The Latter-day Saints And “Stalinist Art” Revisited (Part Five)

Newbold's Nauvoo — Cover art by Greg Newbold from “Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days: The Standard of Truth: 1815–1846” (I hope that what I’m doing here with it will count as acceptable “fair use.”)

I had a couple of additional things that I wanted to say about the ludicrously determined insistence of a small handful of critics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the silly claim that Latter-day Saint art and architecture is “Stalinist.” So I might as well get on with it.

First of all, though, I’d like to express my enthusiasm for the cover art (as well as the contents!) of the first volume of the new official Church history, Saints: The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days: The Standard of Truth: 1815–1846. Greg Newbold’s depiction of Nauvoo, Illinois, in its heyday powerfully reminds me of the Edenic rural midwestern landscapes of Grant Wood (1891-1942), which I’ve long loved. Here are two examples of Wood’s work:

Wood's "Young Corn" — Grant Wood, “Young Corn” (1931); Wikimedia Commons

6 October, but not the bridge — Grant Wood, “October 6” (Wikimedia Commons)

Of course, Grant Wood is most famous by far for his 1930 painting American Gothic:

A funny painting, really — Grant Wood, “American Gothic” (1930); Wikimedia Commons public domain image

Whether you like Grant Wood’s work or not, I cannot remotely imagine any plausible way of describing his paintings or his style as “Stalinist.” And if Young Corn and October 6, above, aren’t “Stalinist,” then neither is Greg Newbold’s painting of Nauvoo in the 1840s. And that, by itself, is enough to demonstrate that branding Latter-day Saint art and architecture as “Stalinist” simpliciter is silly, at the best.

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Hmmm. I still have a few more things to say. Maybe I’ll have to do yet another post on this subject. In the meantime, though, here are some randomly-assembled but interesting links about varieties of art connected, in one way or another, with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

Jorge Cocco Santángelo

“How a World-Renowned Artist Featured at the Church History Museum Converted to the Church and Shares His Faith Through Art”

Rei Hamon

“Rei Hamon: A dedicated Mormon, this New Zealander is one of the foremost artists of his country.”

Also,

“Glen Nelson: A Mormon Art Juror”

“New LDS Art that Will Change How You See the Gospel (& the Stories Behind Them)”

Mormon Arts Center

Here’s a critical outsider perspective with which I don’t entirely disagree:

“Mormon ‘gospel art’: Kitsch or classic?”

Official art, designedly didactic art, art created by or for committees, often has these sorts of problems.