The Seventh Day Exhibit at the Hebrew Union College-JIR Museum

JEWISH ART SALON

Image courtesy of the Jewish Art Salon

NEW YORK---The exhibition addresses the ever changing and life enhancing merit of the celebration of the Sabbath. The three Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Islam and Christianity each adhere to the teachings of the Hebrew Bible. The act of 'creation' is our beginning. Genesis reveals and Exodus repeats “remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy”. Each generation, building on the shoulders of the past, fine-tunes and/or embellishes the patterns of previous traditions. Over 50 leading international artists, many of them members of the Jewish Art Salon, have created new works including ritual objects in silver, glass, wood, ceramic and textiles. [link] (October 3, 2013 – June 27, 2014)

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Islamic Art Week Comes to London, Including Carpets

JOZAN | ORIENTAL RUG NEWS

Lot 190 at Bonhams ‘Islamic and Indian Arts’. A Feraghan Sarouk carpet, West Persia, circa 1890, 428cm x 326cm. Estimate: £22,000 – 28,000

UNITED KINGDOM---This year’s ‘Islamic Art Week’ in London 7-11 October 2013 includes several auctions at Christie’s ‘The Saeed Motamed Collection Part II’ 7 October at 10.00 am, ‘Oriental Rugs & Carpets‘ 8 October at 11.00 am, ‘Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds’ 10 October at 11.00 am and ‘Arts & Textiles of the Islamic & Indian Worlds’ 11. October at 10.00 am. Bonhams ‘Islamic and Indian Art’ will take place 8 October starting at 10.30 am and Sothebys will hold their ‘Arts of the Islamic World’ 9 October at 10.00 am and ‘Art of Imperial India’ 9 October at 2.00 pm. [link]

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Every Day in Canada Can be a Culture Day

SOOTODAY
By Donna Hooper

CANADA---This bright and beautiful Rangoli, a form of Indian folk art traditionally used to welcome Hindu deities, officially welcomed participants to the Art Gallery of Algoma for the 2013 edition of Culture Days. Visitors were invited to contribute to the collaborative Rangoli design before heading inside to take part in a number of workshops scheduled throughout the day. [link]

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Russian Religious Art Demystified in North Carolina

NEWS OBSERVER

“Windows into Heaven: Russian Icons from the Lilly and Francis Robicsek Collection of Religious Art” at The N.C. Museum of History features “Vladimir Mother of God.”

NORTH CAROLINA---“Windows into Heaven” features 36 Russian icons from the 18th and 19th centuries that exemplify the visual richness of the Russian Orthodox Church during the Romanov period. These items are from the collection of Lilly and Francis Robicsek of Charlotte. “The Tsars’ Cabinet” includes more than 230 objects displaying artistic craftsmanship during the period of the Romanov tsars. The Romanov Dynasty – also known as the House of Romanov – began 400 years ago, governing Russia from 1613 until 1917. Rulers of the period included Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Nicholas II. [link]

North Carolina Museum of History: “Windows into Heaven” (October 4, 2013–March 5, 2014); 5 East Edenton Street, Raleigh, North Carolina; (919) 807-7900; ncdcr.gov/ncmoh

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Unscrolling the History of China's Art: Pre and Post Buddhism

THE GUARDIAN
By Kate Kellaway

Model army: Kate Kellaway in the Beijing studio of married
artists Xiang Jing and Qu Guangci. Photograph: Harry Cory Wright

CHINA---As we land in Beijing, the smog is so thick that all I can see, as we leave the airport, are the Chinese characters on the registration plates of departing coaches: scarlet shining through silver mist. It is a beautiful sight in its alarming, unhealthy way. China, I reflect, looks as though it is going to be slow to reveal itself. I am here with the V&A, in advance of the first major exhibition of Chinese painting in the UK since the Royal Academy's attempt at a historical overview in 1936. Most of us have some grasp of how European art evolved, but Chinese art can seem – if not quite as impenetrable as Beijing's smog – aloof.  [link]

Victoria & Albert Museum: "Masterpieces of Chinese Paintings: 700-1900" (October 23, 2013 to 19 January 2014); South Kensington Cromwell Road London SW7 2RL; +44 (0)20 7942 2000; vam.ac.uk.

Excerpts from Trip Essay:

• The exhibition starts in 700, ends in 1900. 
• 798 district, Beijing's modern art centre, once an electronics factory in the Bauhaus style.
• Contemporary Chinese art became big between 2006 and 2008. 
• Beijing's Forbidden City, where treasures await us at the Palace Museum. 
• The Cultural Revolution involved loss of memory. 
• Chinese painting turns out to be about brief encounters.
• The idea of rotation is ancient and refreshing (in every sense). 
• In the west, artists worked on wood and canvas; in the east, on silk and paper – after all, a Chinese invention. He also points out the importance of the written language. 
• The Chinese "never had a problem putting words into pictures conceptually – very different from the west".
• Chinese obsession with discipline and rank. 
• Traditional painting is divided into three types: birds and flowers; figures; landscapes. 
• Art was judged by three adjectives. The best work was "divine". Second best was "untrammelled" and the third "able".
• Dunhuang's Mogao caves, in northwest China, on the edge of the Gobi desert, an extraordinarily wonderful, if not untrammelled, place – home of Buddhist art on the largest scale in the world.
• Buddhism became a major influence in Chinese culture in the Tang dynasty.  
• Conservation in China is controversial: there is pride in making art look as good as new – or old. It is comprehensively thorough. Chinese art was made in the expectation of regular remountings. 
• China has many young artists now who are the modern equivalent of the traditional scholar-artists of the past. The scholar figure turned his back on mainstream politics to keep moral integrity, refusing to take part in the regime." 
• Retreat is key.

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Art Market Shuts Out All but the Super Rich

INTERNATIONAL TIMES HERALD
By Souren Melikian

El Greco’s ‘‘Christ on the Cross’’

UNITED KINGDOM---The massive price rise of art over the past five decades, whipped up by professionals to the cheers of the media chorus, has had an underreported consequence. Buying art has become the privilege of the very rich. Auctions became events and buying art a fashionable game played by ever-growing numbers. Countries previously barely involved in buying art in the Western market joined the fun. This happened at a Sotheby’s London sale of Old Masters on July 3. El Greco’s “Saint Dominic in Prayer,” expected to sell between £3 million and £5 million plus the sale charge, cost £9.15 million. Within 30 minutes, a second El Greco, “Christ on the Cross,” also expected to sell within those limits, did not even make it to the lower end of the estimate when it realized £3.44 million. Amusingly, “Christ on the Cross,” which made slightly more than one third of the price paid for the first El Greco, is held by some to be the greater picture. [link]

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ArtPrize 2013 Top 10 Announced

GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
By John Serba

"Myth or Logic" by Robin Protz, one of the most popular Top 10 for 2013

MICHIGAN---Half of the artists in ArtPrize 2013's Top 10 popular entries are veterans of the competition, one of them celebrating his third time as a finalist. The Top 10 finalists, culled from 429,180 votes cast by 43,701 voters, were announced Sunday afternoon by ArtPrize founder Rick DeVos, during a ceremony at Rosa Parks Circle. The second round of voting began at 2 p.m. today, and will end at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4. [link]

Here's a breakdown of the Top 10:

1. Paul Baliker, Palm Coast, Fla. - "Dancing with Mother Nature" 
2. Anni Crouter, Flint - "Polar Expressed" 
3. Jason Gamrath, Seattle, Wash. - "Botanical Exotica a Monumental Collection of the Rare and Beautiful" 
4. Michael Gard, San Francisco, Calif. - "Taking Flight" 
5. Benjamin Gazsi, Morgantown W.V. - "Earth Giant"
6. Nick Jakubiak, Battle Creek - "Tired Pandas" 
7. Ann Loveless, Frankfort - "Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore" 
8. Robin Protz, New Hartford, Ct. - "Myth-or-Logic" 
9. Andy Sacksteder, Port Clinton, Ohio - "Uplifting" 
10. Fraser Smith, St. Pete Beach, Fla. - "Finding Beauty in Bad Things: Porcelain Vine"

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS 
By TAHLIB

As our leaders squabbled in Washington, D.C. over what they treasure most, a museum in Utah hung Heinrich Hofmann's "Christ and the Rich Young Ruler" (above), and that is my NEWS OF WEEK. This painting, done by Hofmann in 1888, illustrates one of Jesus' riddles where he attempts to penetrate through to a man’s idolatry by causing him to think: "Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me’ (Luke 18:22)." In Christianity, idolatry is what is treasured more than Christ, and this man chose his wealth. What does Hofmann's "Rich Young Ruler" say to us today?

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

1. Buddhist Art of Week: Asian art markets continue impressive sales worldwide. [More News]
2. Hindu Art of Week: M. F. Husain’s ‘Bhopal’ to be auctioned in London, Oct. 8. [More News]
3. Islamic Art of Week: Pouran Jinchi deconstructs calligraphy, beginning with text. [More News]
4. Judaic Art of Week: Marc Chagall's dark side revealed at NY's Jewish Museum. [More News]
5. A&O Prizes for 2013: Make your nomination today (Call is open until Oct.15). [Ballot 2013]

It's more than Art. It's Religion. We are believers (and skeptics too), united in the search for human meaning through art from the religious imagination. We believe in the artists and craftsman who dare to explore religious themes through their creativity. When you believe, you join other believers. Some of us join the Alpha Omega Arts as dues-paying members; others support the A&O Prize - Youth Scholarships as donors; and most subscribe to this "free" weekly newsletter (or follow on: Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook or Soundcloud). All are welcome. 

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Vandals Damage ArtPrize Installation Featuring Documentary on Controversial Subjects

GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
By Andrew Krietz

Vandals broke into a tent sometime Saturday morning hosting a documentary film featuring people discussing controversial topics. (Courtesy JD Urban)

MICHIGAN---The documentary "united.states: an everyday people project" is meant to spur conversations about sensitive and sometimes controversial topics people deal with on a daily basis across the country, its creator said. JD Urban, the Brooklyn, N.Y., based artist said he's heard a wide range of reactions to his work — some heated — at ArtPrize, which doesn't really come as a surprise considering the subjects: Gay marriage to gun control to politics and more. The damage comes almost a week after ArtPrize jurors named Urban's work as one of their top 25 favorite entries. [link]

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‘The Odyssey and Art of John H. Less’ Exhibition Comes to Museum in Newark

THE RECORD | NEW JERSEY.COM

'Escape' by former township resident John H. Less will be shown in an exhibition at The Jewish Museum of New Jersey

NEW JERSEY---The Jewish Museum of New Jersey presents, "Berlin — Shanghai — Newark: The Odyssey and Art of John H. Less," an exhibition of paintings that primarily focuses on the artist's life as a German Holocaust refugee in Shanghai from 1940 to 1947. Less, who passed away in 2011, lived in Millburn for 50 years. In the exhibition, he portrays his uprooting from a culture in which he and his family believed themselves to be at home and secure to their abrupt transformation into complete outsiders. The exhibition begins with a reception on Sunday, Oct. 6, from 1 to 5 p.m., and will be open on Sundays through Sunday, Dec. 15. [link]

The Jewish Museum of New Jersey: "Berlin — Shanghai — Newark: The Odyssey and Art of John H. Less," (Oct. 5-Dec. 15); Congregation Ahavas Sholom, 145 Broadway, Newark, NJ;  (973) 698-8489; jewishmuseumnj.org. 

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Pakistani Art by Imran Qureshi Takes on NYC in MOMA’s Roof Garden Commission

INDO AMERICAN NEWS
By Aseem Kulkarni

The painting installation set against Central Park and the Manhattan skyline
provides a stark contrast and sets a morose but hopeful atmosphere.

NEW YORK: Pakistan, one of the largest Islamic republics in the world, is continually characterized by extreme violence and poverty, religious fanaticism, conflicts with neighboring countries, and no faith in government rule. However, Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi has found a visual outlet to provide hope out of the ever present bloodshed and turmoil. Even though the most recent Boston Marathon Massacre has evoked many feelings similar to the effect of September 11, to the South Asian community, whether you are from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc., violence and terrorism are sadly, common occurences. The exhibit is on view on the rooftop garden of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (weather permitting) until November 3. [link]

Qureshi takes a “paint dripping” approach similar to Jackson Pollock to
depict an emotional response to the blood spattering in the bombings throughout Lahore.

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Art Review: "From Myanmar With Love" in Calcutta

THE HINDU
By Divya Kumar

Maung Aw's Turban Kid

INDIA--- "From Myanmar With Love", the exhibition currently on display at Vinnyasa Premier Art Galery, brings a slice of Burmese life to Chennai. Featuring the works of five contemporary artists from the region, the collection provides an intriguing glimpse of an ancient culture, and a sometimes difficult life set in an isolated land. The bold use of colour is one of the hallmarks of the exhibition. Maung Aw uses similarly vibrant blocks of colour to depict the ‘Private Moments’ in the lives of Burmese women. In this charming series, the artist captures women in the private act of tying the ‘longyi’, the traditional sarong-like garment, their heads bent and arms stretched outward as they focus on getting it just right. The ‘Turban Kids’ series is equally appealing, featuring portraits of children from the Shan State wearing the traditional turban. [link]

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Houses of Worship as Public Art

THE HERALD NEWS
By Paul Cienniwa

Rose window: Espirito Santo Church

MASSACHUETTS---In Monday’s post, I wrote about the lack of public art in New England, but I did mention that, “in many ways, New England doesn’t need public art installations, since we have a plethora of historic buildings, houses of worship, and city centers.” From a sheer aesthetic point of view, what would Fall River be without its religious infrastructure? And, my atheist friends, you don’t have to be religious to appreciate how Fall River’s pallette is shaped by its houses of worship. As you walk or drive by our city’s religious buildings, I invite you to think of them as works of art. Be a tourist and stop in--you might be surprised by what you find inside. [link]

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$1.2M in Free Consulting to Help 12 Metro Detroit Arts Groups Flourish

THE DETROIT FREE PRESS
By Mark Stryker

MICHIGAN---The respected DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., has awarded 12 mostly medium-sized and small Detroit organizations a total of about $1.2 million in free consultancy services over the next 18 months. Announced today, the new program promises to build stronger institutions by helpinggroups create strategic plans and then lay the groundwork for initiatives like capital campaigns, building projects, joint ventures, annual fund-raising, board engagement and other management challenges.  [link]

DeVos Institute director Brett Egan said that each group would be receiving services that would typically cost about $100,000. Here are the 12 metro Detroit groups, all selected through a competitive application process:

1. Arab American National Museum
2. Arts League of Michigan
3. Charles H. Wright Museum
4. CultureSource
5. Detroit Artists Market
6. Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings
7. The Heidelberg Project
8. InsideOut Literary Arts Project
9. Living Arts
10. Matrix Theatre Company
11. Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit
12. Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit

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Jesus Salgueiro: The Intersection of Mandalas and Nylon

HUFFINGTON POST
By Elysabeth Alfano

Photo: Courtesy of the artist

ILLINOIS---When I attended a preview of distinguished Chicago artist Jesus Salgueiro, I was thrilled to learn the story behind his art. Salgueiro unveiled his latest works of art in a surprisingly short exhibit: "Going Gaga for Love Mandalas." His two-part exhibit focused on his affinity for love, featuring 12 iconic renditions of pop super star Lady Gaga -- including one piece that even made her cry upon seeing it -- as well as 42 "love" mandalas, a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hindu and Buddhist cultures. Salgueiro's mandalas are large, inviting, imposing and tranquil all in one. Mandalas represent the universe, the circle of life and radial balance. Most often created in sand and swept away shortly after completion, Salgueiro's mandalas are unique as they are done on canvas with nylon, creating a lasting image of this spiritual symbol. [link]

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'Masculine/Masculine' Explores Male Nude Throughout Art History And We Couldn't Be Happier (NSFW)

HUFFINGTON POST

"L'Ecole de Platon" (The School of Plato) by Belgian artist Jean Deville . (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images)

FRANCE---On this most glorious of seasons, one museum is going where not so many have gone before, exploring artistic depictions of the nude throughout time. The male nude, that is. The Musee D'Orsay's highly anticipated "Masculine/Masculine" features male-centric artworks spanning from the 18th century to present day. The high brow peep show is divided thematically into depictions of religion, mythology, athleticism, homosexuality, and shifting notions of manliness. The exhibition was in part inspired by Leopold Museum "Nude Men" exhibition in Vienna last year (See below). [link]

"Vive la France" by French artists Pierre et Gilles. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images)

"Eminem: about to blow" by US artist David LaChapelle. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images)

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'Sacred Gifts' Paintings Bring Rich Christian History, Stories to Utah

DESERET NEWS
By Emmilie Buchanan-Whitlock

"Christ and the Rich Young Ruler" by Heinrich Hofmann.

UTAH---Just as each painting coming to Brigham Young University's new exhibit, "Sacred Gifts: The Religious Art of Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann, and Frans Schwartz," is unique, the stories and history of each work of art are equally varied. Whether it’s lasting through World War II or the destruction of San Francisco in 1906, many paintings bring a rich legacy with them to the walls of the BYU Museum of Art in Provo. This painting, done by Hofmann in 1888, was a favorite of the artist’s wife. After her death, Hofmann elected not to sell the painting but rather to keep it in his studio. “Hofmann had a very generous heart,” Pheysey said. “He was always thinking of the poor. In his studio, there was a donation box with a handwritten note that read, ‘For the orphans of Dresden.’ ”[link]

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Ancient Jewish Tradition Meets Contemporary Design

NPR | WASHINGTON, D.C.

By Emily Siner

"Fractured Bubble" Sukkah by Architects Henry Grosman and Babak Bryan, Long Island City

WASHINGTON, D.C.---At Georgetown University this week, an outdoor religious display looks more like a public art installation than a commandment from the Torah, Judaism’s holy book. It’s called a Sukkah, a temporary dwelling — translated from Hebrew as a “booth” — where Jews traditionally eat and sleep during the weeklong harvest holiday of Sukkot. The holiday, which began last Wednesday night, also pays homage to the 40 years during which the Israelites wandered in the desert, living in temporary structures. Three years ago, Grosman and Bryan won the “people’s choice” award in a design competition called Sukkah City. The reinterpreted versions are clearly captivating Jews around the country. [link]

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Flowers of Blood in Pakistani Qureshi's Rome Exhibition

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi poses next to his work on September 23, 2013 during the opening of his exhibition in Rome (AFP, Tiziana Fabi)

ITALY---Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi brought his award-winning exhibition on beauty and violence to Rome Monday, unveiling the blood-themed creations which saw him appointed Deutsche Bank's 2013 "Artist of the Year." The 41-year-old, who was given the honour of creating an installation on the rooftop of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art this year, has brought 35 works to Rome's Macro museum for an exhibition which runs until November 17. Many of the works contrast life and brutal death, with splatterings of red acrylic paint to suggest blood and intricate foliage designs representing life.  [Source: AFP]

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Hanging Terraces Brings Together 26 Hindu Artistes and Diverse Thoughts

THE HINDU
By

Shajith R B’s After rain, which captures Kerala. The splashes of colour are a blend of yellow, green and blue.

INDIA---Hanging Terraces offers a world within itself — an exhibition of 26 artists from Kerala, the works range from acrylic to metal and cut-piece cloth to everyday objects. The themes are varied and yet, intrinsically linked to life and to the universe. Six of the 26 featured are: Hilma Hari, Sanal C, Suvitha K V, Basil Baby,  Abdul Haque, and Chitra E G  at Gallery Veda, 4/22 Rutland Gate, Fifth Street, Nungambakkam. [link]

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Marc Chagall's Jewish Jesus on PBS

PBS | RELIGION & ETHICS WEEKLY

"The Crucified" (1944) by Marc Chagall; pencil, gouache, and watercolor on paper

NEW YORK---This modern artist’s body of work was based on the Hebrew Bible and the Jewish Jesus, often depicted with tallit and phylacteries. In the crucified Christ he saw the personification of Jewish suffering, pain, and sadness. View a selection of Chagall’s paintings from the exhibition “Chagall: Love, War, and Exile” at the Jewish Museum. [view]

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Silk Road Artists Copying China's 492 Caves "Stroke for Stroke"

PEOPLE'S DAILY ONLINE

A wall painting in the Mogao Grottoes (Xinhua)

CHINA---While the ambitious plan to revive the Silk Road by building an economic belt hit recent media headlines, dozens of painters are working silently in the gloomy caves of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Northwest China's Gansu Province, once a major stop along the ancient route. With brushes and mineral pigments, they copy wall paintings stroke by stroke, trying to preserve the Buddhist art made by their ancestors over a millennium dating back to AD 366. Housing 45,000 square meters of murals and 2,415 painted sculptures, the 492 caves of the Mogao Grottoes were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1987. "Such copies can help the paintings endure and display this unmovable art to more people," Wang Xudong, director general of Dunhuang Academy, told the Global Times. The academy, established in 1944, is dedicated to safeguarding the relics in Dunhuang. "Nevertheless, less than 20 caves have been fully copied so far," Wang said, adding that about 40 painters now are working full-time on this Herculean task. [link]

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ArtStart: ArtPrize Launches New Online Competition for Youth

GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
By Monica Scott

MICHIGAN---ArtPrize is putting the spotlight squarely on youth this fall with its new online competition - ArtStart - challenging them to create an artwork as a reaction to their experience at the international event. The competition is for young people under age 18 and they can enter all forms of art, including video, short stories, photography, painting, drawing, and sculpture. Individuals, school groups, and families are all encouraged to participate. All artwork created must include three "ArtPrize Elements" such as ArtPrize registered works of art, or ArtPrize themes such as "the public vs. the juried vote." Winners will be selected by grade and everyone that makes the top 10 will be awarded a gift to be revealed at a later date. Education Team created an Education Youth Advisory Committee, made up of seven Kent County high school students, to help them with the initiative and develop other programing for young people. The students, who applied and were interviewed, attend City High-Middle School, Caledonia, East Grand Rapids, and East Kentwood high schools. They created a "How to" video about how to apply for ArtStart and will judge the competition. [link]

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Eleni Zatz Litt Repairs the World With Her Art

NEW JERSEY JEWISH NEWS

The Hebrew Letter Dalet, 9” x 12”, acrylic on canvas, 2011

NEW JERSEY--- The work of local artist Eleni Zatz Litt will be showcased at the Jewish Center of Princeton through late October. An opening reception with the artist will be held Sunday, Oct. 6, 2-4 p.m. Litt, who lives in Princeton Junction and is a Jewish Center member, also serves as assistant provost at the New School and is deeply involved in Jewish study and teaching. She issued the following statement about her work: "For me making art is simultaneously a form of prayer and a form of study. I engage with the texts of our tradition with the visual language of line, color, and form. Each piece is the product of an experience and a container of ideas and feelings." Just as the art is a meditation on text, this text is a meditation on the art in the context of the Jewish High Holy Days. [link]

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The Deconstruction of Calligraphy and the Deeper Complexity of the Written Word

ISLAMIC ARTS MAGAZINE
By Kenan Šurković

"Untitled #1 (The Blind Owl Series)" (2013) by Pouran Jinchi, Enamel on Panel, 71 pieces

"It is fascinating how art is the fruit of the artist's life experience and labor.
The artist is the loving gardener tendingto the tree in hope of a perfect fruit."

~Pouran Jinchi 

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES---Pouran Jinchi is an Iranian-born, New York artist who borrows from her home culture's traditions of literature and calligraphy to pursue her own aesthetic explorations. Having been trained in traditional calligraphy, she finds the relation between words and forms, natural or non-objective, deeply intertwined. Pouran Jinchi is currently having her third solo show ‘The Blind Owl’ (September 18 - October 24, 2013) at The Third Line (Dubai). In this interview Pouran Jinchi shared with us her thoughts about her work and her current exhibition. [link]

Pouran Jinchi / Pink Painting (The Blind Owl Series), 2013, Ink on Canvas, 122x122 cm / Courtesy of the Artist and The Third Line

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M. F. Husain’s ‘Bhopal’ to Go Under the Auctioneer's Hammer

THE HINDU
By Parvathi Menon

"Bhopal" by Maqbool Fida Husain

UNITED KINGDOM--- ‘Bhopal’, Maqbool Fida Husain’s anguished representation of the terrible consequences of industrial negligence in Bhopal, is to go under the hammer on October 8 at the Bonhams Auction House in London. “Just as Pablo Picasso’s passion and outrage towards the Spanish Civil War had inspired him to create ‘Guernica’ (1937), ‘Bhopal’ was the result of Husain’s horror at the long-lasting effects of the leak,” the press release said, though attributing the work’s energy to Husain’s own genius that was moulded by life around him. The Bhopal disaster occurred on December 3, 1984 when a poison gas leak from a Union Carbide factory killed around 2000 people. The oil on canvas has been valued at £200,000-300,000. [link]

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Hindu Artist, Chiranjeevi Malli Never Misses a Day of Painting

THE HINDU
By Neeraja Murthy

Chiranjeevi Malli's work at the gallery

INDIA---It was a proud moment for Malli Venkataramanaiah and Malli Sharadamma as they walked around Minaaz Art Gallery in Jubilee Hills. It was their son Chiranjeevi Malli’s solo show at the gallery and the couple, hailing from Yachavaram near Nellore. “Once my lecturer told me: ‘Man is not permanent. Art is permanent. Even if you cannot eat on a day that is okay but do not miss painting.’ I felt inspired and started painting and have not missed even a single day,” he says. There are a few images of Naga sadhus too in the exhibition. Chiranjeevi had gone to Kumbh mela in February and did his dissertation on Naga sadhus. The exhibition is on at the gallery till September 27. [link]

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LDS Museum to Display European Paintings in 360-Degree Panoramas Reflecting Original Altar Settings

DESERET NEWS
By Katie Harmer

"Agony in the Garden" by Frans Schwartz, an oil on canvas painting.

UTAH---Participants at BYU's Campus Education Week in August received a sneak peek of the upcoming "Sacred Gifts" exhibit at the university's Museum of Art. The two-hour presentation — "Sacred Gifts: The Religious Art of Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann and Frans Schwartz" — introduced the audience to the artists behind the paintings that will be on display Nov. 15 through May 10, 2014. However, Schwartz may not be as well-known to the LDS community. Schwartz's "Agony in the Garden" will be the first painting participants will see as they enter the gallery. Like the 2010 exhibit, "Sacred Gifts" will not display the paintings in the typical museum frame. Rather, makeshift altars will be built around each painting to reflect the their permanent homes in chapels across Europe. [link]

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30+ Ways of Risking Religion in Indianapolis

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

INDIANA---Alpha Omega Arts presents its 3rd year of Spirit & Place Festival artist dialogues, with "Art+Faith+Risk" on Saturday, November 9 at 2:00 p.m. at Indiana Interchurch Center. With a backdrop of 30+ religious-themed artworks works, the community will join poets, youth, clergy and artist professionals in reflections on the risks of religion. Since 2008, Alpha Omega Arts has been promoting dialogue about religious diversity through the creative imaginations of artists. Gregory Disney-Britton, chair of Board of Directors, said that "we've been working towards this moment for five years, and it's still only the tip of the iceberg of what we envision for the future." Questions? Call (317) 919-0570 or RSVP using Eventbrite today!

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Koshi Kawachi's Buddha Sculpted Out of Kids’ Snacks

MODERN JAPAN TIMES
By Kanami Otomitsu

JAPAN---For several years artist Koshi Kawachi has been putting a favorite children’s snack called “umaibo” to an unusual use — sculpting the puffed corn sticks into little statues of the Buddha. At his home in Tokyo he has 107 of these “Umaibutsu” (“Tasty Buddha”) under a glass case. Kawachi sculpted these five years ago. The number is one short of the 108 earthly desires of Buddhism, and although he continues to create the final piece, he says he always yields to greed and ends up eating it. The 40-year-old artist models the statues on those crafted by Enku, a monk and sculptor from the Edo Period known for creating wooden Buddha statues with humorous expressions. [link]

Artist and his stacked Buddha scultpures

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Religious and Secular Imagery by Modern Sculptor Emilio Greco at London's Estorick Collection

ARTDAILY

"Christ Crucified", undated.

UNITED KINGDOM---Organised in collaboration with the Archivi Emilio Greco and Il Cigno GG Edizioni of Rome, to mark the centenary of the artist’s birth, "Emilio Greco: Sacred and Profane" will be on view at the Estorick Collection from 25 September to 22 December 2013. Greco was one of the key figures of 20th century Italian art and this exhibition, the first of sculpture to be staged at the Estorick, will comprise some forty works, including pieces in bronze and terracotta, as well as a number of his elegant and vigorous drawings. [link]

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ArtPrize 2013 Top 25 Juried Short List Entries

GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk

MICHIGAN---ArtPrize 2013's jurors, charged with awarding $100,000 in prize money, agreed they were looking for art that surprised them. Their surprises were revealed Monday night when jurors each unveiled their five finalists for one of ArtPrize 2013's five Juried Awards. A total of 19 artists and five venues are in the running for one of five medium-based $20,000 awards: best two-dimensional work, best three-dimensional work, best time-based work, best use of urban space and best venue. The finalists were unveiled at ArtPrize's HUB headquarters. [link]

Here is where you can see the 25 finalists for ArtPrize 2013 Juried Awards [link]:

Four SiTE:LAB entries are finalists for the Juried Awards. The four are:

• "Ecosystem" (3D) by Carlos Bunga, of Sant Andreu De Llavaneres, Barcelona
• "The Unfounded Future of the Untold" (3D) by Julie Schenkelberg, Brooklyn, NY
• "Angle of Repose" (Time Based) by Dance In The Annex (DITA), Grand Rapids, MI
• "Sonnet 27" (Time Based) by Arthur Liou, Bloomington, IN

Grand Rapids Art Museum, 101 Monroe Center NW, has three entries as finalists:

• "The Last Post" (Time Based) by Shahzia Sikander, New York, NY
• "Whispers of the Prairie" (Time Based) by Deanna Morse, Grand Rapids, MI
• "Tropical Migrants" (2D) by Alexis Rockman of New York, NY

Kendall College of Art and Design, at 17 Pearl St. NW, has two entries:

• "Through the Skies for You" (3D) by Kevin Cooley and Phillip Andrew Lewis, Chattanooga, Tenn.
• "The world's an untranslatable language II (for Charles Wright" (3D) by Charles Matson Lume, St. Paul, MN

DeVos Place Convention Center, 303 Monroe Ave. NW, has two finalists for Juried Awards:

• "Series 28 Untitled #1" (2D) by Mary Rousseaux, Royal Oak, MI
• "Rick Beerhorst Painting" (2D) by Rick Beerhorst, Grand Rapids, MI

Eight more finalists can be found in eight locations, including at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, an ArtPrize Exhibition Center, and at Cathedral Square of the Diocese of Grand Rapids, an ArtPrize Showcase Venue.

Here's where you can find all eight:

• "Facing Al Aqaba" (Urban Space and Time Based) by Maurice Jacobsen, Al Aqaba, Palestine, at Ah-Nab-Awen Park, adjacent to the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, 303 Pearl St. NW.
• "Europa and the Flying Fish" (2D) by Kyle Staver, New York, NY, at Grand Rapids Brewing Company, 1 Ionia Ave. SW
• "Three and Four: Red, Yellow and Black" (2D) by Peter Crow, Birmingham, MI, at Cathedral Square, 360 S. Division Ave.
• "Watching" (3D) by Daniel Arsham, Brooklyn, NY, at Meijer Gardens, 1000 E. Beltline Ave. NE
• "Egg Prize" (Urban Space) by David Kail, Grandville, MI, at Van Andel Arena, 130 W. Fulton St.
• "united.states: an everyday people project" (Urban Space) by JD Urban, Brooklyn, NY, at Calder Plaza, 300 Monroe Ave. NW
• "Temporary's Pursuit of Permanence" (Urban Space) by Alexander Hanson and Daniel Feinberg, Minneapolis, MN, on the Gillett Bridge over the Grand River
• "I want to be different … (ladder)" (Urban Space) by Henry Brimmer, East Lansing, above Monroe Center near First Community Bank, 60 Monroe Center NW

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Chagall’s Dark Side on Display in New York

TABLET MAGAZINE
By Chavie Lieber

Detail of "Fallen Angel" 

NEW YORK---Most people associate the work of Jewish modernist painter Marc Chagall with with dynamic colors illustrating Eastern European Jewry’s vibrant folk culture. But Chagall also had a deeper, darker side to his art, one that reflected the artist’s tormented conscience after witnessing Europe’s anti Semitism, persecution, and poverty in the years leading up to the Holocaust.
 “Chagall: Love, War, and Exile,” a new exhibit at New York’s Jewish Museum open through February 2, 2014, offers 53 pieces of the artist’s work that explore the darker ethos of Chagall. Focusing on the years between 1930 and 1948, during the rise of fascism and the Holocaust, the exhibit provides a visual reckoning with the emotions that plagued the artist. [link]

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'Doris Duke's Shangri La' Fantastic Monument to Islamic Art

NEWS OBSERVER
By David Menconi

The mosaic tile panel that forms a gateway on the dining room lanai is from Iran, likely from the 19th century.

NORTH CAROLINA---The Taj Mahal has inspired countless flights of fancy over the last 31/2 centuries, but most of them pale when compared to how the fabled Indian palace fired Doris Duke’s imagination. The billionaire heiress first visited the Taj Mahal in 1935 while on her 10-month honeymoon trip, and she decided she’d like to build something like it. And she spent the next six decades until her death in 1993 doing just that. You can see the fruits of her labor in “Doris Duke’s Shangri La: Architecture, Landscape and Islamic Art,” an exhibition on display at Duke University’s Nasher Museum of Art through Dec. 29. Shangri La was Duke’s personal Taj Mahal, her oceanfront estate in Hawaii. [link]

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Art Attack: Hindu Artists Strike Out at Injustices in Society

THE HINDU
By Priyadershini S.

INDIA---A show by two artists hits out at the injustices in society. The angst of the working class best defines the art works titled ‘Shades of Darkness’ on show at Buddha Gallery, Greenix village, in Fort Kochi. The artists, Baiju Neendoor and Prasadkumar K.S. who are jointly hosting the show are alumni of Raja Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts, Mavelikara, and have more than a decade of experience as artists, exhibiting solo and group shows across the country. The artist says that he looks at life from the eyes of the “lower class, the marginalised people”, and that such questions arise in the minds of the have-nots. [link]

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Artwork Can Help Heal the Jewish-Christian Divide

ALGEMEINER
By Bernard Starr

Rembrant's The Head of Christ and The Supper at Emmaus. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

NEW YORK---Jesus, as documented in the Gospels, was a dedicated practicing Jew throughout his lifetime and never indicated any desire to establish a new religion. Even Paul, recognized as the founder of Christianity, never gave up his Jewish identity. Rather, he sought to make his brand of Judaism, which would eliminate circumcision and dietary laws, a new, more accessible Judaism that would be open to everyone. That’s why I’ve invited artists to submit new renditions of Renaissance artworks for an exhibit that puts Judaism back in the picture. Viewed side by side, these paintings represent two themes that interface Judaism and Christianity: Jesus the dedicated Jew, and Jesus whose life and teachings inspired a new religion. Pope Francis’ dramatic message on September 11, 2013, lends support for this exhibit. [link]

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Travel Through Time: Asian Art Featured on The Curator’s Eye

ARTFIX DAILY

Baphuon-style Khmer Head

NEW YORK---As Asian art markets continue their impressive showing at sales and shows around the world, The Curator’s Eye hosts a chronological tour of the exceptional items of Asian origin currently on display on the continuous online exhibition. The Curator’s Eye offers a varied selection of objects made in locations from China to Cambodia, and made from as early as 550 A.D. up to contemporary times. [link]

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Movie Review: "Prisoners" is More Than an Angry-Dad Revenge Drama

THE NEW YORK TIMES 
By A.O. Scott

HOLLYWOOD---“Prisoners” is the kind of movie that can quiet a room full of casual thrill-seekers. It absorbs and controls your attention with such assurance that you hold your breath for fear of distracting the people on screen, exhaling in relief or amazement at each new revelation. If “Prisoners,” written by Aaron Guzikowski, upholds some of the conventions of the angry-dad revenge drama, it also subverts them in surprising, at times devastating ways. The easy catharsis of righteous payback is complicated at every turn, and pain and uncertainty spread like spilled oil on an asphalt road. It’s all very creepy and mysterious, and “Prisoners” is, among other things, a satisfying whodunit, with artfully deposited clues and twists that are surprising without entirely undermining the film’s naturalistic credibility. [link]

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BYU's New Exhibit 'Sacred Gifts' Runs Many Layers Deep

DESERET SUN
By Emmilie Buchanan-Whitlock

Heinrich Hofmann's "The Capture of Christ," 1858, Hessisches Landesmuseum , Darmstadt, Germany.

UTAH---The theme of sacred gifts in the upcoming Brigham Young University Museum of Art exhibit, "Sacred Gifts: The Religious Art of Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann, and Frans Schwartz" runs deep for museum guests and officials alike. This exhibit, slated for a Nov. 15 opening, is a completion of the 2010 exhibit, "Carl Bloch: The Master's Hand." The upcoming exhibit will feature all new art, coming from churches and museums from Denmark, Sweden, Germany and New York. [link]

Brigham Young University Museum of Art: "Sacred Gifts: The Religious Art of Carl Bloch, Heinrich Hofmann, and Frans Schwartz" (Opens Nov. 15), North Campus Drive; Provo, Utah; (801) 422-8287; moa.byu.edu

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Chinese Collectors 'Price Out' Western Bidders At Asian Art Auctions

JING DAILY

A bronze figure of Parvati that sold for $963,750 at Christie’s. 

NEW YORK---Asian art has been massively popular in this week’s New York auctions, with prices being driven well above even the high estimates for everything from ancient bronzes to Buddhist figures. Many of the antiques may be coming from Western collections, but collectors from China are making the highest bids this time around. The rooms of the Asian art auctions held this week by top auction houses Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Bonhams were filled to capacity, with mainly Chinese buyers in attendance. [link]

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Onam Pageantry Gains Popularity in Capital City of Thiruvananthapuram

THE HINDU

A display signifying the conferring of Classical Language status on Malayalam at the Onam pageantry in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Photo: S. Mahinsha

INDIA--- Public patronage for the Onam pageantry is showing a steady rise with new art forms being included in the procession every year, Additional Director of Tourism M.S. Venugopal has said. The pageantry had, over the years, evolved as one of the most prestigious and awaited events, Mr. Venugopal, who is also the joint convenor of the pageantry committee, said. There was an overwhelming interest among artistes to be part of the cultural procession despite the fact that they were paid only a meagre amount, he said. [link]

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India's 'Mini Taj' Unveiled After Five-Year Refit

ARTDAILY

Humayun's Tomb is pictured prior to the inauguration ceremony in New Delhi on September 18, 2013. 

INDIA---One of New Delhi's most famous monuments, a mausoleum that inspired the Taj Mahal, will be officially unveiled Wednesday after a five-year refit that has seen it restored to its original form. Humayan's Tomb, completed in 1570 by the Islamic Mughal dynasty that ruled most of northern India for more than three centuries, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the biggest draws for visitors to the Indian capital. About 1,500 craftsmen have worked on the tomb and its onion-shaped white dome since 2008, restoring it to its 16th-century glory in a project funded largely by the Aga Khan Trust. [link]

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Jewish Holyday: The End and the Beginning

HOUSTON CHRONICLE | BLOG
By Lee Wunsch

This Thursday evening, Jews around the world will begin the final observance of the Jewish High Holiday season. Thursday night, we will observe Simchat Torah – a joyful celebration when we conclude the annual cycle of the reading of the Torah (the Five Books of Moses) and begin the cycle again. During this festive occasion, all of the Torah scrolls are brought out of the Holy Ark and paraded up and down the aisles of the synagogue sanctuary so that all present can rejoice in the completion of the annual cycle of reading Torah. Unlike most churches where portions of the Bible are read according to some theme, teaching or pastor’s sermon, Jews read the Torah from the start of Genesis to the last chapter of Deuteronomy. In this manner, we are literally wrapping ourselves in the Torah from the beginning to the end to the beginning, yet again. [link]

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Metropolitan Museum of Art Celebrates Fifty Years Collecting Islamic Art

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

"Luhrasp Hears from the Returning Paladins of the Vanishing Kai Khusrau"

NEW YORK---Opening on September 24, the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition, "Fifty Years of Collecting Islamic Art" marks the 50th anniversary year of the founding of museum’s Department of Islamic Art. The exhibition will feature some four dozen works in all media, ranging in date from the 9th-10th century to the present day, grouped by decade of acquisition, but a highlight will be two beautifully illustrated folios from a luxury Iranian manuscript of the 16th century—the Shahnama (Book of Kings) created for Shah Tahmasp. The exhibition runs through January 26, 2014.

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