Fascinating and Beautiful Buddhist Imagery on Show at VR Museum

BANGKOK POST

THAILAND - 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. Held under the theme "Journey of the Buddha", this contemporary exhibition reflects the beauty and artistic creation of Buddha images in different eras, ranging from the earliest known images to the ones created in the different kingdoms and regions of Thailand, as well as neighbouring kingdoms. [link]

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Kansas Art Gallery's Exhibit Inspired by Judaica Collection

KANSAS CITY JEWISH CHRONICLE
By Barbara Bayer

Photo 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 Collection of Michael Klein and the Van Ackeren Collection of Religious Art at Rockhurst University. This project features two independent, invitational group exhibitions, the first of which will be presented at the Epsten Gallery at Village Shalom July 24 through Sept. 4. It opens with a reception at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 24, with an artists’ discussion at 3 p.m. A second group exhibition will be presented at The Greenlease Gallery at Rockhurst University Aug. 26 through Oct. 1. [link]

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

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By JANE PERLEZ

A piece in Asia Society's show of Gandhara art

NEW 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 Chiu, the director of Asia Society Museum. The death of a major advocate, Richard C. Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s senior diplomat for Pakistan and a former chairman of Asia Society, also complicated matters, she said, as did problems with getting American visas for the Pakistanis chosen to accompany the objects to New York. "The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara" runs from August 9 thru October 30. [link]

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

NEW YORK OBSERVER
By Will Hienrich

Desktop (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, to call images illusions. [link]

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Crucifix with a Penis: Art Exhibit Riles Catholics in Philippines

ABS-CBN NEWS
By David Dizon

PHILIPPINES - 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 exhibit which opened last June 17 and will run until August 21, has received flak from various groups, including the Catholic Church, for the unconventional use of religious figures in the art pieces. [link]

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Catholic Artists Say Art Must Reflect Liturgical Renewal

DFW CATHOLIC
By George Vogt

NEW 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. “The word ‘culture’ derives from the Latin cultus, meaning what we cherish or worship” said Kocik. [link]

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Book Review: Religious Culture in South India

THE HINDU
By 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 emphasis is on the traditions in South India and their contribution to the pan-Indian structure. RELIGION, TRADITION, AND IDEOLOGY — Pre-colonial South India: R. Champakalakshmi; Oxford University Press, YMCA Library Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi-110001. Rs. 1450. [link]

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