By
Rose Datoc Dall
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Jacqui Larsen, BACKYARD COSMOLOGY,
oil on canvas with salesman’s sample screen door, 70”
x 100,” 1999.
(Image Courtesy of BYU Museum of Art)
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Pioneering
Exhibition
When one thinks of the word “pioneering” in an LDS context,
images of early LDS pioneers crossing the plains come to mind.
But “pioneering” takes on a new meaning when referring to an
exhibition which opened in April at the BYU Museum of Art and
which will be on display until January of 2005: The exciting
exhibition is entitled Metaphorically Speaking: Contemporary
Religious Art, an exhibition featuring the work of 12
contemporary artists who are Latter-day Saints from around the
country.
The artists are installation artists and sculptors Galen Bell
Smith, Mandi Mauldin
Felici and Carin Fausett: mixed-media artist, Jacqui
Biggs Larsen; painters David Linn, Brian Kershisnik, Ron Richmond
and Sean Diediker,
designer David Hoeft;
printmaker Ashley Knudsen; fiber artist Becky Knudsen
and husband and object artist/primitive artist Kurt Knudsen.
Of the group, 8 out of the 12 are BYU alumni, all of which have
either a Bachelors or Masters Degree in Fine Art.
“Nothing like it has been done before,” at the BYU Museum of
Art, says Museum curator Dawn Pheysey, largely due to the vision
of BYU Museum Director Campbell Gray. On exhibition is a type
of religious art that perhaps LDS audiences are unaccustomed
to viewing by a collective of artists who are LDS.
To view the online exhibition, visit http://cfac.byu.edu/moa/
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Opening Reception, April 8th
at the BYU Museum of Art
(Image Courtesy of BYU Museum of Art)
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Non-Narrative
Contemporary Religious Art
None of the art in this exhibition is strictly narrative or,
in other words, where a very specific story is told and all
the work-is-done-for-the-viewer, or where, viola, we as viewers
are left only to simply behold. But rather, the art in this
exhibition is an exploration into the spiritual through the
use of symbol and metaphor; its very object is to use subliminal
imagery in an unexpected way to challenge the viewer and involve
mental participation.
By our very nature, we as viewers have a tendency and desire
to find something recognizable in the images that we are viewing.
The natural inclination is to find a story or narrative. These
artists purposefully avoid literalness and make use of visual
metaphors. We then as viewers are enticed to participate by
making our own connections based on our own personal archive
of experience to find meaning.
One of the participating artists Galen Bell Smith says, “I
am not just interested in making pretty pictures.” She further
states that she has a strong desire not to be associated as
a narrative genre artist, a similar sentiment held by most of
the artists in the exhibition. Once having done figurative illustration,
Smith now rarely ever incorporates the figure directly into
her work. Rather her sculptural objects of books as in Book
of Feast and Nail Series make reference to those
religious symbols which are familiar to us as Latter-day Saints.
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Galen
Bell Smith, BOOK OF FEAST, Book and mixed media,
2003.
(Image Courtesy of BYU Museum of Art)
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Imagery
in Contemporary Art
Symbol and imagery has been used for centuries in literature
and in art for centuries. But in the visual arts, the use of
imagery, content-driven or narrative art had been abandoned
and dismissed for a good part of the twentieth century to give
way to abstraction by the purists and the formalists. Representational
art by the late 19th century had lost its credibility
in terms of inventiveness; after its height, anything representational
that followed would have been viewed as a dishonest copycat,
a mindless replication, or a rehash.
Consequently, twentieth century art became about the exploration
of inventive expression with its root in abstraction. But after
the abstraction in its extremes, its sub-forms and spin-offs
ran its full course during the twentieth century, the natural
pendulum began to swing back in the latter part of the twentieth
century when it finally became kosher for traditional elements
and imagery to reemerge from its dormancy in the artistic library,
ready to be reinvented, reutilized and referenced as vehicles
in contemporary art.
It is not surprising then, that many artists who are Latter-day
Saints, many of whom keep a close tether to or have had their
training in traditionalism, figurative and representational
art have found a voice in contemporary art and jumped on board;
yet having inherited the lessons of the twentieth century art,
they have incorporated some of those artistic sensibilities
and contemporary methods of expression which had been in full
swing by the end of the last century.
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Ron Richmond posing before
his painting EXCHANGE
NO. 5.
(Image Courtesy of BYU Museum of Art)
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Contemporary expression includes but is not limited to experimentation,
odd juxtaposition, eclecticism, object art, non-literalness,
scale and manipulation of space as a vehicle, ephemeral and
installation art, use of mixed media and unexpected media, unconventional
presentation, outside-the-box mentality, anything-goes attitude,
tongue-and-cheek humor, whimsy and primitivism. For the contemporary
artists in this exhibition, the full gamut has become the vehicle
for expression whose main inspiration is rooted in their testimonies,
their religious and spiritual beliefs: thus, contemporary religious
art.
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Becky
Knudsen posing with her hooked rug triptych offering.
(Image Courtesy of BYU Museum of Art)
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| Artist Kurt Knudsen posing with his primitive,
folk inspired art.
(Image Courtesy of BYU Museum of Art)
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It definitely is refreshing to see artists of this kind of
art emerging from a body of artists who are Latter-day Saints.
Many of these artists are also gaining recognition and there
are many more artists out there who still live in obscurity
that are producing work along similar lines. This exhibition
only shows the works of 12 artists.
“I loved the show... to see a lot of other [contemporary] artists
who are making spiritual art and are successful,” says participating
artist Mandi Mauldin Felici, whose large nest-like installation
pieces like Haven are statements about “home” and even
evoke a reference, whether intentional or not, perhaps to the
manger. The beauty of metaphor is in its intentional ambiguity:
it is completely unscripted and left for the viewer to draw
his/her own conclusions about what he/she sees or feels.
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Mandi Mauldin Felici, HAVEN, branched,
pine needles, string, 2003.
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To view the online exhibition, visit http://cfac.byu.edu/moa/
Distinction
from Other Contemporary Art
While the religious art in this exhibition fits and functions
in that realm of contemporary art, which should appease the
“artist’s artist,” so to speak, as well as the intellectual,
sophisticated viewer, the art created by this group of artists
definitely holds one distinction from contemporary art in the
world: it has none of the darker qualities which can pervade
contemporary art, nor is it motivated by any of these elements,
such as cynicism, suspicion, social or political spite, assault
on public sensibility, need to shock, mockery of institutions,
alienation, explorations into self-indulgence or the dark tendencies
of human nature, promotion of alternate lifestyles and destructive
subcultures, degradation of the human body, and profanity of
the sacred as a vehicle.
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David Linn, IMMINENT EVENT, oil
on honeycomb panels, 4.5’ x 6’ x 4,” 2003-2004.
(Image Courtesy of BYU Museum of Art)
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Such methods and statements “would be antithetical to the Gospel
of Jesus Christ,” says artist David Linn whose large oil panels
of broad and almost surreal landscapes and seascapes pull the
viewer into his world where the path becomes the metaphor; for
himself it is a homage to his own pioneer heritage, and in the
larger sense the path is also a metaphor of the perilous road
that anyone must take to “follow the Savior,” as in the Imminent
Event.
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Artist David Linn posing with his series
of paintings (TERRAIN OF DECISION and LINE OF
SIGHT showing)
(Image Courtesy of BYU Museum of Art)
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“Hope is a big part of what my work is about,” says Jacqui
Larsen, whose multi-media collages such as Backyard Cosmology
or And Leona make analogies to the journey through life
and a “look to the future… [a] look to our Savior.” Jacqui states,
“I am interested in a personal art…that can uplift me.” “People
are receptive to work that has humanity in it."
To view the online exhibition, visit http://cfac.byu.edu/moa/
The
Challenge of Contemporary Art in an LDS Culture
The path of a contemporary religious artist is not an easy
one for a Latter-day Saint, in terms of gaining recognition
and acknowledgement in the LDS culture. The artists in this
exhibition, with the exception of a few, have been operating
outside the greater LDS culture’s awareness that this type of
art was being produced by artist in the Church.
Most of the art is not commercially driven, nor is its primary
intent to be reproduced for popular dissemination. Certainly
individual artists have been doing work of this kind and have
been for some time, but were it not for an exhibition at the
BYU Museum of Art, this group might not have enjoyed the impact
that this exhibition has to impress upon the LDS public that
“here we are and this is what we are all about.”
Secondly, these artists might have felt a lack of understanding
by their own LDS culture which is more accustomed to and very
comfortable with narrative artwork. Historically and culturally,
Latter-day Saints have always been a very practical people who
respond to “functionality.” For instance, narrative art holds
a very distinct role in terms of its functionality: it illustrates
and teaches very specific events or principles with directness.
The LDS culture is not necessarily very comfortable with non-narrative
art and contemporary expression, however, in understanding its
own relevance in its own culture. Certainly, members of this
church in this very sophisticated society have seen art of this
kind in museums and galleries dotting this country and the world.
But Latter-day Saints, perhaps, are not used to seeing contemporary
art in an LDS context, and therefore, simply don’t know what
to do with it, nor what to make of it.
For the most part the education and exposure to contemporary
art principles to this day remains very confined and relegated
to more specialized art institutions and remains lacking in
the larger cultural diet of the average Latter-day Saint and
is therefore dismissed and often overlooked all together. This
exhibition’s intent is to educate the public and begin the dialogue
amongst its largely LDS student body and populous.
“This show may leave some people scratching their heads,” says
artist Brian Kershisnik in full acknowledgement that while the
art entices the viewer to participate, it does not demand understanding
by all who view it, but it can evoke different meaning to different
individuals.
The non-narrative work in this exhibition functions more like
parables, meant to speak to individuals on many different levels,
while completely washing over some all together. In the introductory
panel for the exhibition, it states:
“As believers in Christ we are somewhat adept at deciphering
the literary symbolism—parables, similes, metaphors, allegories, and signs—found in the scriptures. But
we tend to be less comfortable with interpreting works of art that use symbolism to represent religious truths. Such interpretation requires
thoughtful time and effort in order to comprehend the visual signs
and emblems that can play such a critical role in our definition
and understanding of spiritual values and beliefs.
Perhaps it was BYU Museum Director Campbell Gray’s intention
to validate religious contemporary art’s relevance in our current
LDS culture. The bottom line is that contemporary religious
art is not going away, and many more artists who are Latter-day
Saints are creating along similar lines and are emerging. Therefore,
we can expect to see more contemporary art like it in the future
produced by the LDS culture. The brilliancy lies in Gray’s grasp
of the beat of contemporary culture in relation to LDS culture,
addressing its cultural reckoning and even anticipating the
direction that art may evolve in the Church.
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Museum Director Campbell Gray (speaking)
with artist Jacqui Larsen
(Image Courtesy of BYU Museum of Art) |
To view the online exhibition, visit http://cfac.byu.edu/moa/
The
Challenge for the Religious Contemporary Artist in the Contemporary
World
Another challenge for any artist who is LDS lies in the temptation
to follow the world; there are disparate ideologies that exist
between the art world and the doctrine of Christ. But the “perception”
of a lack of application of contemporary art in LDS culture
may alienate and drive many contemporary LDS artists to seek
acceptance outside their own culture. Seeking credibility as
an artist in the art world can present a potentially dangerous
moral dilemma when so much attached to that life-style can be
antithetical to gospel values and may demand the artist to compromise
morals at one point or another.
After all, the world view is that the artist creates-his/her-own
“moral universe.” To vocalize one’s values or sense of morality
has rarely ever been “chic” in art circles and certainly can
lead to a backlash amongst artistic peers because it “implies”
or comes off as narrow-mindedness and limitation- it goes against
the artist’s “moral-universe” ideology.
The artists in this exhibition are fully aware of the dilemma,
but each have their own way of dealing with it.
“For me it is a self-inflicted dilemma,” says Galen Bell Smith.
In great humor, Brian Kershisnik’s favorite motto is “we are
the artists and we have failed,” meaning that artists have been
“unreliable” over the centuries in their responsibility of handling
wisely the gift and powerful tool of art. In Kershisnik’s admiration
for masters Matisse and Picasso, his knowledge of the gospel
prevents him from following the lifestyle of the stereotypical
artist where the artist is at the center of his/her own “moral
universe” devoid of responsibility. Some of the greatest artists
who have led extreme lifestyles have been some of the most ill-adjusted
and self-destructive individuals, such as brilliant and revolutionary
architect, Frank Lloyd Wright and influential pop-artist Andy
Warhol to only name two.
Kershisnik, whose paintings and publications have attracted
attention, is also scheduled to exhibit in a gallery in Soho, New York, a significant coup for any artist.
His figurative paintings are an introspective study that acknowledges
“the difficulty and awkwardness and inscrutability of life…but
[that] there is optimism.” Dormientes Musici (Sleeping
Musicians) is about a statement of the struggles of the
artist who so often lives an unbalanced life of imbalance.
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Brian Kershisnik, DORMIENTES MUSICI
(Sleeping Musicians), oil on canvas, 94” x 113.5,”
2001.
(Image Courtesy of BYU Museum of Art) |
“There should always be something more important than art,”
says Brian Kershisnik, when discussing balance in the life of
an artist. Brian happily proclaims thankfully that he teaches
in the Primary. Brian, who wakes up every morning and goes to
his studio and begins his day in prayer, says, “We just need
to be good.”
“There is room for spiritual art in the higher art world [to
be] taken seriously… [There is] an important place for this
type of art, [addressing] contemporary issues and [using] contemporary
methods but expressing faith through the methods,” says Galen
Bell Smith.
“There is room for everything,” says Jacqui Larsen and as far
as any religious art where “there is a sense that the individual
is a divine individual… there will always be an audience for
that [amongst] viewers and collectors and dealers.”
“I’ve never encountered any struggle in reconciling [this issue],
says David Linn. “The gospel is all encompassing in its doctrine...
very embracing of truth.”
Conclusion
The irony to the world view is that within in the Gospel of
Jesus Christ there is universality in truth, and that truth
can take shape in all forms of expression by artists everywhere,
as opposed to the artist’s own “moral-universe” theory which
distorts this truth and promotes a misunderstanding of this
principle. There is room for all kinds of art and definitely
room to appreciate contemporary art, even by LDS audiences,
especially that which is created by its own culture.
Bravo to these contemporary religious artists for their participation
in a stunning and thought provoking show. The quality of its
presentation rivals the best in any contemporary gallery or
museum, another hallmark of the BYU Museum and its design team which bring a sense
of world-class art to its public and to the university. And
bravo to Museum Director Campbell Gray and Curator Dawn Pheysey
for having the vision to present this pioneering exhibition
at the BYU Museum of Art. It certainly opens the door for other
Latter-day Saint contemporary artists in their struggle to find
a voice. We hope to see more exhibitions like it in the future.
We highly recommend a visit to the BYU Museum before the exhibition
closes in January of 2005.
To view the online exhibition, visit http://cfac.byu.edu/moa/
