5.09.2008
(Pagan) News of Note
My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.
DVD Talk reviews the documentary series "Women and Spirituality", which was recently released in the DVD format.
"There's little doubt that goddess worship has actually picked up significant cultural steam since the original release of these pieces close to 20 years ago. While they're all a little dated, they provide an earnest look into the history and continued observance of gynocentric worship practices and will be appreciated by those interested in the history of religion and especially women's movements. Recommended."
The Women and Spirituality project also maintains a blog featuring several participants from the original documentary series.
Religion Dispatches looks at the recent (somewhat controversial) appointment of a "Supreme Chief" within Haitian Vodou, and the ongoing quest for respect by practitioners.
"Voodoo suffers from a flaw built into both scholarly and popular typologies of religion, that of hierarchical thinking about religions. Beauvoir argues that Voodoo's character derives from its location as a "popular religion." But lacking a sacred text, law codes, or traditions of written commentary, Voodoo is a marginalized tradition - marked as "primitive," as if religions evolve along a given trajectory-compared to those "world religions" that come to dominate empires."
While a tiny, and until recently, officially unrecognized, religion, the article points out that Vodou has a "capacity to persist" that may allow the faith to weather the current social and political storms raging in their country.
The caretaker of a Taoist temple in Taiwan has a problem. Too many deities!
"Yang Liang, who takes care of the small Suxi Temple, said yesterday he used to tend to only five land gods, the lowest deities in folk Taoism. Last February, Yang said, he found two statues of Avalokitesvera, or the Goddess of Mercy, abandoned in front of his temple in west Suao ... Sheltering the abandoned Goddesses of Mercy probably encouraged those who wanted to get rid of their deities to dump them at the temple ... Altogether 12 statues, ranging from Avalokitesvera to Third Prince or San-tai-zhi, were left at the door of the temple Monday. "I can't take care of that many gods," Yang protested."
Yang has posted bulletins around his village imploring locals to please take their gods back, as he doesn't have the space and resources to care for them all. Perhaps he could ship them to willing polytheists outside Taiwan?
As modern Paganism continues to grow, more local journalists start to notice the Pagans in their own backyard. This coverage starts with the inevitable "meet the Pagans" piece. Here, we have a classic example of this phenomenon from Great Falls, Montana.
"...like the others [Melinda Berry] keeps her faith to herself around here. "I came from California, where no one really cares," Berry said. "In the UK they were really open and didn't care. In the military no one really cares. In Great Falls, Montana, people care." But there is a growing pagan population locally and around the state. At least five to 10 people regularly attend the monthly Great Falls Pagans meetings at Hastings. Some area gatherings have drawn upward of 40 people..."
Though "people care" if your a member of a minority faith in Great Falls, Montana, this introduction is far more friendly than the one that arose in Great Falls, South Carolina.
Following up on a story I blogged about a year ago, the Delhi High Court in India has ruled that naked paintings of Hindu goddesses aren't necessarily blasphemous.
"Maqbool Fida Husain, 92, a Muslim who has been dubbed "the Picasso of India", was served with seven private criminal complaints by Hindu groups for the painting Bharat Mata (Mother India), a work representing the nation as a nude woman. The Delhi High Court judged that the picture, for which Mr Husain has apologised, carried no religious content and could not be construed as offensive. "A painter has his own perspective of looking at things, and it cannot be the basis of initiating criminal proceedings," Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said."
This is a big step forward for artistic freedom in India, where Hindu-nationalist "moral police" (essentially the Indian equivalent to the Religious Right in America, only more powerful) are on the constant lookout for violations against their conception of "cultural purity". These Hindu-nationalist groups vow to keep on fighting against Husain and others who transgress against their moral outlook.
That is all I have for now, have a great day!
Labels: art, goddess, Hinduism, law, M.F. Husain, Max Beauvoir, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Taiwan, Taoism, The Goddess, Vodou, Voodoo, Women and Spirituality
4.12.2008
Revamping a Classic Occult Character
Longtime readers of this blog will note that I like to keep tabs on occult and Pagan themes found in comic books. Several luminaries within the occult/Pagan community have written for comics, Rachel Pollack, Alexei Kondratiev, and David Sexton to name a few, while many comic writers and artists have dipped their toes into the occult arts and Pagan religion. Alan Moore and Grant Morrison, for example. There is just something about the medium of sequential art that makes it a fertile ground for explorations of the unseen.
Madame Xanadu from her 1978 debut.
The latest upcoming comic project to explore myth, magic, and mystery is a revamp of the classic DC Comics tarot-reading occult character Madame Xanadu. The project will be released under the Vertigo imprint (which put out Neil Gaiman's The Sandman), and written by Matt Wagner, who is well known for his myth-drenched work in titles like Mage and Grendel.
"Making her debut in "Doorway to Nightmare" #1 in 1978, Madame Xanadu was originally introduced as a reincarnation of the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legend. Over the years, the character settled into a role as fortune-teller and resident occult advisor to the DCU. Wagner's Madame Xanadu's story also opens centuries ago in a medieval kingdom ripe with intrigue and "foul sorcery." 'This is her origin story and it's a long one,' Wagner told CBR News. 'The narrative begins quite a ways in the past but it progresses through both time and various, fairly famous locales until we ultimately end up in Greenwich Village.'"
According to Wagner, the book will be a re-imagining of the character, and will take time to explain her past (including why an Arthurian sorceress is named "Xanadu"). Handling art on the series will be Amy Hadley, who brings a fresh manga-influenced style to the project.
Madame Xanadu by Amy Hadley
"Madame Xanadu presents a challenge for Wagner as a creator even though his own character, Mage, had mythical ties to King Arthur and Merlin as well. 'This is an entirely new and different sort of project for me,' he said ... 'Her main activity is fortune-telling and predicting the future, so she's a character who's constantly looking for better ways to do that. She searches for pattern in all things because she feels that the events of the future are written in the constructs of the present and the past.'"
You can see a two-page preview of "Madame Xanadu" on Amy Hadley's LiveJournal. The first issue is scheduled to be released on June 25th, 2008, and should be available in finer comic stores everywhere. This should be a treat for fans of occult-oriented comic books.
Labels: Amy Hadley, art, Comics, Madame Xanadu, Matt Wagner, occult, Tarot
2.04.2008
Around the Blogosphere
Some great Pagan and Pagan-friendly content has been popping up lately in the blogosphere, so I thought I would take some time to highlight some posts that I found particularly interesting.
To start off, Mollie at Get Religion takes a look at recent press coverage concerning the entheogenic plant ayahuasca, and the surge in popularity of shamanistic therapy sessions among upper-class suburbanites in Southern California.
"Piccalo explains that ayahuasca, meaning "vine of the soul" has been used for hundreds of years or more by tribes in Central and South America. In countries where it is legal, pilgrims flock to ceremonies. She notes that Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs introduced the plant concoction to pop culture in the 1960s but that it has remained a largely underground phenomenon - until now. A community shepherded by shamans is emerging in the United States ... Unfortunately, the religious component of ayahuasca isn't really explored. Most of the piece deals with Truenos, who comes off more Elmer Gantry than devout believer. He has a shady past and can't answer Piccalo's questions in a straightforward manner. In an area where New Age practitioners have found fertile ground for preying on the wealthy, he seems perfectly Californian."
Mollie and I both share the sentiment that journalists should further explore the religious ties to this plant and its usage. You can read the original Los Angeles Times article, here.
An the artistic front, classics professor Mary Beard reports on the opening of a new show of neo-classical sculpture at Tate Britain called "The Return of the Gods".
"Highlight of the show, but not for me (I actually think it's a bit irritating), is Canova's Three Graces. I decided to talk about some of the less well known pieces. The aim was to explain why what may look like slightly insipid white marble, recreating some serenely voluptuous male and female flesh, is actually a lot cleverer and a lot more intellectually engaged with the Greco-Roman sources on which it is based than most people ever imagine."
Meanwhile the Treadwells blog announces a new exhibition at the Transition Gallery (in London) entitled "Sex and Witchcraft"
"A sinister beauty pervades the work of seven artists from London, Manchester and Budapest in Sex and Witchcraft. Working across media, often incorporating the use of found materials and tabletop techniques, the artists engage in a disturbing alchemy. Dabbling in the chemistry of first sighting and the magical fusion of opposing elements, the artists reveal a dark underbelly to the world of love and flowers, white horses and watercolours."
The "Sex and Witchcraft" show also features a specially commissioned essay from punk-pioneer turned occult historian Gary Lachman.
Over at MetaPagan, Cat Chapin-Bishop notices a "spontaneous blog carnival" concerning interactions between Paganism and Christianity.
"It must be something in the aether...Discussions of Christianity are breaking out on Pagan blogs everywhere. It's odd, but whenever I post anything related to the subject of Christianity at my own blog, the number of hits and comments--from Pagans--goes way up. Maybe I'm not the only person to have noticed this, because over the last few days, numerous members of the Pagan/Heathen blogosphere have posted entries on the topic of Christo-Paganism and related topics. Some bloggers are concerned, some are puzzled, and some are embracing at least some Christian concepts, if not Christianity, per se."
My coverage of Christo-Pagan inmates is included in this accidental blog carnival, as are entries from Gus DiZerega and Chapin-Bishop's own Quaker Pagan Reflections.
Over at Paganachd Bhandia, Kathryn Price NicDhana points to updates on direct action protests taking place in Ireland in a bid to save Tara from further development.
"We still need bodies on the line, supplies sent to the camps, and fierce magic in support. See my earlier posts for more details if you're new here."
For this blog's previous coverage concerning the fight to preserve the Hill of Tara, click here.
In a final note, author Erik Davis reviews the book "Romantic Religion" by R.J Reilly, and explores romanticism, sacred plays, the Inklings, and what really attracts him to religion.
"I have also begun to suspect that, a lot of the time, what has really attracted me to religion was less the glimmer of supernatural knowledge, of some answer to the irascible longing in my heart and the mercurial confusion in my mind, than the creative imagination that channels so much of this stuff in the first place. At root, my spirit resonates with to aesthetic dimension of religion - the pungent bite of frankincense, the swelling gallop of Mozart's requiem mass, the comic book arcana of cosmological maps, the turn of phrase in a lost gospel, the spare decor of the zendo. It is not that I am interested only in aesthetics, or story, or figurative art - I have spent tons of time with doctrine and history, and I love the experience of some model or argument about the nature of existence or God or the afterlife worms its way into my quotidian mind. But the real alchemy happens when the creative imagination soars beyond itself, towards matters of final import. I cannot imagine an awakened genuine religion without flavor and taste, without vivid figures and surprise. I rarely read wisdom books unless they are engaging as literature."
To find more great Pagan-friendly blog content, check out Blog Elysium for an extensive list of blog links, and MetaPagan for a human-edited look at content from other (Pagan) blogs.
That is all I have for now, have a great day!
Labels: art, ayahuasca, Blogosphere, Christopagans, entheogens, Erik Davis, Get Religion, Hill of Tara, Mary Beard, Metapagan, Pagan Blogs
1.30.2008
(Pagan) News of Note
My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.
GenQ Music interviews author, Witch, and reality television star Fiona Horne about her latest album "Witch Web".
"I wrote the album with Paul Searles initially with the only intention being to record the songs that I personally sing in my witchy rituals. Often when doing public rituals I would sing acapella and people would ask if it was possible to buy a recording of it - now it is! But when Paul and I got in the studio we also realised we were starting to write songs that had a commercial feel and classic song arrangement, so we are happy that the album crosses over and can be enjoyed by people interested in the spiritual side as well as people who just want a chilled listening experience."
Horne started her musical career as a singer for the dance-rock band Def FX. To listen to samples from "Witch Web" check out her MySpace page.
Ohio State University's student paper, The Lantern, takes a look at interest in the occult on campus and discovers that OSU is the academic capital for magic in the United States.
"'Ohio State has more scholars on the history of magic than any educational institution I'm aware of,' said Sarah Iles Johnston, professor of Greek and Latin and director for the Center for the Study of Religion. There are six experts on the history of magic at OSU. They study the history of magic from a variety of perspectives such as its role in ancient Greek and Roman religions as well as in modern American culture."
OSU recently hosted a lecture series to capitalize on their expertise entitled: "Through a Glass, Darkly: Public Interest in the Occult". So for you Pagan high-school seniors trying to decide where to go for college, Ohio might be just the place for you (if your interested in studying magic that is).
Treadwells and Lastal both report that experimental media artist Raymond Salvatore Harmon will present seven films in honor of the 100 year anniversary of the union of Leila Waddell and Aleister Crowley.
"Experimental media artist Raymond Salvatore Harmon will present a live improvised set of 7 films. Each based on the individual rituals in British occultist Aleister Crowley's Rites of Eleusis, first presented in Caxton Hall, London in 1910. Crowley based the rituals of Rites of Eleusis on each of the seven classical planets of antiquity - "Saturn", "Jupiter", "Mars", "Sol" (the Sun), "Venus", "Mercury" and "Luna". Utilizing the entire text of Crowley's rites as subliminal content Harmon will improvise the abstract layers of imagery to a prepared score. Presented in a 3 channel video environment Rites of Eleusis promises to be an updated public occult ritual for the 21st century."
The performance will take place on Friday March 7th at The Horse Hospital (an arts venue) in London.
Classics professor Mary Beard bemoans the proposed removal of Britannia (the personification of the United Kingdom) from British coins.
"Britannia fits the bill rather nicely. An appropriately antique goddess, invented by the Romans, as a symbol of their new province, and used on British coins since the seventeenth century. If she goes, I don't hold out much hope, long term, for that nice bit of Virgil (decus et tutamen -- from Aeneid Book V) around the pound coin. I have a sneaking suspicion that Mr Brown isn't much of a fan of Latin."
Will it be bad luck to remove Britain's goddess from their coinage? Will she eventually join America's Columbia as a half-forgotten relic from a grander time?
The Boston Globe publishes a visitors guide to Salem, Massachusetts that illustrates just how tied to witchcraft their tourism is.
"Witches put Salem on the Colonial map, and this historic North Shore city has its share of creepy and comical tributes to the practice of witchcraft. Magic supplies, herbal potions, tarot cards, "spell baskets," custom-made capes - you'll find them all here ... Salem is loaded with museums, many of them funny-spooky places that document the city's witchcraft history. Among them are the Witch History Museum, the Witch Dungeon Museum, the Salem Witch Museum, the Salem Wax Museum, the Spellbound Museum, Salem's Museum of Myths & Monsters, the New England Pirate Museum, and Salem's 13 Ghosts..."
So despite those who wish to de-emphasize Salem's "witchy" appeal, the town remains the "Witch City" of the east coast.
In a final note, a proposal has come forth on the Non-Fluffy Pagans community concerning a new "law" involving discussion about Witchcraft and society. An adage that some are calling the Witches' equivalent to Godwin's Law.
"In any discussion of the interaction of modern witches with the rest of society, as the length of the discussion increases, the probability of the mention of The Burning Times approaches unity."
With the new law comes a proposed corollary:
"In any argument related to modern witchcraft, the first person to mention The Burning Times automatically loses the argument."
The new law has been dubbed "Brock's Law" after the author.
That is all I have for now, have a great day!
Labels: academia, Aleister Crowley, art, Britannia, Brock's Law, Fiona Horne, Magic, Mary Beard, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Salem, The Burning Times, UK, Witchcraft
10.05.2007
(Pagan) News of Note
My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.
Two different Thelema-related publications hit the Internet this week, the first is the August 2007 issue of Agape (pdf), the official newsletter of the U. S. Grand Lodge of Ordo Templi Orientis. The second is the brand new Journal of Thelemic Studies, a publication dedicated to fostering "the most modern, current thought in the Thelemic community". You can download the current issue, here. Of particular interest is an exploration of Thelema & Buddhism by "IAO 131".
"Essentially, we can see the profound influence Buddhism had on Crowley, especially in the years immediately preceding the reception of Liber AL vel Legis. For this reason the importance of understanding the similarities between Buddhism and Thelema, which is based around Liber AL vel Legis, becomes particularly apparent. An understanding of Buddhism will complement our understanding of Thelema and, likewise, an understanding of Thelema will complement our understanding of Buddhism."
The entire journal issue is certainly worth a read for insights into current thought within the Thelema community.
Another recent online publication of note is the Fall Equinox 2007 issue of the Global Goddess Oracle. This Goddess-centric e-zine features poetry, botanical lore, a moon schedule, and a brief rumination on "The Wicker Man" by Dianic Priestess H. Byron Ballard.
"I love that old cult film "The Wicker Man". The beautiful children dancing the ring, the lovely chocolate hares ("not silly old rabbits"), the singing, the sheer screaming sensuality. There was also great appeal in a place, even though fictional, where Pagans and Pagan practices were in the majority, where school children learned the lore that modern Pagans teach their children at the quiet places at their own hearths. There are remnants of English folk religion in the traditional May Day characters--the May Queen, the Guiser, and the Old 'Oss--that are appealing to my amateur historian side. And now there's a new version, transported to America's Puget Sound and tweaking the story to feature a matriarchal colony of beekeepers, whose culture is based on the workings of a hive."
I love that old cult film too, but I would advice her to steer clear of the remake. For more Goddess-oriented essays and articles, you can check out the Lammas 2007 issue of MatriFocus Web Magazine.
The worlds of Paganism and fine art converge in the UK as Lithuanian artist Arturas Raila maps the "geo-energy flows" discovered by a group of Lithuanian Pagan dowsers in Allenheads. This is the final stop in his "The Power of the Earth" project which has traveled to Frankfurt, Berlin, Vilnius, and now Allenheads. The opening of each stop in the exhibition is inducted by a Pagan priest or priestess.
"A Pagan ceremony was performed high on the fell top overlooking Allendale at the weekend - all in the name of art. Lithuanian Jonas Trinkunas had been invited to Tynedale by his fellow countryman, artist Arturas Raila, whose work is currently on show at Allenheads Contemporary Arts. The ceremony he performed, helped by his wife and daughters, marked the opening of Raila's exhibition."
Now that is an art opening I wouldn't want to miss. The exhibition will run through October 21st at Allenheads Contemporary Arts. In other fine-art news, the Philapelphia exhibition "Monsters from Under the Bed", featuring Pagan-friendly artist Kimberlee Traub, has been expanded and extended till November 3rd.
Showing that every system has limits, an Odinist inmate's appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court to allow him a fire-pit in prison was turned down. Tony Lee Smith claimed that his Constitutional rights has been violated when the prison gave him a candle instead of allowing him a pine-wood fire pit.
"Smith, 38, said in the suit that state prison officials said he couldn't have certain items connected with the pagan religion of Odinism, namely a pinewood fire in a small pit to observe certain rites, and use of a certain area of the prison for worship. According to the suit, prison officials instead gave him a candle. He was denied access to a worship area St. Clair Correctional Facility out of security concerns about potential violence against other inmates and because officials said the religion was a popular front for hate groups, according to the court opinion."
Smith denies any involvement in hate groups, but despite this the courts ruled that the prison did not stifle his religious freedom by denying him the fire. Another recent case involving an Asatru inmate ruled that he could have access to runes. So it looks like somewhere in between runes and a fire-pit the balance is struck.
Finally, now that it is October the "silly season" of outrage over Halloween celebrations begins. Chas Clifton blogs about about a school administrator who has banned Halloween festivities and replaced it with a bland "harvest" rite.
"Cindy Kaie, self-righteous principal of Kohl Elementary School in Broomfield, Colorado, has decreed "no Halloween party" ... The article was not exactly clear about the cause of the ban. Does "not leaving anyone out" mean "not offending rabid Christians"? Or what?"
Sadly this isn't the only "silly" story about the forthcoming holiday, in the UK two retail giants have agreed to "tone down" their Halloween merchandise after they came under criticism from a Church of England Bishop.
"Bolton David Gillett claimed success Thursday in his efforts to bring a more positive spirit to Halloween. Gillett launched a campaign last year to persuade retailers to display products that sent a more positive message to children over concerns Halloween placed too much emphasis on the occult. English retailers Sainsbury's and Asda told Gillett that they will be offering lighter fair this season.
Gillett is now turning his attention to the practice of trick-or-treating in an attempt to eradicate all fun from Halloween. Expect more "War on Halloween" from Christian crusaders on the right, and excessively sensitive folks on the left, in the weeks to come.
That is all I have for now, have a great day!
Labels: art, Asatru, Halloween, litigation, Paganism, Prison, Romuva, The Goddess, Thelema, UK, War on Halloween
9.19.2007
Comic Book Myths
For those of my readers who are of the Heathen persuasion, or fans of mythology in general, a new graphic novel has been released today that may be right up your alley. "Gods of Asgard", by artist Erik Evensen, retells the classic Norse myths in comic form.
The creation of the world.
"Gods of Asgard is a full-length graphic novel interpretation of the Norse myths, drawing on English translations of the original source material. It is a lifelong dream of artist/author Erik Evensen, who realized that although the mythology figures prominently in the world of comics, a true, straightforward adaptation has a never been published."
The book won a 2007 Xeric Foundation grant which allowed it to be self-published on a national scale. So far the volume has been getting good reviews, including one from Dr. Merrill Kaplan, Assistant Professor of Folklore and Scandinavian Studies at The Ohio State University.
"Evensen brings comics readers a huge leap closer to the medieval Eddas with his respectful retelling of the Norse Myths. I'm glad to see Gods of Asgard in print."
You should be able to find "Gods of Asgard" at any well-stocked comic store starting today, or from a variety of online stores. You can also see a five-page preview of the work online. This looks like a fun and accessible entry into the (sometimes complex) world of Norse folklore and mythology.
Labels: art, Comics, Erik Evensen, Gods of Asgard, Myth
9.07.2007
Monsters in the Gallery
The Philadelphia City Paper reports on a new art exhibit opening this evening at the AxD Gallery. The show, "Monsters from Under the Bed", explores some monstrous visions from a group of talented fine artists and illustrators.
"Witches, wolfmen and zombies don't always have to be scary. As shown by the artists behind AxD Gallery's "Monsters From Under the Bed" exhibit, they can be whimsical, gender-bending creatures that inspire more enchanting daydreams than bed-wetting nightmares. The September show features works by Manhattanite Michael Broderick and Philly natives Mike Manley, Kimberlee Traub and Tom Whalen."
"Mother Nature" by Kimberlee Traub
Of special note for my audience is the work of Kimberlee Traub, whose black and white illustrations often deal with Pagan and mythological themes. You can explore some of her Pagan-themed artwork, here. The Philadelphia City Paper calls Traub's work "the most fanciful of the bunch". So if you are in the Philly area tonight (or through the end of September), be sure to stop by.
Labels: art, Kimberlee Traub, Myth, Paganism, Philadelphia
5.25.2007
Just Beneath the Surface
The Boston Globe reviews the work of conceptual artist Cameron Jamie, during a retrospective show at the MIT List Visual Arts Center. Arts critic Ken Johnson, who was once greatly skeptical of Jamie's vision, now feels he understands the underlying message of his work.
"What you have to realize about all this is that none of it is to be taken at face value as traditional art. It only starts to make sense if you think of Jamie as a sort of amateur anthropologist-philosopher who studies the persistence of myth and ritual in modern society ... From Jamie's perspective, paganism in many different forms continually percolates just below the supposedly rational surface of modern society ... If there is a lesson to be drawn from Jamie's art, it would be that however rational and commonsensical we think we are, we are all subject to the power of archetypal images, irrational fantasies, and mythic narratives, often when we are least aware of it."
One of Cameron's works singled out in the article is his collaboration with Mike Kelley for a series of photos called "Gothic". The photos document young people in the goth subculture, and according to Johnson, they show how 'shared fantasies create alternative worlds'. But then the links between "paganism" and the goth subculture (among others) no longer "percolate" beneath the surface, so much as they harmoniously co-exist alongside it. Our society's "paganism" has been leaving the realms of the subconscious and entering the literal for decades now. Which if anything makes Jamie perceptive of a growing trend (one that several artists are picking up on) instead of a pioneer of our subconscious desires.
Johnson does bring up an interesting larger theory, that our shared pagan past has never left us, and was always waiting to come back to the surface. I agree with scholars who believe that polytheism is the natural state of human society, no matter how far we run from such a reality. It only stands to reason that artists would be sensitive to this impulse and desire to portray it in their works.
Labels: art, Boston Globe, Cameron Jamie, goth, Paganism
5.11.2007
The Naked Art Controversy
Is it blasphemous to paint nude deities? That is the center of a widening controversy concerning painter Maqbool Fida Husain, currently India's most (in)famous artist. Husain, long one of India's most celebrated painters (including receiving honors from the government), began to find himself deeply controversial after a book of his work published in the mid-nineties pictured Hindu gods and goddesses in the nude. This ongoing issue reached a head recently when a painting he submitted for a benefit auction picturing a nude Bharat Mata (the personification of India as a mother goddess) raised the ire of Hindu nationalists.
A detail from "Mother India" by M F Hussain
Recently, litigation brought against Hussain by a hardline Hindutva group resulted in the seizure of his home and property after he refused to return to India to face trial.
"Leading painter Maqbool Fida Husain is losing his home and other properties after failing to appear before a court trying him for hurting religious sentiments by painting "Mother India" as a naked woman. Husain's paintings have often depicted revered Hindu gods and goddesses in the nude, sparking criticism from nationalist parties and activists. A decade ago, radicals even attacked his Mumbai home."
Husain, who lives in self-imposed exile due to death-threats and harassing litigation (there are over 900 cases registered against him), was able to get the Indian Supreme Court to overturn the lower court's seizure and it looks like the case against him will be moved to Delhi where there is less moral fervor against the artist.
"The Bench also issued notice to Shrivastava on Hussain's petition seeking transfer of his case from Uttarakhand to Delhi, where four other criminal cases lodged against him in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat had already been transferred by the apex court. He has sought transfer of his case to Patiala House Courts here in view of "hostile environment" prevailing in Uttarakhand...In July 2000, the apex court had ordered the transfer of similar cases filed against him in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Bihar to the court of an additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in New Delhi and later the Delhi High Court quashed the complaints."
In the wake of these developments the Indian artistic community has risen up in support of Husain's artistic freedom, and has condemned the ongoing campaign of harassing litigation against the painter.
"Reacting to the turn of events, the artist community has strongly condemned the campaigns against Hussain. "It's not just Hussain's but the entire artist community's lives which are at stake. Anybody and everybody can file a case against us now. Anyone can infringe upon our lives," said an upset Krishan Khanna, Hussain's contemporary ... Equally upset and enraged at the "vicious campaigns" against Hussain, other members of the community like filmmaker Syed Mirza, social activist Nafisa Ali, theatre personality M. K. Raina and a host of other artistes, art critics and art gallery owners came together yesterday afternoon and expressed their support for the maestro."
Even more to the point, Suhas Roya, prominent Indian artist, points out that nudity and eroticism has long been a part of Hindu art.
"Nudes are everywhere in our country - they are part of our history and culture. Khajuraho and Konarak are full of examples of eroticism. But we should be aware that emotions do run high in our country and fanatics do exist. I have done series of nudes myself, but there's been little publicity. Maybe because Husain said his depictions were of gods and goddesses. Everything Husain does gets a lot of media attention. And sometimes people feel nudes are used as gimmicks to get attention."
Reading about this case reminds me of our country's culture-wars over controversial religiously-themed art. From the "Piss Christ" to the chocolate Jesus. But instead of a gallery show getting canceled or funding pulled, the artists are hounded and made to fear for their lives, freedom, and property. It shows what far-right religious ideologues are willing to do when given enough cultural and political power.
Personally, I think blasphemy is a matter between divinity and the individual, not an arbitrary line to be used against those who have different thoughts and opinions. Not to mention that a large percentage of goddess art through many different ages and cultures was never afraid to show life-giving attributes. I'm not the only one to see this controversy as somewhat out of character for Hinduism, the Hindu blog wonders if an unhealthy influence from Abrahamic faiths are to blame.
"The naked body is not something to be ashamed of, in fact it is the temple of the Divine in Hindu theology. It is the Abrahamic religions that preach distaste and hate towards the physical body and therefore require their monastic orders to cover their bodies from head to toe. It will do a lot of good if the Hindu groups realize their folly in following traditions alien to their own."
Whatever the underlying reason for this storm, one hopes that the courts will drop these charges against MF Husain, and that he will be able to safely return to his home country once more.
Labels: art, goddess, Hinduism, India, law, M.F. Husain, Polytheism
4.29.2007
(Pagan) News of Note
My semi-regular round-up of articles, essays, and opinions of note for discerning Pagans and Heathens.
The First Amendment Center has written a nice opinion piece explaining why the veteran pentacle victory is so important to the principles of our country.
"...religious diversity in America goes far beyond the "Protestant, Catholic, Jewish" description of the nation popular in the 1950s ... As the religious playing field grows more crowded, the only way to avoid conflict and litigation is for the government to enforce the First Amendment ground rules without favoring one religion over others - or religion over non-religion. It doesn't matter whether the group is Wicca, Summum or any of the other hundreds of faiths in the United States, government officials are supposed to stay neutral toward religion. And that means - to invoke a virtue we learned in kindergarten - be fair to all."
The Chronicle Herald spotlights a local Canadian artist who turned to Goddess worship during a time of crisis and has in turn created a series of goddess-oriented quilts now on display at a local museum gallery.
"Gregory called the process 'a different way of looking at feminine power. Women have to learn about their power. At one point, women were recognized as the source of power, but that power has been denigrated by patriarchy. We're trying to go back to how power symbols were used by women before they were distorted by patriarchy.' But Gregory insists her desire to educate and encourage women through feminist art is not anti-male. She said she wants her husband and her son to be comfortable in the gallery."
Michael Pye at The Scotsman reviews "Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy" by Barbara Ehrenreich, and takes issue with her interpretation of pre-Christian religion.
"...the silliest cliche' in the book: "Dionysus was the first rock star." Since later Ehrenreich will acknowledge Bill Haley in that role ... The next stop is, of course, Jesus, and whether he was confused with Dionysus by his first followers. The answer, as with anything in the first 350 muddled years of church history, is: 'yes' and 'no'. But it's quite a leap from Saint Paul asking women to keep their heads covered in church - a convention of Middle Eastern modesty, Jewish, Muslim or Christian - to assuming Paul really meant they shouldn't toss their long hair about in ecstatic dance. That theory demands a resounding: 'Maybe.'"
You can read my original post on this book, here.
For those wanting more Bjork background after my blog articles discussing her pagan inclinations, the New York Times has a lengthy interview concerning her new album and the process behind making it.
"Bjork, 41, describes 'Volta' as 'techno voodoo,' 'pagan,' 'tribal' and 'extroverted.' Those words barely sum up an album that mingles programmed beats, free-jazz drumming, somber brass ensembles, African music, a Chinese lute and Bjork's ever-volatile voice. It's a 21st-century assemblage of the computerized and the handmade, the personal and the global."
Finally, with Beltane coming up, different groups are making big plans. The Dolmen Grove near Dorset is burning a large Wicker Man during a Beltane festival this weekend.
"Dolmen Grove druids and witches are staging one of the biggest pagan festivals in England this weekend - complete with a giant wicker man made in a Weymouth garden. The figure plays a leading role in the Beltane Spirit of Rebirth Festival at Burnbake camp site near Corfe Castle when it will be burned as the high point of a fire ritual on Saturday night."
Meanwhile Edinburgh's Beltane Fire Festival, the biggest (and most colorful) Beltane celebration in the UK, prepares for their biggest year yet.
"It does become a bit crowded up there," acknowledges Renwick. "We have around 380 performers this year and it will be tight for them to move through the crowds, but many argue that is part of the experience. No matter how much the demand grows we'll never move from Calton Hill. It's integral to the festival and it's our home. Obviously it's fantastic that the support has been growing every year and it shows the public enjoy the event and want to keep it happening."
That is all I have for now, have a good day!
Labels: art, Barbara Ehrenreich, Beltane, Bjork, Pagan News of Note, Paganism, Veteran Pentacle Quest
4.26.2007
The Dinner Party
Mia Fineman at Slate takes a look at feminist artist Judy Chicago's famous installation piece "The Dinner Party" on the occasion of it taking up permanent residence at the Brooklyn Museum as the centerpiece of the new Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art.
"Chicago began working on The Dinner Party in 1974; it took five years and the labor of 400 volunteers to complete. The installation consists of a massive banquet table in the shape of an equilateral triangle-an emblem of equality. Along each side are 13 place settings, a reference to Christ and his 12 disciples at the Last Supper. Chicago said she wanted to reinterpret 'that all-male event from the point of view of those who had traditionally been expected to prepare the food, then silently disappear from the picture.'"
"The Dinner Party" at the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art.
One third of the table is dedicated to place-settings for pre-Christian goddesses and important women from antiquity. This includes a place setting for the primordial goddess, Ishtar, Kali, the poet Sappho, and the Celtic queen Boudica. Fineman wonders if the work (originally displayed in 1979) can still be effective and moving in our cynical and irony-laden present, but finds that there is power to the installation that shines through.
"So, is The Dinner Party great art? Well, not by the standards of today's art world. It's too middlebrow, too literal, and its earnestness is out of step with today's endlessly self-ironizing sensibility. And its pudendal imagery, once radical, looks silly and heavy-handed today. But as an emphatically populist work with a clear set of political and educational imperatives, The Dinner Party has held its ground. It's nervy, ambitious, uncompromising, and-unlike most recent art, feminist or otherwise-truly original."
You can see a short interview with Judy Chicago from the opening of the permanent installation, here. For more photos of the installation check out Flickr. One wonders that if "The Dinner Party", now that it has a permanent home, will become a place of pilgrimage for goddess worshipers? It certainly stands out as one of the most famous works of modern art that has been influenced by feminist strains of modern Paganism.
Labels: art, goddess, Judy Chicago, Paganism, The Dinner Party, The Goddess
4.20.2007
Be Your Own God
There seems to be a lot of polytheism in the art world lately. Joining a growing trend is artist and University of Iowa student Dan Luchman. Luchman's latest show "Pantheon of Minor and Lesser Known Deities" is encouraging you to become a god.
"He's making it easy. His poster, adorned with antlers and a bicycle bell, nearly audibly bellows at those entering Art Building West: "Hark! The birth of Polytheodemocracy, a new ideology allowing everyone to achieve equal access to an extra-mortal existence - together we will improve upon the divine with an egalitarian array of anthropomorhpic attributions." There, you can pick up your "Application for Deification," a half-sheet of paper that details Luchman's step-by-step instructions ... The poster even promises that all applicants will be rewarded with a gift of original artwork, a shrine erected in their honor and that their application will be examined and interpreted by a 'real artist. Guaranteed.'"
It used to be you had to do important things (or at least attain a lot of worldly power) to become a deity, but Luchman thinks everyone should have a shot at god/dess-hood now. But this project isn't an attempt to address a celestial imbalance, but to symbolically deemphasize divinity's importance.
"A deity is supposed to be a representation of an ideal, but if anybody can be a deity and any personality has the potential to be divine, then it sort of destroys the idea. It makes the whole pantheon a collection of impotent deities. The divine loses its power ... God is like a despot, religion crushes new ideologies. People like it when they're not taking it seriously, but they'd abandon it if they though it was real. I think the most absurd thing is that I kind of do take it seriously. I like thinking [these deities] might exist."
As someone who actually believes in a multiplicity of powers and entities, I don't think polytheism deemphasizes divinity, but instead makes it more relevant to our day-to-day lives. But despite this difference of opinion with the artist, the project itself sounds interesting and I wouldn't mind having a deified artist's portrait.
Labels: art, Polytheism
3.15.2007
He Speaks For the Trees
The Los Angeles City Beat looks at a new exhibition by underground artist Mark Ryden. Ryden's new show at the Kohn Gallery is called "The Tree Show", and as you might suspect, it makes trees a central theme.
"The Tree Show has something for everyone. From Ryden's symbiotic relationship with Abraham Lincoln to his love of symbols, numerology, and historical references, to his kitsch diorama, you won't leave unhappy. Confused, maybe, but art is supposed to make you think. Ryden's trees are displayed as being both subjugated by and victorious over humanity."
Considering the subject matter it isn't too surprising that pagan themes pop up repeatedly in Ryden's show. In the City Beat interview he seems to display a genuine sympathy for pagan ideas.
"Allegory of the Four Elements" by Mark Ryden
"Trees, like the giant sequoias, can inspire religious awe in people ... The show is about our relationship to nature, when Christianity plowed over paganism, man was seen as dominant over nature, and we lost our spiritual connection to the natural world around us. The very first deities humans recognized were forest spirits..."
He even has a child-doll Cernunnos figure (which can be seen in this series of photos) as a central installation of the show (in addition to other horned-god and earth goddess imagery). More photos can be seen at Flickr. The show runs from March 10th to April 28th.
Labels: art, Cernunnos, Mark Ryden, Paganism, The Tree Show
