Fascinating and Beautiful Buddhist Imagery on Show at VR Museum

BANGKOK POSTTHAILAND - All Buddhists - whether devout or not - must at some time feel fascinated with the various styles of Buddha images we come across at temples. They seem to be quite different from each other, yet they all share a hidden, soothing charm that always invites our eyes. Inaugurated just last month, the VR Museum showcases a collection of 41 Buddha images in various styles and postures from a wide array of regions and historical periods....

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Kansas Art Gallery's Exhibit Inspired by Judaica Collection

KANSAS CITY JEWISH CHRONICLEBy Barbara BayerPhoto by Kevin Blayney: Michael Klein (left) discusses the upcoming ‘Between Thee & Me’ exhibit at Epsten Gallery with the gallery’s curator, Marcus Cain. Klein is holding a 1950s Bible with beautiful sterling silver bookbinding.KANSAS - Michael Klein began collecting Judaica quite by accident. Now his Judaica is the inspiration for a new exhibit, Between Thee & Me — Artists Respond to the Judaica...

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Long-Delayed Show of Buddhist Art From Pakistan Is to Open in NYC

THE NEW YORK TIMESBy JANE PERLEZA piece in Asia Society's show of Gandhara artNEW YORK - A long-planned exhibition of nearly 70 pieces of Buddhist art from Pakistan will finally open at Asia Society on Aug. 9, after political intrigue in Pakistan and a breakdown in American-Pakistani relations delayed it for six months. Anti-Americanism, which soared in the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden, helped put the show in jeopardy, said Melissa...

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Review: Buddhist Art Inspired Illusions at NYC's Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery

NEW YORK OBSERVERBy Will HienrichDesktop (Cave Paintings) by Allyson Vieira.NEW YORK - The title of this small but powerful exhibition, Discursive Arrangements, or Stubbornly Persistent Illusions, is either an ironic feint or it’s begging the question. Centered discreetly but unmistakably around what a Buddhist art critic might call the “emptiness” of images, the show forcefully makes the point that it can’t be quite right, in light of their persistence,...

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Crucifix with a Penis: Art Exhibit Riles Catholics in Philippines

ABS-CBN NEWSBy David DizonPHILIPPINES - A crucifix with a wooden penis and a Christ the King figurine with rabbit ears. These and other art pieces exhibited at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) have earned the ire of various lay Catholic groups who are now considering the filing of charges against those behind the "sacrilegious and blasphemous" art exhibit. A CBCP News report said the groups have demanded CCP and the artists, all from the University of Santo Tomas, to stop the exhibit in 48 hours or face the legal consequences. The CCP...

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Catholic Artists Say Art Must Reflect Liturgical Renewal

DFW CATHOLICBy George VogtNEW HAMPSHIRE - At a recent symposium on the campus of the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, leading Catholic artists agreed that liturgical piety is at the foundation of a culture of beauty. When art and architecture—and the culture as a whole—is deeply rooted in the liturgy it serves, liturgical piety is reinforced. Father Thomas Kocik, contributor to the New Liturgical Movement web site and former editor of Antiphon, chaired the discussion. He began the evening by emphasizing this link between the liturgy and culture....

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Book Review: Religious Culture in South India

THE HINDUBy Y. Subbarayalu INDIA -This book, comprising 19 select essays by R. Champakalaksmi, presents a detailed and sober historical account of the evolution of religious culture in South India, from antiquity to the colonial times. It is the culmination of the author's five decades of diligent studies in the religious and art history of peninsular India. While she provides a panoramic picture of the Indian religious traditions as a whole, the...

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Philly Museum Present's Rembrandt's Faces of Jesus

THE INQUIRERBy Stephan SalisburyThe Supper at Emmaus (1648) by Rembrandt on loan from LouvrePENNSYLVANIA - On an otherwise unremarkable day about a decade ago, Lloyd DeWitt found himself poking around in the storage vaults of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Among the paintings packed away in the darkness was a small head of Christ painted on wood and attributed by a stream of scholars to Rembrandt's workshop, but not to the great 17th-century master...

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Christians Outraged Over Art with Jesus & Penis Symbols

RUETERSBy Michaela CabreraPHILIPPINES - An art installation that mixes Christ with kitschy symbols of pop culture and includes a crucifix with a movable penis has set off an uproar in the Philippines among conservative Catholics, who say the installations are a mockery of their faith. Mideo Cruz, the artist responsible for the installation -- intended to be a commentary on icon worship -- has been branded a "demon" and bombarded with death threats and hate mail since his work featured in an exhibit in Manila that began June 17. Cruz, a 37-year-old...

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NYC Mayor Defends Atheist Attack on 9/11 Cross

GOTHAMISTBy Christopher RobbinsNEW YORK - Mayor Bloomberg defended the group of atheists that are suing to prevent the September 11 Cross from being installed in the 9/11 memorial and museum at World Trade Center site. The lawsuit, filed by the American Atheists, drew jeers because it alleged that the cross injured atheists by giving them "dyspepsia, symptoms of depression, headaches, anxiety, and mental pain and anguish." [li...

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What is Ramadan to a Christian in America?

AOA NEWSBy Ernest BrittonINDIANA - Many Christians in the USA, and around the world this week are asking, "What is this Ramadan" and "How do I respond to it" with respect? Similar to Easter's relationship to Christianity, Ramadan is the greatest religious observance in the Islamic faith. It is an annual month of fasting (Christians have Lent) and it began on August 1 around the world and will finish on or around August 29, 2011. All Muslims who are physically able are required to fast each day of the entire month, from sunrise to sunset. The evenings...

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