Final Christie's Report: Detroit Art Worth Up to $867-Million

DETROIT FREE PRESS
By Randy Kennedy

Detail from Michelangelo drawing for design of Sistine Chapel, estimates auction value is $12 million to $20 million

MICHIGAN---The price tags are on the paintings. Detroit’s emergency manager released a report from Christie’s auction house on Thursday detailing market estimates for some of the greatest masterpieces in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Art. The estimates – which Christie’s said would total between $454 million and $867 million – cover about 2,800 pieces, or less than 5 percent of the institute’s entire collection because Detroit’s emergency manager, Kevyn D. Orr, asked Christie’s to focus only on pieces that had been bought with city funds over the years, not ones than had been donated or bought with other funds. The museum and its supporters have vowed to go to court to try to stop any sale. [link]

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New Mexico Supreme Court Affirms the Freedom to Marry for Gay Couples

FREEDOM TO MARRY
By Adam Polaski

NEW MEXICO---Today (Thursday), the New Mexico Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in a lawsuit seeking clarification on laws regarding the freedom to marry in the state. The ruling affirmed what a majority of New Mexicans already know: That everyone in the state should have the freedom to marry the person they love. [link]

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Celebrating Two Years of Giving to Culture in Kentucky on power2give

FUND FOR THE ARTS

KENTUCKY---It’s been two years since the launch of power2give.org/Kentucky, an online crowd-funding platform, and the results have been extraordinary! More than 117 organizations have posted 430 projects and more than $1.1 million has been raised. Matching sponsors Kentucky Arts Council, Republic Bank & Trust Company, LG& E, Louisville Metro Government and Humana Foundation, have been an integral part of ensuring the success of the site, helping to leverage more than 3,600 gifts. Any 501(c)(3) organization in Kentucky or Southern Indiana can submit an Arts related project to power2give.org/kentucky for review. For more information please contact Annie Nelson at (502) 582-0128 or anelson@fundforthearts.com. [link]

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Museum Review: The Unfulfilling "Records of Rights" at National Archive

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Ed Rothenstien

WASHINGTON, DC---Before we explore the problems with the permanent exhibition that opened this month at the National Archives here, it might help to recognize the challenges it faced. The exhibition, “Records of Rights,” is the first attraction you see after passing through the building’s new marble-clad entrance. Magna Carta is this exhibition’s promissory note, in more ways than one; its gallery’s promise is also unfulfilled. What are we left with, as we head up to the Rotunda to see the founding documents? No context or perspective; only grim struggles and partially won liberties. This is a peculiar way for an institution that is a reflection of the government itself, to see the nature of its origins, the character of its achievements, and the promise of its ideas. [link]

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Art Institute of Chicago Hosts 200-Piece Italian Nativity Scene From 1700s

ABC7 CHICAGO
By Frank Mathie

ILLINOIS--When we think of Nativity scenes or mangers, we usually think of small religious settings under the Christmas tree. But ABC7 Eyewitness Reporter Frank Mathie says the Art Institute of Chicago has gone big time with this ancient sacred story. "It's a crèche. A Neapolitan crèche. The Italians call it a precepio and it comes from the 18th century for the celebration of Christmas," said Sylvain Bellenger, curator, medieval European sculpture. Bellenger is responsible for acquiring the crèche from a collector in Naples, Italy. The familiar cast of Christmas Eve characters is all here but they are here in abundance, and they're dressed in the finest of Italian silks made by the finest designers almost 300 years ago. [Link]

 

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Peyton Wright Gallery in Santa Fe Opens 21st Annual Art of Devotion Exhibition

ARTDAILY

Ave Maria Gratia, oil on canvas, 14.75” x 12”. Peru, ca. 1775

NEW MEXICO---Peyton Wright Gallery announces the 21st Annual Art of Devotion exhibition of historic art of the Americas. Consisting of ecclesiastical, secular, and decorative art and objects from Europe and the Americas, the exhibition continues through March 9, 2014. This exhibition showcases one of the largest and most significant collections of 17th to 19th century devotional artwork in the country, featuring Spanish Colonial Viceregal paintings, sculpture, furniture, silverwork, and objects from the former Spanish and Portuguese colonies – present-day Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Venezuela, Guatemala and the Philippines. [link]

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Jesus the Homeless' Sculpture May Find Home in Rome

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
By Caroline Hroncich

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A year ago, Timothy Schmalz's bronze sculpture "Jesus the Homeless" had been rejected by St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York and St. Michael's Cathedral in Toronto. But in late November, Pope Francis blessed the sculpture at one of his weekly general audiences in front of thousands of eager pilgrims. The pontiff touched the knee of the sculpture and prayed for a few moments. Afterward, he told Schmalz he thought the sculpture was a "beautiful piece of art." [link]

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A Culture of Bidding: Forging an Art Market in China

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By David Barboza, Graham Bowley and Amanda Cox

Ma Weidu, a major collector who picked up some pieces in
exchange for cigarettes after the Cultural Revolution devalued art.

CHINA---“The market is in a very dubious stage,” said Alexander Zacke, an expert in Asian art who runs Auctionata, an international online auction house. While the luxury-buying habits in China often mimic those in the West, the demand for art reflects uniquely Chinese tastes. While the rest of the world bids up Pollocks and Rothkos, Chinese buyers typically pursue traditional Chinese pieces, some by 15th-century masters, and others by modern artists, like Zhang Daqian, one of many who have chosen to work in that old style. [link]

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Winter Solstice Marks New Dawn for Ancient Monument: Stonehenge Visitor Center is Now Open

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Overhaul of 4,000-year-old monument cost $44 million. Photo courtesy of CNN.

We are headed to a Winter Solstice party this Saturday, December 21st. Our party however will be nothing compared to the celebration taking place at Stonehenge in England, where they've just opened a new $44 million Visitor's Center. The winter solstice is the high holyday of Stonehenge--the time at which the sun appears at noon at its lowest altitude above the horizon. The winter solstice lasts only a moment in time, and other terms are often used for the day on which it occurs, such as "midwinter", "the longest night" or "the shortest day". But what do you take to a Winter Solstice party? "Ornaments in the shape of the sun, stars, and other pagan symbols..." recommends legal expert Dusty Sparks, because it is based on the four elements of earth, wind, water, and fire.

People walk towards the new Stonehenge visitor center, Dec. 11, 2013.

On the huge wall of the main area the landscape digitally transforms over millennia. 

New exhibition includes a forensic reconstruction of an early Neolithic man's face

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Foundation's Secret Bids Guide Hopi Indians’ Spirits Home

THE NEW YORKBy Tom Mashberg

Alain Leroy, owner of an auction company in Paris, surrounded by sacred Hopi spirit masks.

CALIFORNIA---The foundation had never done something like this before — a repatriation effort — and the logistics were tricky, to say the least. More than 100 American Indian artifacts were about to go on sale at the Drouot auction house, including 24 pieces, resembling masks, that are held sacred by the Hopi of Arizona. Now the Annenberg Foundation decided to get involved from its offices in Los Angeles. It hoped to buy all of the Hopi artifacts, plus three more sought by the San Carlos Apaches, at the Dec. 9 sale and return them to the tribes. To prevent prices from rising, the foundation kept its plan a secret, even from the Hopis, in part to protect the tribe from potential disappointment. [link]

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Gallery Owner: Every Piece of Judaica Has a Story

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE
By Donald Liebenson

Judaica from the Arthur M. Feldman Gallery

ILLINOIS---Part art gallery, part museum and part salon, the Arthur M. Feldman Gallery is back in business in Highland Park. The storefront location at 465 Roger Williams Ave. opened last month after Feldman previously operated a gallery of antiques, fine art and Judaica in downtown, first on St. Johns Avenue and then on Central Avenue. Feldman, a second-generation antiques dealer with degrees in art history and archaeology, served as director of the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership. To continue educating the public, Feldman will present exhibitions under his banner Jewish Museum of Chicago. The first, a showing of commissioned Purim masks created by professional Chicago artists, is scheduled for March 2014. [link]

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Nevet Yitzhak Exhibit Peels Off the Prevailing View of 'Islamic Art’ as 'Monolithic and Mysterious'.

HAARETZ
By Galia Yahav

From 'Orient Express': Shows experts as genies returned to their bottle.

ISRAEL---One of the most wonderful aspects of “Orient Express,” the brilliant exhibition of works by Nevet Yitzhak at Jerusalem’s L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art, is the resounding answer she gives to the superficial, cliché-filled discourse on Islamic art. It is a discussion that defines Islamic art as a “rich, ancient, much respected culture” in a generalized manner that, as it declares the wealth of ancient Islam, presents Islamic art as homogeneous, monolithic and bereft of any nuances. [link]

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54 Days In The Eternal City: A Christian 'Pilgrimage' For Lent

NPR

Each year, millions of people from different faiths make religious journeys. They travel far, to Mecca, Jerusalem, the Ganges River or Lourdes, France, to walk the paths of prophets, saints and martyrs. “Pilgrimage is something built into the human condition,” says George Weigel, author of Roman Pilgrimage: The Station Churches. “There seems to be something hardwired into us, spiritually, that the idea of a journey from A to B becomes part of the rhythm of the spiritual life.” In Roman Pilgrimage, Weigel, with his photographer son Steven Weigel and art historian Elizabeth Lev, tells the story of a spiritual trek that takes place in the Eternal City each Lent and Easter.[link]

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Objects of beauty from ‘Mother Russia’ in North Carolina

THE HERALD SUN
By Blue Greenberg

The Durnovo Casket, silver gilt, enamel and sheets of lapis lazuli,
Firm of Ovchinnikov, Russia, 1889, now on view at the N.C. Museum of History.

NORTH CAROLINA---“Mother Russia” conjures up images of great writers; vast expanses of unbelievable cold; royal courts with tsars and tsarinas, the peasants or serfs, who were little more than slaves; the psychic Rasputin; the assassinations of the last tsar and his family; and the people’s devotion to the Eastern Orthodox Church. All this is part of the mystique surrounding this exhibition of more than 200 decorative and religious objects, which date from the first Romanov, Peter the Great (1672-1725), to Nicholas II (1868-1918), the last. [link]

North Carolina Museum of History: “The Tsar’s Cabinet: Two Hundred Years of Russian Decorative Arts under the Romanovs" and "Windows into Heaven: Russian Icons from the Lilly and Francis Robicsek Collection of Religious Art” (Ends March 5);  5 E. Edenton Street, Raleigh, North Carolina; 919-807-7900; ncdcr.gov/ncmoh

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Eastern Michigan University Students AMP Up the Arts

AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS

MICHIGAN---Students enrolled in Eastern Michigan University’s (EMU) Arts Management Programs (Undergraduate & Graduate) produce two-day music festivals, art competitions, face and body paint tailgating activities, art crawl events, and reality TV shows as part of an academic service learning project and student organizational activity designed to give members their first experiences as arts administrators. The Arts Management Project (AMP) is a yearly project undertaken by students of the Arts Management program at EMU. The project, which doubles as a student organization, produces arts-based events and creates opportunities for EMU’s student artists to present their talents to the campus community. [link]

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Bindu Accompanied by Hindi Verses Acquires Deeper Meanings of Life in Series ‘Shabd-bindu’

THE HINDU
By Anusha Parthasarathy

INDIA---In a recent interview, S.H. Raza says that he metaphorically never left India. And that his work has always encompassed his roots, delved within it and found meanings and answers. ‘Shabd-bindu’, which exhibits recent works by S.H. Raza and poetry by Ashok Vajpeyi is full of such artistic journeys. S.H. Raza, a legendary artist who has been living and painting in Paris for 60 years returned to Delhi recently. A recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, Fellowship of Lalit Kala Akademi, Kalidas Samman and other awards, he excels in bringing together Hindi verses and his world of colours. [link]

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Utah Art Exhibit Stretches the Definition of ‘Spiritual’

THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
By Peggy Fletcher Stack


UTAH---You would, of course, expect to see lots of angels at a spiritual art exhibit — as well as Jesus, Madonnas, biblical figures, crosses, steeples, Hindu gods and Islamic prayer rugs. But birds, beggars, books, flying maps and beams of light? "You can find the sacred in nature and ordinary objects," says Rita Wright, curator at Springville Museum of Art’s annual "Spiritual & Religious Art of Utah Exhibition," where these works are on display. "We stretch the definition of ‘spiritual’ to include many images that are not conventional iconography." The show celebrates the experimental nature of younger artists, she says, who are trying to express their intuitive spirituality. [link]

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Crib Guide: in Search of the First Christmas-Card Nativity

THE GUARDIAN
By Jonathon Jones

Geertgen's Nativity at Night. Photograph: The Art Archive

UNITED KINGDOM---Recently, I started wondering: when was the first Noel in art? Botticelli's Mystic Nativity, a popular choice for Christmas cards that hangs in London's National Gallery, was painted half a millennium ago. But what is the world's oldest nativity scene? Where can you find the grandfather of all Christmas cards? So it was in Byzantium that sensitive, warm, human images of the nativity first appeared. So the simplest answer to my question is disappointing: aspects of the nativity have been depicted ever since there were Christians. Like the Magi following that star, this beautiful artistic tradition came from the east and was gratefully received by Europeans who have loved these winter pictures ever since. What a gift. [link]

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Turkish Fashion Label Wins Prestigious Jameel Islamic Art Prize

RUETERS
BY Freya Berry

Two of Dice Kayek's prize-winning dresses, inspired by architecture: "Dome 2" and "Hagia Sophia". Photo: courtesy of Dice Kayek Archive, Istanbul Contrast Collection

UNITED KINGDOM---The Turkish fashion label Dice Kayek on Tuesday won the Jameel prize at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, which honors contemporary art inspired by Islamic tradition. The 25,000-pound ($41,100) international prize, which is awarded every two years, has Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid as patron, and this year's judges included Thomas Heatherwick, designer of the London Olympic Cauldron. ice Kayek, a company begun by two sisters in 1992, took inspiration from the robes of Ottoman rulers and mosques to create the prize-winning structured dresses of lamé brocade and cotton. [link]

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Catholic Boy Blues...Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS 
By TAHLIB

INDIANA---A&O Prize honoree for Literary Arts, Norbert Krapf recently shared the cover of his upcoming book of poetry, "Catholic Boy Blues." In the image, there is beauty, but also a haunting quality. "It was taken by the priest who abused me!" he explained. "I found it and remembered it in 1997 after my mother died and I had to go through all her things. There are four poems in the book that reflect on the photo and his possible motivation(s) in giving that photo to my parents." Creating and sharing art is a struggle. Facing painful memories, just as Krapf has struggled is a Genesis opportunity for new birth. More details are available at www.krapfpoetry.com.

Prolog: Angel of Power and Protection
—Sculpture, Bridge to Vatican City, Rome—

What happens when the Angel
falls asleep after the mother
and father who held the baby
have to walk back into their lives

and the boy walks out into
the world and a servant
of God touches him wrong
when the parents aren’t looking?

By the time he is ready to
cross the bridge to Vatican City
his feet will not move forward
but turn in the opposite direction.

It is decades before he
can talk to the old God
by finding his own sacred places
and a new language for praying.

This poem, inspired by a Denis Kelly photograph,

opens Catholic Boy Blues: A Poet’s Journey of Healing,

forthcoming April 2014 from Greystone Publishing,

© 2011 Norbert Krapf

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2013

Norbert & Katherine Krapf

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‘12 Years a Slave’ Honored by Hoosier Film Critics

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR
By Bob Bloom

HOLLYWOOD---“12 Years a Slave” was the big winner today as the Indiana Film Journalists Association announced its awards for 2013. “12 Years a Slave” was honored as best picture, with Steve McQueen named best director and star Chiwetel Ejiofor named best actor. Composer Hans Zimmer was recognized was his musical score. “Her,” a feature about a man who falls in love with the voice on his computer took three honors: original screenplay by director Spike Jonze, the association’s Original Vision Award and runner-up for best film. Adele Exarchopoulos was named best actress for her performance in “Blue Is the Warmest Color,” which also was selected as best foreign film. [link]

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Three Gifts Wrapped in the True Meaning of Christmas

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

"The Adoration of the Three Kings" (1530) by Girolamo da Santacroce

Every Christmas, we've exchanged three gifts inspired by the example of the Three Kings (Wise Men). The “gold” gift, is the big item on the mind of the receiver; the second gift of “frankincense” is for spiritual growth, and is typically a work of religious art; and the third gift of “myrrh” is for the body. This year, I'm extending this framework to other family members, but rather than giving a sermonette each time, I will use colored wrapping paper. The "Mind" gift in gold paper; the "Soul" gift in "white" paper for holiness; and the "Body" gift in "red" for the blood Christ shed. Overly complicated? Maybe, but complex meanings are what helps make a Holyday.

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Op-Ed Column: Gay Catholics Still in Exile Under Pope Francis

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Frank Bruni

The Pope by Ben Wiseman for The New York Times

HONEYMOON isn’t a word usually associated with pontiffs, but Pope Francis is having an extraordinary one. Last week Time magazine named him its person of the year, saying that he had given fresh hope to many Catholics estranged by the church’s censorious ways. The magazine noted the absence of harsh condemnation in his mentions of divorced couples, of women seeking abortions and of gay people, including his statement that “if a homosexual person is of good will and is in search of God, I am no one to judge.” From all of this, Time concluded that he had lifted the church “above the doctrinal police work so important to his recent predecessors.” Well, they didn’t get the memo in the suburbs of Philadelphia,...Little Rock,...[or] Atlanta. The church’s treatment of gays and lesbians is especially rife with mixed messages and hypocrisy. [link]

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Time to Sell the Family Jewels, Detroit

THE DAILY BEAST
By Nick Gillespie

Photo by Joshua Lott/Reuters

MICHIGAN---Saddled with billions in debt, there's no good reason the city shouldn't sell its art collection worth as much as $866 million. If you really want to make jaws drop in polite conversation, don’t waste your time suggesting that bankrupt Detroit merely stiff its pensioners and creditors harder than John Holmes did his costars in 1976’s Tell Them Johnny Wadd Is Here. Instead, suggest that the city unload its little-seen yet high-valued art collection hiding in plain sight at The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). As urban theorist Joel Kotkin has put it, “We get it wrong. We think the cultural amenities drives the prosperity [in cities], when it’s really the prosperity that drives the cultural amenities.” [link]

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An Unbeliever in Disney World: "Saving Mr. Banks" Opens Dec. 20th

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By A.O. Scott

Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks in "Saving Mr. Banks," directed by John Lee Hancock.

HOLLYWOOD---“Saving Mr. Banks,” released by Disney, is a movie about the making of a Disney movie (“Mary Poppins”), in which Walt Disney himself (played by Tom Hanks) is a major character. It includes a visit to Disneyland and, if you look closely, a teaser for its companion theme park in Florida (as yet unbuilt, when the story takes place). More precisely, “Saving Mr. Banks” recounts the consummation, in business and creative terms, of Walt Disney’s long courtship of P. L. Travers, the creator of Mary Poppins, played with spirited fussiness by Emma Thompson. [link]

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

This was a big week, my religious art family! As we made art purchases for the holiday season, we also enjoyed our first Christmas Opera; went to see "The Hobbit" with our pastor (loved it); watched the funeral pageantry of the homegoing for Nelson Mandela; plodded through the white snow of winter; picked up that power2give grant check you funded; and joined a NEA press conference on arts journalism. My favorite part was the selection of Pope Francis as TIME's Person of Year 2013. To capture the pope's essence, TIME commissioned a portrait by Chicago-based artist Jason Seiler (above), making it my NEWS OF WEEK. Much has been made about his humility and gentleness. What do you see?

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

• Buddhist Art of Week: Redevelopment threatens ancient Buddhist temple. [More News]
• Christian Art of Week: "Bandits & Saints of Brazil" in Detroit ends January 5. [More News]
• Hindu Art of Week: Hindu homosexuality comes under attack by extremists. [More News]
• Islamic Art of Week: "Prince meets Muslim holyman" at Saint Louis museum. [More News]
• January 2014 Meetup: "King Breakfast" in Cincinnati on January 20. [More Meetups]

We are all members, united in the search for human meaning through art from the religious imagination. For us, it's more than Art. It's Religion. We follow artists who dare to explore religious ideas with their creative vision. When you follow religious artists, you join others who do the same. Some of us join as one of the "Collectors" of the A&O Project who make the final decisions; others as "Curators" when they donate to the Artist Fund; and most of us join as "Subscribers" to this "free" weekly newsletter; (or follow on: Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, or Soundcloud). All are welcome.

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When Two Become One! Saint Louis Arts Groups Hopeful of Merger Impact

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Detail of "A Prince Meeting a Muslim Holy Man" (1610) at the Saint Louis Art Museum

Many believe, including me that nonprofit news partnerships are the future for arts journalism. On Monday another sign of that hopeful change was the merger of the St. Louis Public Radio and the St. Louis Beacon to become one news organization. "Commercial media have no interest in the arts," said one Saint Louis arts administrator (and friend). "Today, when I send a press release or an email pitch, I get a call-back from the advertising department." The consolidation of the two nonprofit news organizations will significantly improve their business capacity; and the arts community is hopeful it will also result in more depth explorations of arts issues; and stories about artists in the community.

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Foundations Should Not Save Detroit, Including the Institute of Arts

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

"Madonna and Child" by Giovanni Bellini is one of the works in the Detroit Institute of Arts collection.

There are 92,000 reasons why Foundations should not bailout the City of Detroit and the Detroit Institute of Art. All 92,000 are local millionaires, but regrettably Foundations are being pressured to foot the bill of $500 million needed as part of the city’s bankruptcy proceedings. Foundation dollars should not be used to cover municipal or institutional debts. Besides, there is too much other work yet to be done in Detroit to use up 50% of Foundation annual giving on one arts project. On the other hand, local millionaires like A. Paul Schaap, who pledged $5 million; plus the state's taxpayers can and should make this happen, and make it happen quickly.

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U.S. Foundation Buys Sacred Native American Masks to Return to the Hopi Nation

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
By David Ng

A Hopi mask that was being sold by the Paris auction house Eve as part of a sale of Native American objects on Monday.

CALIFORNIA---The Annenberg Foundation has revealed that it was an anonymous bidder that paid $530,000 for 24 Native American artifacts that were being sold at a controversial auction in Paris earlier this week. The Los Angeles-based charitable organization headed by Wallis Annenberg said that it will return the artifacts to the Hopi Nation and to the San Carlos Apache tribe. Monday's controversial sale took place several months after another French auction house sold 70 Native American artifacts despite international criticism. Neret-Minet Tessier & Sarrou sold the objects at an April auction for a total of €930,000 ($675,479). [link]

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Art Review: A Tension Between the Sacred and the Profane

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Ken Johnson

"Luba Female Bowl Bearer," left, and a work by Constantin Brancusi, at Paul Kasmin Gallery.

NEW YORK---What is it about African tribal art that so allures us denizens of the modern, industrialized world? I wonder this whenever I encounter tribal artifacts in museums and galleries, and I’m prompted to again by two exhibitions presented by Paul Kasmin Gallery in Chelsea. Then, around the corner, in Kasmin’s West 27th Street gallery, there’s “Brancusi in New York 1913 – 2013,” a glowing display.... A museum setting like this one, however, erases the practical magic of these objects and diminishes their spiritual potency. They have become inert collectibles. The sacred is profaned. [link]

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Jamaica's National Gallery to Explore Religion and Spirituality

JAMAICA GLEANER

Osmond Watson's 1984 piece 'Jah Lives'

JAMAICA---The National Gallery of Jamaica (NGJ) will be presenting the Explorations II: Religion and Spirituality exhibition on Sunday, December 22. The exhibition is the second in the NGJ's new Explorations series, which was launched earlier this year with the Natural Histories exhibition. The series explores major themes in Jamaican art, and in the National Art Collection, and aims to allow visitors the opportunity to engage in new, more exploratory ways, the artistic and cultural history of Jamaica. [link]

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Arts Journalism Grants Awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

The critical role of journalism gets lost in many of the national, and local discussions about arts audience development, and that's why yesterday's NEA arts journalism announcement was so significant. This latest round of recipients of Art Works grant awards named Indianapolis as one of only four communities nationwide receiving Art Works grant awards. The four communities are: Ann Arbor, MI ($45,000); Detroit, MI ($30,000); Fort Lauderdale, FL ($25,000); and Indianapolis, IN ($35,000). The awards are a partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and were announced as part of a webinar/press conference led by Sasha Anawalt, associate professor and director of arts journalism programs at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communications.

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Jason Seiler, the Artist Who Painted TIME's Person of the Year 2013

TIME
By D.W. Pine and Skye Gurney

ILLINOIS---To capture the essence of Pope Francis, we turned to Chicago-based artist Jason Seiler, a classically trained oil painter who recently taught himself to paint digitally on a 21-inch LCD display. Seiler spent more than 70 hours creating the Person of the Year artwork, which continues the rich tradition of great portraiture on the cover of TIME. “A lot of times before I start a painting, I see it finished in my head,” he says. “With the Pope, I let it happen organically.” [link]

Photographs courtesy Jason Seiler, Ava Seiler, and Jacqueline Patrice

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Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art Receives National Recognition

TULSA WORLD

OKLAHOMA---The Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, which is said to house the largest collection of Judaica in the Southwest, has been accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It joins Philbrook and Gilcrease as Tulsa's only accredited museums. Just 6 percent of the nation's 17,500 museums are accredited. "Accredited museums have met and exceeded the highest standards of the museum field in everything they do," said Ford W. Bell, president of the alliance. [link]

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Nebraska Museum Features Christmas Paintings by Artist Grant Reynard

THE GRAND ISLAND INDEPENDENT

The Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney is showcasing “Grant Reynard: Divine Images”

NEBRASKA---The Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney is showcasing “Grant Reynard: Divine Images,” through the holiday season. [Grant] Reynard’s religious-inspired Christmas themed artworks showcase Christian images of the holiday season. The artist’s almost Christmas card-style paintings evoke the true meaning of Christmas and the season. Reynard, a noted illustrator, was born in 1887 in Grand Island. Reynard died in Leonia, N.J., in 1968. The Museum of Nebraska Art holds more than 3,000 of Reynard’s works, along with archival material, the largest single collection of his work. [link]

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Hoping to Save the Remains of a Ming Dynasty Temple

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Didi Kirsten Tatlow

CHINA---First a printing press, then real estate developers, now a welding-machine factory. Everyone has taken a piece of Nianhua Si, or Picking Flowers Temple, a Ming dynasty place of worship in the storied Drum Tower district of Beijing. Yet the real threat to the temple — dozens of historically and religiously significant buildings begun in 1581, the ninth year of the reign of the Wanli Emperor, and given its present name in 1734 during the Qing dynasty — isn’t decay, say residents and conservationists. It’s redevelopment. [link]

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Opinion: Satanists Raising Hell to an Art Form in Oklahoma City

THE SEATTLE TIMES
By Lance Dickie

OKLAHOMA---If the Oklahoma Legislature can make room for a monument to the Ten Commandments outside the Statehouse in Oklahoma City, then the Satanic Temple of New York wants an artistic expression of its faith in the same place. The state’s lawmakers brought this on themselves with their pinched view of religious privilege. If Oklahoma chooses to make its Statehouse a prop for religious art, then every faith can claim space. That is how ACLU Oklahoma sees it, and I agree. [link]

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Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Bermuda Opens With New Paintings

BERNEWS

BERMUDA---On Friday night, Bermuda’s Ethiopian Orthodox Church opened their doors as locals were invited to learn about their traditions and view their intricately painted church icons created by an Ethiopian Monk Priest. The Debra Ganet Immanuel Cathedral in St George’s features an interior full of painted icons by Abba Gebre Hiwot Wolde Samuel, who was born in a small village in Ethiopia, and ordained as a Monk Priest when he was 18 years old. [link]

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Documentary “Detroit Art City” Highlights Financial Crisis at DIA

THE MORNING SUN

"Annunciatory Angel" (1450/1455) by Fra Angelico, a Dominican monk.

MICHIGAN---While the fate of the art collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts is threatened with sale in the city bankruptcy, a new documentary premiering Wednesday sheds light onto the history of one of the top comprehensive art museums on the country. The Detroit Public Television documentary “Detroit Art City,” premiering at 9 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, on WTVS-Channel 56, will provide behind-the-scenes perspectives on the museum. The documentary also will stream live at www.dptv.org/dia. The 60-minute “Detroit Art City” takes viewers behind the scenes at the DIA to trace the museum’s triumphs and challenges through the years. [link]

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"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Opens Friday, December 13, 2013

FANDANGO

HOLLYWOOD---Frightening images and fantasy action violence: "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug". Having survived the first part of their unsettling journey, Bilbo Baggins and his companions  continue east. More dangers await them, including the skin-changer Beorn and the giant spiders of Milkwood. After escaping capture by the dangerous Wood Elves, Bilbo and the dwarves journey to Lake-town and, finally, to the Lonely Mountain, where they face the greatest danger of all: the fearsome dragon Smaug. [Tickets]

Cast: Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, Orlando Bloom
Director: Peter Jackson
Genres: Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

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'The Vatican: All The Paintings' Book Opens Up Religious Art Of The Vatican Museum

THE HUFFINGTON POST

Raphael: Raphael Rooms, The School of Athens

VATICAN CITY---A new book by Anja Grebe celebrates the stunning art collection of the Vatican by featuring every Old Master painting on display. "The Vatican: All The Paintings" also includes images of sculptures, maps, and tapestries which span centuries of artistic genius. [link]

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The National Gallery of Art’s "Your Art App" Features Religious Art

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

"Daniel in the Lions' Den" (1614-1616) by Sir Peter Paul Ruebens

WASHINGTON, DC---The National Gallery of Art has launched the Your Art app for iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android smartphones. Your Art is a free interactive mobile application that features 18 works from the museum's "Biblical" art collection; as well as 14 works from "Myths & Legends" collection, out of 130 total highlights. It's a quick and simple download designed to enrich the experience of visitors on-site, and outreach off-site by bringing its masterpieces to art lovers around the world. Your Art is designed for use on iOS and Android devices.

iTunes App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/your-art/id600049768
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=gov.nga.yourart

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Art Show of Hindu Homosexuality Comes Under Attack by Religious Extremists

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Art show on homosexuality comes under attack by moral police

INDIA---India's Supreme Court reinstated a "colonial-era law banning gay sex," made back in 1861, and Gay artist Balbir Krishan's art exhibition was cancelled after organisers received threats from the moral police. You might say the Religious extremists in India were busy this week. While the national government has pledged to take action, few are hopeful for their action. Krishan's art show was cancelled after a group of people, claiming to belong to a political party, threatened the organisers and demanded them to call off the event. The group termed the paintings, which are themed around nudity and homosexuality, 'against Indian culture'.

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A Season Of Scrooges Nationwide (And One SQuja’ in Cincinnati)

THE NEW YORK TIMES

USA---Like peppermint lattes and mall Santas, the arrival of Ebenezer Scrooge is a sure sign that Christmas is around the corner. For many theaters, mounting a version of “A Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens’s Victorian morality tale, is more than just a holiday tradition. It can also be a box office gold mine that helps underwrite the rest of the season. Just how ubiquitous is “A Christmas Carol” and its variations? Here is a sampling of many — but by no means all — of this year’s Scrooges, from the comfortably traditional to the brazenly unorthodox. [link]

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Bandits & Saints of Brazil in Detroit Through January 5th

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Candomble Ceremony by Didito of Maracujipe, Bahia. Courtesy of Convida.org.

MICHIGAN---Detroit's Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History presents the exhibition "Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints" which tells the story of how African, European, and indigenous cultural traditions interacted in Brazil for 500 years. The exhibition includes nearly 200 works of art by more than 50 artists, but the most critical part of the exhibition is the "Expressions of Faith," segment. It explores the African-Brazilian religion of Candomblé which combines traditional African roots and Roman Catholicism, while also exploring the evangelical faith of the Northeast. In the exhibition, life-size mannequins of orixás (forged iron symbols of African deities) wearing colorful vestments of Candomblé can be viewed along with actual footage of the Candomblé ceremony in Bahia.

Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History: "Bandits & Heroes, Poets & Saints," (Ends January 5, 2014); 315 East Warren Avenue at Brush Street; Detroit, MI; (313) 494-5808; thewright.org

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More Hopi Masks to be Auctioned in France, Despite United States Government Efforts

ARTDAILY

FRANCE---A Paris auction of sacred objects from the Hopi and San Carlos Apache Native American tribes will "probably" go ahead despite US objections, the auctioneer said on Sunday. A number of ceremonial masks and head-dresses are due to go under the hammer at the EVE auction house on Monday after the failure of a legal challenge by advocacy group Survival International. The battle is a rerun of one earlier this year in which French firm Neret-Minet ignored international appeals to halt the sale of some 70 masks that eventually fetched around 930,000 euros ($1.3 million). [link]

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Bringing Back the Artistic Beauty of a 19th-Century Church: Cost $4.5 Million

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By David Gonzalez

David Gonzalez/The New York Times

NEW YORK---The stunningly decorated sanctuary of St. Anselm’s Church in the South Bronx is a marvel of art and architecture, capturing Byzantine, Greek, Italian and German styles. A similar mix is reflected in the Roman Catholic congregation, whose members hail from at least 16 countries. Under one roof, they are of one heart. Unfortunately, you can also see the deterioration in the church, which was founded in 1892 by Benedictine monks from Germany and inspired by the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. After months of study, he estimated that 90 percent of the building could be restored. What was not so easily attainable was the approximately $4.5 million needed to finance the project.[link]

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