“The Frog, the Demons, and the Jewish Star”
September 29th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
My review of Mark Podwal’s work appears in The Jewish Press.
Archive for September, 2008
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Synagogue”
September 29th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
My explanation of the symbols and layout of the synagogue, on InterfaithFamily.com.
Al Jazeera Artsworld on Qatar’s Museum of Islamic Art
September 26th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
Link here.
“The Bible is full of … situations that are by definition artistic”
September 26th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
Read the rest of the great piece here.
Benjamin Moser and Steven Nadler Go Back and Forth on Rembrandt’s Jews
September 26th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
Sacha Baron Cohen in Milan
September 26th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
More on Bruno and his new project here.
NY Times on Met Opera’s “Salome”
September 26th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
“Salome does not get it. Does this man [Jochanaan, John the Baptist] have no desires? Is he a pompous fool? A seer? She swings between a strange desire to kiss Jochanaan’s rosy lips and stroke his austere white skin, and unhinged spasms of physical disgust. If he will not be smitten by her, as others are, then with biblical vengeance she will smite him, by bending Herod to her will.” Full review here.
“Art Critic Unto the Nations”
September 25th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
My article about why I study and write about religious art appears in World Jewish Digest.
Biblical Art at the Met
September 17th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
My review of “Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure From the Palaces of Europe” and “J. M. W. Turner” at the Metropolitan Museum appears in The Jewish Press.
Fake “art” bomb should make us think carefully about the nature of art
September 13th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
The Icelandic art student studying in Canada who planted a fake bomb outside the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto (pictured) probably had no idea why everyone was so riled up by his work. According to the CBC, the student “said he wanted people to think about where art is placed and how that changes their view of it. He described it as a conceptual art piece, using plastic, wood and glass and a video.”
Thank God for the judge, who saw through the “theory” and said in court that the piece was “a really stupid act, even for a young person.” I wonder, though, why there cannot be some sort of judge in the academy that could help prevent this sort of thinking from the start. Of course art should stop where free speech does–at the point where it gets dangerous. Fake art bombs are pretty similar to yelling “fire” in a theater.
Yet, the tragedy of the piece at the Toronto museum is also an art one. The student actually thought that a piece that simply interrogated how placement of art impacts the object was itself a piece of art. Not only should any rational adult know that planting something that could be mistaken for a bomb in a public place (especially post 9/11) is a stupid idea, but it should also be obvious that such a project is immature art as well. Perhaps a sociologist or a political psychologist would be interested in people’s responses to the piece, but if artists have grown so interested in all that surrounds art to the exclusion of the work of art itself, that is tragic.
Given the choice between an ideal world where artists could comfortably create works like this without causing a stir and one where artists were smart enough to know this was a foolish idea, I’d not hesitate for the latter.
LDS artist Mark Mabry
September 13th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
I think Mabry’s approach is so interesting insofar as he does the opposite of a photographer like Adi Nes, who uses photography to modernize biblical stories. I’d love to hear more from Mabry about why he chose to stick with more of a biblical set and set of costumes.
The London Jewish Museum’s new 2004 Ner Tamid
September 13th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
See it here. EJP article here. A “Ner Tamid” (literally “A perpetual light” or “candle”) often hangs in a synagogue near the ark, and it symbolizes the light that always burnt on the altar in the Tabernacle (see Leviticus 6: 6, or 6: 13 by the King James’ count).
Princeton U’s exhibit “The Greek Book From Papyrus to Printing”
September 13th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
Here’s the description from Princeton:
This illustration shows St. Catherine’s Monastery on a brown hillside representing Mount Sinai, where Moses is said to have received the Ten Commandments. At left, an elderly monk holds an open book, probably Scripture or a prayer book. Behind the monastery is the Burning Bush. The illustration is reproduced from an 11th-century miniature in a manuscript that is part of the Princeton University Library’s Robert Garrett Collection.
Image: Courtesy of the Princeton University Library
It’s interesting to note that the interpretation follows the Jewish approach of showing the bush without God or any angels.
Georgian-Israeli painter’s “kind of Stalinist self-discipline” continues to drive his Jewish art
September 13th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
Meet David Chananashvili. Story from Haaretz.
Artistic Trash
September 13th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
Mini-writeup from the The Boston Globe. Sounds like some of Louise Nevelson’s trash appropriated for art.
Jewish and Christian Approaches to Nudity
September 13th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
First Things on whether porn is adulterous, and inthemoment on Rabbi Moshe Feinstein’s view of the Torah’s perspective on nudity.
Israel to Make the Dead Sea Scrolls Acessible Online
September 13th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
Story from Moment Magazine’s blog, via NY Times (link) and the Guardian (link). Also see here.
The “literary license” of “The Jewel of Madina”
September 13th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
MuslimMatters.org on “The latest episode in this never-ending game of ‘Hey, let’s do something senseless just to get a reaction from Muslims!’”
The Syrian Art Boom
September 13th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
Story from TIME’s Middle East blog writer Andrew Lee Butters.
Memorial Services for Imam W. Deen Mohammed
September 12th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
Okolo Rashid, co-founder and executive director of the International Museum of Muslim Cultures in Jackson, Miss., (who was kind enough to interview with me for this piece), sent me a release about a memorial service for the late Imam W. Deen Mohammed (photo: Washington Post). This is not a religious art story at all, but out of respect to Imam Mohammed and to Okolo, I reprint it here:
People across the U.S., and the international community, along with the Muslim community mourns the death of a devoted servant of God, Imam W. Deen Mohammed, who passed away Tuesday morning, September 9, 2008.
Imam, W. Deen Mohammed was deeply loved and highly respected by his family, supporters, believers, friends, religious people of all faiths and leaders nationally and globally. We pray that Allah will bless him with forgiveness, shower him with mercy and grant him a noble place in Paradise.
Imam Mohammed, 74, was the son of Elijah Muhammad, the builder of the Nation of Islam. After his father’s death in 1975, Imam Mohammed was unanimously elected to succeed him in leadership. Just this past labor-day weekend in Detroit, Michigan, he presided over a national Islamic convention that was attended my thousands of American Muslims.
Imam Mohammed’s unique and historic contribution to the American Muslim community cannot be quantified. He was used as a vehicle by God to bring about the transformation of the lives of thousand of African Americans to Orthodox Islam, following the guidance of the Qur’an and the Sunnah (example of Prophet Muhammed). Imam Mohammed was known for his calm and dignified demeanor. He was a tireless educator who constantly called on Muslims to pursue Islamic knowledge as embodied in the Quran and Sunnah. He was a champion of individual and community self-reliance, civil and human rights, business and community involvement; and a strong advocate for peace and reconciliation between people of all faiths. Through his many years of service, he contributed to the growth and nurturing of many great imams, teachers, leaders, activists and followers within and outside of his community.
May Allah, Most High, comfort his family and help them draw strength from their faith, trust and acceptance of Allah’s will and great wisdom. We all especially mourn with them because this great loss comes on the heels of the passing of Jaabir Herbert Mohammed, Imam Mohammed’s brother.
“O righteous soul… Return to your Lord, pleased and well pleasing. Enter among My servants… Yea, enter My Heaven” ( Quran, 89:27-30)
A memorial service for Imam Mohammed is planned for this Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at Woodworth’s Chapel on the campus of Tougaloo College at 500 West County Line Road, Jackson, MS.
For more information, refer to the following:
201 E. Pascagoula Street, Jackson, MS 39201, 601-960-0440 (phone) or 1-866-960-0440 (toll-free) or 601-960-0316 (fax), website: muslimmuseum.org
For more info on Imam Mohammed, see a great profile here from altmuslim. “Alav hashalom,” as is often said in the Jewish community, loosely translated as, “May his memory be a blessing.”
The Guardian: The World’s Ugliest Buildings
September 12th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
In light of the Guardian’s list the world’s five ugliest buildings (1. House of the Republic, Bucharest; 2. Buckingham Palace, London; 3. Ryerson University Library, Toronto; 4. Any McDonald’s drive-thru, anywhere; 5. St George Wharf, London), I think it might be in order to list the world’s ugliest religious architecture.
First place of course would go to Yeshiva University’s Belfer Hall, pictured, but I am open to other suggestions…
Maqbool Fida Husain’s Work Not Obscene
September 11th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
Rules India’s Supreme Court. Story: NY Times. Husain, whose painting shows “a nude goddess in the shape of India,” says, “This is not a victory for me only, but one for the Indian contemporary-art movement.”
3 Questionable Chagalls Yanked by Japanese Museum
September 11th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
As Ramadan Dims Many Theaters’ Lights…
September 11th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
Nehad Selaiha remembers a few of recent goodies in Al-Ahram Weekly.
Great Interview from BustedHalo
September 8th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
“Author Anne Rice gives BustedHalo editor-in-chief Bill McGarvey a brief tour of some of the religious art in her home as well as paintings by her late husband Stan Rice.”
AP on Islamic Aniconism
September 8th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
An AP story (link here) claims two factor affected the right wing Islamic responses to the Danish cartoons:
The cartoons angered Muslims because they depicted Muhammad as violent and licentious. Also, Islamic law bans any depiction of the prophet, even favorable, for fear it could lead to idolatry.
I’ve shown in several places how flawed this charge is — there are many examples of representational Islamic art, just as there are many of naturalistic Jewish art. Here are a couple of posts to look at if you are interested:
1. My interview with Baker Masad of the Arab Art Gallery
2. My interview with Mustafa Abu Sway of Al-Quds University
Liberia’s New “Film Ministries”
September 5th, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
From allAfrica.com, via The NEWS (Monrovia). Money quote:
Movies touch all of our senses, therefore, when gospel films portraying the life and sufferings of our Savior for the redemption of mankind are screened, there is the tendency for people to be moved to give their lives for his cause.
“Innovation and Imitation in Albrecht Dürer’s Samson”
September 3rd, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
My review of the Dürer show at the Museum of Biblical Art appears online here. There is a mistake with the images, and Dürer’s work does’t show up yet, but hopefully The Jewish Press will fix it.
“How kosher is kosher?”
September 3rd, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
My article about Agriprocessors (site here) and the new Conservative Jewish certification, Hekhsher Tzedek (site here), appears in National Catholic Reporter.
“Confronting the Charge that the Gospels are Anti-Semitic”
September 1st, 2008 by Menachem Wecker
My review of Michael J. Cook’s “Modern Jews Engage the New Testament” appears on InterfaithFamily.com.