Illuminated Stories | Robert Barrett | 2018 скачать в хорошем качестве

Illuminated Stories | Robert Barrett | 2018

Learning to be an artist requires endurance even more than it requires talent. In this devotional address, artist Robert Barrett shares the illuminated stories of individuals throughout history who have shown us that courage and motivation to endure hard things are required to experience great achievement. This speech was given May 8, 2018. Read the speech here: https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/robert... Learn more about Robert T. Barrett here: https://speeches.byu.edu/speakers/rob... Subscribe to BYU Speeches for the latest videos:    / @byuspeeches   Read and listen to more BYU Speeches here: https://speeches.byu.edu/ Follow BYU Speeches: Facebook:   / byuspeeches   Twitter:   / byuspeeches   Instagram:   / byuspeeches   Pinterest:   / byuspeeches   © Brigham Young University. All rights reserved. "Another important principle for artists and illustrators in the preparation of their creative work involves the opportunity to have personal experiences with the subject being portrayed. Several years ago I had the opportunity to visit Israel and Jerusalem along with my wife, Vicki, and additional members of my family. We were able to visit many historic sites, including the Mount of Olives, where Orson Hyde dedicated the Holy Land for the gathering of Judah and the building of a temple there. Up well before dawn, Orson climbed the Mount of Olives, built an altar, and with pen and paper in hand recorded the prayer of dedication previously given to him by revelation. One morning while there, Vicki and I were also up before dawn and witnessed a beautiful sunrise that became part of the inspiration for my later painting about Orson’s experience. The British philosopher Roger Scruton, in a BBC documentary entitled Why Beauty Matters, stated: Philosophers have argued that through the pursuit of beauty, we shape the world as a home. We also come to understand our own nature as spiritual beings. . . . Through beauty we are brought into the presence of the sacred.9 In his book entitled The Greater Journey, two-time Pulitzer Prize–winning author David McCullough wrote about early Latter-day Saint artists. He said: A group of aspiring young Mormon painters who called themselves “art missionaries” arrived [in Paris] from Utah, many to enroll in the Académie Julian. Their expenses were being provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in return for work they would later contribute, painting murals in the Temple at Salt Lake City. As one of their leaders, an especially gifted painter named John Hafen, said, their motivation was the belief that “the highest possible development of talent is a duty we owe to our Creator.”10 In the spring of 1890, John Hafen and fellow artist Lorus Pratt visited George Q. Cannon—who was then a member of the First Presidency—with a proposal that the Church call Hafen, Pratt, and John Fairbanks on an art mission to Paris and provide them with funding. They explained their need for additional training and also expressed a commitment to contribute their subsequently acquired skills to the creation of murals for the Salt Lake Temple. To quote John Hafen: I made it a matter of prayer for many years that He would open a way whereby I could receive that training which would befit me to decorate His holy temples and the habitations of Zion.11 Hafen, Pratt, and Fairbanks hiked Ensign Peak and offered a prayer that their proposal might be granted. It was accepted, and on June 3 of that year they were set apart as missionaries with “a special purpose.”12 Their departure for Paris occurred on June 23, 1890. Edwin Evans became the fourth art missionary and departed in September, and Herman Haag followed shortly thereafter as the fifth art missionary. Upon returning, these artists created murals for temples in Salt Lake City, Utah; Cardston, Alberta, Canada; and Mesa, Arizona. A collection of donated paintings by John Hafen became the initial basis of the Springville Museum of Art. Referencing the art missionaries who aspired to create art for temples, President Boyd K. Packer stated that feeling inspired as an artist was not enough. Talent and inspiration needed to be backed up with training and experience so that the work created would be creditable. He said that the training of great artists, writers, and musicians means, in part, that they need to learn what the world has to teach.13 In Paris—the best art education center in the world at the time—the art missionaries were not just taught how to paint but were also exposed to the work of the great masters. The art missionaries came to understand through their diligent search for learning that it took a great deal of energy and time to acquire the skill and knowledge they sought. Sacrifice and patience became important components in their quest for learning." - Robert T. Barrett