What has Mormon art come to?

[vorpal blade]

Yes, the point it is trying to make is as subtle as lung cancer. This sort of sledgehammer approach has never appealed to me.

Let me get this straight. You don't like these paintings because the point they are trying to make is as subtle as lung cancer. Do you often get complimented on how subtle you are? Me neither.

I never thought The Simpsons was a particularly subtle example of art.

[thebigcheese]

The Simpsons uses a ton of subtle humor...and some of their jokes are down-right sophisticated!

[Waldorf and Sauron]

Regarding the sacrament meeting painting:

Okay, yeah, it's on the nose. And the painting itself is a bit lamentable.

But there's something really admirable about both the concept and the guts to go through with it. Mormon popular art is so trite and so unwilling to take chances. Scripture scenes, church history, and temples, nothing else. Something like this, which takes a sledgehammer to the little tritenesses of mindless worship — and a sledgehammer to bland subtlety— is, in a way, a breath of fresh air.

Okay, so, yes, the painting is kind of a failure, but I'd rather hang this than a Simon Dewey any day.

Mormon popular art is in bad shape.

[Craig Jessop]

I like Greg Olsen, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE Walter Rane. Who is YOUR favorite Mormon artist?

[krebscout]

Minerva Teichert, Brian Kershisnik, and...myself.

[Sky Bones]

I like Greg Olsen and Simon Dewey. They're paintings feel... alive to me. And I really liked that one time when Greg Olsen was really good friends with my RS president and taught our Sunday school lesson. That was awesome.

I don't like Minerva Teichert at all. The kind of "blurring" techniques she uses just doesn't appeal to me, though I think she's a very talented artist.

[Tao]

Heh, I had a hard time appreciating Teichert's work growing up. They say the fish doesn't notice the sea; our primary had a 4'x6' original of hers for years and our ward building was filled with her works.

(Side note: someday I vow I'll learn how and when to use commas, and I'll not overuse them!)

[Wisteria]

I just purchased a Walter Rane print of The Last Supper. I see it in the Salt Lake temple all the time and I loved the warmth of the colors and the intimacy of the setting. Now to get a good frame for it . . .
Also, I really like the message behind the sacrament meeting painting, although the execution of the idea isn't doing much for me.

[bobtheenchantedone]

Hooray for art, Wisteria!

So that guy whose controversial painting I linked to on the other page has painted another one. http://www.mcnaughtonart.com/artwork/vi ... ece_id=379

My favorite part is Obama stepping on the Constitution. I also like the Bieber haircut on the Forgotten Man. I also love the walkabout language of point number 5, and how point number 8 has a sentence that seems very... well, I'll just quote it. "I invite all to search deeper into the history of the painting's message and discover if what I paint is true." It sounds like a missionary talking to an investigator about the Book of Mormon.

[Craig Jessop]

I like how Clinton and FDR are applauding.

[Dead Cat]

I like how Madison is like, "hey! Do you have any idea how much time I put into that?"
And how did William Harrison manage to generate any debt at all? He was only president for a month...

[NerdGirl]

This isn't Mormon art, but speaking of what has art come to, I saw this in person a week ago:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_of_Fire

And while it may seem a bit horrifying that they paid $1.8 million for it, it has apparently gone up in value since then, so it was actually a good investment!

[Yellow]

Apparently, Mormon art has come to a political debate.

[Marduk]

Apparently, Mormon art has come to a political debate.

My apologies, that certainly wasn't my intention. After my faux pas of an interjection, I intended to pull all subequent posts into a different thread, but alas, I have not moderator privileges in the random chatter thread.

[ahem.]

I think I took care of splitting the topic. Let me know if something went amiss.