This is a painting by Utah artist Jon McNaughton. He came to my attention a few months ago, when I saw his work, "One Nation Under Socialism" below:
Initially, I was completely furious that I was being bashed over the head by his didactic, screaming, heavy artist's hand. Then I was livid that he was telling me what to believe with his paintings.
As you can see, they leave little to the imagination. The painting below is by Arnold Friberg, also a member of the Mormon Church. If you have been to the visitor's center at Temple Square, you will see many of his paintings depicting scenes from the Book of Mormon.
I listened to a podcast on Radio West (http://radiowest.kuer.org/post/32912-art-politics-and-paintings-jon-mcnaughton) featuring McNaughton and I was prepared as I started to really him. But I couldn't. It turns out he's a level-headed guy. His speech isn't full of hateful vitriol as one would assume from his paintings. He is not anti-Obama, in fact he says that he believes that President Obama was fairly elected and McNaughton has no "birther" type leanings. He went on to say that he believed that the country started to take a socialistic turn under the administration of George W. Bush with the implementation of the bank bailouts in 2008.
It begs the question, then, "why not pictures of Dubya burning the Constitution?"
He admits that the paintings are meant to be political and hard-hitting (he recently sold "One Country Under Socialism" to Sean Hannity for six figures). He also admits that the paintings are not terribly nuanced, that they are message heavy.
What I think is interesting about the paintings is that though they are heavy-handed and lacking in imagination, he is starting a conversation. And with this being the "Mormon moment," with the likely ascendancy of Mitt Romney to the Republican nomination, well, how do Mormons feel about their moment in the spotlight? How can Mormons answer the stories that are spinning through the media right now (and admittedly, a lot of the spin is full of misinformation, written by people who are not Mormon and clearly didn't ask any Mormons before they published)? How can the Mormons give accurate information to an electorate largely skeptical of Mormons and their beliefs? Is it more about Mormon culture (largely giving, conservative, Republican, pro-life, etc.) or Mormon doctrine, which can veer into the misogynistic and spooky?
I am curious to see how this unfolds.
4 comments:
I don't care much for McNaughton's paintings, either. Your description seems apt, 'heavy handed and lacking in imagination." As for starting a conversation, it's like starting a conversation by screaming epithets. Probably not the type of conversation I'm interested in having. As for Mormon's answering the world's questions about them, that's a tough one, considering most Mormons don't have the same set of personal views about most political issues. I recently read an interesting article about this very subject. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peculiarpeople/2012/04/why-is-it-so-hard-to-figure-out-what-mormons-believe/
That brings up a very interesting point, about not wanting to have a conversation beginning with an epithet.
I will check out the link, thanks for posting~
Your words are better. I would have said "Just plain tacky." Like those velveted scenes of the crucifixion tacky.
I guess it can be hard to have a conversation about what Mormons believe because, oddly enough, we are all unique individuals with the power to choose. (I know--crazy talk.)
As for the Frieberg painting . . . it is much more subtle, more based on historicity than speculation and so much more personal. One might imagine Washington praying for the lives of his men in a moment of near despair and self-doubt. It is a little harder for me to imagine EVERY soldier exalted and every judge condemned.
Don't get me wrong, I think McNaughton's paintings are horrible, and Freiberg's for that matter, though I agree that he is MUCH more subtle.
And it is difficult to have a discussion about what Mormons believe, especially when so many core beliefs are oaths that must remain secret. That being said, they will have to find a middle road, to both explain cultural leanings of Mormons and to teach respect for sacred rituals.
Post a Comment