Mormon Artists Group: Adventures in Art Making
By Glen Nelson
[This essay appeared in Fall, 2006, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, Vol. 39, No. 3.]
It is an elaborate experiment really, this Mormon Artists Group that I founded seven years ago. In my interviews with the press, I have been saying that the number of LDS writers, painters, photographers, composers, etc., in New York City is about fifty, but that figure (which does not include performing artists) is frequently closer to one hundred. We began creating works together including limited edition books and prints five years ago. Sometimes I am asked by journalists about the state of Mormon Arts and what I think it means to be a Mormon artist today. To be honest, I do not have a satisfying answer. But I do know that Mormon Artists Group is having success finding LDS artists who aspire to the highest levels of achievement, and we are also attracting a new audience to their work, both in the U.S. and abroad…
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July 24th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
When I was asked to write an essay for Dialogue, I was a bit embarrassed to do it. The last thing I wanted was to hang out a sign to say “look at me.” The editors were great and encouraging, and eventually I figured out a way to put something on paper. The route I took was a description of our projects from 1999 to the present and the lessons I’ve learned so far.
At the risk of sounding terribly needy, let me ask this: How did you come to hear about Mormon Artists Group, and what value does it have for you or even for Mormon culture?