Countless stories of the American West have been told in speech, type and cinema, but never with such universal appeal as on canvas or in bronze. Western painting and sculpture serve as a continual reminder of the restless, resolute and adventurous individuals who settled this magnificent land.
One of the truly great stories of the American West is that of the Mormon pioneers' arduous trek from the Midwest to the Rocky Mountains, where they settled the valley of the Great Salt Lake. In consideration of this historical event, and in celebration of the Utah centennial, the LDS Museum of Church History and Art is exhibiting "The Image of the West in Contemporary LDS Art," a display of 43 works of contemporary western art."Much of the art created by today's Latter-day Saint artists springs from their own history and experience," says Richard G. Oman, curator of the exhibit. "One part of the exhibit focuses on the heritage of faith, cooperation and hard work of the early Latter-day Saints who settled more than 700 communities in the West."
Also, the exhibition treats the rugged individualism of the early mountainmen, cowboys and the distinctive culture of American Indians. These are themes that have attracted many LDS western artists who, themselves, grew up on farms and ranches.
The values of self-reliance, ties with the land and nobility of work are presented in a straightforward manner in Gary Smith's painting "The Harvester," Bill Hill's "Water Boy IV (Mowing Hay)," Jim Norton's "Through the Silence," Howard Post's "Herding Cattle in Arizona" and Grant Speed's bronze sculpture "Earnin' His Dollar a Day." The ruggedness of the mountainmen is evidenced in Glen Edward's "Chance Meeting."
"Shall We Not Go On in So Great a Cause," by Clark Kelly Price, is one of several pieces of art portraying the tribulations of the pioneers. Gary Kapp's "Sunflowers and Buffalo Chips," William L. Maughan's "Pathway to Zion" and Gary Price's bronze statue "Push Along" also depict the difficult times of the early settlers.
The mostly nomadic existence of the Indians, their religions and the difficulty they had living within the shrinking confines of the expanding west are subjects in John Jarvis' "Protected Camp," Gaell Lindstrom's "Moencopi," Andy Nakai's "Anasazi Rock Art," David Mann's "Cheyenne Moon" and Stanley Q. Johnson's bronze "Minitari War Dancer."
Oman says, "Aesthetically, western art is usually realistic and unabashedly beautiful. Its tone is generally optimistic."
In "Roughing It," Mark Twain (who is generally not known for being optimistic) praises the beauty of the Utah mountains: "At four in the afternoon we arrived on the summit of Big Mountain, 15 miles from Salt Lake City, when all the world was glorified with the setting sun, and the most stupendous panorama of mountain peaks yet encountered burst on our sight. We looked out upon this sublime spectacle from under the arch of a brilliant rainbow."
Twain is not alone in his admiration of western scenery. Valoy Eaton's "Emigration Canyon" portrays the majesty of the territory as do Mel Fillerup's "Crossing the Divide," Jim Jones' "Zion's Canyon" and James Wilcox's "Three Minutes of Glory." Each painting bursts with the intrinsic beauty of the Rocky Mountains and their surrounding landscape.
Nancy Glaizer's "Latter-day Daniel" and Michael Workman's "The Shepherd" are two excellent pieces treating the heritage of faith. Both are technically salient.
"The Image of the West in Contemporary LDS Art" is only one of three exhibits at the Church Museum on the western theme. The western firearms display in the museum's foyer, runs through Nov. 18. Also, a selection of art featuring Native Americans in the Southwest, created by Mahonri Young, runs with "Images" through Feb. 17, 1997.