“The funding … is important because the US is among the countries known to have received looted Khmer antiquities in recent years,” reports The Art Newspaper (HT: ARTINFO).
The Republican running on an “anti-Sharia” platform tells FrontPage:
Our education system is bankrupt at all levels. Our universities do not prepare our young minds to see anything bad about Islam. Here in Nashville at Vanderbilt University you can get a degree in Islamic Studies and never read the life of Mohammed—and never read the entire Koran. You study Sufi poetry, Islamic art and Islamic history viewed as a glorious triumph. No kafirs suffer in this program and there is no history of Jew, Christian, Hindu or Buddhist suffering under Islamic rule for the past 1,400 years. A graduate from this program then goes out into the world professionally trained to be an apologist for Islam, a dhimmi. And this program is standard at all schools, not just Vanderbilt.
K. R. H. Dharmodipuro secretly sold six ninth-century Hindu statues and replaced them with fakes.
The National Palace Museum’s (Taipei, Taiwan) dilemma, along with not being able to afford Hindu art.

My column “Gods and Idols,” a review of “Idol Anxiety” at the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art through November 2, appears in the National Catholic Reporter (online here).
Here’s a selection:
Idolatry is a dirty word in academic and artistic circles, where it is viewed as a term imposed on objects that cannot resist the pigeonholing. One person’s idol is by definition another’s god. The Smart Museum’s show “Idol Anxiety” at the University of Chicago explores this complicated relationship between worshiped objects, the artisans who create them and the audiences who experience them.

Sree posts on SAJAforum about TIME’s White House Photo of the Day of the contents of Obama’s pockets and “the things he carries around for good luck,” like “a bracelet belonging to a soldier deployed in Iraq, a gambler’s lucky chit, a tiny monkey god and a tiny Madonna and child.” Writes Sree:
That “tiny monkey god,” of course, appears to be a statue of the Hindu monkey god, Hanuman. I wish the photographer and editors had bothered to be as specific with the Hindu reference as they were with the Christian one. John McCain, as you will see below, doesn’t have as many lucky charms.
A witty commenter added, “he walks around with all that crap in his pocket? rather telling …. obviously there’s no room for ‘change.’”
Rev. Ken Yamada is a minister at Berkeley Higashi Honganji Buddhist Temple in Berkeley, Calif. He began with the following caveat: “As a Buddhist minister, I’m not an expert on art, but I do have a personal interest in Buddhist art and I sometimes refer to art as a means to teach Buddhism, which is the whole point of ‘Buddhist art.’ So that is my humble perspective in trying to provide feedback to your questions.”
MW: To what extent, if at all, is creating art a religious experience in Buddhism, as opposed to simply an act of creating works that then take on religious significance?
RKY: Both approaches represent two sides of the same coin. Artists create work meant to take on religious meaning. And the creation of art is also meant to be a religious experience.
For example, an artist skilled in his craft, may carve a statute or paint a picture meant to depict a Buddha or a scene of a story in a sutra, which are then seen by others for their religious meaning.

For those people who see the art only in terms of a beautiful object (such as viewers at a museum), the artwork is not really “Buddhist” in my opinion.
The creation process ideally also is a religious experience. When a carver works on a statue, one form of practice is to perform a simple chant, such as “Nam Am Da Bu” while carving, over and over. This practice cultivates a calm, clear mind of appreciation. Consequently from this mind, a peaceful-looking Buddha emerges from the block of wood. The mind of the carver is just as important as skill in creating a statue of the Buddha.
MW: Is there a such thing as Buddhist art per se? If so, what does it entail? Are there any subjects that are off limits to Buddhist artists?
RKY: Traditionally, Buddhist art are representations of the symbols and images found in the sutras, which are the scriptures based on the historic Buddha’s sermons. For example, they will be different Buddhas, specific symbols such as lotus blossoms (which represents “wisdom”), or devil-like images (which represent anger and ignorance).
However, Buddhism is very liberal in the sense that anything can be a teaching (Dharma) to us. Therefore, nothing is really off limits in terms of what subject or image form the basis of the art, as long as it expresses Truth as taught by the Buddha, such as “interdependence” or “nirvana” or “impermanence,” etc. Sometimes these teachings are deeply buried in the symbolism expressed by the art, so artwork must be studied, analyzed and meditated upon before these truths are realized by the viewer. This process too, of using art to move a person to think about life in a deep and profound way, is another means by which art serves its religious purpose. Mandalas are an obvious example of this process, as they are meant to be stared at and reflected upon continuously.
Continue reading ‘Interview: Rev. Ken Yamada’

[Dallas Morning News] Another great religion and art story from the DMN. “Traditional Asian art draws little distinction between religious observance and artistic creation,” observes Kevin Richardson, “and there are Buddhists, Hindus and others who believe that a deity’s spirit resides in sculptures or carvings of his likeness.”
[Stamford Times] The Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Stamford is showing the work of “17-year-old artist Stanislav (Stass) Shpanin,” who “was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest professional artist in the world.” Evidently Guiness hasn’t read about Freddie Linsky.
[mynews.in] Vidya Bhushan Rawat writes on “Art as medium of protest against powerful Brahmanical values” in Savi Savarkar’s work. The article is a bit dense.
Image: “Photo: Savi Sawarkar painting– Ambedkarite Monk.” From Vidya Bhushan Rawat’s article.
[WorldNetDaily] Wisconsin is still ironing out why its schools permit drawing Buddhist and Hindu symbols and the devil, but not Christian ones. This explanation will be fun to see.
[Press Enterprise] Big claims from Leslie A. Brown, director of the Quad Art Gallery (whose site seems to be down): “I’ve read every major religious book from the Bible to the Torah to the cabala to books about Buddha. That’s what I read. That’s what turns me on … I love Hindu imagery. The supreme being in Hindu mythology is a black woman holding the head of rationality, a man, in her hand.”
[Bostonist] The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is showing “Luxury for Export,” which tells how “Indian goods and art were being shipped to Portugal, and Mughul rulers began collecting European/Christian art. The Indians and Portuguese cultures influenced each other for a few centuries, then many from both regions eventually settle in Massachusetts.” (More here.)
[Express India] Filmmaker Nidhi Tulli’s “Art in Exile” explores “the art styles of Tibetans that are slowly dying out or are fighting a losing battle against extinction.” Incidentally, “Tibetan art is primarily sacred art, with an overriding influence of Tibetan Budhism.”
[Jewish Press] Richard McBee reviews Archie Rands 613 canvas series.
Continue reading ‘Gardner Museum, Nidhi Tulli, Archie Rand, Qatar’
In twins Brennon and Alonzo Edwards’ tag team, pictured, Alonzo makes religious art, which Brennon sells. Alonzo says of his piece on Amnon’s rape of Tamar, “I started praying on it, and I got a vision of how to paint it.” [The Flint Journal]
Andrea Useem, creator and publisher of ReligionWriter, writes on “What Makes a Movie ‘Christian?’” with an interview of Phil Vischer. Veggie haters beware. [ReligionWriter.com]

The Met is looking for a new director to replace Philippe de Montebello. One candidate is MOMA director Glenn Lowry, whose specialty is Islamic art. [NY Times]
Mel Alexenberg posts a blog on his “Aesthetic Peace Plan for the Middle East.” I’ve written about Mel here and interviewed him here. [Aesthetic Peace]
Leah Ollman writes on “two landmark exhibitions” of Kitaj’s works “focusing on Kitaj’s prolific obsession with things Jewish.” [LA Times]
The traveling show “Hidden Afghanistan” at Amsterdam’s Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) offers tells the “engrossing tale” of remnants of Afghanistan’s art were saved from the Taliban. [TIME magazine]
Continue reading ‘Afghani Remnants, 2 Kitaj Shows, Aesthetic Peace Plan for the Middle East’
Forward arts roundup: Eli Rosenblatt on a virtual shul, Thomas Doherty on Hollywood’s antisemitic censor Joseph I. Breen, and Daniel Treiman on a Jewish Elvis who stalks Michael Moore.

(Right) “Japanese monks and nuns held a fashion show - with rap music and a catwalk - at a major Tokyo temple Saturday to promote Buddhism.” The “Tokyo Bouz (monk) Collection” of about 40 monks and nuns from eight major Buddhist sects “aimed at winning back believers.” CNN, photo: AP.
Arab American News arts roundup: Ali Moossavi reviews “Lions For Lambs,” the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) Theatre Company produces Yussef El Guindi’s “Back of the Throat,” and Lebanese-filmmaker Rola Nashef’s “Detroit Unleaded.”
Geographical zones affect the various art forms of Nepal, “the artists and painters living in the Himalayan region get inspiration from Mahayana Buddhism. However, the painters and artist from plain areas get inspiration from Hinduism.” [Media For Freedom]
UCLA Buddhist studies has 10 more years of support for the Yehan Numata Endowment totaling $750k. According to the UCLA site, “UCLA has a distinguished Buddhist studies program, boasting the largest faculty outside of Asia and the greatest number of graduate students studying Buddhism or Buddhist art history anywhere in the United States or Europe.”

Here are some pictures I took at the Baha’i Temple in Chicago a few weeks ago. I was particularly interested in how the Baha’i principle of “the oneness of humankind” (based upon teachings of Baha’u'llah) play out in Baha’i art. Note in the column below how the Jewish star, the cross, the Hindu swastika, and the Muslim crescent all coexist.

The temple (the only one in North America) has nine sides attached to the dome. It was designed by Baha’i architect Jean-Baptiste Louis Bourgeois (1856-1930), not to be confused with Louise Bourgeois.
I wonder how, if at all, the Baha’i faith conceives of idolatry. One might think Judaism and Islam wouldn’t consider the Baha’i idolatrous, since the Baha’i view God as unknowable. Idolatry necessitates a God with a visible, physical form.
Yet, the Baha’i, who find aspects of truth in all religions and recognize a diverse bunch of prophets — including Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad — must then find truth even in polytheistic religions. Can one remain a monotheist and still find truth in polytheism? It sounds theoretically plausible, but one wonders how that could play out practically.
These are of course simplistic questions that require further study. If this is an area in which you are knowledgeable, please leave comments and/or recommendations of informative texts.
Here are several Holocaust-related stories from JTA. Even as the Muslim Council of Britain no longer boycotts Holocaust Memorial Day (release here), 67-year-old Gerd Honsik is going to jail for denial. Kieran Shinkins, a 10th-grade teacher in Ukraine, asked students to create Nazi election posters, the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission asked the Australian government to ban Thompson, a rock group it calls neo-Nazi, and Germany is dropping a suit against Wikimedia Deutschland for posting too many swastikas.
The Cincinnati Art Museum has canceled the Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic art exhibit, The Arts of Kashmir, upon learning not all the pieces would arrive for the show from the Asia Society. Curators felt “it wouldn’t have as much impact without all the original objects.” [Cincinnati Enquirer]
Israeli archaeologists say they’ve discovered Queen Helene of Adiabene’s 2,000-year-old home. [JTA]
Sivia Katz Braunstein’s dreidels will appear at the White House Hannukah party. [The Courier Post]
Continue reading ‘Cincinnati Art Museum Cancels Buddhist, Hindu and Islamic Exhibit’
[The Open Press] Janet McKenzie, whose “Christ Mother” depicts Jesus as a woman, says “Sometimes ‘controversial’ art simply comes forward, like it or not. It is like a scream; you are doing it before you realize you are.” See also here.
[News @ Princeton] “Dunhuang Manuscripts and Paintings: An International Symposium Honoring James and Lucy Lo” will transpire at Princeton next Friday.
[NY Magazine] Jerry Saltz writes on the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. Money quotes (HT: Conde Nast Portfolio.com):
Numerous government sites warn that Israeli passport holders and travelers whose passports bear Israeli stamps will be denied entry visas to the Emirates. Thus, the Guggenheim — founded by a Jewish family, an institution with Jewish curators and scores of works by Jewish artists, designed by the Jewish Gehry — isn’t really welcome either … As of July 2006, it was reported that no nudes were to be shown, nor anything deemed “controversial.”
[NY Jewish Week] Painter Jonathan Santlofer turned to writing after a fire destroyed his work and “for some reason I’d lost my direction in painting.” He says he owes it all to his bubbe.
[Queerty] Matthias Von Fistenberg, director of Passio, which is sure to make “Fox News anchors explode,” says “My Jesus is gay, stunningly beautiful and sexy. He gets aroused like all of us … The movie is a gospel, passio, version of the Jesus story according to me.”
Continue reading ‘Arts Roundup: A Sexual Jesus and Bubbe the Muse’