Ancient Buddhist Paintings From Bamiyan Were Made Of Oil, Hundreds Of Years Before Technique Was 'Invented' In Europe. [Via MonkeyFilter.]
posted on Apr 24, 2008 - View this thread

Dear God is a global project for people around the world to share their innermost hopes - and fears - through prayer. Some photos NSFW.
posted on Apr 13, 2008 - View this thread

Papa Palmérino Sorgente, the Pope of Montréal
posted on Feb 28, 2008 - View this thread

The Temples of Damanhur. Behold the Eighth Wonder of the World (according to the Italian government). [Via Boing Boing.]
posted on Nov 23, 2007 - View this thread

New Work from artist Mark Bryan's Sideshow
posted on Oct 2, 2007 - View this thread

Fate, Absolute Life and Death, the Aleph, the Zeitgeist, the sinking of the Atlantis, the World Trade Center, the formation of the universe...what more could you want from art? There's probably already been a been a post on this guy, Paul Laffoley, but I should hope more people could get a glance at some of this man's work. Crazy or brilliant, you make your decision. A video from his website.
posted on Aug 31, 2007 - View this thread

Similar Diversity is a data visualization of a textual analysis of various religious books spanning several religions, showing the overlap in words, ideas, and meaning. Other infovis religion goodness includes a 90 second geographic history of the world's major religions (previously), a a map gallery of USAian religious adherance (also previously), and a timeline mashup of Jewish and Christian histories.
posted on Aug 5, 2007 - View this thread

Proceedings against MF Husain have been stayed in India's Supreme Court. A painting by the celebrated Muslim artist, apparently depicting Mother India as a nude, led Hindus to bring an obscenity case and proceedings to seize his Mumbai property were initiated. However his lawyers moved swiftly to frustrate the action, transferring the property into his son's name and then seeking the High Court ruling. Hindus have taken offense at previous paintings by Husain, depicting Hindu deities in allegedly obscene ways. Others disagree.
posted on May 8, 2007 - View this thread

The Trigger Finger of Santo Guerro, The Skull Fragment of Heilige Krieg, Reliquary for the Extended Family, A Piece of the True Gun and more modern reliquaries by sculptor Al Farrow. [via Eye of the Goof, whose Mr. Bali Hai is also responsible for this previous introduction to the concept]
posted on Mar 4, 2007 - View this thread

Fora Tv is a good place to watch videos of lectures and discussions on topics ranging from politics and science to religion and the arts. Whether you'd like to see Jim Lehrer talk about politics and prose, or watch Brian Eno and Will Wright discuss the joys and techniques of generative creation, you might find something here to like
posted on Jan 24, 2007 - View this thread

The Dreaming (arguably better known as 'The Dreamtime') is more than just the story of how the world was created as told by Aboriginal Australians. It is also the basis for their way of life and death, their source of power in life and it tells of the life and influence of their ancestors on their culture. It was so important to Aboriginal Australians in the time before the white invasion of Australia that it was the one commonly held belief amongst a culture that consisted of over 500 different tribes (discussion of Dreamtime beliefs here). Thought to be the oldest continuously maintained cultural history on Earth, it is often presented as a series of inter-related stories explaining Aboriginal Australian origins and culture, such as how the Australian landscape was created or how the Mimi spirits taught them how to paint these stories on the walls of caves more than 40,000 years ago.

And what better way to learn of several of the many different Dreamtime stories than to listen and watch them being told by Aboriginal Australians elders themselves? And if that isn't enough Dreamtime mythology for you, here's some links to various sites which allow you to view Aboriginal rock art to see how these stories were translated into a form of artistic expression which is now five times older than the Egyptian Pyramids themselves.
posted on Dec 23, 2006 - View this thread

Dick Detzner's Corporate Sacrilege is a series of paintings substituting advertising icons for religious ones.
posted on Nov 26, 2006 - View this thread

Christ of the Deep.
posted on Nov 5, 2006 - View this thread

The astronomical clock in the French city of Besancon is quite a mechanical marvel. Built in 1860, its inner workings are comprised of more than 30,000 interoperating pieces, driving 37 separate clockface gauges. It is one of the finest intersections between art & mechanics that I've ever come across.
posted on Jul 4, 2006 - View this thread

Newsfilter: PBS Station Nixes Show On Terrorism. Following last-minute cries of protest from Muslim leaders last week, a Public Broadcasting Service affiliate in Dallas canceled the premiere of a documentary on the roots of Islamic terrorism.
posted on Feb 10, 2006 - View this thread

The Benedictine Vivarium "In the Benedictine tradition of reverence for human thought and creativity, the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library preserves manuscripts, printed books and art at Saint John's University and undertakes photographic projects in regions throughout the world." -- "Nearly half of HMML's holdings derive from libraries in Austria and Germany, but HMML also houses significant collections from Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, England, and Ethiopia. It holds archival materials, and of particular importance are the Archives of the Knights of Malta, housed in the National Library in Valletta, and the Archives of the Roman Inquisition, located at the Cathedral Museum in Mdina."
EXAMPLE PAGES -- Illustrations, Photographs , Paintings/Iconography, Pottery/Sculptures, Artifacts, Manuscripts and more - if this kind of thing interests you, then search around - I've only begun scratching the surface. Nb. See browser setup info at bottom of page in main link. [via]
posted on Aug 28, 2005 - View this thread

Rembrandt's Late Religious Portraits. No one knows why Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn began painting half-length portraits of religious figures late in his life. The subject was uncommon in Protestant Amsterdam, where he lived. Paintings and sculptures, deemed idolatrous by Luther's followers, were not permitted in churches; existing images were removed and often destroyed. In 1681, a local authority described Rembrandt as the "foremost heretic in the art of painting." In Los Angeles, the Getty Center brings together, for the first time, 16 of these mysterious paintings. More inside.
posted on Jun 18, 2005 - View this thread

The ancient concept of the sacred phallus in spirituality, art, and culture (that is, before moralistic taboos attempted to mute phallic representations with fig leaves for the geniality of civilization). Obviously NSFW.
posted on Dec 13, 2004 - View this thread

Christ's Entry Into Washington 2008 is a painting by Joel Pelletier featuring a cast of 121 contemporary characters and a theme of fundamentalism on the march. The work is modeled after Christ's Entry Into Brussels 1899, a mural by James Ensor. (via cioran63)
posted on Nov 12, 2004 - View this thread

A million little pieces. The University of Oslo -- Norway’s largest and oldest institution of higher education -- has put together a very interesting page with amazing images of the (5,000 years old) dying art of Mosaics. Among many master-pieces (heh, sorry, couldn't resist the bad pun) we can admire the Empress Theodora from S. Vitale in Ravenna, the starry sky in Galla Placidia, the Virgin Mary and the famous Jesus of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, St. Peter in Hossios Lucas. There's also the St. Anna of Chios, the harrowing of hell of St Mark's in Venice. Scroll down, at the end of the main page there's a lot of good external links. (more inside)
posted on Aug 3, 2004 - View this thread

The Timeless Theater. Extensive guide to the cultures of India - architecture, arts, religion etc.
Related interest :- Indian Temples.
posted on Apr 28, 2003 - View this thread

Ethiopian Icons: Faith and Science. Richly hued religious art from an African Christian culture.
posted on Apr 15, 2003 - View this thread

Cultural Entomology. The role of insects in human cultures from every continent :- religion, art, literature, entertainment, and as pets.
Related :- insect drawings used as teaching aids; insects as food.
posted on Apr 8, 2003 - View this thread

Art for God? Artist Stephen Sawyer sees Jesus in boxing rings and blue jeans. Evidently, Jesus also sells coffee filters in Versailles, Kentucky, USA. Field reps are needed. warning: NSFH
posted on Mar 12, 2003 - View this thread

In other news, Humpty Dumpty put back together again.
posted on Apr 9, 2002 - View this thread

Salvation Mountain is Leonard Knight's grand tribute to God. Whether or not one shares his beliefs, his accomplishment is admirable, and his artwork often breathtaking. The Mountain has become a popular stopover for fans of folk art. Godfrey Daniels spoke with Leonard a while ago about his life, his art, and his love for all of creation. What's your favorite labor of love?
posted on Nov 14, 2001 - View this thread

New! Jesus Sports Statues. When you saw the Buddy Christ idea in the movie Dogma you thought it was a funny, yet biting swipe at the Catholic Church. But apparently Catholics think it's a great idea. These figurines have already sold out. Jesus playing tackle football is my favorite.
posted on May 31, 2001 - View this thread

It's things like this that make me want to go out and produce artwork based on defaced religious symbols.
posted on Oct 5, 1999 - View this thread