US-Based Hindu Leader Asks Australian Govt to Withdraw Support of Theatre Group

ZEE NEWSPhoto courtesy of Back to Back TheaterAUSTRALIA - Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) on Monday, argued that taxpayer-funded organizations like Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Victoria, and City of Melbourne, which supported this play, should not be involved in projects resulting in upsetting a community group. Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, pointed out that these organizations should be...

Read More

Redesigned Montreal Museum Makes Bold Statement

THE MONTREAL GAZETTEBy John PohlThe Founding Identities section is part of the new galleries presented by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in a preview visit on Monday. To view a gallery of photos from the preview, visit montrealgazette.com-photosCANADA - The unveiling Monday afternoon of David Altmejd's monumental bronze sculpture of an angel signals that the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is about to invite the public into the Bourgie Concert Hall...

Read More

Kehinde Wiley's "Sleep" at Corcoran Gallery of Art this Week

AOA NEWS By Tahlib"Sleep" (2008) by Kehinde Wiley. Oil on canvas, 132 x 300 inches. Courtesy of Rubell Family Collection, Miami.WASHINGTON, DC - Opening this weekend at The Corcoran Gallery of Art, "30 Americans" is a wide-ranging survey of work by many of the most important African American artists of the last three decades including 2008 A&O Prize honoree Kehinde Wiley. Selected from the Rubell Family Collection, the exhibition includes...

Read More

Video of Week: Art & Faith Forum at Gordon College

...

Read More

BELIEVER FOR ARTISTS: Rabbi Mark Kaiserman | NJ

AOA NEWS By TahlibPhoto courtesy of Temple Emanu-ElRABBI MARK KAISERMAN of Temple Emanu-El in Livingston, N.J. is a BELIEVER FOR ARTISTS. When the High Holy Days begin today at sundown, the Torah at his synagogue will be taken out of its everyday cover and "dressed" in its holiday best, a cover by reknowned Judaic artist Jeanette Kuvin Oren of Connecticut.Traditionally, the holiday best is in white with muted tones but Rabbi Kaiserman said, “Her...

Read More

Wall Paintings Doing a Vanishing Act in India

THE TIMES OF INDIABy Swati ChandraWall painting by AnupreetINDIA - The bright coloured parrots, horses, gods and goddess painted on the walls of the houses, temples and ashrams of Varanasi were often seen while walking down the lanes of the city. The wall painting art, better known as 'bhitti chitrakala' is an exclusive folk art of Varanasi. But now it is struggling to breathe on the walls, ceilings and gateways of various temples, havelis and muths...

Read More

The True Face of Jesus? Rembrandt's Face of Jesus Review

THE DAILY BEAST By Blake GopnikGoogle “Jesus” (you get a few hits) and you know what kind of images you’ll find: Christ will almost always have a high forehead, blond-streaked locks parted in the middle, a straight nose, a hipster beard, and that faraway look. That sameness ought to seem strange: the artists didn’t exactly have the chance to paint him from life. Except Rembrandt, sort of. Somewhere around 1645, he went out into his Jewish neighborhood in Amsterdam, found a young man, dark, Semitic and brooding, and had him pose for some radically...

Read More

Philosopher Alain de Botton Promotes Religion for Atheists

THE KOREAN HERALDBy Claire Lee KOREA - Philosopher and author Alain de Botton grew up in a Jewish family where religion was thought to be “completely ridiculous,” and it took him a while for him to say he didn’t agree. “(My family thought) if you are intelligent, you believe in science. … And with respect to my parents, I nevertheless moved away from that position. And even though I am still an atheist, I am now much more sympathetic to many of the...

Read More

Connecticut Artist's Vibrant Torah Covers Inspire

MILFORD-ORANGE BULLETINBy Pamela McLoughlinJeanette Kuvin Oren, an artist who specializes in Judaic artwork, sits in her Woodbridge studio with examples of Torah covers that she has created for clients.CONNECTICUT - When the High Holy Days begin Wednesday at sundown, Torahs throughout the world will soon be taken out of their everyday covers and “dressed” in their holiday best, traditionally in whites with muted tones. At Temple Emanu-El in Livingston,...

Read More

Explore Common Ties between Christian & Buddhist Deities

STATEN ISLAND ADVANCEBy Michael J. Fressola"Amitabha Buddha," by Tashi DhargyalNEW YORK — Renaissance painters imagined heaven as a luminous cloudbank overflowing with angels and saints. They didn’t own the concept. Traditional Buddhist artists had a similar hunch about the eternal after-party. They also put the land of the gods above the earth, but unlike their Christian counterparts, they imagined many, many deities — all adrift on lotus blossoms...

Read More

The Many Aspects of Devi: Review of Mother Goddess Exhibit at Metropolitan

THE TIMES OF INDIA By Uma NairNEW YORK - A small exhibition that is a cornucopia of artistic endeavour, gorgeous goddesses and soul stirring antiquity - New York City's Metropolitan Museum's jewel-like little display shows off 'Mother India: The Goddess in Indian Painting.' The 30 works from the museum's collection that depict Devi in all her various aspects in this show are a sumptuous summary of sorts. Perhaps the most widely worshipped deity...

Read More

Video: Dr. Brown Explains, "What is Religious Art?"

What Is the Purpose of Religious Art? -- Powered by e...

Read More

The Museum of Russian Art's New Website Expands Access of Religious Icons

AOA NEWS Archangel Michael, 18th century. Tempera on wooden panel. 150 x 92 cm. Yaroslavl Art Museum, Yaroslavl, Russia. MINNESOTA – Late this summer, the Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis launched its entirely redesigned website including an the online exhibition: "Transcendent Art: Icons from Yaroslavl, Russia." Made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the new site has been transformed from a relatively...

Read More

Not all Religious Art is Made by Believers: David Mach

THE GUARDIAN By Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin The Question: Do we need faith to see religious art? "Die Harder" by David Mach is made from 3,000 coat hangersUNITED KINGDOM - The question whether or not a non-believer can appreciate religious art without sharing in its maker's religious purpose seems to assume that all religious art is made by believers. This is a false assumption. Anybody doubting whether a non-religious person can produce religious...

Read More

New Buddhist Stupa to Be Blessed at Earth Sanctuary in Washington State

AOA NEWS WASHINGTON - A blessing ceremony for a newly completed holy Buddhist stupa monument and Tibetan prayer wheels will be held on Saturday, October 8 at Earth Sanctuary, a nature preserve and retreat center on south Whidbey Island off the state of Washington. The ceremony will be held outside and the general public is invited to attend, and encouraged to bring a cushion to sit on. According to the press release, a "stupa is the most important...

Read More

Bruce Wall Lifts Ancient Art of Indian Kolam into High Tech

THE MORNING CALL By Steve SiegalArtist Bruce Wall is seated by a collection of his Indian Kolam art PENNSYLVANIA - Kolam is an ancient folk art form still practiced daily on the floors of Hindu temples and on the doorsteps of homes by the women of South India. A fine mixture of rice powder, crushed stones, and sometimes spices for pigment is sifted between the thumb and forefinger, creating a geometric pattern of dots and lines on the ground. Kolam...

Read More

Rembrandt's Jewish Jesus Inspiring Discussion in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRERBy Kristin E. Holmes PENNSYLVANIA - An exhibit of Rembrandt's paintings of Jesus at the Philadelphia Museum of Art has prompted conversations in Bible study groups, over lunch, and in adult-education classes before Sunday services. The subject is the image of a Christian savior whom Rembrandt depicts in a way that broke with tradition in the mid-17th century. Neither fine-boned nor fair-haired, the Dutch master's pivotal renderings show a Jesus with dark hair and Semitic features, a seeming embrace of his Jewish heritage. Since...

Read More

Jewish Museum in Cleveland Explores African-American Art

CLEVELAND JEWISH NEWS"15th Defense" by Elmer W. Brown, linocutOHIO - Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage presents “Hardship to Hope: African-American Art from the Karamu Workshop” through Jan. 1. Art and artifacts from local archives and collectors depicting a turbulent time in Cleveland history. 1930s Cleveland, Ohio…labor strikes and riots…the “Mad Butcher” torso slayings…the city in the throes of the Great Depression. Hard times, but with them glimmers...

Read More

Palestinian Kids' Art Deemed Unsuitable For Children

NPR | Morning EditionBy Richard GonzalesCALIFORNIA - An exhibit of children's art from Palestine was supposed to open last Saturday at the Oakland Museum of Children's Art, but the show was canceled. Museum officials say community members raised concerns about whether the art, depicting scenes of Israeli-Palestinian violence, was appropriate for children. NPR's Richard Gonzales reports. [List...

Read More

Oakland Organizes to Produce Interfaith Art Exhibit

J-WEEKLY.COM “Children of Abraham: Learn” by Sharon SiskinCALIFORNIA - “Diverse Visions of Harmony: An Interfaith Art Exhibit,” which opened with a Sept. 17 reception at a mosque in Oakland, brings together artists and community members from a wide range of religious faiths. It was organized largely by the Faith Trio, an Oakland-area coalition that includes the Islamic Cultural Center of Northern California, Kehilla Community Synagogue...

Read More

Islamic Art Feature: Pick of the Month

MUSLIM MATTERS"Ramadhan" by asyraaf.azahariTo view of the images selected for the month of September, click he...

Read More

Tour Photographer Danny Goldfields Inspiring "NYChildren" at Ground Zero's Islamic Cultural Center

ARTINFO NYChildrenNEW YORK - Danny Goldfield's "NYChildren" series gives New York City's diversity a face — make that many faces. The photographer's mission is to find one child from every country in the world living in New York and take their portrait. So far, children from 171 countries have been photographed. This is the first time the full series will be on view. What makes this exhibition even more striking is that it is hosted at a temporary...

Read More

RELIGIOUS ART | TALK OF WEEK

AOA NEWSBy TahlibKEHINDE WILEY's painting “Alios Itzhak” (above) was purchased by the Jewish Museum of NY, and helps to launch this year's dialogue about Judiasm's High Holy season. Wiley is the 2008 honoree of the A&O Prize for Contemporary Religious Art (first honoree). The three AOA questions for this week are: What can the visual arts teach non-Jews about the High Holydays? (Comment Here)Will Americans learn about Buddhism by attending Buddhist art...

Read More

So Serene: Buddhist Art Show Graces Tadao Ando's Pulitzer Foundation in St. Louis

ARTINFO By Janelle ZaraMISSOURI - At the entrance of the Pulitzer Foundation of the Arts in St. Louis, visitors are greeted by "Standing Prince Shōtoku at Age Two," a wooden sculpture of Japan's storied early follower of Buddhism, poised in silent prayer as the noise and light of the outside world are lost behind closed doors. Beyond this Entrance Gallery, there are two dozen incarnations of Buddha, his teachings, and his followers, dating back to...

Read More

Kehinde Wiley's Painting that Begat a Whole Show

THE NEW YORK TIMES By Carol Vogel“Alios Itzhak” (2011) by Kehinde Wiley, oil and enamel on canvas, was recently acquired by the Jewish Museum.NEW YORK - Kehinde Wiley, 34, is an artist preoccupied with global culture. He is also a history painter whose multicultural images of primarily good-looking men recall the work of old masters like Rubens and Jacques-Louis David. The lush and intricately painted backgrounds make them more interesting still....

Read More