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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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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Gap Praised for Quick Response to Racist Graffiti Against Sikh Model

NEW YORK DAILY
By Carol Kuruvilla

NEW YORK--- Images of Sikh Model Waris Ahluwalia in Gap’s new “Make Love” campaign are still being defaced in New York City. A vandal apparently tried to rip Ahluwalia out of a Gap ad inside the Christopher St. station. Evidence of racist graffiti against the Sikh actor and designer started appearing online on Tuesday. Journalist Arsalan Iftikhar alerted his social media followers to a subway ad that compared the 39-year-old Ahluwalia to a terrorist. The vandal replaced “Make Love” with “Make bombs,” then wrote, “Please stop driving taxis.” [link]

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Inherit the Wind: The Ongoing Clash Between Art & Religion

LEFT LION
By Ashley Carter

Michigan production of Inherit the Wind in 2010. Courtesy Michigan Live

MINNESOTA---Inherit the Wind is adapted from the play of the same name. It portrays the events of the 1925 Scopes ‘Monkey’ Trial in which a teacher stood trial for violating a state law with his introduction of Evolution to his class’s syllabus. Barely two months ago, in St. Paul, Minnesota, The New Ulm Actors Community Theatre cancelled their production of Inherit the Wind following strong lobbying from local evangelicals. Chief amongst this religious objection to the arts is the Catholic Church’s obsession with boycotting anything they find offensive, no matter how tedious the link is to their faith.  The Golden Compass, Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code and The Passion of the Christ have all fallen foul of their organised boycotts, with even Roger Ebert claiming that their efforts impacted box office results. What remains most discouraging, however, is the lack of vocal condemnation of these attacks. [link]

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Biblical Paraody Featuring "Adam & Steve" Turns Into Bible-Belt Land Mine

OKLAHOMA GAZETTE
By Mark Beutler

OKLAHOMA---What started out to be a small, largely unnoticed production by OKC Theater Company has turned into a First Amendment fight, as well as a battle against Oklahoma City’s gay and lesbian community, claim supporters of the production of The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told. Fans of the arts — and of the biblical parody — say a conservative Christian group is targeting the play and threatening to have the producers and actors arrested on opening night. Recently, a number of local pastors sent a letter to Governor Mary Fallin, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, media outlets and members of the state legislature, demanding the play be shuttered. [links]

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Nude Artworks Censored In Berlin Due To Religious Sensitivity

THE HUFFINGTON POST

Photograph of nude work by Berlin artist Susanne Schueffel

GERMANY---A recent incident of art censorship in Berlin has sparked a debate about the difference between art and pornography, as well as the importance of artistic freedom versus religious sensitivity. According to the American Foreign Press, an adult education center removed a series of six nude paintings in an attempt to acknowledge and respect Muslim religious beliefs. The school's deputy head feared the works may shock Muslim students and prevent them from attending class. Due to an outpour of criticism the decision has been revoked and the paintings restored, although now they hang next to the public toilets. [link]

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Rihanna Asked to Leave Mosque in Abu Dhabi

ARTS BEAT | NYT
By Dave Itzkoff

Rihanna posed for a photo in front of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

ABU DHABI---Rihanna was asked to leave the site of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi after posing for photographs there over the weekend that the shrine’s overseers said had violated the “sanctity” of the site. In photos that Rihanna posted on her Instagram and Twitter accounts, she is seen posing at the mosque site, in the United Arab Emirates capital city. Though she is fully covered in the photographs, with only her face, hands and painted fingernails visible in some of the shots, these images drew some negative responses from online commenters, like one who responded with an obscene word, adding: “Leave our holy place and keep your filth away from it. We don’t need you.” [link]

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Mennonite Couple Refuses to Host Same-Sex Wedding; Files Lawsuit Against Iowa Civil Rights Commission

CHRISTIAN POST
By Michael Gryboski

IOWA---A Mennonite couple that owns an art gallery in Iowa has filed suit against the state's Civil Rights Commission over being threatened with punitive action for refusing to host a same-sex wedding on their property. Görtz Haus Gallery, a former church turned art gallery facility, filed a lawsuit Monday against the commission in Polk County District Court. "The Odgaards welcome all customers into the Gallery, regardless of their race, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, religion, or disability," reads the suit in part. [link]

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Tate Art Museum Exhibition is Reminder of Christian Taliban Actions of the Tudors

CATHOLIC HERALD
By Leanda De Lisle

Portrait of King Henry VIII who led the destruction of Catholic Religious Art

UNITED KINGDOM---The slashed and broken medieval images displayed in the new "Art Under Attack" exhibition at the Tate are a reminder of what we lost in the hundred and fifty years after the Reformation. Even now there is denial about the scale of the erasing of our medieval past. The Tate estimates we lost 90% of our religious art. It was probably even more than that. The destruction was on a scale that far outstrips the modern efforts of Islamist extremists. And it was not only art we lost, but also books and music. In churches rood screens, tombs with their prayers for the dead, and stain glass windows, were smashed. Books too were burned on a vast scale. Organs were torn out of churches. [link]

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Seth Rogen: Hobby Lobby Attacked For Anti-Semitic Jewish Holiday Policy

THE INQUISITOR

OKLAHOMA---Seth Rogen’s Hobby Lobby tweets have been attacking the popular store for allegedly being anti-Semitic in how it treats Jews and their holidays. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Hobby Lobby appreciation day supported their stance on religious freedom. Hobby Lobby declares itself a Christian company and they believe their employees shouldn’t be forced to accept health coverage which includes the morning after pills, which they believe amounts to abortion. But some people claim Hobby Lobby’s Jewish holiday policy is unofficially being anti-Semitic. These allegations claim Hobby Lobby has a “policy against carrying art supplies for Jews, Jewish holidays, and other such turnings they believe are out of line with their Christian beliefs.” [link]

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Russian Christian Tycoon Wants Iconic Artwork Purged

RIA NOVOSTI

RUSSIA---A Kremlin-linked dairy magnate and radical Orthodox Christian activist has demanded the removal from one of Russia’s main art galleries of a painting of Ivan the Terrible that he says is a smear on the nation’s reputation. In a lengthy appeal to the authorities, Vasily Boiko-Veliky describes 19th century Russian painter Ilya Repin’s work “Ivan the Terrible Killing His Son” as “slanderous” and “unpatriotic.” Conservative activism is on the rise in Russia, with Christian activists protesting against a number of art projects. [link]

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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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Vandalism Hits Grand Rapids Artist's Noah's Ark ArtPrize Entry

GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
By Angle Jackson

Adele Vanocker said her entry called "Calm before the storm!" was vandalized. A paper mache dove was stolen from a window of the ship crafted from an old boat and wood. (Angie Jackson)

MICHIGAN---On Adele Vanocker's Noah's Ark ArtPrize entry aimed at spreading a message of faith, she dedicated a dove made of paper mache and Styrofoam to her late husband. The Grand Rapids artist was slightly discouraged to discover someone apparently stole the dove - a symbol of love. Vanocker said the sculpture was snatched from the installment outside of First United Methodist Church on either Thursday, Sept. 19, or the night before.[link]

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Outrage and Irony | Canadian's Proposes Ban on Religious Wear

MUSLIM MATTERS
By Waleed Ahmad

CANADA---The political discourse in Canada over the past few weeks has been dominated by Quebec government's proposal for a secular 'Charter of Values', put forth by the ruling Parti Quebecois (PQ). The most controversial aspect of the proposal is the ban on civil servants wearing religious clothing to ensure 'religious neutrality' of the state. The debate reached its climax this past Tuesday with the unveiling of appalling pictograms outlining how public employees can dress. The proposed legislation is supposed to ban public employees from wearing headscarves, face veils, turbans, skullcaps and large crosses (small ones are okay). The PQ claims it is doing so to maintain 'religious neutrality'. [link]

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Controversial Artist SinGh, Booted Out of ArtPrize 2012 for Saddam Hussein Effigy, is Kicked Out Again

GRAND RAPIDS PRESS
By Jeffrey Kaczmarczyk

MICHIGAN---Artist SinGh, whose controversial installation of an effigy of Saddam Hussein was torn down shortly before the opening of ArtPrize last year, returned to ArtPrize 2013. And now he's out again. Artist SinGh's ArtPrize 2013 entry, "The World's Longest Painting," intended for Sixth Street Bridge Park, was removed before opening day of the fifth annual exhibition and competition. The problem, according to ArtPrize officials is the artist flagrantly disregarded the rules by expanding the scope of the project beyond the original, signed agreement, without permission. Last year, Gilmore, who had hosted SinGh's work the previous two years, summarily removed the installation titled "Captivity," concerned that SinGh's storyboards accompanying it alluded to bestiality, suicide and similar topics. After recovering "Captivity," SinGh later set fire to the installation in protest over its removal. [link]

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Theatre Review: "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller in Indianapolis

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

INDIANA---Watching Indiana Theatre Company's production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, is to eavesdrop on a community infected with intense social paranoia. Miller's award-winning tragedy about the Puritan witch trials was a response to 1950s McCarthyism, but today it can just as easily be seen as a response to religious, corporate, and/or political extremism. While the actors, costumes, and direction effectively tell this tale, it is the lighting and scenic design that will keep audiences talking all season. The "plain style" barn-like set framed with eerily shifting shafts of light is the perfect house of terror. The production overall is a moving lesson about how far we will go not only to create terror, but to use it to firmly establish our own sense of order.

Indiana Repertory Theatre: "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller (Sept. 17-Oct. 13), Indiana Repertory Theatre Building, 140 W Washington Street; (317) 635-5252 or irtlive.com.

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Fla. Pastor Arrested Before He Could Burn Qurans

SEATTLE PI
By Tamara Lush

One of the man 2010 political cartoons on Florida Pastor Jones' obsession

FLORIDA---A Florida pastor has been arrested before he could set fire to almost 3,000 Qurans. Polk County sheriff's officials say the Rev. Terry Jones and his associate pastor were arrested on unspecified felony charges in the small central Florida town of Mulberry on Wednesday. He had said he planned to burn 2,998 Qurans — one for every victim who died in the 9/11 attacks 12 years ago. Jones is the pastor of a small evangelical Christian church. His congregation burned a Quran in March 2011 and last year he promoted an anti-Muslim film. His actions have sparked violence in the Middle East and Afghanistan. [link]

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Attack on Art: Silence on Indian front, Decry Pakistani Artists

THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE
By Atika Rehman

No serious condemnation, criticism from Indian artists, media on gallery attack. DESIGN: EMA ANIS

PAKISTAN---Members of Bajrang Dal, an extremist youth organisation, ransacked the Amdavad Ni Gufa Art Gallery and destroyed the collection of paintings by 11 Pakistanis and six Indians to ‘protest’ against the alleged Line of Control (LoC) ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops and the killing of Indian soldiers. Soon after the incident was reported, an official condemnation email titled ‘Aman ki Ashes’ was sent out by Gallery 6, the Islamabad art house that put up the collaborated show with the Amdavad Ni Gufa. The incident condemned far and wide in Pakistan – but things were quiet on the Indian front. “They [Indians] proclaim to uphold art in high esteem. But there has been no strong criticism of the vandalism. [link]

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