A&O Meetup in St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday, September 24th

MISSOURI - Meetup in Saint Louis with Alpha Omega Arts this Saturday, September 24 for the opening reception of the 2011-2012 exhibition season at the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art featuring the works of Adrian Kellard and two special features:Opening reception at the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art on the campus of St. Louis Catholic University; Download an informational sheet on Kellard about the intersections between...

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INSPIRE ME! Artist, Gerda Liebmann

Art has an inherent ability to express the divine~ GERDA LIEBMANNSplintered Cedar installation with mulch and cedar chips 8' diameterBy Ernest Disney-BrittonWhen I asked Swiss-born, now New Jersey-based Gerda Liebmann to join us in the INSPIRE ME series, her gentle answer was, "Thank you for the opportunity." There is an intense gentleness about Gerda's expressions, in her paintings, sculptures and installations which make her ideal for this...

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Tyler's "Coffins, Ready to Ship to You"

AOA NEWS"Coffins, Ready to Ship to You" by Tyler Al...

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Holy Flame Turns Out to be Hoax in Southern India Temple

PHILSTARPilgrims marching to the Makara Jyothi, or the MakaravillakuINDIA - The Makara Jyothi, or the Makaravillaku, the so-called divine flame which flickers three times atop Ponnambalamedu Hill opposite the Sabarimala shrine in south India's Kerala, is not a celestial occurrence but a fire lighted by men, rather by the officials of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). High-level sources in the Board itself have admitted that the Makaravilakku...

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Walk the Delaware Art Museum's Labyrinth, for Free

NEWS JOURNALLabyrinth at the Delaware Art MuseumDELAWARE - Walk a labyrinth. The Delaware Art Museum will sponsor a summer solstice walk June 21 at 6 p.m. If you're in Lewes, you can always walk the small labyrinth near St. Peter's Church on Second Street. Find a list of area labyrinths at http://www.labyrinthsociety.org/  (locator link in the upper right hand corner) or http://www.labyrinthlocator.org/. [li...

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My Daily Cross Challenge

ALPHA & OMEGA PRIZEBy ERNEST BRITTON"Closet Cross"This June's INSPIRE ME! artist Gerda Liebmann has issued a challenge to find a Cross in your life each day for a year. I'm taking her up on that challenge for the entire month of June. Gerda's rules are simple enough for any artist or non-artist to follow. I'll be searching around the house, the garden, downtown and everywhere I go to find one Daily Cross in the "found objects" of life. Above...

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Sacred Ink Exhibit: Spiritual Tattoos

THE NATIONTHAILAND - Anglo-French-photographer Cedric Arnold explores his fascination with tattoos in "Sacred Ink", an exhibition that runs until June 25 at the Art Centre in Chulalongkorn University's Centre of Academic Resources.The show features more than 45 large format black-and-white photographs taken in Thailand, as well as sound, video and multimedia projections that take the viewer deep into the world of spiritual tattoos. [li...

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Hamas Founder, and Spiritual Leader's Home Becomes Museum

CBS NEWSBy Associated PressGAZA STRIP - The Hamas militant group has turned the modest home of its founder into a museum — seven years after the wheelchair-bound Palestinian cleric was killed in an Israeli airstrike as he was wheeled out of a mosque. The Sheik Ahmed Yassin museum, located in an alleyway in the rundown Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, has become a popular destination since it opened last month. Dozens of schoolchildren and well-wishers visit each day. [li...

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Art Reviews: Bali in San Francisco

THE NEW YORK TIMESBy Holland CotterThe rice goddess Dewi Sri, made of palm leaves during the early to mid 20th century, is in this show.CALIFORNIA - [The Asian Art Museum's] vivid current special exhibition, which is as stimulating to look at as it is to think about. Among others things, it offers a plausible model for how to do a historical loan show that a) uses unfamiliar and affordable materials (many of the objects are from Dutch ethnographic...

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Memorial for Jonestown Mass-Suicide Erected After 32 Years

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES Friends and family members were encouraged to make crayon rubbings of the Jonestown memorial plaque unveiled Sunday (Image Courtesy OaklandNorth)CALIFORNIA - 32 years ago, 918 followers of Jim Jones died at Jonestown, the spiritual encampment established in the jungles of Guyana intended to be utopia. The victims were coerced by Jim Jones in the Peoples Temple to drink cyanide-laced koolaid as authorities closed in on...

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Travel to Where, My Jesus is Bigger Than Yours

HUFFINGTON POSTBy Kevin RichbergBRAZIL - The world is currently gripped in a struggle to see who has the biggest Jesus Christ. This "tourist envy" battle began in the late 1920s with this famous Art Deco Jesus featured in this postcard from The 30 Postcards Project. My prediction is that within the next two years someone, somewhere will build a larger Jesus. The tourist world's appetite for huge things will never be satiated. Build them and they...

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Bad Church Art: LA Madonna vs. Samurai Jack

THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC REGISTERBy Steven GreydanusCALIFORNIA - Okay, so Jimmy got the ball rolling commenting on Rome’s New UGLY John Paul II Statue … and then a reader commented:  Speaking of ugly religious-themed art, anyone ever see the statue of Mary that is in front of the LA Cathedral? She looks like a character from Star Trek.… so I just had to say something. [li...

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ACLU Seeks to Cover Prayer Art

CRANSTON PATCHBy Mark SchieldropRHODE ISLAND - The Rhode Island American Civil Liberties Union is seeking a preliminary injunction for the prayer art banner to be removed until a final outcome in their April civil rights case filed on behalf of a student. The controversial art banner has been the subject of heated debate since the ACLU said it planned to file a lawsuit after the school district declined to voluntarily remove it. The prayer themed banner, one of 21 different student art banners in the auditorium, has hung on the wall for almost...

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When Art Was a Religion, Camille Saint-Jaques

HUFFINGTON POSTBy David GalensonFRANCE - Saint-Jacques was born in Colombes in 1956. Growing up he had little interest in school; his two passions were art and radical politics. His love of politics did not survive the 1980s, but his love of art did. He was fascinated by the American art he saw at Ileana Sonnabend's gallery in Paris, especially the work of Frank Stella and Robert Smithson. He studied art history in Paris, and became a teacher in Colombes, where he continued to work at painting. He sees a clear change in the values of the art...

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'Hobbit' Films Get Names, Release Dates

POPEATERby the Editors at MoviefoneNEW ZEALAND - The official titles of the two upcoming 'Hobbit' films have just been announced and there's none of this boring 'Part 1' and 'Part 2' nonsense. The first of the two films will be called 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' and the second 'The Hobbit: There and Back Again.' The first references one of the book's chapter headings, the second is actually part of author J.R. R. Tolkien's original title, 'The Hobbit or There and Back Again.' (We're betting movie marquees will still opt for the simpler...

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Arts Project's Raising Funds, Without Judgement

NPR NEWSBy Tamara KiethNEW YORK - The website Kickstarter.com  has been around for two years now, helping artists, musicians and filmmakers fund their projects by getting a lot of people to make small donations. Projects that in the past had little hope of getting funding suddenly have the cash they need. Recently, entrepreneurs have started using the site to launch new products, something the company's founders never imagined. [li...

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Aminah Robinson's Latest at the Columbus Museum of Art

COLUMBUS DISPATCHBy Christopher Yates"My Lord, What a Morning" By Aminah RobinsonOHIO - Acknowledging and celebrating the city's bicentennial, the Columbus Museum of Art is offering several programs and exhibitions through 2012. The series will kick off with a retrospective of noted hometown artist and storyteller Aminah Robinson: "Street Talk and Spiritual Matters," a record of the people, experiences and culture of the Near East Side. Familiar...

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Scottish Art: 1650-2010, Works from the City's Methodist Art Collection

THE LIST"Desposition" (1947) By Graham SutherlandSCOTLAND - The King James Bible has given the English language more phrases than Shakespeare (including such not-at-all clichés as 'feet of clay' and 'reap the whirlwind') and it's 400 years old this month. To wish the good book a happy birthday, Edinburgh Uni's New College is showing paintings from the Methodist Art Collection, including pieces by Graham Sutherland (above), Frink, Rouault and...

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Experience the Fun of India in the Navagrah Temple Tour

AOA NEWSIndia's Navagrah templeINDIA - South India has proven as a renowned holy destination that encompasses several ancient temples as the major attractions of the state. Among all these cities of South state, mostly tourists are crazy about Tamilnadu tour that is known as the journey of holy shrines of the city as well. You can tour to any of the Tamilnadu temple, but Navagraha Temple Tour is unique one that enables you to explore the beauty of...

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Portrait of the artist as a headscarf-wearing woman

HAARETZ.COMBy Tomer RotemOpening Reception in Jerusalem, By Tomer Appelbaum ISREAL - Female artists from the religious community face innumerable barriers to joining the art world; one project in Jerusalem aims to give them a warm home and a push out of the nest. Art study was once banned in religious schools due to the resistance to art among religious Jews that is rooted in the prohibition against making "graven images." But around 10 years ago...

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Blake Prize Challenges Artists to Examine Religion

THE DAILY EXAMINERBy Ana VlastarasBlake Society chairman Rev Dr Rod PattendenAUSTRALIA - An alternate and insightful look into the world of religion is on offer at the Grafton Regional Gallery, since the travelling Blake Prize exhibition came to town last week. The prize, which was established in 1951, is an open art prize that challenges artists to explore the religious and spiritual in art. It is open to all faiths, artistic styles and media. "We...

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Wisconsin's Virgin Mary Shrine Drawing More Visits

FOX 11By Ben KrumholtzWISCONSIN - Our Lady of Good Help near Champion has always had a strong showing at its May Celebration. “It used to be just a local event with 200 to 300 people,” said Karen Tipps, a caretaker for the church. This year, the shrine's event drew about 700 visitors. “It's a lot of out of town people,” said Tipps. Tipps says things have picked up since last December when Bishop David Ricken made Our Lady of Good Help the first bishop recognized apparition site in the United States. The holy site is funded solely from donations....

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In prayer, Jews face Jerusalem but Muslims face Mecca

CANADA FREE PRESSBy Victor SharpeISREAL - Jerusalem Unification Day has again been celebrated in Israel and throughout the world with the exception of that 7th century alternate universe: the Muslim world. It marks 44 years since the amazing and miraculous event took place when the Jewish people’s 3,000 year old capital city was restored to the Jewish state in the 1967 Six-Day War. It would be a cataclysmic and symbolic act of betrayal of Jewish history and faith if any part of Jerusalem is lost to the Jewish people by this generation of Israelis....

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RELIGIOUS ART | TALK OF WEEK

AOA WEEKLY PICK:   "Rainbow Gravity" by Ian Davenport (above), and other religious and spiritual arts news stories of the past week are listed below. AOA NEWS is new each weekday with an email news summary on Sabbath Sunday. If you’re interested in daily updates, you can subscribe by Facebook or Twitter. This week's collection of interfaith art stories are grouped into six categories: Books, Congregations, Galleries, Film/Video, Museums,...

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Pope Says "No" to Dancing Nun but "Yes" to Topless Male Acrobats?

This week Pope Benedict XVI closed a monastery in Rome because of a dancing nun. However this December 15 video shows bare-chested acrobats performing for the Pope at the Vatican during his weekly general audience. Is there a gender equality issue here?...

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Christian's Ask, "Does Nudity Belong in Religious Art?"

THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNEBy Peggy Fletcher Stack"Last Judgement" by MichelangeloUTAH - The Rev. France Davis doesn’t want any nude Adam-and-Eve figures in his Salt Lake City church — even if they were painted by the famed Michelangelo himself. Davis is unequivocal in his view that there is nothing inspiring or redeeming about naked figures in religious art. “Since we sinned, as it says in the book of Genesis, the human body has certain parts that are...

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Religious Relics Embody Belief and Still Make the Rounds

THE OREGONIANBy Nancy HaughtStole of John Paul llOREGON - Religious relics -- bits of bone, strands of hair, drops of blood -- are back in the news. For some believers, relics are a connection to saints, those men and women who endured often difficult lives without losing faith. [li...

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Moscow Spotlights Russia's Sacred Roots in Religious Art Show

RUETERSBy Nastassia AstrasheuskayaVisitor explores religious artworks on displayRUSSIA - Russia opened an unprecedented exhibit of religious art pulled from across the country and abroad at Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery on Thursday, in a show of Kremlin support for an Orthodox Church growing more powerful since the fall of Communism. The state-sponsored exhibit “Holy Rus” displays art works from the Old Eastern Slavonic state, which existed in the middle...

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Peter Shelton's "Body" of Work in Oregon

THE OREGONIANCurrent installation at Portland Museum of ArtOREGON - Since the late 1970s, sculptor Peter Shelton has made work primarily about the body. Most obviously, his objects and installations invoke the body in formal terms, as he mimics the supple curvature of flesh or employs familiar structures as anatomical stand-ins, such as pipes for veins. But Shelton, who lives and works in Los Angeles, also conceives of his sculptures as objects to...

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Collectors: Debbie and Roger Novotny Czech Shadow Box

DETROIT NEWSBy Khristi ZimmethMICHIGAN - Debbie and Roger Novotny of Rochester are among the many people who appreciate religious art. "We have an antique religious Jesus, Mary and Joseph shadow box with music," they wrote to Trash or Treasure recently about a large and unusual piece in their possession. "I am told that it has double music box and that it might be Swiss.We inherited it from my husband's parents, who are from the Czech Republic.In the background is one of the two churches in the city of Prague. [li...

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Pope Shuts Down Monastery in Rome with Dancing Nuns

THE MAILBy Nick PisaSister Anna's modern dance in front of an altar with a crucifix on YouTubeITALY - Pope Benedict XVI has closed a monastery visited by Madonna and where a stripper turned nun was a star attraction. Vatican officials launched an inquiry following claims of 'liturgical abuse' at the monastery, after reports that the nuns were dancing around the altar during services. Among them was sister Anna Nobili, 38, who became an overnight...

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Religious Art Gallery Moves Next Door to Strip Club in Oregon

KEZI 9 NEWSBy Susan GagarOREGON - A public art display is sparking controversy. Patrons of the Silver Lace Strip Club are now faced with holy crosses and the words "redemption" and "salvation" on a walk into the night club. The Eugene Storefront Art Project hopes to attract new life into Springfield's downtown with a unique set of recycled crosses left over from a Riverside Church display. [Vid...

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Uncommon Corporate Collection - Christian Art in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNEBy Mary Abbee"Christ Preaching" (1652), By RembrandtMINNESOTA - Common sense says that you need to head for a major museum to see important work by top artists such as Durer, Rembrandt or Picasso. Or you can go to the Minneapolis headquarters of Thrivent Financial, an insurance and investment advisory firm where 35 impressive pieces by many of the greatest names in European art are on now on view in a handsome gallery....

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Cornelia Parker's "Thirty Pieces of Silver" Installation in a Church

YORKSHIRE POSTAssistant curator in the middles of “Thirty Pieces of Silver" installationENGLAND - Blowing up a shed and squashing a brass band’s instruments aren’t the kind of things we normally associate with artists, but Cornelia Parker is anything but conventional. The renowned British-born sculptor and artist has made her name through subverting our perception of objects and one of her most recognisable works – Thirty Pieces of Silver – goes...

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Joshua Goode Awarded Dozier Travel Grant to Explore Spirituality

D- MAGAZINEBy Peter Simek"What the Thunder Said" (2009) by Joshua GoodeTEXAS - The Dallas Museum of Art has announced its annual awards to artists, which offer grants for travel and special projects to nine individuals. One of two 2011 Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant recipients Joshua Goode combines painting and installation to explore the origins of spirituality. With the Dozier Travel Grant, Joshua will travel across Africa and Europe...

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Exhibiting Islam in British Museums

ISLAM ONLINEBy Alia Raffia UllahUNITED KINGDOM - The aim of this article is to investigate the current representations of what is deemed as “non-western” art and how this has affected conditions under which it is possible to exhibit Islamic art in mainstream art gallery and museum settings. I will conclude by suggesting some of the ways in which museums can help to address current concerns by contributing to more democratic representations of...

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Icon Painter, Fernando Arango-Fernandez at FL Shrine

THE ST. AUGUSTINE RECORDBy StaffFernando Arango-Fernandez painting shrine iconFLORIDA - The power of Byzantium is what comes to mind when one views the icons with their gold leaf, bright-colored pigments, and burnished, smooth wood. Nowhere is this more evident than at St. Photios National Shrine, 41 St. George St. Housed there is a chapel adorned with hand-painted iconography that takes the viewer back to the Byzantine culture. From Wednesday through...

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Justin Bieber Gets Religious Tattoo

JUST SO YOU KNOWBy Nadine Cheung"Jesus" in Hebrew going down side (not the bird at waist)HAWAII - Justin Bieber recently went to Hawaii for a little R&R with his girlfriend Selena Gomez, and by walking to the beach in his swimsuit, he inadvertently showed the world his new tattoo. The new ink reportedly says 'Jesus' in Hebrew and runs along the Justin's left side. [li...

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NY Artists Allyson and Alex Grey Bring Chapel of Creativity to Idaho Festival

IDAHO MOUNTAIN EXPRESSBy Sabina PlasseIDAHO - In 1996, visionary artists Allyson and Alex Grey, along with Wood River Valley resident Bex Wilkinson, co-founded the Chapel of Sacred Mirrors or CoSM. Wilkinson said it all started in the Greys' Brooklyn, NY loft. "We started the journey to build an enduring sanctuary of visionary art to inspire every pilgrim's creative path as well as help them to embody the values of love and perennial wisdom," she said. "The Cosmic Salon that will be presented at the Sun Valley Wellness Festival is a byproduct of...

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Play Explores Actress Amy Brenneman's Spiritual Evolution

THE HAVARD MAGAZINEBy Alumni in the NewsMASSACHUSETTS - The one-act autobiographical theater piece, Mouth Wide Open, explores moments in actress and producer Amy Brenneman’s spiritual evolution (she concentrated in comparative religion at Harvard) as well as her life as a prominent Hollywood film and television actress. The play, part of the ART’s new “First Look” initiative, will have seven performances from May 24 through May 29. Brenneman wrote the script and created the play in collaboration with New York-based director Sabrina Peck ’84, who...

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Art Reviews: Shadows of the Divine & Gravity's Rainbow

THE SCOTSMANBy Duncan MacMillan"Gravity's Rainbow" by Ian DavenportSCOTLAND - While most protestant churches were pretty hostile to religious art, the Reformation did not mean an end to it. It did mean the game had changed, however. It was therefore courageous, if optimistic, of the Methodists to defy all this history and start a collection of modern religious art. It is now quite substantial and the bulk of the exhibition Shadows of the Divine,...

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Bishop Denounces Jesus Sculpture in Jamaica as "Satanic"

JAMAICA OBSERVERBy Dr Joseph Ade-GoldBishop of Overcomers World Ministries"Body and Blood of Christ" by Laura FaceyJAMAICA - I strongly suggest that Laura's Satanic Jesus be removed from public view. Whoever keeps such a sculpture keeps a satanic object which has devastating consequences. Laura needs to sanctify her soul lest she will continue to go against moral and spiritual norms. I do not doubt that Laura Facey had an ecstatic experience, but...

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Vatican Slams Modernist Sculpture of Pope

ARTDAILYModernist Pope John Paul Sculpture by Oliviero RainaldiITALY - The Vatican on Friday slammed a giant new modernist sculpture that portrays John Paul II, saying the bronze work outside Rome's main train station doesn't even look like the late pontiff. Commuters and tourists say the statue looks more like the late Italian dictator Benito Mussolini than the widely beloved pope. [li...

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Movie: "Hole in the Head: A Life Revealed"

AOA NEWSBy TahlibINDIANA - Sometimes the secrets we keep are dying to be told. "Hole in the Head: a Life Revealed" is the story of Vertus Hardiman, age 80, who kept a secret since her was 5 years old. He grew up in a place called "Freedom Village" Indiana and during 1927 he was subjected to an experiment at a county hospital. He hides the shocking results under a wig & beanie but still praises God....

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Punk Band Returns Govt Backed Loan Amid Controversy

CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATIONCANADA - Vancouver punk band Living with Lions will return a loan from music agency FACTOR and withdraw its current album that sparked controversy with its artwork. The band and its label, Black Box, announced on Tuesday that they would voluntarily return a $13,248 loan from the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings (FACTOR) to produce its latest album. FACTOR supports the domestic music industry by distributing funding from Canadian Heritage and radio broadcasters. The band's latest album, entitled...

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The Bible to Become History Channel Mini-series

HOLLYWOOD REPORTERBy Lacey RoseNEW YORK CITY - The History Channel, cable network is readying a 10-hour religious docu-drama for 2013 that will include live-action and state-of-the-art CGI. History has big plans to make must-see-TV out of the Bible. The project, which comes from reality producer Mark Burnett, will air as a five-part, 10-hour scripted docu-drama with live-action and state-of-the-art CGI. Given both its scale and production value, The Bible won't appear on History's schedule until 2013. "This is probably the most important book in...

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Major Islamic Art Exhibit Hampered by Russia's Dispute with US Jewish Group

THE LOS ANGELES TIMESBy Mike BoehmCALIFORNIA - The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is caught in a dispute between Russian authorities and Chabad, a prominent international Jewish group based in New York City. The suit originated in Los Angeles in 2004 could prevent or delay the loan of nearly one-sixth of a major exhibition on Islamic art set to open at LACMA on June 5. Museum spokeswoman Barbara Pflaumer said Tuesday that she could not comment on LACMA's efforts to assuage the Russians in hopes of securing the artworks; the situation "is incredibly...

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Bill Viola, Resurrecting Religious Art

THE GUARDIANBy Jonathon Jones"The Messenger" installation for Durham CathedralUNITED KINGDOM - [Bill] Viola is the high priest, as it were, of the new religious art. In 1996, he created The Messenger for Durham Cathedral; it went on to tour other religious venues in Britain. He does not need to adapt his work to fit into holy settings. His films are always religious, using simple images such as water, candles and the human figure to portray spiritual...

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