In Tehran studying Farsi, Harvard student Fotini Christia noticed that pedestrians ignored the numerous murals “filled with religious symbolism” througout the city depicting Grand Ayatollahs Khomeini and Khamenei, memorials to the Iran-Iraq war’s martyrs and anti-Israel and -American themes. Her photographic documentation of the murals are on view at Harvard.
[Harvard U. Gazette]
Graffiti artist Mohammed Ali posts on absurd attempts to stop his (legal) graffiti art on peace, because the letters were Arabic.
[aerosolarabic]
“Dear Jesus,” starts Didymus, “A lot of what passes for religious art tries my faith.” On not finding “representations of people whose humanity I share.”
[Notes from Didymus]
Reform Judaism recommends Nadler’s Rembrandt’s Jews for summer reading, without any indication why a four-year-old book is so timely now. (I touch on the subject in Jacob van Ruisdael Is Not Jewish.)
[Reform Judaism]
Richard Serra, whose work (above) will appear in Richard Serra Sculpture: Forty Years at MoMA, speaks of his Jewish mother in this Time story and this podcast from PRI Studio 360 (also here). If this is news to you that Serra is Jewish, consider of his 326,000 hits on Google, only 26,500 mention the work Jewish, and the overwhelming majority of those mentions are not about Serra. Someone add the word Jew to Wikipedia quick!
I asked Matthew Weiner, director of programming at the Interfaith Center of New York, about the destroyed mandala (see previous post). Here is what he said:
Iconia: Many of the media reports are mentioning that the mandala was meant to be destroyed anyway and that the monks have forgiven the toddler. Do you worry that however true these points are that this will cheapen the act to some people who might commit similar acts?
MW: No- the Buddhist monks are being true to their tradition, and not endorsing the activity.
Iconia: What exactly is the role of the mandala? Why is it made of sand? How symbolic are the colors and the various shapes and symbols?
MW: Basically it’s about impermanence and interconnectedness, key points to Buddhism. So the kid provides a Buddhist lesson.
Iconia: Why was it placed in an airport? Should there have been more measures to protect it?
MW: That’s for the monks to answer.
Iconia: Some bloggers are calling for donations to the monks for their forgiving responses. Where would you recommend interested parties send their donations?
MW: Tibet Fund, based in NYC.
Iconia: To what extent is the mandala an example of religious art as opposed to simply geometric form? Beyond mandalas, most people in the United States probably don’t know much about Buddhist art. What are some of the most important things going on in contemporary Buddhist art? Who are your favorite contemporary Buddhist artists?
MW: Rubin Museum of Art.
Right: The mandala before…
In NBC’s Nightly News podcast (find it here), Brian Williams reports on the Tibetan monks’ sand creation in the Kansas City airport ruined by a 3-year-old (you will have to scroll through to 20:15 to catch the story, which appears last in the program). See also WCSH6 and ABC, which reports the monks have forgiven the toddler, see also this.
Right: The mandala after…
Blog Roundup:
“At least the monks have cultivated the mindset of the fleeting nature of art, so it was no big loss.” [American Samizdat]
“My Mom would have spanked my butt right there though and it would have been all over youtube if that were around back then!” [a Jennifer on Myspace]
“As a mother, I would have been completely mortified and apologetic if one of my boys did this. To just grab your child and leave, what a bitch!” [The one and only Angie]
“Monks are bald, so they couldn’t rip their hair out. But were they angry? Did they curse? No. They simply smiled and started over.” [Kansascity.com]
“I have to say i respect the hell out of the monks for their gentle global view. I’m sending them a little check. You should too.” [Buzz Words]
“That’s it you guys, I’m buying a red robe and shaving my head.” [Outdoorzy.com]
“…in typical Tibetan monk fashion, they simply smiled and started over. Which is probably a better reaction than I would’ve had: drop kicking the baby through a plate glass window while screaming ‘DIE!’” [Geekologie]
“Of course, since they destroy the mandala themselves when it is complete, having it ruined early on is no doubt easy to align with their beliefs.” [NonStop Chatter]
