(ANALYSIS) The American comics industry was largely started by the children of Jewish immigrants. Like most publishing in the early 20th century, it was centered in New York, home to the country’s largest Jewish population. Though they were still a very small minority, immigration had swelled the United States’ Jewish population more than a thousandfold: from roughly 3,000 in 1820 to roughly 3,500,000 in 1920.
Read More(OPINION) “Poor wordy little Protestants” — as someone once said — have severed this connection between the church and its visual soul food. Bereft of beauty, Protestant churches have left us to the narcotizing effect of TV and social media, and a daily diet of pap, propaganda and rage. Could new generations and populations be inspired again to aspire to the heights to which those early artists aspired? If so, we'll surely need to get out more.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Pilgrims would journey across continents to light candles beneath their frescoed domes, whisper prayers into the cool stone walls, and gaze upon centuries-old icons bathed in flickering candlelight. These sites are much more than buildings. They are testaments to Greece’s spiritual, cultural and historical identity. Yet today, that serenity is under attack.
Read More(REVIEW) Researcher and author Diana Darke argues that the connections between Islamic and Christian cultures during the medieval period were stronger than commonly believed. This cross-fertilization of cultures had an impact on society, religion and culture. Her extensive research, covering hundreds of buildings across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East led her to propose replacing the term “Romanesque” with “Islamesque.”
Read MoreHelping the homeless through music has inspired the dean of Sheffield Cathedral to undertake a 620-mile walk along the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail. Joining her on this journey, which started on March 1, are Tom Daggett, the cathedral's director of music, and Emily Cooper, the music and liturgy administrator and a member of the cathedral’s choir.
Read MoreFrom a contemporary marketing perspective, the centenary of the discovery of Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s 3,200-year-old tomb found on Nov. 26, 1922 would have been the ideal date for the inauguration of Cairo’s spectacular Grand Egyptian Museum. In contemporary Egypt, life crawls at the pace known as shuwaya, shuwaya (meaning little, little). Not surprisingly, the much-delayed GEM — more than two decades in the making — is set to have its grand opening on July 3.
Read MoreLocated in the heart of Rome, this architectural wonder has stood the test of time as both a testament to the grandeur of Roman architecture and also a site of religious transformation. Over 2,000 years later, the Pantheon stands as a bridge between two worlds: The pagan Romans and the Christianized West. Its architectural brilliance and religious significance make it one of the most fascinating landmarks and a must-visit for Catholics traveling for the Jubilee.
Read MoreWhen Varsha and Shein first discovered rap, they were teenagers inspired by mainstream artists like India artists Honey Singh and Raftaar. Their classmates loved their performances of secular rap. As daughters of a pastor, they soon felt a calling to use their musical talents differently. "In 2012, our rap journey started,” Shein said. “We performed at school events, local meetings and in churches, and people loved it.”
Read More(ANALYSIS) James Mangold’s film “A Complete Unknown,” nominated for eight Oscars, captures the elusive, enigmatic quality of Bob Dylan in the early 1960s: The years he emerged as a major musical and cultural phenomenon. A scant few years after he came to New York from Minnesota, and legally changed his name from Robert Allen Zimmerman, Dylan transformed American music. Especially “unknown” and baffling is Dylan’s religious and spiritual identity.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The Super Bowl, in which the Eagles routed the Chiefs, was more than a showdown between a franchise with two wins under its belt — and the support of the president — and a scrappy underdog from Philadelphia. It was a bellwether for the state of America and its approach to looming fascism in our society writ large. It was a mix of faith and politics that saw two hip-hop artists going very different directions, with Ye selling swastika shirts while Lamar parodied patriotism.
Read More(ESSAY) Over the next year, Peter Brandes’ health deteriorated but he kept working — designing and making prints for three art books — one of poetry, one of the ancient hymns of Romanus, another of the story of Isaac and Ishmael. And, he made many drawings. Finally, on Jan. 4 he died, with Maja Lisa by his side. His legacy is a body of work — both sacred and secular — unique in the 20th and early 21st centuries. A gift to the world.
Read MoreTraditionally performed barefoot in a circle, Margam Kali narrates the life and missionary work of St. Thomas, the apostle believed to have brought Christianity to India. Over the centuries, this ancient dance form has evolved while retaining its devotional essence, while also embodying the spiritual and cultural identity of the Syrian Christian community.
Read More(REVIEW) The Baroque painter Francisco de Zurbarán is celebrated today as one of the greatest masters of the Spanish Golden Age. His many paintings of friars, nuns and saints for the churches and religious orders earned him the sobriquet “painter of monks.” A favorite subject was Saint Francis of Assisi and nearly 50 paintings of the 13th-century friar by Zurbarán or his assistants are known to have survived.
Read More(REVIEW) Born to Jewish parents who converted to Catholicism, Tamara Rosa Hurwitz married prominent lawyer Tadeusz Łempicki and adopted the feminine version of his last name, Łempicka. They lived in St. Petersburg, Russia, until the Russian Revolution of 1917 forced them to flee the country. The couple moved to Paris, where Łempicka studied under Maurice Denis and André Lhote, both important figures of cubism and fauvism.
Read MoreThis year and into 2025, Surrealism is being celebrated by several major exhibitions in Europe and the U.S., including "Imagine! 100 Years of Surrealism,” "Long Live Surrealism! 1924–Today” and "Forbidden Territories: 100 years of Surreal Landscapes.” While each features artworks by the movement’s most celebrated artists, the latter, at The Hepworth Wakefield in the U.K., includes a focus on a largely forgotten figure.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Each carol, like those who sing them, carries a unique backstory filled with history, hope and sometimes even heartbreak. They are, in many ways, a reflection of life itself. Together, they remind us that Christmas isn’t just about celebration — it’s about honoring the moments, both light and dark, that shape who we are.
Read MoreThe Infant Jesus of Prague is a tourist symbol that attracts parishioners and the curious. The Catholic icon, located in the Church of Our Lady of Victorious, seems to defy statistics that rank the Czech capital as the most atheistic city in the world. The clay statue attracts believers and non-believers from across the world at Christmastime and during other times of the year.
Read MoreYou know those weirdos who seem to stumble backward into success? Lucas Ross is one of them. Just ask his boss, Kermit the Frog. For the past four years, Ross, a member of the Memorial Road Church of Christ in Oklahoma City, has worked as a banjo consultant for the lean, green CEO of the Muppets. Recently, the two shared the stage at the University of Maryland during a celebration of Jim Henson.
Read MoreAn inscribed marble slab featuring the Ten Commandments sold for $5.04 million at Sotheby’s auction house in New York. The stone — written in archaic Samaritan Hebrew script — is the oldest known text of the Decalogue of its kind and estimated to have been carved sometime between the period spanning 300 and 800 C.E.
Read MoreA new unique project in the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan seeks to both revive and repurpose an architectural gem that survived the Soviet Union and decades of harsh weather. The Center for Contemporary Art residencies will be a unique cultural space in the heart of Tashkent. The site was built as a madrassa during the 1880s but, during the Soviet era, was used as a carpentry space.
Read More
