration wouldn’t mark the first time religious art and symbolism has fuelled consumerism. [link]

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Everyday Lessons For Living & Death Come From World Religions

HUFFINGTON POST
By Jaweed Kaleem

Days to observe the cycle of life and death span spiritual traditions. In Judaism, Tisha B'Av is a day of mourning to observe tragedies that include the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and the Holocaust. In Islam, Shiites observe Ashura, the anniversary of the death of Prophet Muhammed’s grandson Hussein. In Hindu traditions, rebirth, destruction and recreation often play an important role. But Christianity is unique in placing death and resurrection of its prophet at the center of theology and traditions. "You can't appreciate Easter if you are not reminded of Good Friday," said Handzo, a Lutheran minister and chaplain who has spent most of his career working with cancer patients and those in their last days. Easter Sunday, which marks the day Jesus rose from the dead, is the most important day of the year in Christianity and traditionally the most popular when it comes to church attendance. [link]

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