Mormon "art", and religious art in general

[_Brackite]

Hello,

I happen to be related to one pretty famous Mormon artist.

[_John Larsen]

My two favorite Friberg's are this one:



Which I think is a descent interpretation. And this one:



Probably because of the painting of the naked lady on the wall.

[_Daniel Peterson]

El Greco, Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Chagall, Rembrandt, Bernini, Dürer, Fra Angelico, etc., etc., . . . If they'd been real artists instead of hacks, they wouldn't have churned out all that religious trash.

[Juvenile incivility deleted], if they could have found better patrons then they would not have had to put time and talent into promoting fairy tales [sic].

I know of no reason to believe that to be true. They -- and very many like them -- seem to have been genuine believers, so far as I'm aware.

Probably because of the painting of the naked lady on the wall.

I vaguely remember an old but still-in-use Western bar -- in Tombstone, Arizona, if I'm not mistaken, but I could be thinking of Virginia City, Nevada -- with that painting on that wall.

[_Runtu]

A good friend of mine is an artist who makes his living primarily through LDS-themed paintings and cards. He's pretty good, I think, and I can't see any reason to begrudge him a living by creating art that is meaningful to him and to the people who purchase it.

I've always wondered where you draw the line. Every time I go to Day's Market, I see a rack of really tacky, LDS greeting cards, and I feel embarrassed for the people who made them and even more so for the people who buy them.

I suppose I draw the line at decent art. Bad art is bad art, no matter the subject.

[_Daniel Peterson]

This is a subject that matters a great deal to me. Enough so, that, even with my relatively limited means, I've gone out of my way, where I could, to support better Mormon art -- by purchasing it, or whatever. (I attend even bad Mormon movies, and buy the better ones, in hopes of helping to create a Mormon-film market that will someday support good cinema.) I strongly favor using better-quality Mormon art for book and journal covers, though my failures on that score have been at least as numerous as my successes.

I've often wished that I really had the Mopologetics-generated wealth that Mister Scratch and his devotees attribute to me, so that I could make a genuine difference as a patron.

[_John Larsen]

Here is an interesting facet of Mormon art, and potentially why it is so difficult to produce really great art:

http://deseretbook.com/store/search?x=0&y=0&query=god%27s+army

[_Mister Scratch]

This is a subject that matters a great deal to me. Enough so, that, even with my relatively limited means, I've gone out of my way, where I could, to support better Mormon art -- by purchasing it, or whatever. (I attend even bad Mormon movies, and buy the better ones, in hopes of helping to create a Mormon-film market that will someday support good cinema.) I strongly favor using better-quality Mormon art for book and journal covers, though my failures on that score have been at least as numerous as my successes.

I think this is a genuinely good and sincere post from you, Dan. Thank you. It's refreshing.

You know, Eugene England once suggested that the first truly great literary artist in Mormonism would wind up getting excommunicated. Do you agree with that statement? Do you think that the conservatism of Mormonism tends to be a drawback when it comes to the narrative and dramatic arts? Hence why folks such as Richard Dutcher, Neil LaBute, and Brian Evensen all left the Church?

[_Dr. Shades]

Hi JoetheClerk,

I disagree with you in some respects: I think Arnold Friberg is a fantastic artist and every bit worth of the title.

I think it would be approprate to draw a distinction between various works of "Mormon art:" Some artists are better than others. Some--like Arnold Friberg, in my humble opinion--do not qualify for your condemnation, while others--such as Minerva Teichert--most definitely do.

[_Gazelam]

Heres an example of great Mormon art. Liz Lemon Swindle continues to pour out incredible works of art time and again.



Story behond this painting:

When Mothers Without Borders approached me about going to Africa, I told them I was not interested. For me Africa was a world away, "and besides", I thought, "I am too busy." Imagine my surprise when I found myself on a plane to Zambia in June 2007.

One of the first children I met was Kennedy, the little boy you see in the painting. At three years old he has lost both of his parents to AIDS and was found living alone with his six year old brother and ten year old sister. When I thought of those three children struggling to survive and the millions of others across Africa in similar circumstances, I felt an overwhelming hopelessness and said to myself, "No amount of money can fix this."

Later that day while we were filming, Kennedy jumped into the arms of the man portraying the Savior. As I stood watching them, Kennedy turned towards me and our eyes met. At that moment I knew it wasn't hopeless. I realized that the Savior can fix not only the problems of Africa, but of the whole world... and we can be His hands to do it.

Looking back I realize that my reasons for not wanting to go to Africa are likely the same as yours. We are busy and feel like we cannot make a difference, but I know now that neither is true. We are never too busy to lift another and every good work is known to Him who said, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of... these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

And heres an example of bad Mormon art. I think this artist used a comic book cover of Superman emerging from his fortress of solitude as inspiration for this example of Christs resurrection. Somehow this image is always on sale at deseret when I go in there. Very peculiar.

[_Gazelam]

This painting really struck me when I first saw it. Its entitled "He Is Not Here" by Walter Rane. I like the simplicity of it. Its very unimposing, like a still life, but at the same time awe inspiring when you take in the subject matter.