By Common Consent, a Mormon Blog
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Over the last several years, a painter in Utah named Jon McNaughton has been trying to make a name for himself by using the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a prop in politically provocative pictures which attempt to communicate his apparent belief that only people who hold political views consistent with those of the current American political extreme right wing are in harmony with the Lord’s Gospel and, in fact, acceptable to God. [Read more...]
For centuries artists and lovers of art alike have studied the masters, hoping for a glimpse into the process of creative genius. Now, an unprecedented find. A never before seen look into the mind of one of the greatest painters our generation has seen…
So far (see parts 1, and 2) I’ve told some of the story of James T. Harwood’s parents and in particular his father, who played a rather large role in the way James T. saw the world, and particularly Mormonism both as institution and proximate realization.
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Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), ‘The Hand of God’, marble, 1898. [Read more...]
[Note: Due to the unforeseen martyrdom of Jon McNaughton's art sales in the BYU Bookstore at the hands of Teh Godless Libruls, we feel the need to eugooglize this fine art, and thus we have resurrected this thread. Haiku only, please.]
Originally posted on September 29, 2009
Art inspires art. This art, found on the sidebar, inspired me.
I choose to respond in haiku. You may respond as well, but we will only accept comments in haiku. (5-7-5 for those of you who don’t remember high school English….) Here are some thoughts to get you started: [Read more...]
Ai WeiWei (1957-present). ‘Sunflower Seeds’, porcelain, 2010.
The Unilever Series is an ongoing commission that is displayed in the Turbine Hall at London’s Tate Modern. The most recent addition to this series is Ai WeiWei’s ‘Sunflower Seeds’. Each of the 100million porcelain seeds has been produced through traditional methods in a Chinese town famous for their porcelain. This is a staggering effort, and one which has saved a town from financial ruin. Ai WeiWei’s Sunflower Seeds are situated clearly within the conceptual art tradition and invoke a number of themes: mass-production, individualism, what does it mean to be ‘made in China?’,and, perhaps, most significantly, the lives of those who lived through the Cultural Revolution in China. [Read more...]
If you have spent much time with Latter-day Saint illustrated literature you have probably seen images of this painting:
The artist was James Taylor Harwood (1860-1940). Harwood’s story is interesting and Mormon-related if for no other reason than his LDS commissions to produce religious works like the one above (Come Follow Me – commissioned by the Deseret Sunday School Union) but it’s more interesting than that. To understand Harwood’s story, it is necessary to understand his parent’s and so we begin with James Harwood, James Taylor’s father.
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In this episode, Scott B. and Matt Page continue the ominous & ghostly themes at BCC this week with a discussion of Bigfoot and UFOs in Mormon Folklore, evil music, a suspicious Culligan man, and all of the details of Matt’s life which–for various reasons–were missing from an article about Matt and his artwork in the Salt Lake Tribune a couple of weeks ago. Actually, they really just make fun of Brad Kramer for half an hour or so.
Links For Your Convenience:
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I participated in a BYU-Idaho student documentary about Mormon art (probably because I wrote a blog post agreeing with a Slate blog post about the lack of great Mormon artists). It’s well done and it’s embedded below the fold…give it a view and a good rating.
The documentary starts with a famous quote from Orson F. Whitney, a leader in the church about a hundred years ago: “We shall yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own.”
The question the Slate article addresses and that I address during my comments in the video is simply “Where are they? Why hasn’t our culture produced them yet?” [Read more...]
Feast your eyes upon the artwork below, and then tell us: Which one evokes the most powerful spiritual feelings.
I’m going to start this off with a couple of Nike commercials that I watch on Youtube when I am trying to motivate myself. No endorsement of Nike (or YouTube) is implied. [Read more...]
Ernst Barlach (1870-1938), ‘Have Pity!’, 1919; private collection.
Ernst Barlach’s small wood-carving struck me deeply when I first saw a photo-print of the statue in Gombrich’s ‘The Story of Art’. The old, bony hands of this woman extended beneath a seemingly coarse and debasing covering intensely expresses the suffering and pain of the lives of too many people on this earth. [Read more...]
American illustrator and beloved LDS painter Arnold Friberg passed away early this morning, July 1, 2010 in Salt Lake City. [Read more...]
Another Image of Faith and Devotion
David Linn, ‘The Ascent’, 1993, oil on canvas; Museum of Church History and Art.
Another installment in the series, in which David Linn’s award-winning painting ‘The Ascent’ is considered. [Read more...]
Francisco Zurburan (1598-1664), ‘Saint Francis Standing in Ecstasy’, c. 1640, oil on canvas; Museo Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Barcelona.
A few years ago another blogger started (but never continued) a series of posts on Religious Art. As someone with an uninformed, amateur interest in Art I thought that it might be interesting to give it another go. The first painting I have selected, though feel free to make suggestions for future posts, is a painting by Zurbaran entitled ‘Saint Francis Standing in Ecstasy’. [Read more...]
More photos from around the Conference Center during the last session of General Conference.
More photos from around the Conference Center before and during the Sunday Morning Session.
Photography from around the Conference Center on Saturday afternoon.
The feeling of excitement is up through the roof here at the Conference Center. Some met up with their friends and family, and quickly found their seats. Some where passing the wait time by strolling around and looking at the art work on display. There are smiling patrons everywhere checking tickets and directing people to the correct areas. It’s General Conference.
This piece was inspired by the hard work and ingenuity that went in to creating the first printed Bible and the events which followed when suddenly everyone could have access to the holy written word of God – not just the learned monks and clergymen, but all men could read it and know for themselves.
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