Artist Casey Childs on Frans Schwartz

This week, we talk with the renowned artist Casey Childs to discuss one of his favorite religious works of art, Agony in the Garden by Frans Schwartz. Virtually unknown until the work came to BYU with the Sacred Gifts Exhibition, this work has become a favorite of artists and enthusiasts alike. Casey discusses Schwartz use of color and light and the ultimate effect of the emotion of the painting. 

Agony in the Garden (1898) by Franz Schwartz. Oil on Canvas. Courtesy of Norresundby Kirke, Denmark. 

Agony in the Garden (1898) by Franz Schwartz. Oil on Canvas. Courtesy of Norresundby Kirke, Denmark. 

Agony in the Garden at the BYU Museum of Art. 

Agony in the Garden at the BYU Museum of Art. 

Take These Broken Wings by Casey Childs. Oil on Canvas. 48 x 24 in. Collection of the artist. 

Take These Broken Wings by Casey Childs. Oil on Canvas. 48 x 24 in. Collection of the artist. 

Greater Love Hath No Man by Casey Childs. Oil on Canvas. 60 × 96 in. Courtesy of the Church History Museum. 

Greater Love Hath No Man by Casey Childs. Oil on Canvas. 60 × 96 in. Courtesy of the Church History Museum. 

SPECIAL EPISODE: Announcing the Zion Art Invitational Sep 12-Oct 1

In this special episode, Micah and Eric announce the first Zion Art Invitational taking place in Salt Lake City from Sep 12-Oct 1 presented by the Zion Art Society. Learn more about the Invitational, the artists involved, and the events surrounding it in this special episode. 

Featuring original works of art from:

Paige Crosland Anderson

Michael Hall

Tyson Snow

Justin Wheatley

Colby Sanford

Jethro Gillespie

Niki Covington

Jenedy Paige

Justin Kunz

Tim Boyle

Katie Ricks

Emily Fuller

Bryan Mark Taylor

Clinton Whiting

Ben Hammond

Tom Holdman

Ryan Brown

Caitlin Connolly

Arnold Friberg

Minerva Teichert 

Gary Ernest Smith

Dennis Smith

Trevor Southey

Tom Lovell 

Del Parson

Robert Barrett

William Whitaker

Wulf Barsch

James C. Christensen

Michael Malm

Walter Rane

Joseph Brickey

Linda Curley Christensen

Jeff Hein

Mary Sauer

J. Kirk Richards

Howard Lyon

Jenedy Paige on Ron Richmond's Exultare (no. 1)

Artist Jenedy Paige discusses the devotional art of LDS painter Ron Richmond and how the ambiguity in his work helps her to better understand how her art can be revelatory to herself and others. Talking through Richmond's portrayal of the Resurrection helps inform the issues that she faces in portrayals of sacred imagery in her own work. 

Exultare (no. 1) by Ron Richmond. 50 x 31 in. Oil on Canvas. Private Collection.

Exultare (no. 1) by Ron Richmond. 50 x 31 in. Oil on Canvas. Private Collection.

Let Go by Jenedy Paige. 36 x 12 in. Oil on Canvas. Collection of the Artist

Let Go by Jenedy Paige. 36 x 12 in. Oil on Canvas. Collection of the Artist

Holding Back by Jenedy Paige. 12 x 20 in. Oil.

Holding Back by Jenedy Paige. 12 x 20 in. Oil.

view more of Jenedy's paintings on her website.

Learn about the process of Jenedy's work Let Go on her blog.

Artist Gustavo Ramos on Walter Rane

In this special episode, we speak with up-and-coming artist Gustavo Ramos who moved from Brazil, to Arizona, to Southern Virginia University and finally Salt Lake City to study painting. His studies have led him to the Hein Academy of Art where Ramos hopes to develop his talents in the vein of a personal inspiration, Walter Rane. 

He is not here by Walter Rane. 

He is not here by Walter Rane. 

Ramos' Master Copy from Cornelis Kruseman's Christ in the Home of Mary & Martha

Ramos' Master Copy from Cornelis Kruseman's Christ in the Home of Mary & Martha

Special Edition: The LDS Art Missionaries in Paris

In 1890, President George Q. Cannon sent 5 young artists from Salt Lake City to Paris to study painting in preparation of the completion of the Salt Lake Temple. After convincing the Church to sponsor John Hafen, Lorus Pratt, JB Fairbanks, Edwin Evans, and Herman Haag left for the Academie Julian to study painting under the great French Impressionists of the Belle Epoque. In this special episode, we discuss their background training, and impact on Utah Art in the 20th Century. 

Grain Fields (1890) by Edwin Evans. Oil on Canvas. Brigham Young University.

Grain Fields (1890) by Edwin Evans. Oil on Canvas. Brigham Young University.

Haystacks (1891) by Lorus Pratt. LDS Church Collection. 

Haystacks (1891) by Lorus Pratt. LDS Church Collection. 

Haystacks (1937) by JB Fairbanks. Private Collection. 

Haystacks (1937) by JB Fairbanks. Private Collection. 

The Threshing Machine (1893) by Albert Rigolot (French, 1862-1932). Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen

The Threshing Machine (1893) by Albert Rigolot (French, 1862-1932). Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen

The Death of Laban (1894) by Herman Haag. LDS Church. 

The Death of Laban (1894) by Herman Haag. LDS Church. 

The Tree of Life (1891) by John Hafen. Oil on Canvas. Private Collection. 

The Tree of Life (1891) by John Hafen. Oil on Canvas. Private Collection. 

The Garden Room. Salt Lake City Temple, c. 1970.

The Garden Room. Salt Lake City Temple, c. 1970.

Photograph of the Garden Room in the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1909). Source: The House of the Lord by James E. Talmage (1912).

Photograph of the Garden Room in the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1909). Source: The House of the Lord by James E. Talmage (1912).

Sculptor Michael Aaron Hall on Michelangelo's Medici Chapel Tomb

This week we stray a little bit from work by LDS artists in pursuit of becoming a "Mormon Michelangelo" to look at the Michelangelo at his peak. The tomb of Lorenzo de Medici, his patron, friend and father figure is a part of the Medici Chapel in Florence, Italy where Hall studied marble sculpting and had a transformative experience in front of this renaissance masterwork. As the recent recipient of the Alex J. Etta Grant from the National Sculpture Society, Hall's work follows the traditional techniques started in Italy centuries ago. 

The Tomb of Lorenzo de Medici with Dusk & Dawn (1524-1531) by Michelangelo Buonarotti (Italian, 1475-1564). Marble. 630 x 420 cm. Sagrestia Nuova, San Lorenzo, Medici Chapel, Florence. 

The Tomb of Lorenzo de Medici with Dusk & Dawn (1524-1531) by Michelangelo Buonarotti (Italian, 1475-1564). Marble. 630 x 420 cm. Sagrestia Nuova, San Lorenzo, Medici Chapel, Florence. 

Outside the Circle (Front) by Michael Aaron Hall. Bronze. 

Outside the Circle (Front) by Michael Aaron Hall. Bronze. 

Outside the Circle (Back) by Michael Aaron Hall. Bronze. 

Outside the Circle (Back) by Michael Aaron Hall. Bronze. 

SMOFA's Emily Larsen Boothe and Minerva Teichert

Emily Larsen Boothe is the Assistant Curator at the Springville Museum of Art and is responsible for organizing exhibitions and shows throughout the year. Springville's collection of Utah and LDS Art may be the finest anywhere in the world, including Jesus Christ is the God of that Land by one of the most treasured and reproduced LDS artists of all time, Minerva Teichert. 

Jesus Christ is the God of That Land (c. 1940) by Minerva Teichert. Oil on Board. 47 ¾ x 23 ¾ in. Springville Museum of Art

Jesus Christ is the God of That Land (c. 1940) by Minerva Teichert. Oil on Board. 47 ¾ x 23 ¾ in. Springville Museum of Art

BYU's Ashlee Whitaker on Trevor Southey

We sit down with Ashlee Whitaker, the Roy and Carol Christensen Curator of Religious Art at BYU to talk about her favorite pieces of religious work in the collection at the BYU Museum of Art. A pair of triptychs by renowned LDS painter Trevor Southey reflect the life of Christ in a style completely unique to Southey and with a depth unparalleled in LDS art. 

Jesus and Mary: The Moment After by Trevor Southey. Currently on view at the BYU MOA "Magnifying the Lord" Exhibition.

Jesus and Mary: The Moment After by Trevor Southey. Currently on view at the BYU MOA "Magnifying the Lord" Exhibition.

Intercession at Gethsemene by Trevor Southey. Courtesy of the BYU Museum of Art

Intercession at Gethsemene by Trevor Southey. Courtesy of the BYU Museum of Art

Part 2: The Salt Lake Assembly Hall & Mormon Aesthetics

Part 2 of our discussion with Dr. Probert focuses on the specifics the Assembly Hall, its history and its role as one of the spiritual homes of the early Saints. Many of these buildings were a rare opportunity for leaders of the Church to express our beliefs through art and architecture. 

The Interior of the Salt Lake Assembly Hall

The Interior of the Salt Lake Assembly Hall

Detail of the Salt Lake Assembly Hall Ceiling

Detail of the Salt Lake Assembly Hall Ceiling

Artist Jeff Hein on Monumental Religious Painting

The artist Jeff Hein joins us to discuss how we use monumental religious painting in LDS culture. Much like Carl Bloch's series of paintings for the Fredriksborg Castle in Denmark, Hein is beginning a twenty year venture to create large scale depictions of the life of Christ. We discuss that process the challenges both technically and philosophically of such a task. 

Christ Healing the Sick at Bethesda, by Carl Heinrich Bloch (Danish, 1834-1890). Oil on Canvas. 111 x 126 in. BYU Museum of Art. 

Christ Healing the Sick at Bethesda, by Carl Heinrich Bloch (Danish, 1834-1890). Oil on Canvas. 111 x 126 in. BYU Museum of Art. 

Triumphal Entry (2016) by Jeff Hein. Oil on Linen. 54 x 72 in. LDS Church Collection. 

Triumphal Entry (2016) by Jeff Hein. Oil on Linen. 54 x 72 in. LDS Church Collection.