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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB


 

Read More

New Year's Resolution, January 1, 2009

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By Ernest @DisneyBritton

My resolution is to leave NYC, and to go home to be with Greg and my family. I hate being here. [Resolutions!]

Read More

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.

Read More

A&O Prize (2008): "The Dead Christ in a Tomb" by Kehinde Wiley

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

CALIFORNIA - Unarguably the most celebrated African American painter of our times, Kehinde Wiley's "The Dead Christ in a Tomb" (c. 2007) is the recipient of the Alpha & Omega Prize for Contemporary Religious Art of the year.  The painting is currently on view at the Roberts & Tilton Gallery in Los Angeles. The prize is a contemporary religious art recognition for the promotion of religious dialogue in America during the past year.

Read More

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.

Read More