Sethbag wrote:I have a suggestion for you. You know how the church shows this old artwork of Joseph Smith poring over the golden plates, with or without the funky spectacles, while Oliver Cowdery writes down what Joseph is Saying on the other side of a handkerchief or other cloth? And you know how some critic artists have drawn unflattering pictures of Joseph Smith with his face buried in his hat?
Maybe you could think about this for a while, roll the concept over in your noggin for a while, and recast the whole scene in a way that is both faithful to the true process as far as we know it, and yet something you'd be willing to show to other Mormons. I think that would be awesome. I'd love to see what you came up with.
I'd like to see this too.
From the Ernest L. Wilkinson Diaries: "ELW dreams he's spattered w/ grease. Hundreds steal his greasy pants."
Sethbag wrote:I have a suggestion for you. You know how the church shows this old artwork of Joseph Smith poring over the golden plates, with or without the funky spectacles, while Oliver Cowdery writes down what Joseph is Saying on the other side of a handkerchief or other cloth? And you know how some critic artists have drawn unflattering pictures of Joseph Smith with his face buried in his hat?
Maybe you could think about this for a while, roll the concept over in your noggin for a while, and recast the whole scene in a way that is both faithful to the true process as far as we know it, and yet something you'd be willing to show to other Mormons. I think that would be awesome. I'd love to see what you came up with.
That would have to be as ambiguous as the smirk on the Mona Lisa to serve both ends.
Sethbag wrote:I have a suggestion for you. You know how the church shows this old artwork of Joseph Smith poring over the golden plates, with or without the funky spectacles, while Oliver Cowdery writes down what Joseph is Saying on the other side of a handkerchief or other cloth? And you know how some critic artists have drawn unflattering pictures of Joseph Smith with his face buried in his hat?
Maybe you could think about this for a while, roll the concept over in your noggin for a while, and recast the whole scene in a way that is both faithful to the true process as far as we know it, and yet something you'd be willing to show to other Mormons. I think that would be awesome. I'd love to see what you came up with.
That would have to be as ambiguous as the smirk on the Mona Lisa to serve both ends.
That's what makes this such a good challenge to a truly artistic person. An artistic neophyte or dillettante simply couldn't pull it off. I'd be interested to see what Mak could make of it.
Mormonism ceased being a compelling topic for me when I finally came to terms with its transformation from a personality cult into a combination of a real estate company, a SuperPac, and Westboro Baptist Church. - Kishkumen
Sethbag wrote:That's what makes this such a good challenge to a truly artistic person. An artistic neophyte or dillettante simply couldn't pull it off. I'd be interested to see what Mak could make of it.
I don't think it would be a problem to make it benign enough for members of the church. I would just not put Smith's face buried in his hat. It would be him looking up from the hat and talking with Cowdery or something like that. It's not an activity we're used to seeing, so it strikes us as a bit odd. Having him hunched over with his face in his hat also robs it of personality and makes it feel like the viewer is intruding. Of course, that's the intent with those pieces. They want it to make people feel like they're looking at a dude on the hopper, or doing something else that people don't want to look at. That associates the event with awkwardness.
Maybe you could present it so the seer stone(s) was visible in the bottom of the hat resting on the table in front of Joseph, Emma standing next to him with her hand on the cloth covering the plates and Cowdery writing on the other side.
"Any over-ritualized religion since the dawn of time can make its priests say yes, we know, it is rotten, and hard luck, but just do as we say, keep at the ritual, stick it out, give us your money and you'll end up with the angels in heaven for evermore."
Sethbag wrote:That's what makes this such a good challenge to a truly artistic person. An artistic neophyte or dillettante simply couldn't pull it off. I'd be interested to see what Mak could make of it.
I don't think it would be a problem to make it benign enough for members of the church. I would just not put Smith's face buried in his hat. It would be him looking up from the hat and talking with Cowdery or something like that. It's not an activity we're used to seeing, so it strikes us as a bit odd. Having him hunched over with his face in his hat also robs it of personality and makes it feel like the viewer is intruding. Of course, that's the intent with those pieces. They want it to make people feel like they're looking at a dude on the hopper, or doing something else that people don't want to look at. That associates the event with awkwardness.
Oh, I like that because it is an unusual depiction of the seer stone use. You could do it a couple of other ways, too: putting the stones in the hat, taking them out, anything around the usual depiction of head firmly in hat.
From the Ernest L. Wilkinson Diaries: "ELW dreams he's spattered w/ grease. Hundreds steal his greasy pants."
Sethbag wrote:That's what makes this such a good challenge to a truly artistic person. An artistic neophyte or dillettante simply couldn't pull it off. I'd be interested to see what Mak could make of it.
I don't think it would be a problem to make it benign enough for members of the church. I would just not put Smith's face buried in his hat. It would be him looking up from the hat and talking with Cowdery or something like that. It's not an activity we're used to seeing, so it strikes us as a bit odd. Having him hunched over with his face in his hat also robs it of personality and makes it feel like the viewer is intruding. Of course, that's the intent with those pieces. They want it to make people feel like they're looking at a dude on the hopper, or doing something else that people don't want to look at. That associates the event with awkwardness.
How about exaggerated power and light from the low held hat blowing back Joseph's hair and flapping the curtain and wrecking Emma's table setting while she quips something droll?
maklelan wrote:I don't think it would be a problem to make it benign enough for members of the church. I would just not put Smith's face buried in his hat. It would be him looking up from the hat and talking with Cowdery or something like that. It's not an activity we're used to seeing, so it strikes us as a bit odd. Having him hunched over with his face in his hat also robs it of personality and makes it feel like the viewer is intruding. Of course, that's the intent with those pieces. They want it to make people feel like they're looking at a dude on the hopper, or doing something else that people don't want to look at. That associates the event with awkwardness.
Yeah man, now you're talking! This is exactly the kind of thing I want to see. A drawing the historians cannot quibble with, while still not deliberately attempting to jar the faithful viewer, as some of the drawings I've seen seem calculated to do.
I hope you end up drawing it. I'd sure like to see it when you do.
Mormonism ceased being a compelling topic for me when I finally came to terms with its transformation from a personality cult into a combination of a real estate company, a SuperPac, and Westboro Baptist Church. - Kishkumen
