(ANALYSIS) A sculpture of the Virgin Mary showing her giving birth to Jesus was recently attacked and beheaded. Called “Crowning” by the artist Esther Strauss, the sculpture had been part of a temporary exhibition of art outside the Catholic St. Mary Cathedral in Linz, Austria. The sculpture was controversial for its explicit depiction of birth; an online petition seeking its removal received more than 12,000 signatures.
Read More(ANALYSIS) In my work as a religious history scholar, I’ve learned that throughout history artists created images of Christ that would speak to different communities. In 1915, Norwegian artist Emanuel Vigeland created an image of Christ with golden hair and fair skin despite a popular illustration showing Christ as Middle Eastern with dark hair.
Read More“Underground,” the Kansas City ballet that tells the story of slaves escaping to freedom through the Underground Railroad, is “not a story of Black versus white, but good versus evil.” The show, which first premiered in 2008 at the Störling Dance Theater, is a beautiful ballet with a strong mission — something this shared sentiment can attest to.
Read More(OPINION) As an artist and as a person of faith, Clara Maria Goldstein is difficult to pigeonhole. Raised as a Roman Catholic in her native Nicaragua, she moved to the United States with a 1 year-old daughter, Alejandra, in the 1980s at age 21.
Read MoreIn an increasingly divided culture, even within the church, the Rabbit Room was created to build and nourish stronger Christ-centered communities by cultivating stories, music and art. It was founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter and author Andrew Peterson after he visited Oxford, England, and was inspired by the stories of the Inklings.
Read More(REVIEW) The movie “God’s Not Dead: We The People” is another very bad entry in a very bad franchise. But the real issue is that no one is making movies that express the experiences of the Christian conservative audience in ways that are high-quality, nuanced and productive and encourage the best angles of those people.
Read More(REVIEW) “Otherwise/Revival” was co-curated by Cara Lewis and independent curator Jasmine McNeal. It presents the work of 31 contemporary artists exploring the impact that the Black church and, more specifically, the Black Pentecostal movement has had on their lives.
Read More(OPINION) A filmmaker writes that none of the films he made had cursing, they didn’t have sex scenes, they didn’t have endings where everything wasn’t tied up nicely with a happy ending bow— not because he didn’t want to put them in his movies, or thought he could tell a better story without them, but instead because he knew if he did include mature content or unanswered questions in his films, they wouldn’t sell.
Read MoreNew Jersey painter Nora Murphy created a series of portraits by blending vintage mugshots with Catholic saints who were considered criminals in their time.
Read MoreAs a noun, cloister means a covered walk in a convent with a wall on one side and a colonnade open on the other. As a verb, it means to go into seclusion. The connection between a monastery — during Lent no less — and self-isolation makes a place like The Met Cloisters in New York more relevant than ever.
Read MoreBen Affleck’s new film, The Way Back, takes a classic trope and exploits the old cliche for a slightly new take on an old tale: the film focuses less on the redemption of the team and more on the redemption of the coach.
Read MoreNed Bustard is inspired by his Christian faith to create art and build a publishing company. An upcoming book will explore the modern art, and ancient faith, in the Vatican museums.
Read MoreMulti Platinum Christian artist and actress Jaci Velasquez talked to Religion Unplugged about her struggles of family and faith in her new book, “When God Rescripts Your Life,” released Oct. 8.
Read MoreA 2013 mural of a breakdancing Jesus in street artist Banksy’s Bristol neighborhood in England was recently defaced with blue paint.
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