MOA- BYU's Art Museum

Art. What is it?

There are so many different mediums for art: writing, music, clothing, paint, gardening, the list could go on. Sometimes I wish I was a more traditional artist expressing an idea through paint and sculpture, but I'm not. However, true art seems to convey an idea more poignantly than speaking. Certain art is better conveying one idea while another kind of art transfers another feeling better. But in the end, all art does the same thing; it communicates a feeling, a thought, a deed that should be remembered.

This week I went to the BYU Museum of Art to look at the religious collection exhibition entitled “Types and Shadows” I want to share three paintings that I saw.



This first one is entitled “Man of Sorrows” by Chris Young. I like the picture because it explains that the perfect man, Jesus Christ has carried us, the very imperfect cross. This painting seems to embody the mission of Jesus Christ. It produces gratitude in the viewer because we notice that the most perfect person has born our grief.



This second painting by Trevor Southey entitled “After Jesus and Mary. This is the moment after the resurrection of Christ. I like the colors of the painting because they give the painting an feeling. The painting seems to have been placed somewhere between the living and the dead, but also between the heavenly and the mundane. What would it have been like to really see Jesus after his resurrection? Have you ever truly thought about what it would have been like for Mary to see Jesus living? Even after she saw him die? I believe this painting captures this moment of unbelief and awkwardness. What a odd feeling Mary must have experienced.



This third piece is a sculpture entitled “Christ Bearing the Cross” by Sledz a polish folk artist. First, I like it because it is from Poland, but secondly I like the simplicity of the folk art. Folk art is not sophisticated. Usually anyone can understand folk art unlike other art forms. This particular peice is a snapshot of time, when all of heaven must have been watching Christ carrying his cross. How difficult it must have been to watch as he struggled and strained to finish that which God had commanded. I know that Jesus Christ suffered, died, and resurrected that we might live.