http://www.mcnaughtonart.com/artwork/view_zoom/?artpiece_id=353#Interview
I highly recommend that you all check it out. Hopefully upon seeing this painting you will realize the dislike I have for it. It is a painting of Jesus Christ, dressed in white and gold, holding the constitution. Behind him are many founding fathers and other influential figures in our countries history. In front of him, to his left and right, there are two different groups of people. If you go to the website and move your mouse around the painting, you should notice names of specific individuals, specific occupations, and some commentary off to the left. The commentary is all done by the artist and it clearly expresses his extreme conservative views. As you read his comments about those to Christ's left, you should start to notice that these people are what the artist would consider "evil," (professors, lawyers, politicians, liberal news reporters, a pregnant woman (???)) I mean he has them sitting in a group with Satan for heavens sake. Those on the right hand of Christ, the artist seems to consider "good" (Christian ministers, college students, family doctors, etc.). One example that I found particularly alarming was the artists description of a professor, sitting on the left hand side of Christ: "He tightly holds his "origin of species" book by Charles Darwin. This represents the liberal lefts control of our educational system. His smug expression describes the attitude of many of the educational elite. There is no room for God in education. There is contempt for any other viewpoints. Humanism dominates the educational system of America and I believe that is wrong (are you serious?!). Notice that he is the only one sitting on the top step. He tries to place himself on an equal footing with God, but he is still nothing next to the intelligence of the creator." Okay yes, I do believe that he is not nearly as intelligent as God, but is this artist really serious about the rest of this? I mean he says that the professor has contempt for any other viewpoints, but I really think this artist has contempt for any other viewpoints. Apparently he thinks that all professors are just evil, wicked, non-religious, super liberal people; I wonder what he would have said had a gay/lesbian individual been in the picture. Sorry, you can tell that I am bugged by this close minded man and now I am just venting. I really just cannot believe that people are this close minded, I mean get off your high-horse man! There is good and bad everywhere, but you cannot just put entire groups of people into good and bad categories and then basically rant on how they will all burn in hell (pardon my French). I love being LDS, I love the gospel and I love my savior Jesus Christ, but I now understand just why it is that people all around the world hate us. It is because of people like this artist who are ultra conservative and think that everything other than what they believe is evil. Guess what, everyone thinks differently and believes differently. We really need to be accepting of other cultures, people, ideas, religions, jobs, etc. and realize that no one is perfect, and chances are they are not going to burn for it. People with liberal ideas are not going to destroy America and they are not evil (contrary to what this artist believes), nor are people with conservative ideas. Please! for your own sake, don't be so closed minded. Anyways, I really suggest that you spend some time looking at this painting. While it is a little frustrating at times, it is also really funny. Also, this blog: (http://bycommonconsent.com/2009/09/29/come-ye-poets-of-the-bloggernacle/) has some really awesome comments concerning the painting. I hope it makes you think as much as it made me. Enjoy!
I think as members of the LDS church we too often put people in the category of good or bad. My own opinion is that we are all people, not good people or bad people, but just people who have all done good things and bad things in our lives. When looking at this picture I couldn't help but think, "Who are we to judge?"
ReplyDeleteLeviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord.
I agree with this, that we should be open to all kinds of people and not just categorize. Although, I also think it is something that everyone does to a certain extent. This just means that we all have room for improvement. This artist was definitely over the top though, and probably offended a whole lot of lawyers and pregnant women. So I know I can open my mind to "crazy conservative mormons" and realize that we all have different backgrounds and different reasons why we do the things we do.
ReplyDeleteI can see how this painting frustrated you - I don't agree with his artistic choice either (although in the end it is his opinion). I find it interesting that he portrays professors as evil and college students and schoolteachers as good. I guess this means that get getting your PhD would be a bad move... ;)
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion this is the opposite of what Christ taught. We are to love everyone and don't judge them. This is someone in who proclaims to follow Christ but might not fully understand what that really means. I'm not judging but I'm just saying we all just need to get along regardless of religion an just respect others because they are people just like us. Just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteSince I am more on the liberal side than the conservative side, it can be a struggle for me to live in Utah County. I usually try to avoid political conversations because I have had many conservative LDS people become angry with me for having the opinions I do. If people disagree with me that is fine, but often I have felt as if people started attacking my character and questioning my standing in the church. I have heard people make comments such as, "You can hardly be a Mormon and not be Republican." I don't know where this idea came from because the presidency of the church has never come out and said anything like this. I think that this is a big misconception among many church members. I hope that it is gradually dissipating (especially with this class!), but I know it is still prevalent. We need to be more open and tolerant of all different viewpoints in the church. After all, it would be boring if we were all the same!
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