Carried by the Covenant

Have you ever been deeply spiritually moved by a piece of artwork? It's happened to me only a few times. Shown below is a painting that was exhibited in the Museum of Church History and Art a few years ago.

The light seems to be of divine origin. The way that it falls on the mother's back shows impelling power of the light of the covenant.

The simple background does not distract from the central subject matter.

The look of determination of determination in the mother's eyes is piercing.

The mother and child have red and blue scarves, symbolic of their divine heritage and their royal potential if they are true to their covenants.

Joseph F. Brickey, Carried by the Covenant. Prints can be purchased here.

Yesterday I read a General Conference talk by Elder Bednar, "Honorably Hold a Name and Standing."

"What was it that gave those early Saints such strength? It was the fire of the temple covenant that burned in their hearts. It was their commitment to worship and honorably hold a name and standing in the house of the Lord

"We do now and will yet face great challenges to the work of the Lord. But like the pioneers who found the place which God for them prepared, so we will fresh courage take, knowing our God will never us forsake (see "Come, Come, Ye Saints," Hymns, no. 30)."

That is why this painting is powerful.

I'm an Art-aholic

Since I've been out East, I've had the chance to attend many art museums and I've discovered... that I'm an art-aholic! So far my favorites have been the Metropolitan Museum of Art (top) and the National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian American Art Museum (bottom).

Paintings just aren't the same in a textbook as they are in person. Sometimes the most important aspect of a piece of art is its actual physical size. Other times, the vividness of the colors does not hold in the reproduction. Mostly, there is something about looking at the actual canvas that Picaso, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Seurat, Raphael, Cassatt, or Degas painted that is thrilling.

I love impressionism. These paintings are meant to capture the impression of scenes and often portary everyday events or landscapes. The beauty of the brushstrokes and the capturing of the feeling of an event or scene can make me feel serene.

Back at BYU I went to a lecture on annunciation paintings and now I just love them. To illustrate this, at the Met in New York I specifically sought out an exhibit that I thought would have annunciation paintings. I walked through, enjoying the artwork but noticing the lack of annunciations. Then I turned a corner and **BAM** there was a wall-sized annunciation and I gasped! Audibly. The rest of the rooms of the exhibit had several annunciations and I took pictures of them so I could study and ponder them later. If you don't believe, see photo of the annunciation painting below. They are packed full of symbolism, which makes searching for symbols like an eye spy game, and I am impressed with some of the consistencies across the paintings. Ask me later if you want to hear more about my love for them.

But as you can see from the quizzical look below, I still have a hard time understanding modern and contemporary art. We thought this one (at the Musem of American Art) looked like a thought bubble. The plaque described it as an example of delicacy despite it's large size and some other stuff that I didn't buy. If anyone has any insights, feel free to share.

Yay art!