Sacred Spaces: First Congregational Church | Indianapolis

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB


INDIANA---First Congregational Church bills itself as a progressive,  inclusive, spiritually alive servant community. I was invited to attend for the Good Friday, a stoic and somber experience for any church, and this was true for First Congregational Church as well. They are part of the United Church of Christ family of churches. However in general, they offer two distinct opportunities for worship. First, their "New Creation" worship which is varied and nontraditional with drama, contemporary music and dance. “You never know what will happen this week,” said one worshipper. The second at 11am is their Traditional worship which offers "challenging and thoughtful preaching" along with traditional music. The structure is a huge beautiful New England style sanctuary, and starkly unadorned in terms of artistry or scultptural works, but it does sit on a nice parkland campus, and even as a Baptist art-evangelist, I felt very welcomed.

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RELIGIOUS ART | NEWS OF WEEK

GOD'S ART MUSEUMS
By TAHLIB

"Feet First" (1990) by Martin Kippenberger at MoMA

"Robo-priest" delivered the Easter homily in French today at Saint Vincent de Paul Church. I nicknamed him that because of his robot-like efficiency during weekday noon masses, but today he was different. Backed by an all Haitian choir, he was on fire before the packed congregation of pasty Parisian-born New Yorkers dressed in white. It was a beautful yet broken experience for me. Monday - Friday, this is my home church but on this Easter Sunday, I was an alien. Yesterday, at MOMA I saw Martin Kippenberger's retrospective, and his crucified frog is my image for Easter 2009. Everyday in NYC, wonder surrounds me but I remain an alien.

As a Christian, this holyweek is the most special week of my year:

• Good Friday: "Crucified Frog" by Martin Kippenberg [link]
• Easter 2009: St. Vincent de Paul, Chelsea, NYC [link]

To follow my holyweek journey, I'll be updating future Easter posts with links in the years ahead. Whether Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jew or non-denominational, we are all members of a giant spiritual family, united in the search for human meaning through art from the religious imagination. For us, it's more than Art. It's also Religion.

Facade of Church

While the facade is elegantly preserved, it is the opulent interior of the 1869 structure, as refined in 1939 by architect Anthony H. Depace that most takes your breath away. There are grandiose marble columns, intricate mosaics, murals and colorful stained glass which effectively combine to produce a kind of super spiritual atmosphere found in the greatest of Christian churches. St. Vincent de Paul is a masterpiece but one that is in a state of decay, and needs a resurrection for the modern day.

Interior of the church

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"Christ" by Adi Nes at the The Armory | NYC

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

NEW YORK - Adi Nes is an Israeli gay artist whose works, like this one entitled, "Christ" go for $40K+ at the Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City.

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Crucified Frog by Martin Kippenberg at MoMA for Good Friday

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

By TAHLIB

"Feet First" (1990) by Martin Kippenberger at MoMA

"Feet First" (1990) by Martin Kippenberger is a four foot high wooden sculpture of a crucified frog in loincloth, brandishing a mug of beer and an egg. The Pope called it "blasphemous." The exhibition, "Martin Kippenberger: The Problem Perspective" at the Museum of Modern Art embraces the full range of his output and while the curators don't make the claim that it is comprehensive, this exhibition introduced me to one of the most inventive and influential bodies of artwork of the late twentieth century. It begins however with this message: "Everything in moderation," counseled Aristotle. Martin Kippenberger never got this message, as a good friend pointed out after the artist's death at age forty-four in 1997. The exhibit ends on May 11, 2009.

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All Souls Unitarian | NYC

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB


NEW YORK---Built in 1932, All Souls - a Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Manhattan has "zero" religious imagery in this elegant space in pastel colors with six large chandeliers and five magnificent clear glass windows. It is located at 1157 Lexington Ave on the Upper East side.

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There's "Reel Religion" in NYC at the Museum of Biblical Art

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

NEW YORK---Last night, I attended a preview opening of "Reel Religion" (2009) a retrospective exhibition on films inspired by the bible (1898-2006) at the Museum of Biblical Art. AKA MoBIA, the contemporary museum is located on the Upper West Side and is unlike any other that I've ever imagined. It is the ultimate museum exploring the intersections of religious art with religious life. While I am still thrilled to have choosen living on the Upper East Side with its proximity of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoBIA could make me rethink that choice in the future. The exhibition originated at the Saint Louis Museum of Contemporary Religious Art in 2007, another of God's Art Museums that I never heard about but hope to visit one day soon.

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"Reel Religion" at Museum of Biblical Art in Manhattan (Video)

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB


 

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Riverside Church of New York is a Garden in Gethsemane

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

"Christ in Gethsemane" (1890) by Hienrich Hofmann. Collection of Riverside Church, NYC.

Long before I moved here to NYC, I already knew that this move was not about my new job but about finding "something lost." I have no idea what I am seeking, but here I wander anyway. Today, I visited The Riverside Church on the Upper Westside, and I felt a rush like I'd experienced long ago during my Christmas pageants in our grandmother's living room. I had forgotten that feeling-- that joy. I'd also forgotten the framed print of "Christ in Gethsemane" that hung on her wall facing us on stage my Dad assembled. The original by Heinrich Hofmann is here in an amazing art collection owned by the church (donated by a Rockefeller born in Ohio). Gethsemane is a place we go in agony seeking something lost. This massive and beautiful church, rich with diversity, artistry, and led by a black Baptist  minister from Cincinnati (Rev. James Forbes) might just be where I find that "something lost" that I came searching for in New York City. It's the first time that NYC has come close to feeling like home.

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A&O Meetup: Metropolitan Community Church of NYC

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

NEW YORK - Founded by Rev. Troy Perry in 1968, the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) or The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC) is an international Protestant Christian denomination. There are 250 member congregations in 23 countries with a specific outreach to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families and communities. The movement has Official Observer status with the World Council of Churches but has been denied membership in the US National Council of Churches. The church borrows from many Christian traditions, and therefore has a very eclectic approach to the religious arts. I've visited several of the denomination's churches but am most intrigued, and impressed by the murals and rich artistry of this small multi-storied Manhattan church.

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At Home in One of God's Art Museums

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

NEW YORK CITY---Church of St. Vincent de Paul on 23rd Street in Chelsea is across the street from our office, and I don't think that's a coincidence. They have daily noon mass, and while I've never done that before, I think I might give it a try. What's most surprising though is the church buildings major state of deterioration. While it's clean, it's also clearly crumbling away and how is that possible with the riches available in NYC? The ten Romanesque-style stained-glass windows are credited as made by Tiffanys. I can't wait to show them off to my visitors from back home! There is a small chapel to the left of the entrance devoted to St. Thérèse which honors French soldiers who died in foreign wars past. I don't know why it honors French soldiers but I assume that French-Americans started this church. I Googled, and discovered there are over 6,000 houses  of worship here in NYC, nearly one on every corner so I'm glad to have already discovered one that I like.

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10 Rules for Living and Thriving in a New World

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Tonight is my last night as a Buckeye. Tomorrow, I leave to move to NYC, but I take along my 10 rules for living. My friend Robert Maverick nick-named them "Tah Rules", and the name has stuck. I developed the rules during a particularly tough time in my life, but in shaping a road map for the future, I also found a degree of peace and I found this future. Harriet Tubman's Underground Railroad journey following the North Star is the inspiration for the rules, and I hope they would make her proud.

One day, I plan to write a biography with each rule as the theme for each chapter. I hope they serve me well in the big city:

• Tah Rule #1. FOLLOW one passion.
• Tah Rule #2. BECOME your ideal.
• Tah Rule #3. PROMOTE your passion
• Tah Rule #4. REMEMBER why you started--"Celebrate".
• Tah Rule #5. KEEP Sundays for family.
• Tah Rule #6. PROTECT your partners.
• Tah Rule #7. FINISH what you start.
• Tah Rule #8. ASK to receive.
• Tah Rule #9. Give CREDIT due
• Tah Rule #10. CONTINUE your journey.

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James Ensor's Wicked Sense of Humor on View at MoMA

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

"Calvary" (1886) by James Ensor (b. Belgian). Pencil, crayon, and oil on paper, 6 3/4 x 8 3/4"

NEW YORK---The Museum of Modern Art presents James Ensor—the first exhibition at an American institution to feature the full range of his media in over 30 years. Ensor (1860–1949) was a major figure in the Belgian avant-garde of the late nineteenth century and an important precursor to the development of Expressionism in the early twentieth. In both respects he has influenced generations of later artists. The densely presented exhibition of over 100 works, examines Ensor’s allegorical uses of light including in his religious art, along with his wicked satire which takes shape in his obsession with carnival masks that are both fantastical and frightening.

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA): "James Ensor" (Ends September 21, 2009); 11 West 53 Street, Midtown Manhattan Precinct, New York; moma.org

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12 Months: A Faith to Freedom Story

THE ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

It took engagement with followers of Buddha, Mary, Muhammad, Krishna, Eve and many others to turn me to the task of building the Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts. The people listed below are those I wish to thank for their special help and encouragement. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to tell this story. Leslie Kreines and Angela Corley who gifted me with my first works of religious art....And my husband Gregory and mother Vernieda who pushed me forward when I had doubts we could really succeed. This is a spiritual journey that began as an escape from with injustice.

• CHAPTER 1 Remembering Good Fridays: "Never wound a snake; kill it."
• CHAPTER 2 From Faith to Freedom: "Lord, I'm going to hold steady on to You and You've got to see me through."
• CHAPTER 3 My Introduction to Religious Art: "I grew up like a neglected weed - ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it."
• CHAPTER 4 A Lenton Journey: "Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world."
• CHAPTER 5 The Promise of Religious Art: "I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other."
• CHAPTER 6 Leading by Collecting: "I would fight for my liberty so long as my strength lasted, and if the time came for me to go, the Lord would let them take me."
• CHAPTER 7 Inspiring Artists to be the very best: "If I could have convinced more slaves that they were slaves, I could have freed thousands more." 
• CHAPTER 8 Leaving a Legacy: "I never ran my train off the track, and I never lost a passenger."
• CHAPTER 9 Organizations Moving Religious Art Forward: "Quakers almost as good as colored. They call themselves friends and you can trust them every time."
• CHAPTER 10 New Artists, New Directions: "You'll be free or die!"
• CHAPTER 11 Celebrating Easter: "I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land."

INDEX

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Crack Head Love

You ever see a crack pipe fired up and burning in a car window in the middle of the night, way too bright and way too constant, burning the fingertips as the pipe is held? Coarse lips from sucking the thick unresolved smoke through a Brillo pad filter, hungry eyes clinging to the memory of the last high and feeling the waves of expectation met as the first, second and third draws race through the blood stream reaching the head. There is no one else that matters at this moment, the thing you want most is close at hand although it is dangerous and eats away at you night and day, you will do whatever it takes to be one with it, and only a fool would get in your way.

I felt that way about sex.

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