The Problems With Seeking Greater Conservative Representation in the Arts

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Ross Douthat

My post on conservatives and the arts has prompted an interesting reply from Micah Mattix, of the “Prufrock” blog and newsletter: "It inescapably treats art or culture as a tool, or weapon, in the struggle for power." Not surprisingly, I have a “yes, but …” reply here. Yes, a project specifically intended to get more conservatives into the arts would tend to suffer from the instrumental vices Mattix identifies. But if such a project did get more conservatives into the culture industry it might still improve that industry’s productions, notwithstanding the problems with the motives behind the project. [link]

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Sunday Review: Really? You’re Not in a Book Club?

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By James Atlas

NEW YORK---“WHAT’S your book group reading?” By some estimates, five million Americans gather every few weeks in someone’s living room or in a bar or bookstore or local library to discuss the finer points of “Middlemarch” or “The Brothers Karamazov.” I used to think that the popularity of this institution was a quirk of life in New York, like restaurants where you can get a reservation only by calling a month in advance or parties where every single person you meet is smarter than you are. But the book-club boom is nationwide. But the most prevalent way of conducting a book club is still in someone’s living room. It may be social, but it’s also serious; members devote long hours over many weeks to getting to the last page. For most of them, it’s all about the book. [link]

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Goryeo Buddhist Paintings Are 'Resting Place' by Ven. Hyedam

KOREA TIMES

"Water, Moon Gwaneum" by Ven. Hyedam. Courtesy of KyeTae Temple

KOREA---She's not one to count how many hours she spends re-creating Goryeo Buddhist paintings, because for her, it is a way of practicing Zen. But Ven. Hyedam, 63, who, for more than four decades, usually spends 16 to 18 hours a day on such paintings, thinks it comes down to some 200,000 hours. Since she was a child, Ven. Hyedam has been enraptured by Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) Buddhist paintings. She will show her work based on the paintings at her special exhibition at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, which will run from Dec. 9 through Dec. 15. [link]

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Obama Nominates First Non-Christian to Lead Religious Freedom Initiative

RELIGION DISPATCHES
By Peter Montgomery

“O. C. Blue Amulet” (2009) by Yona Verwer; print 16” x 20"

S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced yesterday (Monday) that President Barack Obama is nominating the first non-Christian, Rabbi David Saperstein, to the post of ambassador for international religious freedom. Saperstein has served as head of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism for more than 30 years, been a member of the advisory council for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, and teaches First Amendment and Jewish law at Georgetown Law school. In his remarks on Saperstein’s religious freedom pedigree, Kerry called him “the gold standard,” pointing to his work “across faith lines,” with “women of faith networks,” and with “American Muslim communities.” [link]

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Miniature Art Works With a Hindu Touch

THE TIMES OF INDIA
By Zeenia Baria,TNN

Miniature art works with a religious touch

INDIA---Jaipur-based artist Ajay Garg is no stranger to Mumbai. Having exhibited his works in the city in the past, the talented artist is back with his latest collection of Rajasthani miniature paintings. The works, done in a traditional miniature style, feature Lord Ganesha, Krishna, Shrinathji and other religious figures. A miniature art work can at times be as small as just four to five inches and is filled with a plethora of details. Recent works by Ajay Garg can be viewed at Jehangir Art Gallery, AC - III, 161-B, M G Road, Kala Ghoda, from August 4 to 10, 11 am to 7 pm.  [link]

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Roman Convent’s Profane Frescoes Restored

ARTNET NEWS
By Sarah Cascone

The profane frescoes at the Santi Quattro Coronati, Rome. Photo: courtesy the Santi Quattro Coronati.

ITALY---For the first time ever, the public will have the opportunity to view the profane medieval frescoes of Rome’s Santi Quattro Coronate basilica, rediscovered during the course of a decade-long conservation project that started in 1996, reports the Art Newspaper. The Santi Quattro Coronate paintings, which date to the 13th century, are significant as the country’s most important cycle of profane medieval frescoes. It’s no “Nikasitimos was here mounting Timiona,” as reads the world’s oldest erotic graffiti (recently reported by artnet News), but the subject matter is still pretty daring for a group of medieval nuns. [link]

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The Most and Least Bible-Minded Cities in the U.S. in 2014

BARNA GROUP

Jan. 23, 2014 – The social, economic and political values of any given city compose a richly distinct cultural climate—but what about the spiritual values? How does one city differ in spiritual profile to the next? Barna Group’s latest Barna:Cities study, conducted annually in partnership with the American Bible Society, examines a combination of regular Bible reading with belief in the Bible’s accuracy across the top 100 metropolitan areas in the United States. The result reveals a geographical portrait of the most and least Bible-minded U.S. cities. Yet even in one year, the spiritual climate has notably shifted, as evident by comparing to last year’s study. [link]

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Bold Color, Pop Culture and Religious Ecstasy: the Art of Corita Kent at MOCA Cleveland

THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
By Steven Litt

OHIO---The Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland prides itself on being an up-to-the-minute kind place that serves as Northeast Ohio's window on the latest doings in the art world. This summer, however, it's taking a vacation from its typical role with a retrospective glance at the colorful, ecstatic and faith-infused art of Sister Mary Corita, whose career peaked in the 1960s and '70s when she taught at a Catholic college in Los Angeles and then broke away to become an independent artist.[link]

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Katie Longmyer Connects Young Artists to Corporate Types

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Jennifer Miller

NEW YORK---On a chilly night not long ago, Katie Longmyer sat behind the D.J. in the Living Room Bar at the W New York Downtown hotel and surveyed her creation: fashion-industry denizens, purveyors of high art and Lower East Side hipsters, all dancing with gleeful abandon. That’s tricky. She calls herself a “business artist,” a title she made up. As she explains it, companies are eager to harness the “authenticity” of young artists, but they lack access to those subcultures. Artists, meanwhile, want a platform for their work, but they don’t want to be co-opted or accused of selling out. [link]

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Brussels Jewish Museum Gunman Charged

ARTNET NEWS
By Alexander Forbes

A memorial that sprung up outside the Brussels Jewish Museum, where four were killed as
a result of the May 24 shooting. Photo: Virginia Mayo, courtesy the Associated Press.

BRUSSELS---The man alleged to have shot and killed four people at the Brussels Jewish Museum on May 24, Mehdi Nemmouche, was charged with “murder in a terrorist context” in Brussels on Wednesday, the Jerusalem Post reports. Nemmouche was extradited to Belgium from France on Tuesday, a little over a month after French authorities announced their intention to do so. The 29-year-old is a French citizen of Algerian descent. The attack was carried out using a AK-47 style assault rifle and a handgun, according to surveillance footage released by Belgian police. [link]

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Terror Threat Closes Norway Jewish Museums

ARTNET NEWS 
By Hendrik Hansson

Jewish Museum Olslo Photo: Kjetil Ree via Wikimedia Commons

NORWAY---Jewish museums in Norway were closed on Friday, following an announcement of a possible imminent terror threat according to Art Daily. Norway’s intelligence service (PST) said it had, “recently received information that a group of extremists from Syria may be planning a terrorist attack.” The museums remained closed at the time of writing. Jewish museum officials are concerned that their institutions mat be targeted following the deadly attack on Brussels Jewish museum in May that left four people dead after a man opened fire. [link]

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Spiritual Strivings: A Celebration of African American Works on Paper

ARTDAILY

Elizabeth Catlett, Sharecropper, 1952, Linoleum cut; 17 5/8 x 16 7/8 in., The Harmon & Harriet Kelley Collection of African American Art, Art © Catlett Mora Family Trust/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY.

PENNSYLVANIA---The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts presents "Spiritual Strivings: A Celebration of African American Works on Paper." Spiritual Strivings is a summer-long, museum-wide celebration of African American works on paper, featuring two exhibitions of over 90 works of art: The Kelley Collection on view in the Annenberg Gallery in the Samuel M. V. Hamilton Building (through October 12), and Eldzier Cortor: Theme and Variations in the Richard C. von Hess Foundation Works on Paper Gallery in the Historic Landmark Building (through August 31). Together, these exhibitions present a rare opportunity for visitors to view master graphics spanning two centuries of African American art. [link]

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Television: What Happened to Gladys in ‘The Leftovers’ Recap?

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Daniel McDermon

Marceline Hugot as Gladys, left, with Ann Dowd as Patti in
Sunday Episode 5 of “The Leftovers.”Credit Paul Schiraldi/HBO

Season 1, Episode 5: “Gladys.” In serial television, the showrunner is God. And one indisputable theme of “The Leftovers” so far is that God is capricious. Horrible things happen all the time, with no explanation: A man loses his grip on reality; a plastic baby Jesus is stolen; or there’s a supernatural culling of 140 million people. A moment of silence, please, for Gladys, one of the Guilty Remnant’s most effectively irritating scolds, whose squinty glower could disturb a kitten sleeping alongside an altar boy. Her abduction and murder by stoning was tough to witness, perhaps most of all because her final act was to violate the Remnant’s vow and beg her killers for mercy. Even the dogs killed in the show’s first few episodes have mostly suffered offscreen. What kind of creator would subject the faithful to this? [link]

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Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin: Bible Mashers

THE TELEGRAPH
By Lucy Davies

Holy Bible by Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin

UNITED KINGDOM---There are 788,258 words in the King James Bible. How many people can claim to have read every one of them in a single attempt? Two years ago, over a 12-month period, the artists Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin did just that. The pair began the Holy Bible project by underlining sentences in the text that referred to image-making. “It made me nauseous to be surrounded by so many graphic images,” admits Chanarin. “But also curious. The Bible is so violent, but there’s something acceptable about it. We’re more at ease with violent words than violent pictures.” [link]

'Broomberg & Chanarin: Divine Violence' is at Mostyn, Llandudno, Wales, from July 19; mostyn.org 

Chapter and Verse: A spread from Ezekiel in 'Holy Bible'

'Exodus' from Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin’s new collage work, 'Holy Bible’

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Sinful Saints and Saintly Sinners at the Margins of the Americas

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

CALIFORNIA---Sacred figures all walk the fine line between sinfulness and sanctity, even if we choose to only remember the sacred portions of that walk. That's why the Fowler Museum's "Sinful Saints and Saintly Sinners at the Margins of the Americas" exhibition was so important. Featuring an array of paintings, sculptures, digital arts, mixed-media works, and site-specific installations,  the exhibition examined a series of crucial, and often controversial, divine beings in Mexico, Brazil, Guatemala, Argentina, and the United States. The sin is that exhibition, which opened in March closed on July 20, 2014, but a video is still available to share how artists have interpreted these diverse stories.  The Fowler Museum is located on the north campus of UCLA.

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Changing Skyline: Hit by Lightning, Church Reinvented Itself

PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
By Inga Saffron, Inquirer Architecture Critic

The Rev. Donna L. Maree offers communion during a mass to recognize the 20th anniversary of lighting strike

PENNSYLVANIA---Trinity Memorial Church at 22d and Spruce Streets was failing in the summer of 1994, and the few dozen remaining congregants knew it. Then, in the midst of their collective soul-searching, the historic church and its congregation were saved, oddly enough, by a bolt of lightning. Instead of seeing the fire as a sign to call it quits, the congregation vowed to reinvent its 1874 building as something more than just another church where people go to sit on hard benches once a week. On Sunday, Trinity celebrated the 20th anniversary of its transformation into a bustling community hub that operates in concert with a nonprofit called the Trinity Center for Urban Life. [link]

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Saint Wilgefortis is a Popular Figure of the Religious Imagination

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

Saint Wilgefortis in the Museum of the Diocese Graz-Seckau in Graz, Austria, 18th century

AUSTRIA---Some of the most fascinating Christian art stories get shared weekly on "Jesus In Love," a popular gay Christian art blog. Each week, there is something new to astound me. Recently, I read about a 14th century bearded-lady who was also a Roman Catholic Saint: "Legend says that Wilgefortis was the teenage Christian daughter of a king in medieval Portugal. She had taken a vow of chastity, but her father ordered her to marry a pagan king. She resisted the unwelcome marriage by praying to be made repulsive to her fiancé. God answered her prayers when she grew a beard. Unfortunately her father got so angry that he had her crucified and Wilgefortis joined the ranks of virgin martyrs." [link]

“Santa Wilgefortis” from “Queer Santas” series by Alma Lopez

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Movie: John Michael McDonagh Carves His Own Niche With ‘Calvary’

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Cara Buckley

Brendan Gleeson as a beleaguered Irish priest

HOLLYWOOD---John Michael McDonagh is no altar boy, at least not anymore. But when he was 11, this future screenwriter and director could be found most Sundays carrying processional crosses and ringing Sanctus bells while his little brother, Martin, now a playwright and filmmaker, sang in the choir. Now 47, John Michael McDonagh is revisiting Catholicism in force with his new film, “Calvary,” the second installment in what he has taken to calling his “glorified suicide trilogy.” Opening Friday, the film stars Brendan Gleeson as a beleaguered Irish priest who receives a death threat from a local man who was raped in childhood by another clergyman. [link]

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Gertrude Stein’s Legacy Lives On in Pop-Up Art Salons

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Marisa Meltzer

NEW YORK---On a Saturday afternoon in Chelsea, a group of a few dozen people milled around the International Print Center New York, drinking Champagne and making small talk about the show New Prints 2014/Winter. But this wasn’t a gallery opening, nor was it an artist’s talk. Rather it was a salon by Gertrude, a new company organizing events to discuss art. The company is named for the writer and art collector Gertrude Stein, who was well known for the gatherings of artists and writers she organized in her apartment on the Left Bank of Paris. [link]

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For Muslims In Gaza, End Of Ramadan Marred By Fighting

NPR NEWS
By Emily Harris

Members of a Palestinian family break their fast with the iftar meal during the holy month of Ramadan.

ISRAEL--The Muslim holiday, which began Monday, marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. This year, it also marks three weeks since the current war in Gaza started. Eid al-Fitr is a religious holiday and a family celebration. Relatives offer each other gifts of cash and chocolate. Kids look forward to special cookies and new clothes. But on the first day of what is traditionally a three-day holiday, Israeli jets continued their offensive in Gaza, and Hamas militants continued to launch rockets into Israel — despite a call by the United Nations for both Israel and Hamas to implement a humanitarian cease-fire for "the Eid period and beyond." [link]

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The Yak Brains and Crushed Insects That Made Tibetan Buddhist Bookmaking Beautiful

HYPERALLERGIC
By Allison Meier

Scattered fragments of rare 12th-century illuminated Tibetan texts from Keu Lhakang Temple, Central Tibet, before being digitised, restored and re-ordered. (Photograph by Psang Wangdu, 2002, courtesy the University of Cambridge)

CHINA---From the earthy mineral pigments ground from azurite to paint a sky, to paper given its luster from yak brains, the creation of Tibetan Buddhist texts is being examined down to its bare materials at the University of Cambridge’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. "Buddha’s Word: The Life of Books in Tibet and Beyond," opened in May, with some objects never before on public display joining 11th-century illuminated manuscripts, printing blocks, and other artifacts relating to the history of these texts. [link]

"Buddha’s Word: The Life of Books in Tibet and Beyond" continues at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge (Downing Street, Cambridge, UK) through January 17, 2015.

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In Pictures: China's Yellow River by Kechun Zhang

THE TELEGRAPH

Buddha in a coal depot, Ningxia Province, 2011

CHINA---Chinese photographer Kechun Zhang has won the prestigious Discovery Award at this year's Rencontres d'Arles for his series 'The Yellow River.' He was chosen by photography professionals and press at the opening week of the festival from a group of ten shortlisted artists, and receives 25,000 euros in prize money.His work is on show at the Parc des Ateliers, Arles until 31st August 2014. [link]

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Lessons From Behind The Counter At A Comic Book Store

NPR NEWS
By Lidia Jean Kott

Jason Aaron, who writes the Thor series for Marvel, says the female Thor is here to stay.

BROADCASTING---When the news broke that Thor, the hyper-masculine thunder god, had become a woman, my Twitter feed exploded. But like any good journalist, I wasn't about to let total ignorance keep me from chasing down a good story. I saw in Marvel's press release that Jason Aaron was writing the new Thor — so I decided to give him a call.  I clearly needed to find out what the experts thought. When I first entered Fantom Comics, here in Washington, D.C. I left Fantom with a stack of titles — Thor, Ms. Marvel, The Wicked + The Divine — my first comic books ever. All of them have (or will soon have) female leads. While they are all about superheroes who have super strength, they're all also about fighting with your family, sometimes feeling alone and inadequate, and trying to figure things out — in short, they're the opposite of boring. I read them all in a week. [link]

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Television: Making Dramas About Mideast Can Be Complicated

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Dave Itzkoff

Maggie Gyllenhaal stars in the mini-series “The Honorable Woman.” Credit Des Willie

BRAODCASTING---The fourth episode of “The Honorable Woman,” a serialized thriller that makes its Sundance TV debut on Thursday, opens on a world-weary MI6 officer, sitting at a dinner party where two other guests are discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As the camera zooms in on the officer, the conversation can be heard degenerating into a vulgar, name-calling argument and then a silverware-rattling wrestling match. [link]

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Naked Body Art Enlivens New York

BBC NEWS

Some 30 artists were involved in the public bodypainting session

NEW YORK---A group of artists in New York have painted a group of 40 nude models in public to celebrate the human form. The bodypainting session in Central Park was followed by a march along Broadway and a photo shoot in the city's Times Square. Artist Andy Golub claimed New York was the only US city where the bodypainting day would be allowed. Public nudity as part of a performance or a show is permitted in New York. As the organiser, Golub was granted a licence to hold Saturday's event which had the agreement of police. Golub says on his website that "art shouldn't be limited to canvases or bound to be in only indoor spaces. To me, art is about self-discovery and sharing it with people". [link]

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Why the Jesuits (including Pope Francis) Are on The Frontlines of Faith

CNN | BELIEF
By Matt Emerson, special to CNN

Sometimes called "God's Marines" (not all appreciate the nickname) for their willingness to go to the frontlines of faith, Jesuits form the largest order of Catholic priests in the church, with approximately 18,000 members worldwide. And, at a time when most religious orders are shrinking and pining for new candidates, the Jesuits say inquiries about joining their ranks are surging. What explains the Jesuits’ enduring appeal? Much of it has to do with their academic legacy. In the United States alone, there are 60 Jesuit high schools and 28 Jesuit colleges and universities. They are part of a network of secondary and post-secondary institutions that stretch from Los Angeles to Lagos to Tokyo. A good number of those schools are named after the founder of the Society of Jesus, St. Ignatius of Loyola.[link]

Andrew Garfield is reading “The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything,” the Rev. James Martin’s insightful overview of Jesuit life and spirituality as he prepares to play a Jesuit in a film adaptation of “Silence,” a novel about Catholic missionaries in Japan.

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Sinéad O'Connor Interview: "I Deserve to be a Priest. Music is a Priesthood."

THE GUARDIAN
By Tim Jonze

"I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss" is an album influenced by Chicago blues – O'Connor cites Buddy Guy and Howlin' Wolf as influences – and has what she calls a "dirty edge". The Vishnu Room, for instance, is sung from the viewpoint of a woman who feels under pressure to perform on her wedding night, and asks her man if she can just lie with her head on his chest instead "because Vishnu lives at the core of your heart". I mention an old quote in which O'Connor described Hinduism as the religion she most identified with and say I found that surprising. "Why?" she says. "Oh, because I'm a priest?" – O'Connor was ordained in 1999 by the breakaway Latin Tridentine church – "Yeah, well being a priest was just civil disobedience. Although I deserve to be a priest, frankly, better than any of them, in terms of the actual faith and respect [I have] for the holy spirit. [link]

I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss is released on 11 August. 

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

I have a bad habit. As Palestinians and Israelis clash and die in Gaza, I've remained a bystander. Tomorrow evening on Monday, July 28, the Islamic holydays of Ramadan end following a month of fasting and prayer to rid ourselves of bad habits. Prayers are said in the direction of the Kaaba, a cubed black building at the center of Mecca, and my prayer is that before Ramadan ends that I will stop being a bystander. That's why "Diversity" by Siddiqa Juma (above) is my NEWS OF WEEK.

In other religious art news from across the USA, and around the world:

• Buddhist Art of Week: Takashi Kikuchi and Park Dong-ki team-up for exhibit [More News]
• Christian Art of Week: Mannerist paintings of Pontormo, aka Jacopo Carucci [More News]
• Hindu Art of Week: Hindu deities get muscular makeovers; a ripped Vishnu [More News]
• Islamic Art of Week: Palestinians and Arabs hang tough at the New Museum [More News]
• Judaic Art Week: Jews and the first kosher comic books blazing trails [More News]

Join the journey. When you follow religious artists, you look for others who do the same. Some of us join as "Collectors" and make policy decisions; others join as "Friends" who gather for the dialogues; and most of us join as "Subscribers" to this "free" weekly newsletter; (or follow on: Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, or Soundcloud).

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Dog Passes Out From Overwhelming Joy When This Girl Comes Home After Two Years

THE HUFFINGTON POST
By Sarah Barness

PENNSYLVANIA---When this schnauzer saw a familiar face after two whole years away, the pet could barely keep it together. Watch the video above posted by Rebecca Ehalt to see what happiness looks like. It really is too much to handle for the little pooch who whimpers with pure joy until it's time to lie down. A description of the video, which was uploaded on Thursday, notes "the schnauzer was taken to the vet, the vet saw the video, and everything is fine." [link]

 

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Movie Review: In ‘Lucy,’ Scarlett Johansson Transforms Into a Superwoman

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Manohla Dargis

“Lucy” Review: What did Ref Souto think?

HOLLYWOOD---Thank goodness (or the goddess) for male directors who dig strong female characters. Mr. Besson’s particular kink for fatal female beauties receives an entertaining workout in his latest film, “Lucy,” in which he again introduces a young woman who undergoes a remarkable metamorphosis that leads to convulsions of extreme violence and an increasingly frenzied visual style that lay waste to both men and any semblance of story sense. He may be a hack, but he’s also a reliable entertainer, even when he’s recycling other directors’ ideas (a pinch of David Fincher here, a dash of Christopher Nolan there), or giddily engaging in slaughter and racist stereotypes. [link]

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Hindu Mythology-Based Card Game Becomes an Instant Hit

THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL 

In the card game, Narakasura is portrayed as Maha Yodha

INDIA---A strategy card game, unique for being based on Hindu mythology, has recently hit the market, capturing the attention of a sizable number of gamers, says IANS. Maha Yodha, or great warrior, is the name of the card game described by its co-creator, Sagar Shankar, as an “epic battle-themed strategic card game based on stories from Hindu mythology.” It is a two-deck set of 42 cards each, divided between the “Aditya” and “Asura” factions of gods and demons who battle each other with their legendary weapons and magic scrolls, all represented in the cards. The imagery on the cards uses Odisha’s famed Pattachitra art form, modernized by game designer and co-founder Chandan Mohanty. This is the first Indian game to be funded through the Kickstarter crowd funding platform for projects, Maha Yodha co-creator Sagar Shankar told IANS. [link]

Warriors have flavor text with little history tidbits about the characters.

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Siddiqa Juma is Featured in Dubai's Celebration of Contemporary Islamic Art for Ramadan

THE NATIONAL
By Hareth A. Bustani

"Diversity" by Siddiqa Juma is one of the works on show at Emaar Pavilion. Courtesy Ahlan Art Gallery, London

DUBAI---This Ramadan, Dubai celebrates the spirit of modern Islam with an international contemporary Islamic art exhibition – in the heart of its urban Downtown area. The collection, from the London-based Ahlan Art gallery, has taken residence at Emaar Pavilion’s the Gallery, and its Ramadan tent. Hassan Mawji, the co-founder of Ahlan Art and the charity Mount Elimu, welcomes Ahlan Art’s first exhibition at the venue. Mawji says the piece to look out for is the one right by the entrance – "Diversity," by Siddiqa Juma. The image depicts the Ka’aba, surrounded by a sea of different coloured dots. Diversity celebrates the way in which Muslims from across the world are brought together for the Haj pilgrimage, a microcosm of the Muslim community at large. [link]

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Florence Museum Concludes Major Exhibition by Mannerist Painter Pontormo

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS 
By TAHLIB

"Visitation" from the parish church of St. Michael in Carmignano

ITALY---The major exhibition, "Pontormo and Rosso. Diverging Paths of Mannerism," attracted 150,000 visitors according to Artdaily. The artist Pontormo, also known as Jacopo Carucci (May 24, 1494 – January 2, 1557) was an Italian Mannerist painter. His work represents a stylistic shift from the calm perspectival regularity that characterized the art of the Florentine Renaissance. He is famous for his use of twining poses, coupled with ambiguous perspective. His figures often seem to float in an uncertain environment, unhampered by the forces of gravity. The exhibition ended on July 20, 2014 at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence.

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Robert Wilson Plans a “Library of Inspiration”

ARTNEW NEWS
By Alexandra Peers

Matthew Prest, Whelping Box, 2013. Courtesy The Watermill Center.

NEW YORK---Wilson is busily preparing for his $15,000-per-table annual bacchanal/gala when we speak, due to be held Saturday, July 26th. The invitation says “dress code: bazaar chic” but Wilson’s tip for guests is more specific. “Dress sexy and exotic.” Robert Wilson, when we speak by phone from the Hamptons (at his end, not mine), is hurried, gracious, and bubbling with news. He’s just gotten back from a meeting with prominent architect Roger Ferris and they’ve decided to go ahead with an expansion of his beloved Watermill Center performance-art lab. A new large, library that should be completed in about three years, Wilson brags, will be completely underground—and will be “what no one else is doing.” [link]

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The First Kosher Comic Book Blazed a Trail for Orthodox Outreach

THE TABLET
By Marjorie Ingall

A panel from Foreskin Man vs. Captain Israel. (Arlen Schumer)

Comics have changed with the times, but they’ve always made for gripping storytelling. And, as Tablet has previously discussed, most of the early superheroes were created by Jews and packed with Jewish subtext—brainiac/wimp persecution, the need to “pass,” the possession of hidden strength, the urge to do tikkun olam and fix a broken world. Jews created the first comic book (Max “Charlie” Gains, ne Ginsburg, produced Famous Funnies, a compilation of newspaper strips sold as a book in 1933), the first graphic novel (Will Eisner’s "A Contract With God," which featured Orthodox Jews), the first Comic Con, and the first comic-book direct-distribution network. Check out Danny Fingeroth’s "Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics and the Creation of the Superhero" for a more extensive overview. [link]

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Signapore Halts Destruction of "Pro-Gay" Children's Books

GLOBAL POST

The three pro-gay books which faced government censorship in Singapore (Photos: internet)

SINGAPORE---Singapore on Friday stopped its national library from destroying two children's books with gay themes following an outcry over literary censorship in the tightly regulated city-state. Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim ordered the books moved to the adult section, where parents can borrow them for their children, after another title had already been "pulped" by the National Library Board (NLB). The two books to be moved to the adult section of public libraries are "And Tango Makes Three" -- a true story about two male penguins in a New York zoo that raised a baby penguin -- and "The White Swan Express", which features children adopted by straight, gay, mixed-race and single parents. The book that has already been destroyed is "Who's In My Family", which discusses different types of families, including references to gay couples. [link]

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A New Generation of Chinese Art Visits Tampa and St. Petersburg

BURNAWAY
By Lilly Wei

Lu Yang, Wrathful King Kong Core, 2011, still from video animation.

FLORIDA---“My Generation,” critic, writer, curator and journalist Barbara Pollack’s expansive exhibition at the Tampa Museum of Art and the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts (through September 28) salutes the next wave of contemporary Chinese artists, the post-Mao, post-Cultural Revolution generation, all born after 1976 and too young to be part of the tragic Tiananmen Square protests. As China rapidly moved from an agrarian to a modern industrial society in the ’70s, startling changes took place that once again, radically altered Chinese lives. The exhibition emphasizes how much these artists’ attitudes differ from their predecessors (among the first to garner international acclaim). [link]

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Palestinians and Arabs Hang Tough at the New Museum

ARTNET NEWS
By Christian Viveros-Fauné

Installation view, “Here and Elsewhere.” Photo: Benoit Pailley, courtesy New Museum, New York.

NEW YORK---At times walking through the New Museum, with its more than 13 hours of film and video, can feel like an Islamic Cultural Center revival of the French Nouvelle Vague. Early on in their contentious essay for the catalogue accompanying “Here and Elsewhere,” the New Museum’s sprawling, sometimes trying, yet illuminating exhibition of recent art from the Arab world, the show’s curators ask a remarkably timely question: “Is it possible to imagine a history of art that is completely divorced from cultural or social histories?” An exhibition that brings together 45 artists from 12 countries working in different media and from different cultural contexts, “Here and Elsewhere” makes a silk purse from the sow’s ear that is the “progressive” response to exhibitions with a geographical remit. [link]

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Art in New York. Masterpieces & Curiosities. A Russian American Quilt at the Jewish Museum

YAREAH MAGAZINE 

Quilt, Russia and United States, c. 1899, velvet: embroidered with wool, silk, and metallic thread; glass beads. The Jewish Museum, New York, Purchase: Judaica Acquisitions Fund, 1986-119

NEW YORK---Showcasing a colorful patchwork quilt bearing Eastern European and American imagery, Masterpieces & Curiosities: A Russian American Quilt continues a series of exhibitions focused on individual works in the Jewish Museum’s world-renowned collection. On view from August 22, 2014 to February 1, 2015, this exhibition highlights a rare quilt (c. 1899), a fascinating expression of the acculturation process undergone by newly arrived immigrants. The quilt was owned by a Russian Jewish family that likely arrived in America during the late 19th century and incorporates imagery from both cultures. Also included in the exhibition are related works from the Museum’s collection which feature Russian motifs or reflect a conflation of Russian and Jewish traditions, items of Americana that provide context, and a few works from other collections. [link]

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The Eleventh Commandment: Thou Shalt Paint

JERUSALEM POST
By Ariel Hendelman

I just take impressionist style and I put it into something Jewish and connect it to ‘kedusha’ or Eretz Yisrael. That’s always been my thing,’ says painter Elisheva Shira

ISRAEL---Beginning Monday and running through the 29th, the Gallery Al Ha’agam in Ra’anana Park is hosting the multi-artist exhibition, “Moments of Happiness.” The exhibit features sculptors, photographers and painters. One of the featured painters, Elisheva Shira, talks about her artistic journey from America to Israel, incorporating Torah into her paintings, and preparing for her first big show. [link]

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2 Buddhist Sites to be Declared 'Protected Monuments'

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
By P Laxma Reddy

Two lime stone pillars that were unearthed at Pondugula village near Mylavaram in Krishna district. A close up of the pillars that have the engravings of Lotus Medallions and bricks belonging to Amravati School of Art | P Ravindra Babu

INDIA---Due to the concerted efforts of the officials of Archeology and Museums Department, Vijayawada, a Buddhist site each in Guntur and Krishna districts will soon be declared the ‘protected monuments’. One of the Buddhist sites is located atop Bhairavakonda Hillock at Vaikuntapuram village in Thullur mandal of Guntur district and the process for allotting the site to the archeology department is underway, archeology and museums assistant director K Chitti Babu has said. [link]

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Metamorphosis of a City: From Constantinople to Istanbul

ISLAMIC ARTS MAGAZINE
By Maida Suljević

Hagia Sophia / Photo by Elvira Bojadzić, © Islamic Arts Magazine

TURKEY---When the walls of Constantinople under attack by the Ottoman army collapsed on May 29, 1453, the first thing Sultan Mehmed II did was to enter the famous Hagia Sophia and transform 'The Soul of the Byzantine Empire' into a mosque, making the dream of his great grandfather Bayezid I come true. Hagia Sophia was cleaned, carpets were laid and the first Friday prayer was held on June 1st, 1453. The waqf was immediately founded so that all needs of the new Imperial Mosque would be taken care of. Istanbul, an example of the cultural exchange between civilisations occurring throughout the history of humankind, is a witness to how Byzantine sacred monuments were preserved by the Ottomans after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. It therefore grants us the privilege of admiring masterpieces of Byzantine architecture today. [link]

The dome of the Kariye Museum / Photo by Maida Suljević

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Hindu Deities Get Muscular Makeovers; A Ripped Vishnu

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By Shefali Anand

Hindu deity Shiva is shown as a warrior chieftain in a graphic novel. Vimanika Comics

INDIA---India's Hindu gods and goddesses are getting a superhero makeover. In new comics, paintings and popular books, depictions of Vishnu, Rama and other greats in the Hindu pantheon are being reimagined to give the deities broad shoulders, six-pack abs, flashy get-ups and smoldering good looks. The changes are part of a reimagining of Hindu stories that supporters say makes them more relevant to India's middle-class youth, who are navigating a far different world than the one in which their parents lived. [link]

Tradition depiction of Lord Vishnu and his wife, goddess Lakshmi. Courtesy Anil Vishal Printers

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‘The Leftovers’ Recap: What Kind of Despair Drives Self-Inflicted Pain?

ARTSBEAT
By Michael M. Brynbaum

Ann Dowd as Patti Levin on “The Leftovers.”Credit Paul Schiraldi/HBO

BROADCASTING---Season 1, Episode 4 Question: Religious themes and literary ambitions aside, is “The Leftovers” actually just an exercise in high-brow horror? Freaky, disembodied heads of baby dolls; plastic cadavers strewn across a highway; an infant Jesus sprinkled with gasoline and set adrift on a makeshift Viking funeral barge. I did not enjoy watching those a whole lot, but on the other hand I appreciated the effort. Days later, the visuals were still hard to shake — they had an uncanny, ineffable twistedness, and some were just plain bizarre in the best kind of way, like something out of “Blade Runner,” or Cronenberg. “The Leftovers,” for all of its narrative flaws, is quickly developing a unique and memorable aesthetic, even by premium television standards. Tune in to be weirded out. [link]

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Movie Review: Making the Spiritually Skeptical Believe, and the Blind Worms See

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By A.O. Scott

HOLLYWOOD---The eyes are windows to the soul. That fuzzy bit of wisdom is repeated several times, with both reverence and skepticism, in “I Origins,” Mike Cahill’s new film. Whatever that may mean, there’s no doubt that eyes are also the portals through which movies, good and bad, enter our consciousness. Considered strictly as a visual experience, this one, which might be described as a faith-based emo-science romance-thriller, is often quite beguiling. [link]

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First Lady Michelle Obama Pushes for Arts in Schools

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
By Randy Lewis

First Lady Michelle Obama gave the keynote speech at a Grammy Museum event to salute teachers who use music in innovative ways as part of their lessons at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

CALIFORNIA---First Lady Michelle Obama took to an entertainment-industry pulpit in Los Angeles to stump for expanding the role of arts in education, saying that 6 million children in the U.S. have no exposure to any form of arts in school. Speaking before an audience of several hundred including L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and California Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), Mrs. Obama stressed that music and other forms of art often connect with students and enhance their interest in core subjects such as math, science and history. [link]

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Theatre Review: ‘The Pianist of Willesden Lane,’ a Jewish Girl’s War Story

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Charles Isherwood

Mona Golabek as a Jewish teenager who escapes the Nazis in “The Pianist of Willesden Lane,” at 59E59 Theaters.

NEW YORK---“The Pianist of Willesden Lane,” which opened on Tuesday at the 59E59 Theaters, tells the remarkable story of Lisa’s years in wartime London with an economy of means and a simplicity that only enhance the emotional effect. Packed with startling setbacks (the house at Willesden Lane is destroyed during the Blitz) and equally dramatic triumphs (against all odds, Mrs. Cohen has it rebuilt), it’s the kind of tale that would probably seem melodramatic if it were fiction. “Never stop playing,” her mother told her just before she boarded the train in Vienna, “and I will be with you every step of the way.” Lisa took the words to heart. Spiritually speaking, her fingers never left the keys, because only through her music could she maintain a connection to the vanished happiness of her Vienna childhood and the love of the family she feared lost forever. [link]

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India Aims to Make Forlorn City a Model for Revival

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Stephanie Strom

Graham Crouch for The New York Times

INDIA---The big question on many minds here is: How long will the electricity last? Since Narendra Modi was elected prime minister in May, residents in this forlorn city on the Ganges — at least those with wiring — have had near constant electricity, compared with the failures totaling as much as eight to 10 hours a day in the past. Mr. Modi has promised to tackle Varanasi’s legion of problems and turn this holiest — and one of the dirtiest — of Hindu cities into a showcase of Indian culture and small business undergirded by better infrastructure. The city also should benefit from other budget goals, including 1 billion rupees designated for repairing historic ghats, 2 billion rupees to support craft textile manufacturing and a 5 billion rupee package aimed at enhancing the so-called tourist circuit that encompasses Sarnath, Varanasi and Gaya, cities holy to Hindus and Buddhists. [link]

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