“The Lady of Nazareth Chose to Play Along,” depicts the Virgin Mary, with Pope John the XXIII looking on, partially nude in provocative black panty hose and heels, but denied free will by bondage restraints that have her arms crossed and pinned. Her hands, sticking out passed curved hips, embrace the traditional aged crucifix and a wire hanger that represents the many brutal back-alley abortions that have been the unfortunate result of denied contraceptive practice.

“My image shows solidarity for the Virgin Mary, not blasphemy. I feel that as a woman she has been the submissive victim of male dominated Catholic hierarchy,” said artist Marilyn Artus. “But, I’ve already been met with a certain amount of anger with requests to not show the image coming from some of my friends and relatives who belong to the Conservative Right.”

Prominently placed over her private area is a scarlet F, marking the Catholic Church’s questionable area of focus in regard to their stances on birth control and abortion.

Lifelong congregation member Jeff Hamilton of Saint John the Baptist in the Oklahoma City area is not against the protest art. “It seems kind of sacrilegious to depict the Virginal Mother that way, but the church uses art for its message and this happens to be a case where an artist uses art to create an image the church wouldn’t agree with,” said Hamilton, adding, “As an adoptee, there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t feel grateful to be here, but I support the artist’s right to protest the Catholic stance on birth control.”

The artist’s camp is expecting more contentious voices to emerge against the work that is set for display throughout the month. “The artist isn’t trying to anger anyone. She is simply saying the Catholic ban against modern contraception was put into place by a Pope, and it can be lifted by a Pope,” said spokesman Cory Allen.

Marilyn Artus’s past work includes “Our Lady of the Anti-Personnel Weapon and Her Stepford Friends.” The work depicting clashing conservative ideologies featured the religious icon wielding a knife and a hand grenade and was covered by the mainstream media in 2010.

The Virgin Mary portrait will be on a tour from coast to coast in the United States before going international. It will first publicly appear next Friday, April 6th, at AKA Gallery Oklahoma City, Okla., before heading to other galleries and festivals.

For more info, contact Cory Allen at 323-393-3115 or visit http://www.cacanet.com .

- 300dpi image download for media (no nudity): Send2Press.com/mediaboom/12-0329-artusvm_300dpi.jpg .
- Image Caption: “The Lady of Nazareth Chose to Play Along” by and Copr. © Marilyn Artus.

News Source: Cory Allen Contemporary Art :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source by Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®. View all current news at: http://Send2PressNewswire.com .

The 12 applicants are being asked to submit full proposals, due Sept. 1, 2010. This year’s proposals include projects in biotechnology, information technology/telecommunications, sensor technology, weather science and energy, with several projects overlapping into multiple categories.

“Members of the EDGE Policy Board were very pleased with the high quality of this year’s proposals. Each year’s submissions have grown in significance and merit, and there were many excellent proposals among those who didn’t advance,” said Paul Risser, executive director of the EDGE Policy Board.

“With fewer dollars available from the EDGE endowment this year, the competition will be even more intense among the final few projects selected for funding. We can’t overlook the need to grow the EDGE Endowment Fund to its full $1 billion total; at that level, we will be able to support many more of the top-tier projects that are going unfunded. Obviously the more innovation and technology EDGE can fund, the more businesses and jobs and wealth we’ll be able to create for Oklahoma.”

For the 2010 funding process, the following principal investigators have been invited to submit full proposals:

Biotechnology:
* Robert Floyd (Otologic Pharmaceutics) – Preclinical investigation of HPN-07 and NAC for the prevention and treatment of acute noise induced hearing loss
* William Hildebrand (Pure Protein, LLC) – Pure Protein, L.L.C.: EDGE-Enabled Expansion of Protein-Based Transplantation Products
* James Long (VADovations, Inc) – Development of a miniature blood pump
* Anne Perira (Biolytx Pharmaceuticals Corporation) – New drugs for Bad Bugs
* Donald Smith (Smith Algae BioFeeds and BioFuels) – Smith Algae BioFeeds and BioFuels: A Commercial Demonstration of CO2 to Algae as Cattle Feed for Heart Healthy Beef.

Energy:
* C. Drew Tait (Triarii Scientific LLC) – The Electromechanical Battery: A Disruptive Advance Technology that Changes the Energy Paradigm.

Information Technology/ Telecommunications:
* Max Doleh (Sigma Blood Systems, LLC) – Development of Integrated Blood Processing Solutions for Blood Centers
* D. Noah Roberts (Docvia LLC) – Oklahoma Emergency Health Registry Consortium.

Sensor Technology:
* Allen Apblett (Oklahoma State University) – Commercialization of Improvised Explosive Sensing Technology
* Nicholas Materer (SensorCor) – Commercialization of Passive Wireless Corrosion Sensors
* Jeff Wilson (Contineo Robotics) – Robotic Sensor Systems.

Weather Science:
* Allyson Turnbull (Enterprise Electronics Corporation) – Development, Manufacturing, and Support of Low Cost Doppler Weather Radars in Oklahoma.

The number and size of awards will be determined by the EDGE Policy Board which is chaired by Gary W. Derrick and consists of Thomas Kupiec Ph.D., Ken Levit, Gregory McKenzie, Bond Payne, and Stephen Prescott, M.D. The EDGE Endowment Fund is managed by a legislatively-mandated Board of Investors which certifies the amount of funds available each year to the EDGE Policy Board, which in turn, determines how the money will be allocated.

Established by Governor Henry in 2004, the mission of EDGE is to bolster Oklahoma’s long-term economic growth by investing the earnings from the EDGE endowment in the state’s knowledge infrastructure. EDGE investments are specifically directed toward Oklahoma-based projects that have the potential to expand the number of researchers, technicians, support services and related activity within the state; increase the formation and growth of advanced technology companies; leverage additional funding through federal research grants or private investment; and improve the health and quality of life for Oklahoma.

More information on EDGE fund: http://www.ok.gov/edge/ .

News Source: Economic Development Generating Excellence Policy Board :: This press release was issued by Send2Press® and is Copyright © 2010 Neotrope® News Network – all rights reserved.

Posed with the challenge of marketing his new book, “Falling Apart” (ISBN: 978-1605943954), author Ken Brown gathered together a team of learning experts to design a tool like no other – 4 Styles Enter-Active Systems – to help authors, publishers and companies to promote and market their books and other products.

“This very cool and revolutionary new marketing tool prompts the user to click on images, colors and messages. During this time, music and voice overs entertain the user and he or she must follow directions to get to the next level,” says Brown.

In the case of this launch design, each level provides book teasers and excerpts to draw the user deeper into the story, which eventually ends up leaving him or her wanting more.

For example, in the book preview for “Falling Apart,” the user begins in a contemporary living room setting where he or she must click on seven items before advancing to the next level. Each item, when clicked on, reveals part of the story.

“Each preview can be custom designed to meet the needs of the client,” says Brown. “So many companies and individuals can benefit and truly need this tool to introduce their books or other products.”

Brown explains that this interactive tool can be applied to just about any product that someone wants to promote.

About the Creators:

Ken Brown brings nearly 40 years of experience of customer service to life with his unique belief that a customer is more than just a number. And, while technology has changed, his philosophy has not. His ideas and innovations have brought him success in business with each successive endeavor he has undertaken. Never forgetting his abilities as an artist, in 2009 he co-authored the fiction book, “Falling Apart” and then launched 4 Styles Enter-Active Systems.

Ken’s wife, Tammy, is a teacher and co-author of “Falling Apart.” Wanting to find new ways to promote and encourage people to read, she used what she learned teaching, going to school, and writing to also help start 4 Styles Enter-Active Systems.

For more detailed information about 4 Styles Enter-Active Systems, visit: www.enteractivesystems.com .

News Source: JAF Industries :: This press release was issued by Send2Press® and is Copyright © 2010 Neotrope® News Network – all rights reserved.

This Beacon Award honor helps demonstrate the fact that Delta Dental of Oklahoma (DDOK) is even more than the state’s largest dental benefits provider. DDOK’s core mission is to facilitate the delivery of dental care to as many Oklahomans as possible – with or without dental insurance. The Delta Dental of Oklahoma Charitable Foundation was established in 1998 to help fulfill that mission, as well as to advance oral health education.

“There is so much need in Oklahoma, and we are in a unique position to dramatically improve the availability of more care and education,” said John Gladden, Delta Dental of Oklahoma president and CEO. “Our hope is to be able to grow funding to provide further support to dental professionals volunteering their time and make our charitable foundation the hub of benevolent dental care for all Oklahomans. We believe it’s our responsibility to do so.”

In its first 10 years, the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Charitable Foundation contributed nearly $2 million to dozens of dental health and education projects and initiatives statewide. Realizing that even more could be achieved with additional funding, the DDOK board of directors amplified funding to the Foundation to nearly $1.4 million for 2009. This represented an increase of more than 300 percent over the previous year.

“For more than a decade, the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Charitable Foundation has increasingly supported oral health and education throughout the state. This has resulted in significant social and economic benefits, and it has helped improve the lives and oral health of countless Oklahomans,” said Terrisa Singleton, Delta Dental of Oklahoma Charitable Foundation Specialist.

Some of the outreach programs include Captain Supertooth, who has helped more than 125,000 grade school children across Oklahoma take pride in their teeth and understand the importance of oral health. The Foundation also supports the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes/Special Smiles Program, as well as numerous Give Kids a Smile projects in which volunteer dental professionals take oral health education, screening and dental care to disadvantaged grade school students.

In addition, the Delta Dental of Oklahoma Charitable Foundation works to expand access to dental care by providing grants to free and low-cost dental clinics and programs statewide. These programs make oral health accessible to thousands of uninsured, underserved and low-income Oklahomans. In addition, the Foundation demonstrates its commitment to the advancement of dentistry by providing $100 thousand in annual support of the OU College of Dentistry’s clinic, where faculty-supervised dental students gain valuable hands-on experience. The Foundation also provides $50 thousand in scholarships annually to 10 OU College of Dentistry students.

The Delta Dental of Oklahoma Charitable Foundation is the philanthropic affiliate of Delta Dental of Oklahoma and is the state’s single largest contributor to dental health and education-related projects and initiatives. Delta Dental of Oklahoma is a not-for-profit corporation providing dental coverage to individuals, families, small businesses and Fortune 500 corporations located across the state and nation. For more information about the Foundation or to download a directory of free and low-cost dental care resources throughout the state, visit www.DeltaDentalok.org/foundation

News Source: Delta Dental of Oklahoma :: This press release was issued by Send2Press® and is Copyright © 2010 Neotrope® News Network – all rights reserved.