Welcome | January 2013

Dear A&O Readers:

Welcome to January 2013! It'll be five years this August! I began Alpha Omega Arts in 2008 after moving to NYC and being overwhelmed by the rich religious and cultural diversity. Daily blogging helped me to sort through the complexity and gave me peace-of-mind. Today, I live in Indianapolis but remain all-consumed by explorations of religious diversity through the lens of the arts. In 2011, my blog gave birth to the educational charity, the Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts, Inc. Together, they help others continue the journey. Happy New Year, and Happy 5th year anniversary!

Welcome,
Ernest Disney-Britton
Editor of The Alpha Omega Arts

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7th Day of Christmas - New Year's Eve

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest @DisneyBritton

On the 7th Day of Christmas (New Year's Eve), I gave Gregory Disney a glass ornament of Mickey Mouse as Santa Clause. It's a Hallmark product but with gold shoes, and a lovely swan to swim along with the rest of Greg's collection of gold ornaments on the tree. I hung it myself. [12 Days]

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Top 10 Religious Art Stories of 2012

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

Post #4, Artist Todd Fox's INSPIRE ME! profile

This year I created our first ever "Top 10 Religious Art Stories" of 2012 to see if there would be any surprises. I assumed that as Editor of the Alpha Omega Arts news blog, that I would already know which were the most popular. I was wrong. I was 10 out-of 10 times wrong! In doing this research, I learned that while you do certainly read controversial posts, that they don't come close to attracting the attention of those stories that inspire. Do you agree with the Top 10 Religious Art Stories of 2012?

1. INSPIRE ME! Artist, William Blake
2. Interview: Alex Grey's Visionary Art
3. Movie Review: "Cloud Atlas"
4. INSPIRE ME! Artist, Todd Dayton Fox
5. Pakistani Military Sponsors Islamic Art Exhibition
6. Rise of the Black Veil Among Ultra-Orthodox Jews
7. Exhibit at Thanksgiving Point, Utah Focuses on Uplifting Art 
8. Spencer Tunick's "Dead Sea"
9. Nuns on a Bus T-Shirts, Now Available!
10. RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK (Harold Finster)

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Movie Review: ‘Les Misérables’

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By MANOHLA DARGIS

★★★★---In the first long act of “Les Misérables,” Anne Hathaway opens her mouth, and the agony, passion and violence that have decorously idled in the background of this all-singing, all-suffering pop opera pour out. It’s a gusher! As he showed in “The King’s Speech” and in the television series “John Adams,” Mr. Hooper can be very good with actors. But his inability to leave any lily ungilded — to direct a scene without tilting or hurtling or throwing the camera around — is bludgeoning and deadly. By the grand finale, when tout le monde is waving the French tricolor in victory, you may instead be raising the white flag in exhausted defeat. [link]

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

This is the final NEWS OF WEEK for 2012, and time to share my appreciation to the members and readers of Alpha Omega Arts. It's been an extraordinary year. I thank you for over 10,000 visits each month; for sponsoring college scholarships for interfaith youth; and for voting to honor an American artist and a religious leader for their advancement of religious understanding through art. In closing out 2012, I wish you blessings in 2013 with Gary Varvel's cartoon (above) as my NEWS OF WEEK.

In other Religious Art news from across the USA, and around the world:

• Interfaith in Art: Art galleries are replacing churches, temples and mosques. [More News]
• Christianity in Art: Bernardino Luini's breastfeeding Virgin Mary (c. 1520s). [More News]
• Islam in Art: Mehdi-Georges Lahlou prompts unique dialogues about faith. [More News]
• Hinduism in Art: The Newar, anonymous artists of Nepal on view in California. [More News]
• Buddhism in Art: Ram Onkar paintings focus on religious leaders like Buddha. [More News]

Are your friends members yet? [Invite them today!] We are Believers and Skeptics united in a journey to seek deeper human understanding through Religious Art. Since 2008, some have joined by making the $100 commitment to be a member of the governing A&O Society; others as smaller donors supporting the A&O Scholarship & Exhibition Prize; and still more as member-subscribers of this RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK. Please invite a friend to join the journey. It's for Believers and Skeptics too.

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6th Day of Christmas - wild geese..

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest @DisneyBritton

On the 6th Day of Christmas, Greg opened his red-paper wrapped gift box with a red-white and blue button inside. The button read, "Out For A Wild Time." It made me think of Wild Geese a laying. I know it's a reach but 12 days is a whole lot os gifting! [12 Days]

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Movie Review: Silver Linings Playbook

ROGER EBERT
By Roger

★★★---One of the ingenious and sort of brave accomplishments of Russell's screenplay (inspired by a novel by Matthew Quick) is the way it requires both father and son to face and deal with their mental problems and against all odds finds a way to do that through both an Eagles game and a dance contest. We're fully aware of the plot conventions at work here, the wheels and gears churning within the machinery, but with these actors, this velocity and the oblique economy of the dialogue, we realize we don't often see it done this well. "Silver Linings Playbook" is so good, it could almost be a terrific old classic. [link]

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Churches Aim to Reunite Flocks Through Sacred Art

COLUMBUS DISPATCH
By JoAnne Viviano

"The Guardian" by Lucas Lorenzo, Acrylic on masonite panel

OHIO--Art collector John Kohan stops in front of a dark image of an angel gazing at a German soldier and holding a hand over the muzzle of his gun. The etching by Austrian artist Ernst Fuchs is a far cry from the nearby glitter-covered depiction of angels rejoicing, painted by Rudolph Valentino Bostic of Savannah, Ga. The artworks are among three dozen angel-themed pieces that Kohan has chosen from his collection for a “From Realms of Glory” Advent exhibit at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Delaware. The exhibits fit into the vision that the Rev. Charles Wilson, rector, has for the church. He said he sees St. Peter’s as a center of art, learning, community and worship and wants the public to feel welcome to stop in. [link]

The “From Realms of Glory” exhibit runs through Jan. 6 at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 45 W. Winter St., Delaware. Hours are noon to 2 p.m. Fridays; noon to 1 p.m. Sundays; and by appointment. For more information, call 740-369-3175, visit www.sacredartmeditations.com or write sacredartpilgrim@gmail.com.

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Archeologists Dig up King David Era Temple in Israel

JERUSALEM POST

PHOTO: ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY

ISRAEL---Archeologists uncovered rare remains of ritual objects and a 3,000-year-old temple while conducting excavations ahead of the renovation of the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway, the Antiquities Authority announced on Wednesday. A First Temple-period discovery announced on Wednesday was a large structure with massive walls and an east-facing entrance, believed to be a temple. A central dilemma of archeologists and the Antiquities Authority is striking the right balance between preserving history and allowing development for a growing population. Many times, however, construction is the cause of archeological discoveries. [link]

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MCC, Gay-Centered Church of 1960s Debates Role Today

WASHINGTON POST
By Associated Press

WASHINGTON, DC---Is a gay-centered Christian church needed anymore? On that Sunday in 1968 when Troy Perry borrowed a minister’s robe and started a church for gays in his living room, the world was a very different place. It’s remarkable the denomination has endured at all. Metropolitan Community Churches brings together many different Christian traditions under one banner that often struggle to stay friendly in the outside world. Perry, now 72 and retired, is a Pentecostal who started preaching when he was just a teenager in rural Florida. The common denominator is a belief that Christians can be in a same-sex relationship and still be faithful to Scripture. [link]

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Top 10 Indiana Posts on Religious Art

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

Yes, Virginia there is a ton of Religious Art in Indiana! The 10 Most Popular Posts for 2012 are ranked inorder below. What were the surprises? None for me. What about for you? To check out the entire listing of Indiana art news postings, visit: [Indiana]. Here is the Top 10 for 2012:

1. Alpha Omega Art's Interfaith Kids
2. Earth House: Closing Doors
3. Madonna's Ancient Religions Half-Time
4. Gary Vavel's Christmas
5. Islamic Art at Indianapolis Museum of Art
6. A&O Meetup for Islamic Art Documentary
7. A&O Meetup for Saints at the Indianapolis Museum of Art
8. Put Women on Pesdestal with power2give
9. Call to Rabbincal Believers
10. Doris Douglas at Indianapolis Arts Center

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Censorship: Hindu Gods' 'Obscene Art' Removed

INDIAN EXPRESS
By Vadodara

Image of artist being arrested for obscene religious art

INDIA---Paintings of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, alleged to be "obscene", were today removed from the exhibition hall of the Fine Arts faculty at the Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) here, after VHP activists opposed its display and lodged a complaint in this regard. Surjeet Singh, an artist from Jammu, had organised this exhibition of paintings from December 27-30 after seeking permission from authorities of the faculty about a year ago. The paintings displayed in the exhibition since yesterday, included those "obscene" pictures of Lord Shiva carrying a liquor bottle, another of Shiva and his wife Parvati moving on a motorbike. Earlier, Chandra Mohan, a student from the same fine arts faculty was arrested on charges of hurting the religious sentiments by painting Hindu Gods and Goddesses and Jesus Christ allegedly in an 'obscene' way on May 10, 2007. [link]

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Should Maurizio Cattlelan's "HIM" Pray in Warsaw Ghetto?

TOWELROAD

POLAND---Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's 'HIM,' a 2001 sculpture of Adolf Hitler praying on his knees, has shown all over the world, including New York City's Guggenheim and Venice's Palazzo Grassi, eliciting emotions everywhere it appears. And that's precisely the point. But should the likeness of the most vile anti-Semite be placed at the site of Poland's Warsaw Ghetto, home to so many Jewish people killed by Hitler's Nazi armies? HIM was installed there by Warsaw's Center for Contemporary Art last month, but growing outrage is gaining traction this week. [link]

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The 7 Most Provocative Religious Videos of 2012

RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE
By Daniel Burke

Religious videos sparked international riots, stirred up the U.S. presidential campaign, sought to comfort LGBT youth and urged Christians to rethink their religious ideals. In chronological order, here are seven religious videos that made headlines in 2012. [link]

1. Why I hate Religion, But Love Jesus
2. “It Gets Better,” at Brigham Young University
3. “Innocence of Muslims”
4. Obama’s 2007 speech on race, Katrina and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright
5. Secretly taped Mormon temple ceremonies
6. Mitt Romney talking about Mormonism, abortion and the Second Coming in 2007
7. Angus T. Jones’ testimony

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5th Day of Christmas 2012 - - Butoir de porte rigide...

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest @DisneyBritton

On the 5th Day of Christmas, I handed Greg the smallest of gift boxes from the pile, and inside he found two silver door stops ("Butoir de porte rigide") from Lowes. Why these for Christmas? My answer is a second question, "If not then, when?" Since last year, it's been on his to-do list (and mine) to pick up these doorstops to match the other hardware on our 2nd floor renovation but these small items keep getting overlooked. He immediately went to work to use them. There are still seven more days of Christmas! [12 Days]

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Buddhist History Stands In the Way of $Billions of Dollars

THE DAILY STAR
By Andrew Lawler

AFGHANISTAN---When the Taliban blasted the famous Bamiyan Buddhas with artillery and dynamite in March 2001, leaders of many faiths and countries denounced the destruction as an act of cultural terrorism. But today, with the encouragement of the US government, Chinese engineers are preparing a similar act of desecration in Afghanistan: the demolition of a vast complex of richly decorated ancient Buddhist monasteries. The offense of this Afghan monument is not idolatry. Its sin is to sit atop one of the world's largest copper deposits. The copper at the Mes Aynak mine, just an hour's drive south of Kabul, is to be extracted under a roughly $3 billion deal signed in 2007 between Afghanistan and China's Metallurgical Group Corp. [link]

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4th Day of Christmas 2012 - Snowballs...

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest @DisneyBritton

On the 4th Day of Christmas,  Greg picked from my pile of wrapped gifts a box of Snowballs. What are snowballs? They are carmel popcorn covered in brown sugar and white chocolate from the South Bend  Chocolate Company, and came with a gift certificate for a cup of hot white cocoa. He's really enjoying this notion of 12 Days of gifts, and who wouldn't like this from the company that promotes themselves by saying, "Save the Earth. It's the Only Planet with Chocolate." This morning Greg even asked, with a sparkle in his green eyes, "Do I get a gift this morning?" His excitement also excited me, but I still wonder if my daily gifting is making a spiritual connection? Perhaps though, I not seeing the forest for the trees? Perhaps, simply by extending the concept of Christmas giving beyond one-day, I am finally celebrating the truest spirit of Christmas? [12 Days]

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Book Review: "Aisha's Cushion" by Jamal J Elias

THE GUARDIAN
By David Shariatmadari

UNITED KINGDOM---In a simple house in 7th-century Arabia, a woman drapes an embroidered curtain with pictures of living creatures on it across a doorway. When her husband returns, he is displeased and pulls it down. This is no ordinary house, and no ordinary husband and wife. It is the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, and his spouse Aisha, who related the story that has been passed down for nearly 1,400 years. But it also demonstrates an important ambiguity. Muhammad's objection wasn't to images per se; in this case it was their prominence, which risked distracting him during prayer. As a covering for cushions, they were fine. It is an ambiguity that hints at a more complex relationship to the realm of art and representation than is suggested by footage of exploding buddhas in Afghanistan, or riots sparked by cartoons and films showing the prophet. And it is the starting point for Jamal J Elias's erudite but unsatisfying study of Islam's attitude to imagery through history. [link]

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Veneration: What Makes Going to an Art Gallery Like Going to Church?

AEON MAGAZINE
By Emma Crichton Miller

Abstraktes Bild 809-4. Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

When art was an adjunct of religion, its power was clear. But from the Renaissance on, painting, at least in the Western tradition, has preoccupied itself as intensely with secular as with overtly religious subject matter, or else with no subject at all. Yet when you are in the presence of an unequivocally great work of art, it seems to open a door to a realm of ideas and emotions not accessible through any other route. It is the psychological power of the framed space that has long made painting, in particular, a natural ally of religion. [link]

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Faith’s Dark Side, Capacity to Purify Subjects of Houston Catholic Artist’s Paintings

HOUSTON CHRONICLE | ICONIA
By Menachem Wecker

"Sanctum"

LOUISIANA---Many different faiths have enlisted art as a way to show how belief can improve human behavior. But other times, religion can be dark and frightful, as appears to be the case when one first considers the work of Houston-based painter Sharon Kopriva. Kopriva’s cardinal, for example, whose clothes are tattered, whose eyes are sunken, and whose skin is weathered, recalls one of the artist’s inspirations, Francisco Goya, the 18th century Spanish artist who painted witches and monsters on the walls of his home as an old man. The piece is, like [Francis] Bacon and John Alexander, a ‘take off’ of Pope Innocent X by Velasquez. [link]

Ogden Museum of South Art: "From Terra to Verde: The Work of Sharon Kopriva" (Ends January 13, 2013) on the campus of the University of New Orleans, 925 Camp Street New Orleans, LA.

"From Dust Thou Art" (1997)

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N. Carolina Artist Creates Truly Unique Nativities

THE DISPATCH
By Rebekah Cansler McGee

Judy King holds one of her unique clay-sculpted nativity creations
that shows Mary and Joseph on the ground with Baby Jesus.

NORTH CAROLINA---Life is not flawless, and despite historical renderings where the nativity scene was picture-perfect, the story of Mary and Joseph included real people, in a real place at a real time, and their life might have been just be a bit messy, too. That untidiness of life is reflected in the sculptures of artist Judy King of Lexington. King creates religious art, taking stories from the Bible and putting a realistic spin on their tale. She has sculpted a figurine of Joseph and the coat of many colors, she has created many angels, but around Christmastime, she works on bringing the story about the birth of the Christ child to life. King, the wife of the Rev. Tom King of Grace Episcopal Church, relocated to Lexington about nine years ago from Lexington, Texas. Before moving to Lexington, N.C., she graduated from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, with a degree in art history. [link]

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Works of Hindu and Buddhist Artists in Nepal on Display at Crocker Museum

SACRAMENTO PRESS
By Jessica Rine

Sculpture on display. Image courtesy of Wall Street Journal

CALIFORNIA---Legend says that when the deity Manjushri came to Nepal from China, he found the entire valley under water. To make his way through, Manjushri took his sword and sliced through the surrounding hills, draining the valley of water, and the Kathmandu Valley was formed. A statue of Manjushri begins the exhibit of Nepalese art at the Crocker Art Museum. Four arms extend from his gleaming body and jewels adorn his head. He beckons all to join him on a journey into Nepal’s history through art. "Celestial Realms: The Art of Nepal from California Collections" is currently on display at the Crocker Art Museum. Featuring art primarily from Newar artists of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal, the exhibit displays rarely seen Nepalese art mainly from private collections throughout California. The Newar, the indigenous people of the Kathmandu Valley, practice either Hinduism or Buddhism, and the influence on Tibetan and Indian art is heavily noticed. [link]

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3rd Day of Christmas 2012 - Marriage Equality...

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest @DisneyBritton

On the 3rd Day of Christmas, Greg picked from his pile of wrapped Christmas gifts a: Freedom to Marry T-shirt. On one side it reads, "Right Side of History." How about you? Are you on the right side of history? Among religious traditions, we know the Metropolitan Community Church, United Church of Christ, and Episcopalians are currently on the Right Side of History. The same is true for Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism. It's individualistic for Hindus and especially Buddhists because there is no text to debate. On the other hand, we know that my Roman Catholic Church is on the Wrong Side of History, but then again, what's new with that? What side of history are you? [12 Days]

Today's Gift for the 3rd Day of Christmas

Snow Today

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2nd Day of Christmas 2012 - Bowling me over...

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest @DisneyBritton

The saddest thing about Christmas is that for many people, it ends on December 25th. That's why we started a new tradition this year: an Advent Vegan Fast that led up to Christmas Day, and then we began our 12 days of Christmas. On this 2nd Day of Christmas, I gave Greg a bowling ball for the 2nd Day of Christmas.  It'll take me a while yet to perfect the link between the gifts, the song, and the holyseason but this is a start that excites because for us, Christmas didn't end yesterday. It just began. [12 Days]

Christmas blizzard began at 7am on the 2nd day of Christmas.
This photo is taken from Greg's car.

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The Atheist Innovator Used Religious Commissions to Fly Like Angels

THE GUARDIAN
By Jonathon Jones

Detail "The Annunciation" by Leonardo da Vinci. Photograph: Francesco Bellini/AP

ITALY---Leonardo da Vinci painted the most beautiful angels in the world. This is strange, because Leonardo was not a religious man. Although the National Gallery made a vivid case for him as a religious artist in its 2011 exhibition of his paintings, there is very little in his notebooks to suggest that Christianity was part of his everyday, personal life. However compelling Leonardo's religious paintings are, it has to be remembered that all are commissioned works. No painter could have a career in Renaissance Italy without creating altarpieces. [link]

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French-Moroccan Artist Mehdi-Georges Lahlou Dons Heels to Stir Religious Debate

BLOUIN | ARTINFO
By Nicolai Hartvig

"72 Vierges" (2012) by Mehdi-Georges Lahlou (b. Morocco)

BRUSSELS---The 29-year-old French-Moroccan artist Mehdi-Georges Lahlou has had an eventful early career. The two works hit on several sensitive issues in Muslim culture: the prohibition on modifying one’s body, nudity, sexuality, and improper use of the Koran and religious objects. With his loose combination of religious iconography and incongruous objects, the ambiguous humor in Lahlou’s work is often misunderstood. “I’m not an activist shouting. I am truly respectful of religions and beliefs, except when they kill or hurt people,” Lahlou explains. Lahlou was born in a seaside town on France’s Atlantic coast to a Muslim father, a jeweler, and a Catholic mother, a flamenco dancer. [link]

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Artist Asks, "What Does it Feel Like to Wear a Burka?"

ALJAZEERA
By Eric Bleich

VERMONT---When I invited artist Marie Rim to Middlebury College, I didn't know what to expect. Her project "Burka Fittings Across America" asks randomly selected people to try on a burka for a few minutes and to look at themselves in a full-length mirror. Her artistic goal is to explore "otherness, embodiment and empathy, as well as the meanings Americans associate with the burka". Marie Rim grew up on the East Coast and is a painter by training. Some people are outraged that she is appropriating the burka for her own purposes. Others worry that it will reinforce Islamophobia. If you are optimistic, like Rim, you hope it will undermine people's preconceived notions and generate greater cross-cultural understanding. This is not your grandfather's art project, blandly hanging on a gallery or museum wall. [link]

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Merry Christmas, From Indianapolis Star's Gary @Varvel

INDIANAPOLIS STAR
By Gary Varvel

Cartoon by Gary Varvel

INDIANA---This cartoon is composed of multiple images. May you find the Savior who was born in a manger. His names are found in Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. [link]

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1st Day of Christmas - My true love...

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest @DisneyBritton

INDIANA---My images for the 12 Days of Christmas are courtesy of Foodie, Carol Bowen Ball at BariatricCookery, but my stories are about Greg Disney-Britton. Greg is funny. On the first day of Christmas, his true love planned to give to him a single gift (but in response to a whine or three whines), he received his normal three: (1) Mind: Words with Friends, the board game version; (2) Body: A Gentspa massage retreat at the Hilton Hotel; and (3) Soul: Greek Orthodox Ornament. [2012]

What about the rest of the family (by age)?

1. Grandma Rennick - Calendar: West Highland White Terrier (Westie)
2. Father Disney - Gift certificates: Bob Evans and Steak & Shake
3. Nana - "Harriet's Crossing" by Pete Brown | power2give card | Shea butter soap
4. Mother Disney - Elizabeth Arden's Red Door | Thomas Kincade calendar | Chocolate covered cherries
5. Mom-Verdell - Pearl bracelot | Shea butter soap
6. Uncle Jimmy - Gift cards: Datsa Pizza and English Ivy
7. Aunt Kaye - Mini-Christmas tree | bottle of Pinot Grigio 
8. Sister Karen - Set of coffee mugs
9. Michael Bourke - power3give card | bottle of Pinot Grigio
10. Sister Renee - Boxer socks and bottle of Pinot Grigio
11. Cousin Gina - Angel statue (She's not seen it yet)
12. Sister Michele (& Bob) - Gift cards: Bravo Restaurant, AMC Theater | Popcorn
13. 5 Girls - Nashville, IN assorted popcorns
14. Kai & Family - Nashville Socks & Popcorn, Children's Museum Family Pass
15. Tyler - Kenny Chesny's Greatest Hits CD and $Cash
16. Courtney - Socks (of course) and $Cash.

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Breastfeeding Jesus: The Missing Christmas Icon

RELIGIONS NEWS SERVICE
By David Gibson

"Nursing Madonna" (1520s) by Bernardino Luini

At its heartwarming core, Christmas is the story of a birth: the tender relationship between a new mother and her newborn child. Yet all the familiar scenes associated with the holy family today – creches and church pageants, postage stamps and holiday cards – are also missing an obvious element of the mother-child connection that modern Christians are apparently happy to do without: a breast-feeding infant. Jesus certainly wasn’t a bottle baby. So what happened to Mary’s breasts? [link]

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Blessed Christmas | "The Matriarch" by Niccolo Cosme

ALPHA OMEGA ARTISTS

"The Matriarch" by Niccolo Cosme

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Indiana Town Joins December's New Holyday for NonBelievers

RELIGION NEWS
By Kimberly Winston

In addition to Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, secular humanists have added a new celebration to the crowded calendar. HumanLight, observed on or about Dec. 23, is a secular celebration of human potential that is growing in acceptance. This year, at least 18 groups, from New Jersey to Florida and Pennsylvania to Colorado, have ceremonies planned. And at least one government building that displays holiday scenes has added HumanLight to the roster: the county courthouse in Wabash, Ind., displays a yellow, white and red HumanLight banner on the same lawn as the Christian creche. [link]

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A Star (on the floor) Marks the Spot for the Birth of Christ

SIMERG

The star at the Altar of the Nativity marks the spot
where the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem. 

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Self-Taught Ram Onkar is Fascinated by Iconic Religious Figures

THE HINDU
By Jessu John

Buddha by Ram Onkar. Photo: Special Arrangement

Take the case of Ram Onkar, a self-taught artist. Fascinated by the spiritual forms in India, many of his paintings focus on iconic religious figures like Buddha and Krishna. Ram Onkar would not have pursued a career in art if not for his teacher who motivated him. He has won many awards and has had over 30 solo and group shows, some of which form part of the collection of the President of Pakistan, Sahara Amby Valley, Walchands and numerous institutions/individuals of India. [link]

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

At the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza in Mexico, thousands chanted, danced and otherwise frolicked around ceremonial fires and pyramids to mark the conclusion of a vast, 5,125-year cycle in the Mayan calendar. The Internet generated rumor of doomsday ended in a celebration of life. On 12.21.12, Buddhists, Christians, pagans, druids and followers of Aztec and Maya religious traditions united in commitments to make a better future. While the fiscal cliff arguing politicians didn't notice, nor did the more guns in schools advocating NRA; our world since 12.21.12 has already become a better place. How is it better? Because a few believers have decided to be the change they seek, thus making the Mayan Ceremonies (above) my NEWS OF WEEK.

In other Religious Art news from across the USA, and around the world:

• Buddhism in Art: Secular shopping malls replacing sacred temples in Thailand. [More News]
• Christianity in Art: Sebastian Bergne's Contemporary Nativity Design. [More News]
• Hinduism in Art: Preservation of Hindu sacred spaces hindered by indifference. [More News]
• Islam in Art: New Islamic art galleries make the Lourve #1 for museum visitation. [More News]
• Judaism in Art: Dead Sea scrolls now online thanks to Google. [More News]

Have you [joined us yet]? Have you joined this movement of believers seeking to discover, promote and advance the careers of contemporary religious artists? When I began the Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts, it was in response to a call to unite family and friends in celebrating artists who dare to engage religious themes. As a result, God blessed me with a growing interfaith family. Since starting, some of you have joined by making the $100 commitment to be a member of the A&O Society; others joined as annual donors supporting the A&O Prize & Scholarship Fund; and still others as member-subscribers of this RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK. However you've joined, please know it is valued, and as always remember Religious Art is for Believers, but also for Skeptics too.

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Movie Review: ‘Jack Reacher’

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

★★---A month ago, the biggest controversy about Christopher McQuarrie’s “Jack Reacher” was whether Tom Cruise could appropriately portray the massively built, 6-foot 5-inch hero imagined by author Lee Child. Today, the movie has been impacted more significantly by timing. Right now, it’s hard to consider even a popcorn flick escapist entertainment when it opens with a deadly sniper attack. But if we’re judging the picture on its own terms, it succeeds pretty well — and almost solely because of Cruise in the lead. [link]

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Islamic Art Helps The Lourve Museum Approach 10 Million

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

AUSTRALIA---The Louvre said on Thursday its new Islamic art wing helped cement its position as the world's most-visited museum with nearly 10 million visitors in 2012, over a million more than last year. The exact figures will be released early next year, but in the meantime the Paris museum said there was a "remarkable progression in Chinese visitors, who now figure in the top three groups (of non-French visitors) alongside Americans and Brazilians". Costing nearly 100 million euros ($A126 million), it is funded by the French government and supported by endowments from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Kuwait, Oman and Azerbaijan. [link]

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Mexico's Maya Heartland Awaits Dawn of New Era

ASSOCIATED PRESS
By Mark Stevenson

MEXICO---In the darkness before dawn Friday, spiritualists prepared white clothes, drums, conch shells and incense ahead of the sunrise they believe will herald the birth of a new and better age as a vast, 5,125-year cycle in the Mayan calendar comes to an end. No one was quite sure at what time the Mayas' 13th Baktun would officially end on this Dec. 21. Some think it already ended at midnight Thursday. Others looked to Friday's dawn here in the Maya heartland. Some had later times in mind. What nobody was calling it is the end of the world, as some people in recent years have interpreted the meaning of the end of the 13th Baktun — despite the insistence of archeologists and the Maya themselves it meant no such thing. [link]

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Sebastian Bergne's Contemporary Nativity Design

THE GUARDIAN
By Oliver Wainwright

Colour Nativity by Sebastian Bergne. Photograph: Sebastian Bergne

CALIFORNIA---When Saint Francis of Assisi staged the first ever nativity scene in a cave in 1223, with a simple manger, ox and an ass, he could have had no idea what he was starting. Almost 800 years later, his humble tableau has been transformed into everything from miniature toy sets that grace mantelpieces around the world, to gigantic plastic lawn ornaments and theme-park sized attractions. Sebastian Bergne's Colour Nativity is five identically-sized wooden columns – which stand in for the wise men, Joseph and shepherd, each in their characteristic colour – alongside a shorter blue block for Mary and a white oblong for the baby Jesus. [link]

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The Problem of Hindu Space Preservation: Hindu Indifference

THE HINDU
By Charukesi

INDIA---The spate of stories on smuggling of Indian, especially South Indian artefacts, must have shocked thousands of devotees. “It is not a new phenomenon”, says my friend, art critic and conservator, Dhenuga, from Kumbakonam. “It has been going on for centuries. The reputed archaeologist Robert Sewell of the Archaeological Survey of India submitted a report (Vol. II) to the then Madras Province on the subject, in 1881. It is our callous attitude and indifference in conserving our heritage that are to be blamed. “More idols are kept in the London museum than in our State. They have been carried away when the British ruled us!” adds Dhenuga. [link]

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Influences on Thai Buddha Images Explored

BLOUIN | ARTINFO
By Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop

THAILAND---A comprehensive exhibition on Buddhist art in Thailand across 1,500 years explores the many unique styles that developed in the making of Buddha images and other decorative ritual objects as a result of Thailand’s unique blend of religions and beliefs. “Enlightened Ways: The Many Streams of Buddhist Art in Thailand,” now showing at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM) in Singapore, presents over 100 artifacts drawn from 11 of Thailand’s museums, as well as items from the ACM’s own collection. It underlines the wide range of styles seen through sculptures, furniture, jewelry, paintings, manuscripts, and ceramics. [link]

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Commercialism Replacing Buddhism in Thailand as New Faith

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Thomas Fuller

THAILAND---The gilded roofs of Buddhist temples are as much a part of Thailand’s landscape as rice paddies and palm trees. The temples were once the heart of village life, serving as meeting places, guesthouses and community centers. But many have become little more than ornaments of the past, marginalized by a shortage of monks and an increasingly secular society. “Consumerism is now the Thai religion,” said Phra Paisan Visalo, one of the country’s most respected monks. “In the past, people went to temple on every holy day. Now, they go to shopping malls.” [link]

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For Camille Paglia, the Spiritual Quest Defines All Great Art

THE DAILY BEAST | NEWSWEEK
By Emily Smith

Image courtesy of Rainy day books

The art world is in spiritual crisis—it has not had a new idea in years. So argues the cultural critic and feminist provocateur Camille Paglia in her new book, Glittering Images: A Journey Through Art From Egypt to Star Wars. The book—intended as a companion piece to her 2005 volume of poetry criticism, Break, Blow, Burn—is a slim survey of Western art in 29 essays, each focusing on a single work of art. For Paglia, the spiritual quest defines all great art—all art that lasts. But in our secular age, the liberal crusade against religion has also taken a toll on art. “Sneering at religion is juvenile, symptomatic of a stunted imagination,” Paglia writes. [link]

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In First Year, Power2Give Raised $700,000 for Regional Arts

WFPL | LOUISVILLE

KENTUCKY---The Fund for the Arts launched the online fundraising platform Power2Give in Kentucky and Southern Indiana last December. In its first year, the platform has helped raise more than $700,000 in additional funds for the region’s arts organizations. There’s a $10,000 cap on funding goals, and the Fund for the Arts recruits corporate sponsors to match funds raised for many projects. 81 nonprofit organizations in Kentucky and Southern Indiana have used the platform to pursue funding goals in the last year. Ballet spokesperson Cara Hicks says smaller, more specific projects appeal to donors who want to see fast, visible results. Hicks says donations for the studio curtains project ranged from $5 to $200, and the average donation was about $50. [link]

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Israel Puts 5,000 images of the Dead Sea Scrolls Online in a Partnership With Google

ARTDAILY

ISRAEL---Thousands of images from the Dead Sea scrolls, which date back more than two millennia, were on Tuesday made available to the world on a joint Israel Antiquities Authority and Google website. The new website http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/ aims to make "the most important archaeological finds of the 20th century accessible to both scholars and the general public," an IAA statement said. Using technology developed for NASA, the website offers high-resolution images of the ancient scrolls along with an advanced search engine. [link]

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The World Ends Friday. What's Your Mayan Plan?

FOX NEWS
By Walt Maciborski

INDIANA---Some say the end of the world as we know it will be this Friday, Dec. 21, 2012. They’ve made movies and books about it and YouTube has been blowing up over the Mayan Calendar Doomsday Prophesy. Recent surveys also revealed 12 percent of Americans still actually believe in the Mayan Doomsday. [link]

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Artist Gina Baird Needs a Pedestal this Holyday Season

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory A. Disney

Please join the Board of Directors for the Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts in putting "Untitled" (above), a self-portrait by Gina Baird on a pedestal through your gift to power2give.

Board of Directors:

1. Sarah Adams, AFVP Framing, Indianapolis
2. Sandi Ballard, Artist, Indianapolis
3. Ginger Bievenour, Artist, Indianapolis
4. Michael Bourke, Kroger Co., Cincinnati
5. Rev. Ernest O. Britton, Arts Council of Indianapolis, Indianapolis
6. Ted Givens, AIA, Blackburn Architects, Indianapolis
7. Pastor Jackie Jackson, Come As You Are Ministries, Cincinnati
8. Mel Jolliff, Indiana Interchurch Center, Indianapolis
9. Kai Daniels, Hilton Hotels, Cincinnati
10. Gregory A. Disney, AT&T, Indianapolis
11. Tony Melendez, Artist, Indianapolis
12. Jules Reed, Simon, Indianapolis

With your help---your gift of $1, $5, $10 or more, we can put Gina Baird's sculpture on a pedestal where it deserves. A week ago, Alpha Omega Arts added its $200 appeal to fund the purchase of six pedestals for an upcoming exhibition to those of 60 other arts groups in Indianapolis through "power2give." Since the project's original posting, five pedestals have been secured through the Indianapolis Art Center leaving only one more to be purchased through our power2give campaign. 

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Celebrating 500 Years: Grünewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece

THE EPOCH TIMES
By Susan James

Unterlinden Museum was formerly a Dominican convent. (Susan James)

FRANCE---Colmar is a small town in Alsace near the border of France and Germany, but in the world of art, it has a very large footprint. On permanent exhibition in a former 13th-century Dominican convent, now the Unterlinden Museum, is the Isenheim altarpiece. This 16th century masterwork is by German Renaissance artist Matthias Gothart Nithart (called Grünewald). [link]

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Couple Donates Nativity Sets to Religious Art Museum

THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
By Kirstin Holmes

A Nativity scene from the Mohonde tribe in Tanzania.

PENNSYLVANIA---Every Christmas season, for two decades, Alan and Mary Liz Pomeroy have unpacked figurines of Mary, Joseph, and the Christ Child that are a chronicle of years spent living abroad. In all, the Pomeroys, of East Bradford, Chester County, have collected more than 200 depictions of what Christians believe is the birth of the savior. The couple are part of a group of aficionados captivated by Nativity scenes as a reflection of art, faith, and culture. But as the Pomeroys approach their 80s and prepare to move to California, they've given away most of their beloved collection to a place where it will have an audience bigger than family and friends. The Pomeroys donated more than 100 of their museum-quality sets to the Glencairn Museum in Bryn Athyn, which specializes in religious art. [link]

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Disney's Review: "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Jouney"

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory Disney-Britton

★★★---Ernest O. forewarned me to expect a light-hearted children's story based on a slim novel published by J.R.R. Tolkien in 1937. I read on Fandango's Movie Ratings & Reviews that the Fans said "Must Go" and the Critics said "So-So." It was hard to imagine what his sweeter and softer version of "Lord of the Rings" would look like, and frankly after 2 hours and 49 minutes of the movie, I still don't know. "The Hobbit" movie is just as dark, if not darker than "Lord of the Rings," and also every bit as fun. Ernest said much of the child-like innocence he expected got drowned out, and frankly I got lost in much of the adventuring but we both enjoyed it. LOTR fans, including Ernest like swashbuckling adventure, but as I looked over at his sometimes perplexed face, I sensed his regret for the loss of that sweeter story. Tolkien's original story was about personal growth and small acts of heroism, but Peter Jackson's grand adventure is about killing Orcs, Goblins and Trolls. Based on this weekend's boxoffice, the movie is destined to be a huge money maker, but Ernest is returning to the original book.

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Ken Goldman's Electric Oil Chanukkiah

JEWISH ART SALON

Chamukkiah by Ken Goldman

On this last day of Chanukah: Goldman was inspired by one of his favorite chanukkiot from India in Israel's Mishkan L'Omanut's permanent collection. A great way to recycle those electric chanukkah lamp bulbs into a functioning oil chanukkiah! [link]

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Gregory Disney-Britton

You can help put women on a pedestal with your gift of $1, $5, $10. This week on 12.12.12, Alpha Omega Arts joined 60 other arts groups by including its ask for $200 through "power2give." That $200 request is to purchase a pedestal for an upcoming art show at Indiana Interchurch Center Gallery. I manage this new giving program for the Arts Council of Indianapolis. It's a crowdfunding platform similar to Kickstarter and Indiegogo, except that power2give is specifically designed for nonprofit arts projects. Within 36-hours, nearly 200 donations came in totaling nearly $8,000 for various projects, including a pedestal for our gallery. That's why putting Gina Baird's "Untitled" self-portrait (above) on a pedestal through power2give is my NEWS OF WEEK.

In other Religious Art news from across the USA, and around the world:

• Interfaith in Art: Richard Bartles builds tiny interfaith sheds of divinity. [More News]
• Buddhism in Art: Lokeshwara Rao's Buddha's promote peace over religion. [More News]
• Christianity in Art: Casey Child's confronts religious bigotry in America. [More News]
• Judaism in Art: Josh Korwin and Alyssa Zukas create unique Menorahs. [More News]
• Islam in Art: Aidan Salakhova's black veils explore gender equality and freedom. [More News]
• Fundraising 101: Arts Council of Indianapolis launches power2give. [More News]

You are invited to join a movement to discover, promote and advance the careers of contemporary religious artists! When I began the Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts, it was in response to my calling to unite family and friends in celebrating artists who dared to embrace religious expression. As a result, God blessed me with a growing interfaith family. Since starting, some of you have joined by making the $100 commitment to be a member of the A&O Society; others joined as annual donors supporting the A&O Prize & Scholarship Fund; and still others as member-subscribers of this RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK. However you've joined, please know it is valued, and as always remember Religious Art is for Believers, but also for Skeptics too.

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