Eggs as Religious Art at the Connecticut's Bruce Museum

CONNECTICUT POST
By Scott Gargan

These Ukrainian Souvenir Painted Eggs Decorated With 
Religious Patterns Kiev Ukraine are for Illustration Purposes Only

CONNECTICUT---These eggs aren't for cracking. The collection of 1,000-plus ovals owned by Yvonne Shia Klancko and Robert J. Klancko are artworks and artifacts -- a reflection of a religious tradition that dates back to Medieval times. In fact, the egg has wobbled its way into religious traditions of many sorts, Klancko said. He noted that the Easter egg rolling contest at the White House commemorates "the rolling away of the stone from Jesus' tomb" prior to his ascension. "It's very spiritual," he added. "Eggs-hibition: Unscrambling Their History," which is on view through Oct. 20, features Faberge eggs from Betteridge Jewelers of Greenwich, examples of Ukrainian egg art from the Stamford-based Ukrainian Museum and Library and delicately carved eggs from Illinois-based artist Beth Ann Magnuson. The exhibit explores the evolution of the egg through art, religion, literature and science. [link]

Bruce Museum: "Eggs-hibition: Unscrambling Their History"(Ends Oct. 20), 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich, CT; 203-869-0376, brucemuseum.org

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Resurrection Without Religious Fantatics: Vin Diesel Returns in "Riddick"

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Manohla Dargis

HOLLYWOOD---Movies like “Riddick,” a satisfyingly primitive spectacle, help explain the unlikely ascendancy of Vin Diesel as a man of cinema. This is the third live-action film in the “Riddick” series, which opened with the aptly grim and gloomy “Pitch Black” (2000), and immediately entered its decadent phase with the unintentionally self-parodic “Chronicles of Riddick” (2004). Gone are the silly costumes and wigs, the overstuffed plot and exotic-sounding villains like the Necromongers, the religious fanatics that Mr. Diesel’s character, the escaped convict more formally known as Richard B. Riddick, once battled. Now, there’s one man alone. Riddick initially struggles just to survive. Of course to complete this rebirth, Riddick, the legendary interplanetary killer, must be baptized in blood. The Diesel rises. [link]

“Riddick” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Blood, alien and otherwise.

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Creativity Didn't Wait: Asia Society Presents Modernism in Iran

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Holland Cotter

"The Hand" (1960-61) an exquisite silver and gold painting of a
severed hand — a Shiite symbol — embedded in clouds of calligraphy

NEW YORK---Most accounts of modern art say, basically, one thing: the West creates while the world waits, like a grateful beggar, for a nourishing handout. This is false history. That America and Europe are still barely awake to this reality makes an exhibition like “Iran Modern,” which opens on Friday at Asia Society, invaluable educationally. The Asia Society show, which fills the museum, opens on the second floor with beautiful examples of a particular strain of work introduced in the early 1960s by three young artists: Faramarz Pilaram (1937-82), Parviz Tanavoli and Charles Hossein Zenderoudi. [link]

Asia Society Museum: “Iran Modern” (Ends Jan. 5, 2014), 725 Park Avenue, at 70th Street; (212) 288-6400, asiasociety.org/nyc

"A View of Islam" (1961) showing individual episodes that led
to the martyrdom of the imam Hossein at Karbala in 680 A.D.

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Winners vs. Losers: Indianapolis Arts Prize Uses "American Idol" Format

INDIANAPOLIS STAR
By Will Higgins

INDIANA---It was a grant-making process like none Indianapolis had seen before, it was a game show for hipsters, it was an event. Applying for an arts grant to a nonprofit foundation can be a heartbreakingly laborious undertaking, involving the filling out of numerous forms, the crafting of mission statements and essays and on and on and on. The 5x5 events skip all that, in exchange for pressure, and some drama. Five people had been selected from some four dozen applicants to present their ideas for what would enhance city life. A handful of judges, along with the audience, would vote for the winner. Once they took the stage, the five contestants each had exactly five minutes to sell their plan. They were allowed to show no more than five slides. The winner would walk away with $10,000 cash. The CICF, together with the Efroymson Family Fund and the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation, put up $60,000 ($20,000 each) for the unusual, game-show-ish grants-giving. [link]

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Episcopalian Priest Auctions Painted Donkeys to Promote Peace in Egypt

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

By Ernest Disney-Britton

‘Caravan: In Peace and with Compassion’ is a UK fundraiser for Egyptian charities that includes an exhibition of donkeys. Inspired by the CowParade, the public-art mega-event that has seen herds of painted life-size fibre glassanimals pass through cities including Chicago (1999) and Cincinnati (2000). Thousands of people turn out to see them, and thousands-of-dollars are raised for local charities through auctions. Reverend Paul-Gordon Chandler, the Cairo-based Episcopalian priest launched and curated this event, saying donkeys were the obvious choice for his city. "Donkeys have great symbolism in both Cairo’s faiths (Islam and Christianity), which see them as representing peace and humility. Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey before his death. And the second caliph entered the city on a donkey."

Exhibition Book Cover

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Politicians Spending More Money on Libraries than Museums

THE GUARDIAN
By Ken Worpole

UNITED KINGDOM---Library campaigners, among whom I count myself, need not be too full of doom and gloom. While cuts and closures are affecting library services, it is also true that the past decade has seen a reinvention of the public library in the UK and across the world. Increasing numbers of people are now engaged in some form of further or higher education, and need study space and access to the internet, which many cannot find at home. The rise of single-person households in city centres – in some European capitals now approaching 50% of households – means that libraries increasingly act as a meeting place or home from home, as they do for migrants, refugees and even tourists. The revived global enthusiasm for libraries – of which Seattle is perhaps the most ambitious – originated in north America in the 1990s. [link]

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MoMA's Religious Inspiration for an Outdoor Garden

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS 
By TAHLIB



Looking for ideas to improve the view of your outdoor living space? How about filling it with Religious Art? That's my plan after checking-out what the Museum of Modern Art is doing with its Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden for "The Modern Monument" exhibition. This new installation brings together diverse works around the theme of the modern monument to join with Figurengruppe/Group of Figures (2006–08) by German artist Katharina Fritsch, comprising nine boldly-colored, life-size figures, among them St. Michael, a Madonna, a giant, and a snake. Now you have some new ideas?

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Sacred and Profane: Collage Artist Henry Freedman Assembles Life's Great Mysteries

MISSOULA INDEPENDENT
By Erika Fredrickson

“Drummer in Eden.” 2012, mixed media, courtesy of Henry Freedman.

MONTANA---Henry Freedman's Missoula home is nestled in a suburban neighborhood where everything seems like a variation on beige, contrasted only by the neatly cut green lawns. Inside the house Freedman shares with his wife, the scene appears much more radical. Like a cross between a museum and a curiosity shop. Freedman's current exhibit at the Montana Museum of Art and Culture, "Imagining New Worlds," showcases 104 collages. Freedman plays with the ideas and images of the sacred and profane. He was inspired by the penny arcade near his home in the Chelsea community of Boston. [link]

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Art Review: The Jewishness is in the Details

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Ken Johnson

Elaine Reichek (American, b. 1943) Sampler (Laura Engel), from A Postcolonial Kinderhood, 1993 

NEW YORK---This is the story of a Jewish family so determined to assimilate into American high society that it almost entirely erases evidence of its own ethnic heritage. The implicit lesson is that there is a price to pay for hiding certain parts of yourself. What is repressed on the outside may come back to haunt you and your descendants on the inside. Identity understood from this perspective verges on the sacred. Twenty years ago, the Jewish Museum commissioned Elaine Reichek, the artist known for embroidered and knitted social commentary, to create an installation about being Jewish. What she produced and exhibited in 1994 was “A Postcolonial Kinderhood,” an exceptionally savvy and elegant instance of identity politics in art. Now, with “A Postcolonial Kinderhood Revisited,” the museum is reprising that exhibition with some minor additions.  [link]

The Jewish Museum: “Elaine Reichek: A Postcolonial Kinderhood Revisited” (Ends Oct. 20), 1109 Fifth Avenue, at 92nd Street; (212) 423-3200, thejewishmuseum.org

Furnishings at Elaine Reichek’s installation at the Jewish Museum
are adorned with embroidered quotations about Jewish identity.

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New Aquisitions of Tibetan and Nepalese Art at Metropolitan Museum

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Buddha Sakyamuni, 12th–13th century. Central Tibet.

NEW YORK---Buddhism takes centerstage at the Metropolitan Museum of Art this fall with "Masterpieces of Tibetan and Nepalese Art: Recent Acquisitions." This exhibition will feature fourteen masterworks from the collection of Jack and Muriel Zimmerman. Tibetan and Nepalese art, dating from the beginning of the eleventh century through the seventeenth century are highlighted including five sculptures that are among the rarest and most important such objects to enter a Western collection.

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpieces of Tibetan and Nepalese Art: Recent Acquisitions (Sept. 17 - Feb. 2, 2014), 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY; (212) 570-3951, metmuseum.org

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Piety, Sacrifice, and Miracles on Display at the J. Paul Getty Museum

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Saint Jerome Extracting a Thorn from a Lion's Paw, cutting 
from Master of the Murano Gradual, northern Italy, about 1425-50

CALIFORNIA---The Getty Museum presents stories of suffering and salvation in "Miracles and Martyrs: Saints in the Middle Ages" (September 3, 2013–March 2, 2014). Featuring works from its own collection, the exhibition is presented in two parts when the pages of the manuscripts are turned on Dece,ber 3rd to reveal further treasures. This illuminated manuscripts reveal the widespread appeal and influence of saints in art and society during the Middle Ages. Medieval artists pictured them in images of incredible horror and great beauty, designed to offer inspiration and comfort to the faithful.

J. Paul Getty Museum: "Miracles and Martyrs: Saints in the Middle Ages" (Ends March 2, 2014), 1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles, CA. (310) 440-7330 or getty.edu

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A Caravan of Egyptian Donkeys at St Paul’s Cathedral for Interfaith Peace

MERCURY NEWS

25 life-size fibreglass donkeys decorated by Western and Egyptian artists,
 both Muslim and Christian. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

UNITED KINGDOM---Artist painted donkey statues are displayed in the "Caravan: In Peace and with Compassion" at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The exhibition featuring 25 life-size painted donkeys comes from Egypt and is the work of Western and Egyptian artists, both Muslim and Christian, who were each asked to decorate a life-size fiberglass donkey sculpted by Egyptian artist Reda Abdel Rahman. [link]

Caravan: In Peace and with Compassion will be in the South Nave aisle of St Paul’s until September 25 and is free to visitors of the cathedral. 

Book Cover for the Exhibition

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Police Seize 'Naked Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama" Painting Ahead of G20 Summit

ARTDAILY

A man looks at a painting called "Wrestling," by Vera Donskaya-Khilko displayed in a Moscow art gallery

RUSSIA(AFP)---Russian police have raided an erotica museum in Saint Petersburg and confiscated a painting showing a naked Vladimir Putin with an erect penis squaring off at his equally naked US counterpart Barack Obama, a curator said Wednesday. The raid on the museum, which describes itself as one of the largest erotica museums in Europe, took place Tuesday night ahead of Obama's expected arrival in Russia's second city to take part in the G20 summit later this week. The museum's curator Alexander Donskoi said the museum was temporarily shut down, suggesting that the gesture was political. "I do not understand why it's necessary to mix arts and politics?" he told AFP. After the raid the painting's author fled to France where he is applying for asylum. [link]

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Jewish Donors Are Generous, Especially to Non-Jewish Causes

THE CHRONICLE OF PHILANTHROPY
By Maria Di Mento

Jewish donors are among the most generous Americans, says a report released Tuesday—especially those of modest means. And many of them make a high proportion of their gifts to causes that have nothing to do with their faith. About 76 percent of Jewish donors say they made a charitable gift last year, compared with 63 percent of non-Jews. The contrast is even more striking among households that earn less than $50,000: About 60 percent of those households give compared with 46 percent of non-Jewish households. Jews in their 20s and 30s said they are less likely to give to Jewish organizations than are their parents’ or grandparents’ generations. Forty-nine percent of Jewish donors under 40 give to a Jewish nonprofit, compared to 63 percent of those over 40. The finding echoes other studies, such as by the Pew Research Center, that say young people are more likely than older ones to lack a religious affiliation. [link]

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New Season Ahead: Museums Depart From the Obvious

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Holland Cotter

Wangechi Mutu’s “Riding Death in My Sleep,” 2002.

Coming after a ho-hum stretch in museums, the 2013-14 art season promises an unusually interesting mix of material from the distant past and art that engages with a politically fraught present. As the months go by, we should get a sense of what our art institutions can do when they depart, even a little, from the obvious. The surprises start with what won’t be there. Astonishingly, those box-office artists in residence Matisse and Picasso are on leave of absence. Traveling much further back in time at the Met, I’m particularly looking forward to “Medieval Treasures From Hildesheim”....“Heaven and Earth: Art of Byzantium from Greek Collections,” at the National Gallery of Art in Washington...[and] “Yoga: The Art of Transformation” ... at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington. In a very different way, Wangechi Mutu, a young artist born in East Africa, blends ethnicity, sexuality and colonialism in her fantastically inventive collages, seen at the Brooklyn Museum. [link]

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Holyday Art for Rosh Hashanah 2013 by Shoshannah Brombacher

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Tahlib

A zis un gebensht yohr!!!! Avrom, Shoshannah, Channah, Yoni

NEW YORK---Brooklyn artist, Shoshannah Brombacher sent these images to help advance the A&O celebration of the holydays of Rosh Hashanah, along with the words, "A Sweet Year." The holyday name literally means “head of the year” and can fall anywhere from September to October. Work is prohibited on the holyday, and it all begins sundown tonight (7:24 p.m.) marking the 5,774 year in the Jewish calendar. Yom Kippur falls on Sept. 14. The celebration is based on a passage in Leviticus, which calls for it to be marked by the blasts of horns. As a result, a shofar, or ram's horn, is traditionally sounded in synagogue on Rosh Hashanah.

Breslover Tikkun, pastel and ink on paper

A zis un gebensht yohr!!! leshanah tovah umetukah tikatvu utechatmu!! A sweet year!! Avrom, Shoshannah, Channah, Yoni

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Bar Mitzvahs Get New Look to Build Faith

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Laurie Goodstein

CALIFORNIA---The American bar mitzvah, facing derision for Las Vegas style excess, is about to get a full makeover, but for an entirely different reason. Families have been treating this rite of passage not as an entry to Jewish life, but as a graduation ceremony: turn 13, read from the Torah, have a party and it’s over. Many leave synagogue until they have children of their own, and many never return at all — a cycle that Jewish leaders say has been undermining organized Judaism for generations. As Jews celebrate the new year..., leaders in the largest branch of Judaism, the Reform movement, are starting an initiative to stop the attrition by reinventing the entire bar and bat mitzvah process. Rabbis said in interviews that the event has become more a private service for the bar mitzvah family and friends than a communal event for the congregation. [link]

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World Premiere of "Prometheus Bound" at Getty Museum's Outdoor Theatre

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

CALIFORNIA---This September, the Getty Museum and CalArts Center for New Performance (CNP), in association with Trans Arts, will present "Prometheus Bound", the eighth annual outdoor theater production in the Getty Villa’s Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Theater. Featuring a newly-translated text by noted poet and essayist Joel Agee, Prometheus Bound will be directed by Travis Preston, artistic director of CNP and dean of the CalArts School of Theater, and include original music by composer Ellen Reid and celebrated jazz multiinstrumentalist Vinny Golia (who will also perform live onstage).

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Rare Buddhist Art From Myanmar, Coming Soon to a Museum Near You

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Jane Perelez

MYANMAR---In a delicate operation here, specialists gingerly eased a priceless, 1,000-year-old national treasure — a Buddhist bronze casting in the shape of a lotus flower — from its perch in a museum showcase. The curators pronounced it a star attraction among hundreds of rarely seen ancient objects in the neglected museums and dusty storerooms they have been scouring across Myanmar as they prepare for a 2015 exhibit at the Asia Society in New York City that will celebrate the nation’s long-hidden Buddhist art.. [link]

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Pope Francis Art Contest – Vote Here for Your Favorite!

RELIGION NEWS SERVICE
By Sally Morrow

Santo by Rob Hatem, Kansas City, Mo. (Acrylic Paint)

Artists from 8 countries around the world have sent in their submissions for the Religion News Service Pope Francis Art Contest. You can view all the entries below and then vote for your favorite! Feel free to vote as many times as you would like. Winners will be announced here on Sept. 9. Good luck to all of the artists! Voting will be open until Sunday, Sept. 8 at midnight ET. [link]

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7 Not-To-Be-Missed A&O Meetups in Indy This Fall

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest Disney-Britton

Image for the IRT 2013 production of "The Crucible"

INDIANA---It's that time of the year: the fall season, in Indianapolis when dead leaves on trees are waiting to fall, waiting for the wind to bring them down so that they can start a fresh beginning – a new phase of growth and development. It means cooler air and 100s of thousands returning indoors to explore faith through the arts. Whether celebrants debate religious freedom at the theatre; sexual identity at the museum; or the risks of religion during Spirit & Place, there’s something for everyone.

Seven Meet-ups, not-to-be-missed this Fall 2013:

1. Tues., Sept. 17: Indiana Repertory Theatre: "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller, Indiana Repertory Theatre Building, 140 W Washington Street; (317) 635-5252 or irtlive.com.
2. Sat., Sept. 28: Eiteljorg Museum for American Indians and Western Art: "'Two Spirit' LGBT Stories of the American West", 500 West Washington Street; (317) 636-9378 or eiteljorg.org.
3. Sat., Sept. 28: Indiana State Museum: "Day of the Dead Altar Exhibition,", 650 W. Washington Street; (317) 232-1637 or indianamuseum.org.
4. Fri., Oct. 11: Indianapolis Symphonic Choir: "Verdi's Requiem" with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra , Hilbert Circle Theatre; (317) 940-9057 or indychoir.org.
5. Fri., Nov. 1-30: Spirit & Place Festival: "A&O Prize for Contemporary Religious Art", Indiana Interchurch Center, 1100 W. 42nd Street; (317) 923-3617 or AlphaOmegaArts.org.
6. Fri., Dec. 13: Indianapolis Opera: "Amahl and the Night Visitors", Basile Opera Center, 4011 North Pennsylvania Street; (317) 283-3470 or indyopera.org.
7. Mon., Dec. 16: Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra: "Messiah Sing-Along" and "bring your score" , Indiana Landmarks Center, 1201 Central Avenue; (317) 940-9607 or icomusic.org.

To Meetup, call us at 317-919-0570 or send an email to Board(at)AlphaOmegaArts.org, ATTN: Gregory Disney-Britton, President (or just follow the tweets @AlphaOmegaArts).

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What is Rosh Hashanah? Anniversary of the Creation of Adam and Eve . . .

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Adam & Eve from the Saint John's Bible

This year, Jews (observant and non-Jews too) will celebrate the Festival of Rosh Hashanah from September 4-6. Because the Jewish calendar is on a lunar cycle, it changes every year. According to Chabad.org, The festival of Rosh Hashanah—the name means “Head of the Year”—is observed for two days beginning on 1 Tishrei, the first day of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, and their first actions toward the realization of mankind’s role in G‑d’s world. It begins at sundown tonight.

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Searching for the Heart of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent

BBC NEWS
By Nick Thorpe

HUNGARY---Later this month a team of Hungarian researchers will publish a report on the whereabouts of the heart of one of Ottoman Turkey's most famous sultans. The Muslim Turks finally took the town in September 1566, but sustained such losses, including the death of their leader, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, that they did not threaten Vienna again for 120 years. Now researchers are digging in the soil - and the archives - for the good sultan's heart. Suleiman died in his tent - some sources say from surprise at his Pyrrhic victory. He was 72, after all, and had been fighting the Hungarians for 40 years. His body was taken back to Constantinople, but his heart was buried here, in a tomb which subsequently became a Catholic church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, or so reads the inscription on the Turbeki church, just east of the town. But that's just a fairy story.... [link]

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The National Gallery of Art’s Teflon Budget

THE WASHINGTON POST
By Katherine Boyle

The Nativity with the Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel" (1308/1311) by Duccio di Buoninsegna

WASHINGTON, DC---In this era of shrinking federal budgets, the gallery has suffered little, thanks to support from Congress. From 2001 to 2011, federal appropriations to the National Gallery grew from $73 million to $158 million — or rose 70 percent when accounting for inflation — a growth rate nearly triple that of other federally-funded cultural institutions such as the National Archives, the Library of Congress and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. When compared with museums across the country, the gallery’s growth is staggering. On average, museum budgets have grown by less than 15 percent since 1991, according to a report by the American Alliance of Museums. “It means that there’s someone who is very good at lobbying,” said Diana Aviv, chief executive of the Independent Sector, a nonprofit coalition, and a former member of the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents’ Committee on Governance. “Generally speaking, when a budget increases that substantially, they’ve developed lay leaders or friends who are close to lawmakers.” [link]

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Non-A&O Movie Night: "We're the Millers"

FANDANGO

HOLLYWOOD---Small-time pot dealer David (Jason Sudeikis) learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished; trying to help some teens, he is jumped by thugs and loses his cash and stash. Now, David's in big debt to his supplier and -- to wipe the slate clean -- he must go to Mexico to pick up the guy's latest shipment. To accomplish his mission, Dave devises a foolproof plan: He packs a fake family into a huge RV and heads south of the border for a wild weekend that is sure to end with a bang.  [link]

Movie Title: "We're the Millers"
Full synopsis Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Will Poulter, Emma Roberts, Ed Helms Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy

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Medieval Church Treasures from Hildesheim Coming to NYC's Metropolitan Museum

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Crosier of Abbot Erkanbald. German (Hildesheim), ca. 997 or before 1011.
Silver with gilding, H. 4 1/2 in. (11.3 cm). Dom-Museum Hildesheim (DS 7)

NEW YORK---Manhattan's Metropolitan Museum of Art presents "Medieval Treasures from Hildesheim" beginning September 17. The exhibition of works from Germany’s Hildesheim Cathedral in Lower Saxony has one of the most complete surviving ensembles of ecclesiastical furnishings and treasures in Europe, including many medieval masterpieces made between about 1000 and 1250. The cathedral was designated a UNESCO world cultural heritage site in 1985.

Metropolitan Museum of Art: "Medieval Treasures from Hildesheim" (September 17, 2013 – January 5, 2014), 1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street), New York City, metmuseum.org

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Sotheby's to Present Exhibition on Development and Transformation of Buddhist Art

ECONOMIC TIMES

(The show features pan-Asian Buddhist paintings and sculptures from the
ancient regions of Gandhara, Nepal, Tibet, Korea, China and Japan. (Representative pic))

NEW YORK---Sotheby's is pleased to present a selling exhibition, "Footsteps of the Buddha: Masterworks from Across the Buddhist World", which traces the historical development and transformation of Buddhist art as it travelled throughout Asia, from the 2nd century, through to the 21st. The show features pan-Asian Buddhist paintings and sculptures from the ancient regions of Gandhara, Nepal, Tibet, Korea, China and Japan. The works will be on view in our New York galleries from 3rd to 23rd September. [link]

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Sikhs in Indianapolis Celebrate Holy Teachings With Food, Music

THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR
By Tony Cook

INDIANA---Thousands of Sikhs gathered Sunday at an Indianapolis temple to celebrate the creation of their holy scripture with food, music and teachings. Manjit Singh, president of the Sikh temple on the city’s Far Westside that hosted the event, estimated that about 5,000 people attended throughout the day. Indianapolis is home to a growing Sikh community, with four temples in the area. The event Sunday celebrated the creation of the Guru Granth Sahib, or Sikh holy book, in the 1600s. It is a compilation of writings by the religion’s 10 gurus, or teachers, who lived from 1469 to 1708. The scripture itself is regarded as the final and living guru.[link]

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Labor Day, America's Forgotten Religious Holiday

THE WASHINGTON POST
By Adon Taft

Seal of the Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor

WASHINGTON, D.C.---Of the 10 holidays recognized by the federal government, the future status of two — Labor Day and Christmas — may be short-lived. And, perhaps surprisingly, for the same reason: religion. In the case of Labor Day, a holiday that originated in 1892 by the efforts of the New York chapter of the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor, this country’s first nationwide labor union, Union leaders have forgotten the religious roots of organized labor in this country. Terence Vincent Powderly, who led the Knights’ outreach across the nation, was a devout Catholic influenced by his Baptist lay preacher predecessor, Uriah Stephens. Powderly, a nonsmoking teetotaler, attributed the roots of the labor movement to Christianity. [link]

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INSPIRE ME! Artist, Tony Melendez

"What else would I do if not this?" 

~ TONY MELENDEZ

"The Annunciation -- Me?" 24 x 30" - acrylic on canvas

By Ernest Disney-Britton

All my friends are artists or creatives, and one of those I admire most is Arsenio "Tony" Melendez, our October 2013 A&O INSPIRE ME! Artist of Month. When he submitted his entry "The Annunciation - Me?" (above) to the "Alpha & Omega: Religious Risks" exhibition, he wrote: "This work reveals Mary's role in the realization of a saviour into the world. This meeting represents her risk in proclaiming "yes" to the angel Gabriel, it represents Her risk in accepting "unrealistic" terms, and Her risk in bringing into the world, the only person who could cause her grief that would never before be known to man." Enough said?

Portrait of Tony Melendez

1. What is your faith tradition, and how does it impact your art? I am Latino, raised in NYC in a culture where spirituality was part of our daily experience. You couldn't escape it even if you tried, and admittedly when I was old enough to try, I did try to escape but something about my move to Indianapolis brough me back to my spiritual roots. 

"Saint Kateri" (2012) by Tony Melendez

2. Describe your artwork. What style or genre is it? I’ve been called an illustrator who paints, and I'm okay with that but as a self-taught artists I guess I'm also what is considered an "Outsider" artists. 

"Mayan II" by Tony Melendez

3. Have you ever had to defend exploring religious ideas? I've done a great deal of defense and especially to thos who were fans of my previous non-sacred works. It hasn't slowed me down, and may infact have helped push me forward. I can honestly say that my spiritual works are probably in more homes than my secular works. 

"The Annunciation -- Me?" 24 x 30" - acrylic on canvas

4. Who collects your work, and why? They are spiritual people like myself, not necessarily Christian, and not Catholic either, but definitely people who have a spiritual connection in their lives and want it reflected in the artwork of their homes.

"Islamic Window"

5. What "risks" have you taken in creating your work? I’ve been challenged for mixing religious symbols, and that's a risk I keep taking. My job as an artist is to reveal what can't be seen, but truly is. That sounds grand, but I believe the way I mix Christian, Pagan, Islamic, Buddhist symbols is an aid for spiritual growth, and it not the viewers it is at least for this painter. 

"Mother Goddesses"

6. What other artists have influenced your work? I have a long list but the one that stands out is Henri Rousseau (below). The layers and layers that he applies to a painting has been a major influence on my own style. 

"The Dream" (1910) by Henri Rousseau

7. How can A&O readers collect/experience your work? I do have a website, but I'm admittedly not the best arts manager. My partner Gary does most of that for me as well as the exposure I get through the collection owned by my church, Life Journey Church; and off course my friends at Alpha Omega Arts. 

For more information on Tony Melendez, please visit his website at www.artofmelendez.com. You can and should also check out his work, "The Annunciation--Me?" this November at Indiana Interchurch Center, 1100 W. 42nd Street, Indianapolis.

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS 
By TAHLIB

My CEO had a particularly bad day, so knowing that he'd be huddled at his desk all-day, I surprised him by bringing him lunch. That night, he texted: "Been thinking all evening about that simple act of bringing me that salad," and he added, "You are a remarkable person." I didn't expect that. My gesture was small but it made a big impact on his spirit. Have you ever given an unexpected gift to someone in authority who was in pain? ... your boss, your rabbi, or maybe a policeman? You should give. We all should, and not because we expect even a thankyou, but because giving is spiritually healthy for the giver too. This week, we were reminded of Rev. King's gift to America. It's a reminder that when we give, we "are a remarkable" people, and that makes photographer Bob Adelman's "Free at last, free at last," (above) my NEWS OF WEEK.

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

• Buddhist Art of Week: Steve Jobs' religious imagination: "Touching is Believing." [More News]
• Christian Art of Week: Oklahoma City to host 500 years of Italian paintings. [More News]
• Islamic Art of Week: Middle Eastern women photographers in show of strength. [More News]
• Hindu Art of Week: Encyclopedia of Hinduism, an 11-yr effort unveiled in US.  [More News]
• Judaic Art of Week: Hyman Bloom’s rabbi paintings at White Box gallery. [More News]

It's more than Art. It's Religion. We are believers and skeptics too, united in the search for human understanding through art of 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 A&O Project as dues-paying members; others support the A&O Prize - Youth Scholarships as donors; and still other digital members subscribe to this "free" weekly newsletter (or follow on: Flickr, Pinterest, Tumblr, Soundcloud, Facebook, or YouTube). If you believe, then join us.

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