I was just looking for jobs online, and found a submission opportunity for all you filmographers and small government fans. I normally don’t get too political here, but I think the Galen Institute has got some really good criticisms of the current administration’s line of thought on health care reform.

Their web site is a really decent resource for information on the contra-bama movement, and even takes a moment to talk Hollywood-meets-tragedy-of-socialized-health-care genre, commenting on the tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson, wife of Liam Neeson.

For more information on the video contest, which offers a winner’s prize of $3,000, see the Galen Institute web site.

Have you heard of St. Ambrose Academy in Madison, Wisconsin? Madisonians in this Diocese know it’s the only 100% orthodox Catholic junior high and high school (although props to Edgewood HS for recent renewal), but it’s not just the alma mater of that whiz kid, Bobby Marsland, or the Madison area locus for uber-Catholic activities, it’s a place for well-rounded education.

That’s right. St. Ambrose Academy is working on their Renaissance factor, and last month their wish list ended with “Artwork & Sculptures for the environment.” This is St. Ambrose Academy, which is becoming more well known. If you’re an artist with mad gifts, and are looking to practice philanthropy and get a little press, too, I’d recommending contacting St. Ambrose. You will not lose your reward.

Claim your place.

I used to receive Art in America (obtained by my eager to inspire husband for free from some sort of internet deal). While it was good to have an awareness of the contemporary art world in America–to know what exhibits were open, what great works were on auction, etc.–I generally disregarded the magazine for it’s vulgarity of artistic formation and conscience, and its gross secularity. No regard for the vast history of art, or the religious origins of the Masters.

However, this is all an opinionated preface to say I heard about a little art competition through the mag, and thought somebody might be interested to know. “Claim your place” states the advert with an empty art exhibit frame. Judged categories include colored pencil, art markers, graphite/ charcoal, pastels, mixed media, and cartooning. You could win up to $5,000. For more information go to www.prismacolor.com.

Via the Image Update:

The parish of Our Savior Catholic Center at the University of Southern California is soliciting interest and artists’ portfolios for the numerous works of sacred art to be commissioned for the new church and student center. Interested artists are invited to visit the project website for information regarding the architectural project, the artistic vision, the scope of works to be commissioned, and the submission requirements.

Being as jaded about  California Liturgical Art as I am (I lived there), I hesitated before posting this. (See World’s Ugliest Buildings.) However, this following rendering was encouraging:

Slightly less encouraging is the removal of the tabernacle from the altar, and placing it in the apse. The apse is better than, say, a super hidden side chapel, but the tabernacle should be where all good Christians are: front and center and ready to take up one’s cross.

They are clearly not looking for anything ultra post-modern, but I am confused about this statement:

We are not looking for any dry, academic mimicry of historical styles. On the one hand, we are looking to renew the narrative figurative tradition, respectful of the Christian iconographic tradition of symbols and conventions which has expressed the Catholic faith across the millennia.

I wonder what (or who) they would consider “dry, academic mimicry of historical styles.” Mimicry is a strong word, and I wonder they would consider an architectural ventriloquist? Very confusing. What do you think?

I keep coming across these design contests, and this one looked like a good one. J.Jill, the slightly overpriced cross between Gap and Chico’s, is holding  design contest for the next Compassion Tee, a shirt whose net profit go towards the J.Jill Compassion Fund at the Boston Foundation. Partners (beneficiaries) include Ascension Place in Minneapolis and The Enterprising Kitchen in Chicago. The grand prize is a $2000 shopping spree at J.Jill and an Artista Creative Safari in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California (Ladies only on the safari).

Do you know a young writer who’s a rock solid Catholic? Check out details regarding this contest.

Bernard Aparicio, President of Dappled Things, a faith and culture quarterly, would like to give you a little preview of their newest issue.  For souls of couple-colour, you may be drawn to this great little mag, which I’ve just subscribed to. Peruse especially the poems of Gabriel Olearnik, a one time Polish acquaintance who resides in England. Fantastic!

Fr. RJ Neuhaus is quoted as saying, that Dappled Things is “trolling for talent,” and providing a forum for the emerging artist, a literary landscape, plotted and pieced. Writers and other fine artists may be interested in submitting work for future issues. Whilst the next deadline is oh-so-close (Oct 14th), take a look a their submission guidelines here. 

With all the pied beauty of fall leaves upon the still-green grass, comes the “Mary, Queen of Angels 2007″ edition of Dappled Things, now available online. The new issue is brimming over with wonderful essays, stories, poems, and works of art by talented young writers and artists working within the

 Catholic tradition. We invite you to explore the new issue and then head over to our forums to share your thoughts with other readers.

Herewith a sampling of the marvelous pieces you will find in our “Mary, Queen of Angels 2007″ edition:

- Following the September implementation date of Pope Benedict’s much talked-about motu proprio, comes Philip Carl Smith’s  “The Monastery, the Motu Proprio, and the Heart of the Church,”  a personal meditation on the importance of liturgy for the Church’s life:

Dom Antoine Forgeot, the abbot of Notre Dame de Fontgombault, greeted me upon my arrival at the monastery by pouring water on my hands before the evening meal, welcoming me as if I were Christ. Fontgombault, founded in the eleventh century, has had an immense influence on the religious life of France and the United States since its reestablishment in 1948 by the Benedictines of Solesmes, and it is now an important center of Gregorian chant. For several days this past summer I received the hospitality of the monks, attending the singing of the Divine Office and participating in the solemn conventual Mass chanted each day according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII—a form of the Mass also known as the usus antiquior or the Tridentine Mass.

- The main character in Eve Tushnet’s “Distortions” struggles with questions as applicable to a distopian world as to our own:

And that’s how my thing is all over. Crumpled up, crippled. Like a glob with deep wrinkles, almost folds or fissures, covered with lanugo, and a thing like a face on one end. You can definitely see the noseholes and the mouth, and you can tell where the eyes should be, but either they aren’t there or they’re gummed shut. I’m not really interested in that part; what I’m supposed to be investigating are the flippers and the wings. I don’t like these ones, the very large malformations. They’re part of the reason I want to move into a more administrative or research-design position, rather than directly carrying out the work.

- Author Eleanor Bourg Donlon treats us to a second installment of her developing Magdalen Montague saga in “The Flight from Magdalen Montague” :

I found the girl on the street, as one does. Down by the Danube. I glanced into the ugly green depths of the river and thought of filth. And then I looked up and saw her. A miserable object, but well suited to my purpose. Blonde, with straggling hair, and small, dull eyes. Rather like that girl in Vienna. Do you remember her? She wept when we left, but I think it was because she had wanted more money.

- Poet Gabriel Olearnik ponders the end of times in “An English Apocalypse” :

Death, War, Famine
and the other member of the band
(you know the one, his name escapes me)
Will run amok in Camden market
And overturn three stalls of leather goods
And upset some arrangements
Of ersatz Gucci handbags.

- Pope John Paul II’s theology of the body has much to say about relations between the sexes, but what is its connection to social justice? Catherine Rose explores this question in “Social Justice and the Theology of the Body”:

Secular governing bodies have their particular roles in the temporal sphere. But they cannot substitute the work of the Church, who addresses the needs of the whole person, including the ultimate transcendent need. It is an impoverishment for Catholic charitable organizations to discount or deny their spiritual ministry.

- Our featured article for this issue explores the nature of art and beauty through the work of 20th century Catholic painter Carl Schmitt in a profound essay written by his son, historian Carl Schmitt, Jr.:

Artistic beauty is only possible because of the Incarnation. In this world, we cannot see God’s supreme beauty: We can only find our way to it through the light of faith. Through the Incarnation, we may now experience God in this world through our own discovery of the beauty in people and things.

Visit our website (www.dappledthings.org) to enjoy these works and many more. Spread the Word!

One of my favorite DIY magazines, Ready Made Magazine, has a contest listed on their web page:

cause/affect is a biennial graphic design competition which celebrates the work of designers and organizations who set out to positively impact our society and communities.

All work entered in the competition must promote or support social good and actively engage in enriching our lives. It can raise awareness about a cause or condition. It can celebrate an arts institution or event [emphasis mine]. All we ask is that it doesn’t contribute directly to the profit of a commercial organization.

This is a competition for do-gooders, who do good work. And it is open to all.

entry deadline: 11.9.07

So, check it: are you creative and have you been looking for something to light a fire under your creative-patutti? Here’s the opportunity!