By Lyndsey Payzant
Richard Oman, senior curator for the Museum of Church History and Art, visited BYU Thursday to discuss the various depictions of Joseph Smith in modern-day Latter-day Saint art.
?Each of these pieces is unique and different, but at their core they have the same religious values,? Oman said. ?When you look at the artwork, you can feel close to the spirit of the people that made them.?
Oman shared slides of various art depictions of the Restoration. The artwork came from all over the world ? Brazil, Chile, Africa, and the Panama islands ?- but were united by the same topic: Joseph Smith.
?Joseph Smith played a fundamental role in the Restoration, and this year is the 200th anniversary of his birth,? Oman said. ?This artwork demonstrates the process of how we see Joseph.?
There are no original photographs of the Prophet because modern photography hadn?t been invented yet during Smith?s lifetime, Oman said.
Instead, artists of the 19th century would aim a light at their subject who would stand near a blank wall, and then the artist would trace the shadow and fill it in with a painted likeness, Oman said. Many of the original art pieces done of Joseph Smith during his life were this type.
?These shadow-made images were transferred onto lithographs and distributed among the Saints,? Oman said. ?To answer the question ?What did Joseph Smith look like?? was an important thing to them.?
The interesting thing about the folk art from other countries was that they portrayed Joseph Smith less specifically than our traditional portraits, Oman said.
?Our core cultural values are in individuality and personal appearance, but other countries put Joseph Smith in the context of what he did,? he said. ?They?re not interested in how Joseph combed his hair; they?re interested in what he did.?
Folk art puts its roots in culture and focuses on narration and stores as opposed to fine art, which sees the artist fighting against his culture and trying to break free from his societal values, Oman said.
?Folk art is full of narrative traditions ? they love stories, just like we do in the LDS culture,? he said. ?Listen in Sunday school or General Conference ? all stories. Even the scriptures are just stories pieced together, and then we extrapolate meaning from them.?
Each piece of modern artwork that Oman displayed showed Joseph Smith in action. Paintings and sculptures depicted the First Vision, the restoration of the priesthood, or Moroni visiting Joseph Smith. The art celebrated his accomplishments, rather than his exact features. Many paintings didn?t even show Smith?s face up close.
Oman stressed the importance of looking at the prophet in context, as the modern artists have done, rather than focusing in on his physical features.
?People seem to focus on the least important aspect of the painting ?- you miss the big story when you zero in on physiology,? he said. ?Does our worship depend on whether Christ had brown eyes or blue eyes? Does it really matter??
Much of the modern Restoration artwork was reinterpretations of the same events. This demonstrates a connectivity with tradition, Oman said, rather than a sign of weakness.
?Do you think there are many Saints in Indonesia? There aren?t,' he said. 'This is their way of connecting with the Saints. Our spiritual commitments have the incredible ability to bring us together.?