Fuller Theological Seminary: Where God and the Arts Meet

THE DAILY AMERICA
By Chandra Johnson, Deseret News

CALIFORNIA---In 1956, a teenage Richard Muow committed a major violation against his Evangelical faith: He snuck off to a movie theater to see John Huston’s “Moby Dick.” As the president of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, in the early 1990s, Muow continued to see a chasm dividing the faith world and Hollywood with the release of films like 1988’s “The Last Temptation of Christ.” Through continued collaboration with industry professionals, Muow spearheaded Fuller’s Theology and the Arts program, which looks to link entertainment and ministry and is now in its 14th year. [link]

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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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Drawing The Offerings Of The Five Senses: Tibetan Buddhist Art Workshop With Carmen Mensink

USC-US CHINA INSTITUTE

After becoming a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, Carmen Mensink
got hooked by the ancient tradition and craft of Tibetan thangka painting.

CALIFORNIA---The Offerings of the Five Senses are the “entrance” of a thangka, as these offerings are depicted in front of the Buddha: a mirror (to see); a musical instrument (to hear); incense or perfume (to smell); some fruit (to taste) and a silken scarf (to touch). Thangkas are scroll paintings of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition that illuminate the teachings of enlightened beings and serve as an aid to spiritual development.  They overflow with symbolism and contain figures created in harmony with the guidelines of Buddhist scriptures. [link]

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Asian Art Museum Welcomes the Works of Arnold Chang and Michael Cherney

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

"After Huang Gongwang 1" (2009) by Michael Cherney (American, b. 1969) and Arnold Chang (American, b. 1954). 

CALIFORNIA--- When Chinese ink painter Arnold Chang and photographer Michael Cherney met for the first time in 2007, they recognized a compatibility between Chang’s personal brushwork and Cherney’s granular photographs, which recall the aesthetics of ink painting. Since 2009, they have been creating joint works that strive to bridge the gap between the traditions of Chinese ink painting and the concerns of contemporary art. Twenty of their works will be showcased at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum in the exhibition "From Two Arises Three: The Collaborative Works of Arnold Chang and Michael Cherney," on view from July 15, 2014, through March 1, 2015.

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Court Seems to Boost Claim to 'Adam' and 'Eve' at Norton Simon Museum

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
By Mike Boehme

"Adam" and "Eve," a diptych of paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder, 
was created around 1530. (Norton Simon Art Foundation)

CALIFORNIA---The Bible tells us that all the world's troubles began with Adam and Eve taking fateful bites of forbidden fruit. The German Renaissance artist Lucas Cranach the Elder captured the moment in 1530, painting "Adam" and "Eve" on paired wooden panels that hang amid the stately calm of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. They are the prize in a bitter seven-year court battle over who should own them: the museum that has shown them since the 1970s or heirs of Jacques Goudstikker, a Dutch Jewish art dealer who lost them to the invading Nazis in 1940. A 2-1 ruling last month by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals settled nothing, but it did keep Marei von Saher's case against the museum alive after it had been dismissed by a U.S. district court judge in Los Angeles. [link]

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How Church Sales Reflect the Shifting American Demographic

THE ATLANTIC
By Tanya Basu

In early June, I visited my hometown of Glendale Heights, about 25 miles west of Chicago. Making my way through the old avenues that had marked my childhood, I noticed something curious: The churches that had dominated the street corners of my suburban youth—from magnificent stone structures with ornate stained glass windows to homey, unmarked brick buildings—were either getting demolished or being sold to become Hindu temples. It’s not just in Chicago, and it’s not a unidirectional trend. Synagogues are becoming mosques, Baptists are changing hands with Korean congregations, pagodas are moving into office buildings. In Queens, “there is a former synagogue that is now a mosque," says Ellen Levitt. "At least two former synagogues are now Asian churches, and at least one former synagogue is now a Hindu temple.” [link]

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SFMOMA and Asian Art Museum Explore Extremes And Ambiguities of Beauty in Joint Exhibition

ARTDAILY

The Buddhist deity Simhavaktra Dakini, 1736–1796. China; Beijing or vicinity

CALIFORNIA---A selection of 72 stunning artworks drawn from the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Asian Art Museum challenges visitors to confront the extremes and the ambiguities of beauty in the special exhibition "Gorgeous." On view June 20 through Sept. 14, 2014, at the Asian Art Museum, the exhibition is organized in partnership with SFMOMA as part of SFMOMA’s On the Go program, an ambitious multiyear off-site programming effort presented while its building is closed for expansion construction. [link]

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James Ensor's Massive Menace, Minute Malign Fantasies on Display at the Getty

89.3 KPCC
By Marc Haefele

(The Man of Sorrows, James Ensor. Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp/Lukas-Art/Hugo Maertens/ARS, SABAM)

CALIFORNIA---Of all the artists of over a century ago, James Ensor would probably have done best in Zap Comix. While Ensor respected — or perhaps a better word would be “pitied” — Jesus Christ, he detested every one of the authorities that bound up the young nation of Belgium into which he was born — a kingdom created only 29 years before his own birth in 1860. Like the “The Man of Sorrows,” a small oil painting in which Jesus’ face, far from sad, shows a tear-your-throat-out rage. The usual religious expectation is again and again reversed: Devils defeat angels in mortal combat, and elsewhere, like friendly old pals, those demons lead Christ into Hell. But even if it isn’t perfect, “The Scandalous Art of James Ensor” certainly is sufficiently scandalous — and a very fine thing to see. [link]

The Getty Center: “The Scandalous Art of James Ensor” (Ends September 7, 2014);1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA; getty.edu; (310) 440-7300

"Christ’s Entry into Brussels," by James Ensor, the centerpiece of
"The Scandalous Art of James Ensor," at the Getty Center through Sept. 7.

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The Brilliant Contemporary Religious Artist Every 20-Something Should Know

POLICY MIC
By Elyssa Goldberg

"Sleep," 2008. Kehinde Wiley. Image Credit: Associated Press.

NEW YORK---Kehinde Wiley is a portrait painter. Wiley is also arguably one of this century's most celebrated and important artists to date. With his powerful, realistic images of black people in heroic poses, his work turns centuries of art history on its head. Wiley's is a name every 20-something, art lover or not, should know. Born in Los Angeles in 1977, the African-American artist works within the boundaries set by the Old European portrait masters like Titian. Wiley's twist is that he frames the black cultural experience within the pomp, majesty and enormous gilded frames of white art history. And people are paying attention. [link]

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Mandalas Are Maps of Buddhist Visionary Worlds

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS NEWS
By TAHLIB

Taima mandala, approx. 1300–1400. Japan. Hanging scroll; ink, colors and gold on silk

CALIFORNIA---At the museum heart of San Francisco's Civic Center district, is the Asian Art Museum (directly opposite City Hall), and this year they've invited visitors to step into the visionary worlds of Buddhism through art. In this exhibition, 14th-century paintings align a gallery with the cardinal directions, transforming open space into an architectural mandala—a chance to experience the images in three dimensions, to dwell in the midst of the cosmic symbols and be transported to another world. Visitors can literally “enter the mandala,” exploring places in the cosmos—and perhaps themselves—that might otherwise remain invisible.

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In South L.A., Professional Pallbearers Have an Uplifting Touch

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
By Nita Lelyveld

Boyd Funeral Home in South L.A. offers professional pallbearers in top hats, tails and
white gloves to dance the coffin from hearse to church and then send it off in style at graveside.

CALIFORNIA---In the stucco church on South Vermont, the five rows of pews are packed. Kids wedge between parents. Church hats and suits mingle with T-shirts and jeans. A woman has died — a wife, mother, grandmother. In the midst of it all appear eight immaculately dressed figures. The mourners' heads turn. They nudge others to look. One is a teenager. The rest are men. They wear black top hats and tails and burnt-orange ties and vests. Their backs are straight. On their hands are white gloves. Boyd Funeral Home in South L.A. offers professional pallbearers in top hats, tails and white gloves to dance the coffin from hearse to church and then send it off in style at graveside. The pomp offers relief. It also offers respect. To the dead. To their families. [link]

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Norton Simon Museum Dealt Legal Setback in 'Adam' and 'Eve' Case

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
By David Ng, Mike Boehm

"Adam" and "Eve," a diptych of paintings by
Lucas Cranach the Elder, was created around 1530. (Norton Simon Art Foundation)

CALIFORNIA---The long-running legal dispute over the Norton Simon Museum's 16th century "Adam" and "Eve" paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder took a turn on Friday when a federal appeals court reversed a 2012 decision from a lower court that had dismissed plaintiff Marei Von Saher's claims on the valuable works of art. The 9th Circuit Court ruled 2-to-1 to reverse U.S. District Judge John Walter's dismissal of Von Saher's suit. "Adam" and "Eve," which were appraised at $24 million in 2006, date from around 1530 and are among the most highly valued works at the Norton Simon in Pasadena. [link]

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The Almost-Forgotten Jewish Artist Who Propagandized Against Hitler

THE ATLANTIC 
By Steven Heller

A 1942 Szyk work depicting Hitler as the Anti-Christ. (courtesy Irvin Ungar)

CALIFORNIA---Forty years ago, the young rabbi Irvin Ungar found himself enamored with the work of a Polish émigré illustrator, Arthur Szyk. A new documentary created in part by Ungar, Soldier in Art: Arthur Szyk, has screened in six film festivals and is scheduled to show at the Laemmle Theatres in West Los Angeles and Encino, May 30 through June 5. The film shows Szyk’s visual commentary on American democracy, the horrors of Nazism and the Holocaust, and the rebirth of the Jewish people in Israel. Almost without exception, Szyk’s art was never ambiguous or abstract. “It almost always had a common theme,” Ungar says. “Freedom, not tyranny; justice, not oppression—which, when combined with the uniqueness of his style, is why Szyk became one of the leading political artists of the first half of the 20th century.” [link]

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‘Facing East’ Explores Mizrachi, Asian Influences on Art, Modern Jewish Culture

JWEEKLY
By lyn davidson

“Further East: Library Cave” (part 1) by Andrea Guskin

CALIFORNIA---Judaism and Buddhism have both been major influences in the life and art of Guskin, one of 31 Bay Area artists exhibiting in “Facing East: A Jewish Orientation” at the Jewish Community Library in San Francisco. The show, which runs through Aug. 3, features painting, sculpture, paper, textiles, graphic arts and mixed media. Her three-piece collage uses tape, thread, paint, maps, scraps of Hebrew lettering, and photographic transparencies that capture images of shadows she and her children found at home. [link]

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In the City of Angels: Jews Up All night With God

JEWISH JOURNAL
By Edmond Rodman

Detail of Shechina on “Angel Wall”

CALIFORNIA---In a City of Angels, with murals and figures of the agents of heaven fluttering everywhere, as we approach Shavuot and the time of Matan Torah — the receiving of the Torah — you would think that finding a place to have a revelatory moment would be as easy as stepping outside. On the night of June 3, many Jews here will celebrate the first night of Shavuot by traveling to their own Mount Sinais, climbing a metaphorical mountain of ideas, impressions and words that will be presented to help them imagine what it means to receive the Torah. According to a midrash, the Jewish people slept the entire night before receiving the Torah. [link]

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Review: Norton Simon's 'In the Land of Snow' is an Enlightening Exhibit

LOS ANGELES TIMES
By David Pagel

The deity Tara is depicted in a statue from Nepal or Tibet, circa 1300.

CALIFORNIA---At a time when museums seem to be torn between blockbusters and specialized scholarship, it's refreshing to come across "In the Land of Snow: Buddhist Art of the Himalayas" at the Norton Simon Museum, a no-nonsense exhibition that spares the bells and whistles to make a strong case for the virtues of amateurism. Not that long ago, before America was a nation of over-professionalized experts, pretension was something to be made fun of and it was OK to be an amateur. The word's Latin root is "lover." Admiration is essential to its definition. Made up of 34 ceremonial objects of Vajrayana or Tantric Buddhism, all but two of which are drawn from the Pasadena museum's impressive holdings of Asian art, "In the Land of Snow" is both manageable and satisfying. [link]

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Norton Simon Museum to Return Contested Ancient Statue to Cambodia

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
By David NG

Temple Wrestler, c. 925-50, Cambodia: Koh Ker, Angkor period, 900-975, Sandstone,
61-3/4 in. (156.8 cm), Norton Simon Art Foundation. (Norton Simon Art Foundation)

CALIFORNIA---The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena announced that it will return an ancient statue acquired nearly 40 years ago to Cambodia, after talks with government officials seeking the repatriation of antiquities it believes were looted from ancient sites. Museum officials said Tuesday that the 10th century sandstone statue known variously as the "Temple Wrestler" or "Bhima" will be returned to Cambodia as "a gift." Standing a little more than 5 feet in height, the statue has been on regular display since the museum purchased it in 1976. The ancient "Bhima" is the twin of another contested statue that is also being returned to Cambodia. [link]

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The Most Stunning Stained Glass Windows In The USA (PHOTOS)

HUFFINGTON POST

When stepping into a holy place, our eyes seek the light. If we're lucky, the light will be shining through a stained glass window, adding illumination and beauty at once. Stained glass windows tell stories, educate and inspire. Doctor Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the mind behind the theory of the five stages of grief, once wrote: "People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within." Take in their beauty here:

'Glory Window,' Chapel of Thanksgiving, Dallas, Texas

Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

Temple Emanu-El, New York City, New York

Lloyd Street Synagogue

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INSPIRE ME! Artist of Month for May 2014: Hiroshi Sugimoto

ART MEDIA AGENCY

My work simply flows with the current: humanity’s 

ongoing technological development, 

which reaches science, religion, philosophy and art.

~ HIROSHI SUGIMOTO

"Sea of Buddhas 001" (1995)

Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer, born in 1948. Today, he is considered to be amongst the most significant contemporary artists, recognised, not only for his technique, but for the conceptual and philosophical elements of his practice. Art Media Agency met with the artist at his new exhibition entitled “Aujourd’hui le Monde est Mort” (Lost Human Genetic Archive), taking place at Paris’s Palais de Tokyo. The artist discussed the evolution of his work, giving an insight, too, into new ideas and forthcoming projects. [link]

Portrait of the artist by Alicia Bruce Photography

Can you present this exhibition to us? What was you project?

The exhibition’s title is very pessimistic, yet I see something of great aesthetic value within it. There’s a great artistic beauty in the notion of the apocalypse. I’ve created 33 possible scenarios for the end of the world, each approached from different viewpoints.

The exhibition is very marked by the Japanese aesthetic, which decrees that life be led in an aesthetically-focused manner. There is truly this belief of beauty being intermingled with death — a notion which is present regardless of circumstance. It’s very much a Japanese tradition which inspired this work.

The stories I tell are sad, but they are nevertheless possible, even probable. I believe that human beings are deeply optimistic. We can’t go on continuing to believe in the infinite, as we do now. Everything which has a beginning has to have a final point. Our civilisation will surely have an end, in the future. And this is the theme I sought to explore.

Is this slightly dark vision inspired by your research in politics and sociology?

Yes, I think so. In this exhibition, I have ended up with 33 different people, 33 distinct figures. I am actually placing myself within these individuals and adopting their world view.

In a theatrical manner, I play 33 people, but the protagonist remains the artist [laughs].

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Past Tense (February 4–June 8, 2014) at the Getty Center

There’s a visible evolution in your work. The pieces exhibited here are very different from those of your first series —contemplative works situated on black and white backgrounds. Your installation pieces also represent something of a departure from photography.

I began my career as a photographer, that’s true. But, almost simultaneously, I began to collect objects, which are exhibited here. There is a certain porosity between the two practices, in that I view photography as a collection of the world’s fragments. For me, the act of taking a photograph, and the works presented here, represent the same thing. I have simply shifted field.

You have a very strong relationship with place and space — something which is particularly evident in the work Sense of space. Has the Palais de Tokyo influenced your practice?

I always compose my exhibitions with an awareness of their context, of their characteristics. I was fascinated by the Palais de Tokyo. It almost seems like an abandoned building — and it was, in fact, at one time disused. It’s a space which has been laid to waste, and which consequently fitted perfectly with the themes I sought to develop; this notion of the ruin and decline of civilisation.

© Hiroshi Sugimoto, Lightning Fields 130, 2009. Courtesy de l’artiste et Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo

An apocalyptic outlook is increasingly prominent in your work, though the idea was already present in the series “Accelerated Buddha.” Is it a theme which reflects your opinion, or is it a poetic stance?

It’s a vision which is entirely possible, if not highly probable, I think. But it’s not yet something we’re taking seriously. At least not yet [laughs].

Tsunamis ravaged Japan, but after two or three years, we forgot the devastation it caused. But if this wave of catastrophes is to become more global, we will no longer be able to ignore it. In my opinion, it’s better we discuss it now.

Do you think it is your role, as an artist, to make the broader public aware of this?

As an artist, I can visually present ideas, something which has a greater impact than text. When we write about global warming, or an environmental challenge, people gain awareness, but their relationship with the information is different.

Does art have a stronger impact than science?

It has a more powerful impact, certainly. Visual works make an impression upon visitors, prompting them to ask further questions.

And yet — perhaps paradoxically — scientific questions seem to hold a place of great importance in your work. You demonstrate a strong interest in the work of Faraday, or William Henry Fox Talbot, for example. Has science influenced your practice?

Photography is deeply scientific. The first photographers were great scientists. My work simply flows with the current: humanity’s ongoing technological development, which reaches science, religion, philosophy and art.

Everything comes together in the end: all of these disciplines co-exist with one another.

It’s quite a “Renaissance” vision of the artist, as someone who specialises in religion, in science, in the technical, and even in magic.

Hiroshi Sugimoto, The Last Supper: Acts of God (detail), 1999/2012

And, like a number of Renaissance artists, you also work in architecture, with the Odawa Art Foundation

Yes, that’s my architecture hat. I test the boundaries of architecture, attempting to produce something which has never previously been constructed. It’s an ambition which has occasionally led my structural engineer to suggest that my ideas are too naive, difficult, or even dangerous.

I wouldn’t be able to do this project without a commercial outlook, as though I were building a house. I use my own money, so no one can complain [laughs].

Apart from that, however, I have a strong belief in the proximity of architecture and sculpture, notably in terms of aesthetics — it’s something which is of great interest to me.

Do you ever hope to produce a space specially adapted to your works?

Something about this project which is incredibly important is the fact that I have established a foundation, which is now in the public domain. The Odawa Foundation is not only mine. I developed the idea with the broader, global interest of promoting Japanese culture — both in Japan and abroad.

I’m also not the only person to invest in this project; there are a number of people contributing. It’s truly a foundation.

You’ve got a lot going on with the foundation, and exhibitions across the world. What projects do you have for the future?

I am not wholly certain. I am very easily persuaded, so I will continue to honour a certain number of projects.

I’m actually very fond of France, and of Paris — I feel they are very welcoming. I might consider becoming French soon [laughs]!

For more on the A&O INSPIRE ME! Artists of the Month, visit the registration page.

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Japanese Artist Hiroshi Sugimoto's "Acts of God" at Fraenkel Gallery

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Hiroshi Sugimoto, The Last Supper: Acts of God (detail), 1999/2012

CALIFORNIA---Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto’s "The Last Supper: Acts of God" will be on display at the Fraenkel gallery from May 1 - July 3, 2014. The exhibition, "Hiroshi Sugimoto: Acts of God"(1999/2012) is a five-panel photograph, more than 24 feet in length. The artist first created this work in 1999, from a life-size wax reproduction of Leonardo’s "The Last Supper," which he photographed at a museum in Izu, Japan. In 2012, while the work was stored in the artist’s basement, it was damaged by the storm surge and flooding that occurred when Hurricane Sandy hit New York City. Sugimoto chose to retain the dramatic marks, colorations and ripples that have changed the character of the photograph. This gallery display coincides with a museum exhibition at the Getty Center. [link]

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