by Cody Clark - Daily Herald | Posted: Sunday, November 8, 2009 12:00 am
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Out of all the sources of inspiration to create art, one of the most long-lived is probably the effect of experiencing a strong connection with the work of another artist. "When I look at great works of art, or hear great music," said Marilyn Brown, "I'm just so inspired that somebody would sacrifice to give us that."

A resident of Springville and St. George, Brown is one of the artists whose work is included in the 24th annual Spiritual and Religious Art of Utah exhibition at the Springville Museum of Art. The exhibition opened Oct. 31 and will remain on display through Dec. 27.

For Mapleton's James Watson, the idea of taking inspiration from the art of others is especially well suited to a religiously-themed show. "I think God is a brilliant artist," Watson said. "That little spark of divinity that's in all of us is often manifested through art."

Watson, 46, is an enthusiastic proponent of the Spiritual and Religious Art of Utah exhibition, in part because it's a high-profile showcase for local artists. "It's a fabulous show," he said.

Additionally, Watson said, it's an important outlet for a type of art sometimes dismissed by the visual arts establishment: "There aren't a lot of galleries that carry a lot of religious work."

Watson's entry in the show is "A King is Born," a depiction of the birth of Jesus Christ that has a subtly different emphasis than many similar works. The idea behind "A King is Born," which Watson painted especially for the Springville show, is to capture the relationship between the parents of the divine newborn.

Watson said he's always wondered what the bond between Mary and Joseph would have been like. "I think Joseph doesn't get enough credit, he really undertook quite a bit," he said. "The relationship between he and Mary had to be really strong and full of love and tenderness, and that's not often depicted."
Many different faiths

Art that references moments in the life of Jesus Christ, and especially art done by and, in large part, for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is plentiful at the Spiritual and Religious Art of Utah exhibition.

"There is some artwork that is clearly geared toward the LDS community," said museum assistant curator Ashlee Whitaker.

Whitaker said that there are also works that represent other religious beliefs, however, including Hindu, Buddhist and American Indian faith traditions. And some of the entries are more general, she said, expressing universal spiritual experiences like parenthood, or the immensity of the cosmos.

"There's a nice diversity," Whitaker said.

One of the paintings that is not specific to any one denomination is Brown's "Newbury Road Chapel." Brown, a prolific novelist and a patron of theater in Springville for many years, said that the painting was suggested by a photo taken by a daughter who lives in Salem, Mass.

The photo, she said, shows "a little farm village with the chapel rising above it. It's almost as though the chapel is the whole town."

Brown likes the photo, she said, because it captures the centrality of faith in small-town American life, an idea that she wanted to convey in her painting as well.

Whitaker said that there are several photographs in this year's show, which is open to artwork done using all different media.

In addition to a wide selection of paintings, the show features sculpture in bronze and other metals, as well as in stone and resin. There are also engravings, lithographs and a handful of mixed-media creations.

In all, Whitaker said, more than 300 total works were entered, with close to two-thirds of them being selected for display. There are no cash awards, as is the case with a couple of the other juried shows at the museum, but there are prizes (first through third place, awards of merit, and special prizes such as the director's award).

Taking the time to do it right

Some of the works in the show have already collected awards at other exhibitions. "The Living Christ," by Joseph Brickey of Provo, was the first-place winner at this year's Freedom Festival Fine Art Exhibit at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo.

"The Living Christ" is a painting that depicts Jesus after the time of his resurrection. Brickey said that he modeled the painting on the famous statue "Christus" by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. Many Utahns are familiar with the replica "Christus" that is a fixture of the LDS Church's Temple Square in Salt Lake City.

Brickey, 36, became familiar with the original while in Denmark to paint murals for the LDS temple in Copenhagen. The original "Christus" stands in the Church of Our Lady, the National Cathedral of Denmark, which is also in Copenhagen and has a special place in Brickey's heart -- that's where he proposed marriage to his wife, Angela.

"I kind of had an intimate relationship with Denmark through that whole experience," Brickey said, and that made him start work on a painting of Christ.

At first, prompted by the white marble of Thorvaldsen's "Christus," he wanted the figure in the painting to wear a white robe. It didn't feel right, however, and for a number of years, Brickey said, the painting was "just kind of sitting in my studio half-done."

He finished it several months ago after deciding that the robe should be red.

Fellow painter Watson said that the process of completing a faith-centered work of art, however long it may take, is part of what makes it special.

"Frankly, in today's world, sometimes talk is cheap when expressing faith," Watson said.

Whatever merits an individual viewer may find in an item of religious art, the fact that it's there at all demonstrates a depth of commitment on the part of the artist.

In that sense, Watson said, "with art and with painting, it's a more pure expression of faith."