RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Lord Buddha said, "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world" (Dhammapada). A prophet of Islam, Jesus of Nazareth taught that what is in a person’s heart inevitably comes out of his mouth (Luke 6:45). This week the hearts of men, and women too, flowed like water from a well revealing hearts of fear and hate. When you saw the anti-Islamic film, did you respond with anger or pity for the creator? When you saw the anti-Islamic ads in NYC subways, did you feel hatred or a desire to protect the defenseless? When you heard that the Catholic League organized a protest of 30 people against a gallery showing of "Piss Christ", did you wish you had joined them or did it remind you of what American politics is doing to the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth? With religious-themed art, both good art or bad art, we see a reflection of ourselves and not that of the artist. That is why "Piss Christ" (c. 1987) by Andres Serrano is the NEWS OF WEEK.

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

• Judaism in Art: Holyday Art for "Yom Kippur" by Ken Goldman. [More News]
• Christianity in Art: Canada's The Moment Factory electrifies crowd with lighting of Gaudi's cathedral. [More News]
• Islam in Art: The 2012 winner of the Blake Prize for Religious Art is Saif al Murayati's "Meat". [More News]
• Hinduism in Art: NY Film Festival audiences were inspired by premiere of Ang Lee's "Life of Pi". [More News]
• Buddhism in Art: Buddhism and Hinduism inspire Leonardo Ulian's beautifully geeky mandala of giant electronic circuits. [More News]
• Others in Art: Religious leaders charged with contributing to the slaughter of elephants to make religious artifacts of ivory. [More News]
• A&O Prize for Religious Art: Nominations for the 2012 Prizes closed. [More A&O Prize]

VOTING DAY IS COMING, on November 1, 2012, vote for the A&O Prize for Contemporary Religious Art of the year: "Register Today". Lastly, for more interfaith art news: join us on Facebook and/or Twitter, or just come back each day. It's another great way to keep up with gatherings of like-minded people who share your interest in Religious Art. After all, who is Religious Art for? Yes, it's for Believers, but also Skeptics too!

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Anti-Muslim Subway Ads Enjoy the Freedom to Offend

THE NEW REPUBLIC
By Amy Sullivan

NEW YORK---Yes, at the same time that Obama was counseling world leaders to embrace tolerance, professional Islamophobe Pamela Geller and her American Freedom Defense Initiative launched an anti-Muslim ad campaign in New York subways. The large wall ads, which are posted in at least ten subway stations, read: “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.” New York’s Metro Transit Authority originally rejected the ads, citing a regulation that prohibits offensive language. However, a federal judge ruled that Geller’s posters were protected by the First Amendment and ordered the MTA to allow the ads. By midday on Tuesday, New Yorkers had taken it upon themselves to reject the ads, posting stickers that read “RACIST” or “HATE SPEECH” on ads in at least seven stations. [link]

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Edward Blum: Fighting Over God's Image

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Edward Blum and Paul Harvey

Drawing by Mark Pernice

The murders of four Americans over an amateurish online video about Muhammad, like the attempted murder of a Danish cartoonist who in 2005 had depicted the prophet with a bomb in his turban, have left many Americans confused, angry and fearful about the rage that some Muslims feel about visual representations of their sacred figures. The confusion stems, in part, from the ubiquity of sacred images in American culture. God, Jesus, Moses, Buddha and other holy figures are displayed in movies, cartoons and churches and on living room walls. But Americans have had their own history of conflict, some of it deadly, over displays of the sacred. The United States was settled, in part, by radical Protestant iconoclasts from Britain who considered the creation and use of sacred imagery to be a violation of the Second Commandment against graven images. [link]

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‘Morality Coalition’ Slams Pussy Riot's Prize Nomination

RIA NOVOSTI

RUSSIA---A Russian Morality Coalition on Wednesday protested the European Parliament’s decision to nominate three jailed members of the punk group Pussy Riot for the Andrei Sakharov human rights award. “We would like to note that the Pussy Riot members received two-year prison sentences not over freedom-of-thought issues but for attempting to organize a provocation in the Christ the Savior Cathedral that offended believers,” the hitherto-unknown Coalition said in a letter to the European Parliament. The winner will be chosen in December in Strasbourg. The Sakharov Prize, which comes with a 50,000 euro award, is given to individuals and organizations who have made a special contribution to the protection of human rights. Soviet dissident Anatoly Marchenko, who died in prison in 1986, and Nelson Mandela were the first to be awarded the prize in 1988. [link]

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Prof. Andrew March: "What’s Wrong With Blasphemy?"

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Andrew March (Opinionator)

Suppose there had not been a single riot in response to the now infamous video “The Innocence of Muslims,” Not a single car burned, not a single embassy breached, not a single human being physically hurt. Would the makers of this risible little clip have done anything wrong? If so, to whom, and why? These questions are now at the center of an international debate....I think there is something for philosophy to encourage us to think about beyond the recycled clichés that emerge on all sides each time some new utterance creates an international crisis. At the very least, it encourages us to see conflicts over such speech not only as a conflict between the value of free speech and the value of sensitivity, but also in terms of social and political relationships that we have some obligation to care for. [link]

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Russian Govt Considers Law to Jail Those Who Blaspheme

RT | NEWS

RUSSIA---The Russian State Duma has received a bill to protect religious believers’ feelings that introduces a punishment of up to 5 years in prison. The bill was prepared jointly by all the parliamentary parties and presented by MP Yaroslav Nilov of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party. Nilov, who is also the head of the parliamentary committee for public organizations and religious unions, presented a special address to the Lower House on the subject which was almost unanimously approved by all four State Duma factions. If the new bill is approved it would amend the Criminal Code with a new article on “Insulting citizens’ religious views and feelings and desecration of the objects of the religious reverence and pilgrimage as well as those destined for conducting religious rites and ceremonies”. [link]

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Iran Pulls Movie From Oscars Race Over US Anti-Islam Film

AHRAM ONLINE

IRAN---Iran announced on Monday it was yanking its entry in the Oscars race because of the "intolerable insult" of the US-made anti-Islam film that has angered Muslims in several countries. Oscars organizers in Los Angeles said they had not heard officially from Iranian authorities, after the announcement in Tehran by Culture Minister Mohammad Hosseini. "I am officially announcing that in reaction to the intolerable insult to the Great Prophet of Islam we will refrain from taking part in this year's Oscars and we ask other Islamic nations to show their protest like this," the minister said, cited by the ISNA news agency. Iran was pulling its sole movie entered in the Academy Awards, "A Cube of Sugar," after discussions with its production company, he said. [link]

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Rabbi Rick Jacobs: The Sin of Sowing Hatred of Islam

THE NEW YORK TIMES

By Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Op-Ed

Two weeks ago, on the morning of Sept. 11, I noticed a woman wearing a traditional Muslim head covering on the packed platform of the train station in Scarsdale, N.Y. Her attention was focused on a billboard ad that announced “19,250 deadly Islamic attacks since 9/11/01” and pre-empted those who might dispute that claim with the refrain: “It’s not Islamophobia, it’s Islamorealism.” I could only imagine what she was feeling. Yes, these ads are lawful. But they are wrong and repugnant. What other purpose can they have but to incite hatred against Muslims? The American Freedom Defense Initiative is the group spearheading this provocative anti-Islam campaign. This fall, when religious hate speech appears in public places, when several mosques across the nation have been desecrated and burned, when Sikhs have been murdered, it is time for our nation to raise our voices in repudiation of all manner of hate mongering. [link]

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Priest Embroiled in Ivory Smuggling Controversey

CNN
By Madison Park

PHILIPPINES---A priest known for his collection of religious art is under investigation for possible involvement in the illegal ivory trade, according to a Philippine law enforcement agency. Monsignor Cristobal Garcia was quoted in the October issue of National Geographic directing a reporter to ivory carvers and traders, and also dispensing advice on how to smuggle the banned item into the United States. Garcia was known as "one of the best known ivory collectors in the Philippines," according to National Geographic. Elephants, valued for their tusks, are being killed in Africa at an alarming rate by well-armed poachers, according to conservation groups. National Geographic described Garcia owning a "mini-museum" filled with ivory religious figures. The church said the National Geographic Magazine story "needs to be assessed as to its veracity, considering that the article smacks of bias against religious practices."[link]

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Baby Jesus Blows up in a Blaze of Glory

WND 
By Marisa Martin

Last weekend 32,000 eyewitnesses in Barcelona watched their beloved Basilica Sagrada Familia melt before their eyes. Fortunately, a succession of reality-shaking resurrections immediately followed this apparent catastrophe, shared by video with millions across the globe. Who are the magicians who could plot and perform such a colossal trompe l’oie? The honors fall at the feet of Canadian artists and technical wizards who are known collectively as “The Moment Factory.” They created this spectacular multi-media technique, loosely labeled “video mapping,” to illuminate by light, sound and effects the inspired masterpiece of Catalonian architecture. They call it “Ode à la vie,” a tribute to life, hope and rebirth as indicated by the basilica’s incredibly intricate nativity scene. [link]

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Groundbreaking Art Show at Jewish Museum is "Be-Jeweled"

CHICAGO TRIBUNE
By Lance Esplund, Bloomberg

The Spanish "Kennicott Bible" (1476), 
a Hebrew Bible written in Spain is featured in exhibit. 

ILLINOIS---The Jewish Museum's "Crossing Borders: Manuscripts From the Bodleian Libraries" is a rich, jewel-box exhibition. More than 60 works have come to New York from the University of Oxford's superb collection. Spanning the 3rd through the 18th centuries and covering subjects secular and religious, they include scrolls and books mainly in Hebrew, Arabic and Latin, executed on paper, parchment and papyrus. Together they convey the great cross-fertilization and interdependence among Christians, Muslims and Jews. [link]

 "Crossing Borders: Manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries" runs through Feb. 3 at the Jewish Museum, 1 E. 92nd St. 212-423-3200 or thejewishmuseum.org

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Buddhist Statue Acquired by Nazis is a Space Rock

NEW SCIENTIST
By Colin Barras

One religious statue has a stronger connection than most to the heavens. An 11th-century carving from Mongolia of the Buddhist god Vaiśravana was fashioned from a meteorite fragment, a chemical analysis shows. Its extraterrestrial origins make it unique in both religious art and meteorite science. It was apparently brought to Germany in 1939 by a Nazi-backed archaeological expedition to search for the roots of Aryanism. A swastika on the armoured Buddha's breastplate may have been a motivating factor in bringing the statue to Germany. The swastika is a common symbol in eastern culture and decorates many Hindu and Buddhist statues – although the version on the statue is a mirror image of the form favoured by the Nazis. [link]

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Giant Electronic Circuits Make Wonderfully Geeky Art

GIZMODO 
By Jamie Condliffe

Most self-respecting geeks find a certain charm in art with order, symmetry and simplicity. If that's the case for you, then you won't be able to help but fall in love with Leonardo Ulian's beautiful geometric patterns made up of electronic components. Pictured above is his Electronic mandala [02]—which gives a nod to the mandala art form found in Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions. Its beauty lies in its simplicity, sure, but the fact it's made of electronics hardware adds to the appeal. [link]

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Tim Tebow Offered Lifetime Membership From Museum of Sex

THE CHRISTIAN POST
By Christine Thomasos

NEW YORK---Tim Tebow, 25-year-old Christian special teams player on the New York Jets, has admitted that he is a virgin but the Museum of Sex in New York City still decided to grant him a lifetime membership. [link]

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Bob Jones University Museum Announces Purchase of Ivory Dyptch

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

SOUTH CAROLINA---The Bob Jones University Museum & Gallery (M&G) has purchased a 14th century French Carved Ivory diptych panel called, The Trinity. According to museum officials, it is the first significant art purchase since 1997. The purchase was made in 2011, well before the recent reports by National Geographic Magazine that religious groups are responsible for the unsustainable poaching of elephants for the creation of ivory religious relics, such as this dyptych. Already recognized for having one of the largest collections of religious art in the Western Hemisphere, this ivory artifact marks the fruition of M&G’s strategic goal to reenter the arts market and address areas of development within the collection.

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Inspiring Me! Life of Pi’s New Trailer (VIDEO)

FIRST POST



With each trailer, Ang Lee’s epic adventure film "Life of Pi" is raising expectations. The second trailer of the film is out, just before its premiere at New York Film Festival on Friday, and the film promises to be a visual treat. Judging by this new trailer, the film raises hopes of it living up to the popular Man Booker prize winning book by Yann Martel. The movie releases on November 23, 2012 in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. [link]

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Arts Council in Wisconsin to Fundraise Using Power2Give (Crowdfunding)

VOLUME ONE
By Mike Paulus

WISCONSIN---The Eau Claire Regional Arts Center will soon be hosting an online crowd-sourced funding platform (catch all that?) for local art projects, connecting donors to projects they are passionate about. According to ECRAC's Executive Director Ben Richgruber, "the site allows cultural organizations to post and promote projects in need of funding and invites donors to contribute directly to the projects that are most intriguing." They'll be hosting a meeting about the platform on Monday, Sept. 17. [link]

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Showcase of Arab, Israeli, Iranian Women at Rutgers & Princeton

NEW JERSEY JEWISH NEWS
By Debra Rubin, NJJN Bureau Chief/Middlesex

NEW JERSEY---In an area too often known for its endless conflicts, Middle Eastern female artists and performers have found a means to express their feelings about their culture, violence, and gender roles. More than 100 works by these women will be on display at venues in Princeton and New Brunswick through Jan. 13 as part of a half-year-long program sponsored jointly by Rutgers and Princeton universities. “The Fertile Crescent: Gender, Art and Society” will include lectures, film screenings, and special events held in conjunction with the exhibits. [link]

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Religious Ivory Demand Killing Elephants by Thousands, Report Says

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NEWS
By Oliver Payne

The home of a Filipino collector is lavish with ivory religious icons.

WASHINGTON---While it's impossible to say exactly how many elephants are slaughtered annually, a conservative estimate for 2011 is more than 25,000. And thousands of those are dying to satisfy religious devotion, their tusks smuggled into countries to be carved into religious artifacts: ivory baby Jesuses and saints for Catholics in the Philippines, Islamic prayer beads for Muslims and Coptic crosses for Christians in Egypt, amulets and carvings for Buddhists in Thailand, and in China—the world's biggest ivory-consumer country—elaborate Buddhist and Taoist carvings for investors. [link]

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"Piss Christ" Photograph Comes To New York, Angering Pols

GOTHAMIST

"Piss Christ" by Andres Serrano

NEW YORK---Controversial representation of religious figures and objects has been inciting all the rage these days, and New York-born artist Andres Serrano's work "Piss Christ," which will be on view as part of an exhibition of the artist's work in Midtown..[today], is no exception. The piece—a photograph of a crucifix soaked in the artist's urine—was condemned by Staten Island Representative Michael Grimm yesterday, who compared it to Innocence of Muslims, the anti-Islam film that has set off a rash of rioting and violence in the Arab world over the past few weeks. "A representative from the Edward Tyler Nahem gallery, which will show the piece from September 27 to October 26, told the Post there would be increased security during the exhibition's run. [link]

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"It Was Totally Bootstrap": Art Entrepreneur Jen Bekman Looks Back on 5 Years of 20x200

BLOUIN | ARTINFO 
By Rachel Corbet

On Monday, the VIP Art Fair announced that it was abandoning its twice-a-year fair model and joining fellow e-retailers Paddle8, Art.sy, and Artspace to sell artwork online full-time. But before this ever-expanding influx of net-art startups, there was 20x200, New York dealer Jen Bekman’s pioneering print project that’s celebrating its fifth anniversary this week. In 2007, Bekman launched her site for affordable art prints — the online market’s most successful medium — with two friends in her living room. The site generated significant revenue from the moment it launched, and by 2009, she was making $1 million a year and securing high-profile investors of Flickr and Vimeo fame. This year, having sold nearly 200,000 prints to 70,000 collectors, she expects to break the $7 million mark. [link]

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Priest Marries Gay Partner on Alaskan Cruise (Canadian Waters)

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Charles Goetz

Charles Goetz, Contributing Editor of A&O News marries longtime companion Blanchard

CANADA---Blanchard and I made it official Sept. 5 aboard Celebrity's Infinity during an Alaska cruise. Found the perfect rings in Ketchikan: "Lovebirds," an eagle and a raven intertwined, symbolizing marriage between Haida (eagle) and Tlingit (raven) clansmembers, designed by Tlingit artisan Amos Wallace. Blanchard is convinced that the boy who helped us with the rings will someday do what we did. Officiating was Francine Haydon, who's authorized to conduct such things. We're very happy. ~ Charlie

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Can Dance Transform the Soul? Support "O'Black Madonna"

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS 
By Tahlib

Maureen Fleming, American dance-artist, but born in Japan, is the Artistic Director of Maureen Fleming Company. The goal of her work is, "To reveal the transcendent through images, which focus on the human body as a vehicle of transformation. I am specifically interested in discovering a universal art which touches the evolutionary traces imbedded in human experience and transcends the limits of nationality and gender, placed on us all in an aim of discovering what is truly universal about being human." A current project seeking for which she is seeking support is "O Black Madonna" a visual theater work which raises awareness of the values that have led us to make choices perpetuating the cycle of violence begetting violence. Fleming's goal is to present another perspective, one of a universal mythological origin, through the iconic image of the Black Madonna, where our internal world and the black beyond the stars become one and the values of the transcendent feminine and a global alchemy are celebrated. You can support this amazing project by donating through USA Project.org.

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Holyday Art for "Yom Kippur" by Ken Goldman

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

"Yom Kippur Mat" by Ken Goldman. Image courtesy of Jewish Art Salon

It's the holiest of holydays in the Jewish calendar. They call it "Yom Kippur" observed around the world with honor by Jews, as well as Christians, and other respectful believers too.

• Official name: Hebrew: יוֹם כִּפּוּר or יום הכיפורים
• Significance: According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict.
• Observances: Fasting, prayer, abstaining from physical pleasures, refraining from work
• Length: 25 hours, beginning at sunset: September 25 and ending: nightfall: September 26, 2012
• Greeting: Have an easy fast. 

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Sikh Artifacts, Tipu Art on UK Auction Block

HINDUSTAN TIMES
By Sanjib Kr Baruah

India and the Punjab – oil painting by 
Punjabi artist G S Bansal of a Kashmiri Girl

INDIA---Even as the government sits on declaring a much-awaited policy on acquisition of items of historical value, another auction of items relating to India's heritage is being conducted by London-based auctioneer Mullock's. Among the scores of paintings, artefacts and documents relating to Indian heritage, to be offered for bidding on September 27, will be a dinner plate of the Sikh kings - last used by Maharaja Duleep Singh. An 1828 painting depicting the death of great warrior Tipu Sultan will also be put up on the block. [link]

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Roger Ebert's Less Than Glowing Review: "The Master" (2.5 Stars)

ROGER EBERT
By Roger Ebert

Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" is fabulously well-acted and crafted, but when I reach for it, my hand closes on air. It has rich material and isn't clear what it thinks about it. It has two performances of Oscar caliber, but do they connect? Its title character is transparently inspired by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, but it sidesteps any firm vision of the cult religion itself — or what it grew into. This is the first movie filmed in 65mm (and projected in 70mm, in select markets) since Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet" (1996). It's a spectacular visual experience."The Master" shows invention and curiosity. It is often spellbinding. But what does it intend to communicate? [link]

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Islamic Cartoon Row, Flying Carpet Hang Over Louvre

BUSINESS WEEK
By Jorg von Uthmann

The Louvre's Cour Visconti has a glass roof over the new Islamic wing.

FRANCE---Amid the furor over an anti-Islam video and new cartoons mocking the Prophet, the Louvre is opening a new wing devoted to Islamic Art. When New York’s Metropolitan Museum reopened its Islamic wing last November, after eight years of renovation, it had been rebaptized as “Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia.” The Paris museum, with its even bigger collection of Islamic art, wouldn’t dream of using such an unwieldy paraphrase. The new department, which opened to the public on Sep. 22, is simply called “Arts de l’Islam.” Because the Louvre is bursting at the seams, a courtyard, the Cour Visconti, has been transformed into a two-tiered exhibition space. [link]

 “Arts de l’Islam” is on permanent show at the Louvre, Place du Louvre, 75058 Paris. Information: +33-1-40-205050 or http://www.louvre.fr/en/opening-new-department-islamic-art

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Controversy Misses the Mark in Blake Prize for Religious Art

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
By Andrew Taylor

"Meat" (2011) by Saif al Murayati 

AUSTRALIA---Saif al Murayati's unfolding history promises controversy when the misspelt words "Assang (sic)", "wikki (sic)" and "Merdoch (sic)" flash on to a screen beside a battered road sign of a man shovelling dirt. To the soundtrack of Islamic chants, words like uprising and prison appear between words written in Arabic. But the four-minute video work is not a rant against religion; rather it documents the artist's life as a refugee. "The whole video is about the loss of identity," Murayati told the Herald. Murayati, who fled Iraq in 1991 to escape Saddam Hussein's persecution of the Kurds, is one of 53 finalists in this year's Blake Prize for religious art, which were announced today. [link]

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The War Against Freedom of Speech

YUCATAN TIMES
By Nubia Nieto

"Christ Destroying His Cross" (1943) by José Clemente Orozco

The violent protests in the Muslim world over an anti-Islam film made in the USA, reveal not only that the freedom of speech is far away from being reached in the Middle East, but also shows how dangerous it is to install this freedom of speech in some countries. In Latin America, the freedom of speech seems to be also an important challenge and social aspiration. In Russia, the punk band Pussy Riot has been jailed for two-years for taking part in protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin. In Europe even if the freedom of speech is better that does not mean it is perfect some example are France and the United Kingdom, which supposedly are democratic countries, plan to submit laws to allow monitoring of phone calls, text messages, emails, social networks and other electronic communications by their governments on the premise of combating terrorism and organised crime. It is a value that needs to be preserved at any cost for the well-being of societies. [link]

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Fall Exhibtion at Texas' Blanton Museum Explores Tibetan Buddhism

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS

Tibetan, "Padmasambhava," 18th-19th century Colors on cotton, 53 x 38 in., University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Bequest of G. Eleanore Murray

TEXAS---In a presentation exclusive to the Blanton, eight rare and never-before publicly exhibited Tibetan works from the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) are on view. "Into the Sacred City" explores the rich art and religion of this fascinating region through five mandalas and three thangkas dating from the 15th to 20th centuries. All works in this intimate presentation come to the Blanton from the Theos Bernard Collection of BAM/PFA. [link]

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Elderly Woman Who Botched Religious Fresco Demands Royalties

THE TELEGRAPH
By Fiona Govan

Ecce Homo by 19th-century painter Elías García Martínez
on the walls of the church of Santuario de Misericordia. Photo: gawker.com

SPAIN---The elderly Spanish woman who ruined a religious fresco with her botched restoration is now demanding royalties from her work after it became an unlikely tourist attraction. Cecilia Gimenez, who is in her 80s, made headlines across the world after attempting a DIY restoration that left the 19th century fresco of Christ at her local church in Borja resembling a monkey. The altered image of Ecce Homo – Behold the Man – became an internet sensation and sent thousands of curious sightseers to the Sanctuario de Misericordia to laugh at her handiwork. Lawyers acting for Mrs Gimenez now insist she should be entitled to a cut of the profits, which she wants to go towards a charity of her choice. [link]

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Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion

PEW FORUM

A rising tide of restrictions on religion spread across the world between mid-2009 and mid-2010, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. Restrictions on religion rose in each of the five major regions of the world – including in the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa, the two regions where overall restrictions previously had been declining. Restrictions on religion rose not only in countries that began the year with high or very high restrictions or hostilities, such as Indonesia and Nigeria, but also in many countries that began with low or moderate restrictions or hostilities, such as Switzerland and the United States. [link]

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Pakistani Minister Offers $100,000 Bounty For Killing Anti-Islam Film Maker

FIRST POST

PAKISTAN---A Pakistani minister offered $100,000 on Saturday to anyone who kills the maker of an online video which insults Islam, as sporadic protests rumbled on across parts of the Muslim world. “I announce today that this blasphemer, this sinner who has spoken nonsense about the holy Prophet, anyone who murders him, I will reward him with $100,000,” Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour told a news conference, to applause. “I invite the Taliban brothers and the al Qaeda brothers to join me in this blessed mission.” [link]

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Exploiting the Prophet: We Are Pawns in a Politcal (Not Religious) Battle

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Nicholas Kristoff, Sunday Times

“PISS CHRIST,” a famous photograph partly financed by taxpayers, depicted a crucifix immersed in what the artist said was his own urine. But conservative Christians did not riot on the Washington Mall. “The Book of Mormon,” a huge hit on Broadway, mocks the church’s beliefs as hocus-pocus. But Mormons haven’t burned down any theaters. So why do parts of the Islamic world erupt in violence over insults to the Prophet Muhammad? I think a few things are going on. The first is that many Muslim countries lack a tradition of free speech, and see ridicule of the prophet as part of a larger narrative of the West’s invading or humiliating the Islamic world. More broadly, this is less about offensive videos than about a political war unfolding in the Muslim world. This is a political struggle, not just a religious battle — and we’re pawns. [link]

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Arts Council + Church Desire = Spiritual Artwork Show

PHILLY BURBS
By Jeannie O'Sullivan

NEW JERSEY---The creative expression of spirituality is the theme of an exhibit being hosted by St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. Through Oct. 7, the public is invited to view the 45 pieces of religious artwork displayed in the parish hall. The selection features digital photographs, watercolors, oils, sketches, acrylics and pastel drawings submitted by 20 artists from the region. The church worked in cooperation with the Burlington County Arts Guild to plan the juried exhibit, which is in its fourth year. “It’s an opportunity for artists who don’t have (a venue) for religious art to be displayed,” said show organizer Jean Wetherill, a former mayor who serves on the school board. [link]

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Wait, You Still Don't Like Us?

FOREIGN POLICY
By Richard Wike

In some ways, the issue of anti-Americanism is part of a broader story about mutual distrust between Muslims and Westerners. Why hasn't America's image improved? The opposition to drone strikes points to a broader issue: a widespread distrust of American power. But it is true even for elements of American soft power. Predominantly Muslim nations are generally among the least likely to embrace U.S. popular culture or the spread of American ideas and customs. Only 36 percent of Egyptians like American music, movies, and television, and just 11 percent believe it is good that U.S. ideas and customs are spreading to their country. But America's image problems are not due solely to fears of American power. [link]

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The Art and History of the Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent

THE MOSCOW TIMES 
By John Freedman

Mikhail Nesterov's triptych of The Annunciation.

RUSSIA---The Marfo-Mariinskaya Convent is one of Moscow's spiritual, architectural and cultural gems, although I must say I rarely see it on must-do lists for visitors. The church at the center of the convent, as well as all the outlying buildings, were designed by one of Moscow's greatest and, perhaps, most enigmatic architects Alexei Shchusev in the early 20th century. Shchusev set the tone with the gentle, understated lines of his structures. But perhaps the architect's boldest move was to invite the artist Mikhail Nesterov to provide paintings and bas-reliefs to grace the inner and outer walls of the Savior of the Mother of God Church. [link]

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Zen Buddhism, Art Subject of McClung Museum Exhibit

KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL

This painting on a hanging silk scroll was done of an unidentified Obaku monk.
Such portraits hung in the halls of monasteries. This one is from the 18th or 19th century.

TENNESSEE---An exhibit open[ed] Sept. 15 at the University of Tennessee's Frank H. McClung Museum explores both the simple yet elegant beauty and the deeper meanings of art developed around Zen Buddhism. "Zen Buddhism and the Arts of Japan" is at the museum, located at 1327 Circle Park Drive on the UT campus, through Dec. 31. [link]

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1 Day Left! Banksy "Fallen Angel" For Sale, For Your Home

BLOUIN | ARTINFO
By Benjamin Sutton

AUSTRALIA---This deal is as ephemeral as a real Banksy mural: For the next four days LivingSocial is offering 75 percent off the price of wall decals for domestic use that are based on the British street artist’s most famous works. The bedroom Banksys — which include his “Heart Balloon Girl,” “Monkey in Charge” (below), “Rapper Rat,” and “Fallen Angel” (above), and nine others — retail at $99.99 on Zanzino. [link]

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Do you remember the old Heinz Ketchup commercial that played the song "Anticipation?" The point of that commercial is that the best things in life are worth waiting for. Well, between the wait for the new iPhone 5; the Midwest debut of "The Master"; unveiling of the new Islamic art wing at The Lourve in Paris; arrival of the Wiccan holyday Mabon (autumnal equinox); opening days for The ArtPrize in Michigan; and the release of "Joseph Anton" the new memoir by Salmon Rushdie, the wait was over for many and the results were mostly good. Anticipation is awesome when the results are good, but I know something that is more worth waiting for than ketchup. It’s that day when we will all look at a creative work of art but instead see inside ourselves. On that day, we will peer beyond the surface, and there will be no need to blame anyone else for what we see. That's why Yudi Noor's mystical sculptural works (above) are my NEWS OF WEEK. What do you see?

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

• Judaism in Art: Francis Tabary unveils a magical sculpture that simultaneously forms the icons of the Jewish and Christian faiths. [More News]
• Christianity in Art: Soasig Chamaillard turns "Virgin Mary" into a Super icon. [More News]
• Islam in Art: Paris' Louvre museum unveils new art wing, "Islam" to visitors. [More News]
• Hinduism in Art: The Divine Worlds of India on view at National Gallery of Australia. [More News]
• Buddhism in Art: Buddha sculpture sets record price at auction. [More News]
• Others in Art: The new film, "The Master" was released coast-to-coast this week. [More News]
• A&O Prize for Religious Art: Nominations for the 2012 Prizes closed. [More A&O Prize]

VOTING DAY IS COMING, on November 1, 2012, vote for the A&O Prize for Contemporary Religious Art of the year: "Register Today". Lastly, for more interfaith art news: join us on Facebook and/or Twitter, or just come back each day. It's another great way to keep up with gatherings of like-minded people who share your interest in Religious Art. After all, who is Religious Art for? Yes, it's for Believers, but also Skeptics too!

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The Louvre’s New Islamic Galleries Bring Riches to Light

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Carol Vogel

The new space consists of ground- and lower-ground-level interiors topped by a golden, undulating roof

FRANCE---The Louvre’s new Islamic galleries bring riches to light. Ten years in the making, the $125 million project, which opens on Saturday, has been financed in part by the French government, along with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, who gave the Louvre $20 million toward the galleries, the largest single monetary gift ever given to the museum. Their opening comes 10 months after the Metropolitan Museum of Art introduced its own new galleries dedicated to the arts of Islam. The Met, in an effort to avoid defining the collection solely in terms of religion, chose an unusually long title for its spaces, “The Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and Later South Asia.” The Louvre, on the other hand, has taken the exact opposite approach, calling its galleries simply, “Islam.” [link]

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Dokoupil's Quote-Unquote "Religious Paintings"

THE PRAQUE POST
By Mimi Fronczak Rogers

By Jiří Georg Dokoupil

CZECH REPUBLIC---In a deconsecrated Church of St. Roch on the grounds of the Strahov Monastery, Jiří Georg Dokoupil is exhibiting a group of new works of Jesus and Mary, heaven and hell. While the paintings ostensibly rekindle an evergreen theme of European art, Dokoupil's depictions of Jesus and the Virgin Mary at Galerie Miro are not intended as devotional icons but rather as universal visual icons, more akin to the Nike swoosh and the McDonald's golden arches than to sacred paintings of the past. [link]

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Barsch code: Springville MOA Presents Retrospective of Artist

HERALD EXTRA
By Kari Kenner

"Gate to Paradise," by Wulf Barsch

UTAH---Colors, light and figures are brought together in visual harmony at the Springville Museum of Art exhibit "Ex Corde Lux -- A Retrospective of Wulf Barsch," on display now in the main gallery. Barsch is an internationally recognized artist who was born in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic, in 1943. After joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1968, Barsch made his first visit to the United States, and later served a mission for the church to California. His works can be found in more than 35 collections worldwide, including the States Senate in Hamburg, Germany, and the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. According to Ashlee Whitaker, associate curator of the Permanent Collection and Exhibition at the Springville Museum of Art, "He's an artist whose works are deeply spiritual with a strong resonance of religious themes and exploration ... it draws you in," she said. [link]

Springville Museum of Art: "A Retrospective of Wulf Barsch," Ends Nov. 2, 2012. 126 E. 400 South, Springville, UT, (801) 489-2727, smofa.org

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Grand Rapid's Fountain Street Church Awards Cash Prizes During ArtPrize Festival

THE GRAND RAPIDS POST
By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk

“Searching for the Key” (Letters Home) an assemblage by Susan Clinthorne and Sally Thielen explores the subject of homelessness.

MICHIGAN---Art with a conscience and a message is the theme for the ArtPrize 2012 exhibition at Fountain Street Church. [Twenty-seven] 27 artists created work based on the theme “Art to Change the World: Confronting Oppression, Embracing the Human Spirit.” Together with the American Civil Liberties Union, Fountain Street Church has awarded two $1,000 prizes at its opening reception on Wednesday. Lorri Acott, of Colorado, won a $1,000 ACLU Award for her cast aluminum, outdoor sculpture titled “Peace.” Student artist, Robert Coombs, of Grand Rapids, won the $1,000 Social Action Award for his series of digital photographs titled “Disabilities and Sexuality.” [link]

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5 Faiths Friday: Looking For Divine Balance

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

Do you see interfaith links in today's religious art? It's easy to see, but only if you looking deeper than the surface. In honor of the Pagan holyday of "Mabon", The Witch's Sabbat or The Autumn Equinox, I'm highlighting some unique ways of looking at the equality of the interfaith experience thought art. Take a look at the images I've found this week, and consider that today on Mabon, all things are in divine balance, and that's a good reason to give thanks! [Interfaith linkages]

 Artist Yudi Noor blends mysticism and material for a new world 

French artist Francis Tabary creates Star of David which magically transforms into Cross

Muslims, Christians and skeptics too create new Islamic wing at The Lourve

Christianized Australia brings the "Divine Worlds" of Hinduism to its  National Gallery 

Christian America mounts digitial presentation of Buddhist past at NYU

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Christian Extremists Block Pussy Riot Art Show

THE HUFFINGTON POST

Visitors taking pictures of painting by Yevegenia Maltseva

RUSSIA---A protest by about 15 Russian Orthodox Christian activists has disrupted the opening of a Moscow art exhibit inspired by the jailed members of the punk band Pussy Riot. The activists, some dressed in Cossack uniforms, tried to block the entrance to the Gelman Gallery. Riot police dispersed the protesters, detaining nine of them, but then blocked off the area, making it difficult for those who wanted to attend Thursday's opening to get inside. The paintings by Yevgenia Maltseva were inspired by religious icons and the three Pussy Riot members who were jailed for a raucous performance inside a Moscow cathedral to protest Vladimir Putin's rule and his close relationship with the church hierarchy. [link]

Activists dressed in Cossack uniforms, block the entrance to the Gelman Gallery

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New Master: Kickstarter Helped NYC Artist Paint a Replica of Sistine Chapel Ceiling in His Apartment

GOOD | CULTURE
By Alex Gardega

One day this past January I decided to paint the Sistine Chapel on the ceiling of my rented Upper East Side studio apartment. I do a lot of professional high-end murals. I just painted a 400 square foot waterfall for a client and recently finished three ceilings for different people. I’m always working for someone else so I started thinking that I’d like to do this for myself. Even though it’s not my apartment, I just wanted to experience painting for me. So I started a Kickstarter campaign to see if I can raise money to focus and not have to take other jobs, and my friend at Harley's Barbecue in Harlem helped with supplies. [link]

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Technology Replicates Ancient Chinese Temple at NYU Exhibtion

EPOCH TIMES
By Amelia Pang

A seated Buddha with an elaborate halo embellished with floral and vegetal motifs.

NEW YORK---Walking into dimly lit rooms filled with sixth-century Buddha statues, one enters an art exhibit at NYU. The serene ambience has a close likeness to that of the famed Chinese Xiangtangshan temple—mostly because the exhibit has digital reconstructions of the artwork’s original settings. The exhibition, “Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan,” will run from Sept. 11 through Jan. 6, 2013. [link]

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Paris' Louvre Museum Unveils "Islamic Art Wing

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Image of new wing courtesy of PressTV

FRANCE---The Louvre Museum is unveiling a new wing and galleries dedicated to the arts of Islam, culminating a nearly €100 million ($130 million), decade-long project coming to fruition amid tensions between the Muslim world and the West. The new dragonfly-shaped building marks the famed Paris museum's greatest development since its iconic glass pyramid constructed 20 years ago. The Department of Islamic Art will exhibit much of the Louvre's 18,000 works, hoping also to foster cultural understanding. Mosaics from the Damascus mosque and a 15th-century Mamluk porch are among works spanning from 632 to 1800 A.D. Donors included Morocco's King Mohammed VI and Saudi Prince Waleed Bin Talal's foundation. Louvre director Henri Loyrette says the galleries aim to showcase "the radiant face of a civilization." [link]

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New French Cartoons Inflame Prophet Film Tension

ASSOCIATED PRESS

 
FRANCE---A French satirical magazine published nude photos of the Prophet Muchammad today, a move that could further inflame tensions after violent protests in the muslim world over an anti-Islamic film. [link]
VINIENCO

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Building the Jalil Khayat Mosque (c. Iraq 2007)

ISLAMIC ART & ARCHITECTURE
By F.A. Bhatti

IRAQ---The Jalil Khayat mosque, which resembles in style the Muhammad Ali mosque in Cairo and the Blue mosque in Istanbul, was inaugurated in Erbil on January 19, 2007. Erbil is the Capital City of the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq. The mosque is built on an area of 15,000 square meters in the center of Erbil. It contains a large prayer hall that is 1,200 meters square and 45 meters high; it holds about 1,500 to 2,000 people. [link]

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Iranian Foundation Offers $3.3 Million Bounty for Killing of Author Salman Rushdie

RT | RUSSIA TIMES

IRAN---A religious foundation in Iran added another $500,000 to a $2.8 million reward for anyone who kills British-Indian author Salman Rushdie. Rushdie’s 1988 novel 'The Satanic Verses' published enraged the Muslim world, and prompted a death sentence fatwa by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Anyone who successfully kills Rushdie will receive a $3.3 million reward from Iran’s 15 Khordad Foundation, local newspapers reported. The initial reward totaled $1 million, and has been increased several times since. The Iranian leader declared that the 'The Satanic Verses' was offensive to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. The book was praised in the UK, but it caused widespread controversy and anger among Muslims worldwide. [link]

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Vatican Helps Launch Church-Approved Ads for Catholic Websites

RELIGION NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY---An Italian startup is launching a web advertising platform that aims to provide Catholic websites with Catholic-approved advertisements. The platform, called AdEthic, will be presented on Thursday (Sept. 20) at a press conference in Rome, as part of a wider Catholic project to engage in social media. According to Andrea Salvati, a manager at Google Italy who will take the role of CEO at AdEthic in October, the platform wants to tap into the vast Catholic online market that has so far been unable or unwilling to use advertisements. Many Catholic webmasters are "scared" that inappropriate advertisements, such as sexually related content or messages from "bogus religious groups," will be displayed on their pages by context-sensitive automatic ad generators such as Google's AdSense, said the Rev. Paolo Padrini, an Internet-savvy priest. [link]

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Artist-Magician Unveils Sculpture That is Both a Star of David and a Christian Cross

BLOUIN | ARTINFO
By Benjamin Sutton

Magical sculpture by Francis Tabary

The French artist and 1991 world magic champion (!) Francis Tabary has crafted a magical sculpture that simultaneously forms the icons of the Jewish and Christian faiths: the Star of David and the cross. The untitled artwork — which uses a mirror to show the metal cross from an angle at which it forms a perfect six-pointed star — is the latest in the artist’s “Impossible Sculptures” series, which had previously featured the image of the Star of David, and consists of works that hybridize of the Op art abstraction of Victor Vasarely and the visual illusions of M.C. Escher. [link]

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