Fwd: An Apostate Mormon artist
TheJordan6
I was just thinking about my college days, and I remembered something I hadn't
thought about in a while.
[Quick reminder: I was an atheist for the entire time I went to BYU, from 1995
to 1999]
While I was at BYU, I got a part-time job doing historical research for Greg
Olson, LDS oil-painting superstar (you can see his work here:
http://www.ldsshop.com.au/list.asp?Action=Search&Keyword=Greg%20Olsen ). I was
a research consultant for a big project that he was supposed to do for
Bookcraft. He was going to paint a new set of Book of Mormon paintings to
replace all of the old Arnold Friberg muscle-man BOM paintings. I did about
three months of research, but the project got cancelled at some point, and none
of the paintings were ever (to my knowledge) completed.
The research that I did was all centered around ancient Latin American
archaeology. For example, they wanted to do a painting about Hagoth sailing
away into the great ocean (in Alma 63:5), so they asked me to do research about
Latin American Nautical Archaeology. I'd spend a week or so in the basement of
the library, reading books and making color copies from archaeological
journals. Then I'd assemble all of my research into a document and present it
to Greg (and the Bookcraft project-management), so that he could use the
diagrams and photos as reference materials. I explained that there was no
archaeological record for any "exceedingly large ships" in ancient central
America, but I showed them the various types of construction used in making
canoes and small sailboats.
I did other types of research, especially about ancient Mayan architecture, and
what a "temple" might have looked like, if the Mayans had had anything
analagous to modern Mormon temples.
I also helped brainstorm ideas for which subjects would be painted for the
final set of illustrations. I set up photo shoots and coordinated with
costumers to provide additional live reference material for the paintings. I
scouted locations, and put together a "model-book" with reference photos of a
hundred or so people willing to pose for refernce photos and live sittings.
Throughout this process, I was careful never to express any opinions on whether
I thought the Book of Mormon was a true historical record.
It was fun doing that research, but I think that Greg (and the people at
Bookcraft who were signing the checks) may have been more than a little
disturbed that they had an atheist doing most of the critical research for a
set of paintings that might have made their way into the official LDS
scriptures (missionary edition).
I'm actually pretty disappointed that the project got cancelled. It would have
been very cool to have had my hand in that project, and to be able to tell
people that my uninspired ass was responsible for making some important
decisions about the sacred sacred scripture paintings.
Why Latin America? Why, indeed...
Truth be told, you can make an equally compelling case for the historical
location of the Book of Mormon being in Central America as you can for it being
in the Great Lakes region.
Or in Switzerland. Or on the moon.
If you look at the actual facts, it's clear that the Book of Mormon didn't take
place anywhere, so choosing one location over the other is a lot like arguing
whether Harvey the Rabbit is taller than Santa Claus.
But, if I switch my brain into Mormon-mode for a second, it's not hard to
figure out why Mormon researchers are so desperate to find some evidence of the
Book of Mormon in Latin America.
The Mayans and the Aztecs had giant, colorful stone buildings. Their
architecture was complex and symbolic, and we still don't know how they
accomplished some of their engineering feats. They had entire cities built out
of these wondrous buildings, and they had big centralized governments reigning
over these cities. They also had an established artistic and cultural presence,
with colorful murals and pottery and incredible hieroglyphics. They had ritual
theatre and music. And their scientists were advanced enough to create an
intricate calendaring system that was designed to be astronomically accurate
for hundreds of thousands of years.
In other words, they had a civilization that rivaled the ancient Greek and
Roman empires.
But there's also a lot of mystery in the Central American ruins. Most of the
archeological ruins in Mexico and Guatemala will never be unearthed. If they
ever are, it will take decades--if not centuries--to do so. And as long as
there are still some antiquities in the ground, Mormon apologists will still be
able to claim that the evidence of the Book of Mormon is there somewhere,
hidden underground.
Of course, when you get down to brass tacks, it's painfully obvious that the
Mayans are not the same people as the Nephites. And any Mormon archeologist
who's had his hands in the dust for a few years will readily admit that. But
it's so disheartening to them. Here's this colossal group of people that's
arguably one of the most advanced civilizations on the face of the earth. Their
civilization hits its peak at almost the right time period to be coeval with
the Nephites. But in every other way, they're obviously not the same people.
So, instead of saying that the Mayans and the Nephites were the same people,
the researchers try to make a case for the descendants of Lehi actually living
among the Mayans, without leaving any trace of their own distinctive existence.
I think Mormons are reluctant to abandon the idea of the Nephites and the
Lamanites in Latin America because they want so badly to claim the Mayans as
their own. They hate to look at that rich civilization, with its art and
architecture and science and engineering, and admit that it belonged to some
other group of people. If God's chosen people were living on the American
continent, THEY WERE THE ONES WITH THE ADVANCED CULTURE, DAMMIT!
How could a bunch of Godless heathens develop such an advanced civilization,
while the Nephites and Lamanites were eeking out a hunter-gatherer existence in
the Northern territory? And, if Lehi didn't land his boat in Central America,
where are they great and glorious Nephite temple ruins? When will someone
unearth a new Tikal in the northern Michigan plains? Where is the North
American parallel of the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan?
Of course, the project I was working on was an art project, not a real research
project at all, so we could make whatever assumptions we wanted. Bookcraft had
hired Greg Olsen, a million-dollar-selling LDS oil painter, to depict the Book
of Mormon in a new series of 20 paintings. Using the backdrop of Latin America
for the Book of Mormon would, in my opinion, serve the vainglorious needs of
LDS people everywhere, reinforcing in them that the Latin American antiquities
are really just Lamanite Artifacts.
So the short answer of why I was researching Central American archeology is
this:
To sell more paintings. (And the posters, prints, murals, plaques, diaries,
bookmarks, postcards, figurines, necklaces, t-shirts, and commemorative plates
that would have been produced as derivative works and sold at Deseret Book for
the next fifty years.)
Ozzie
"TheJordan6" <thejo...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030915152201...@mb-m20.aol.com...
> A pointed, humorous account from the ExMo bulletin board:
>
> I was just thinking about my college days, and I remembered something I
hadn't
> thought about in a while.
>
> [Quick reminder: I was an atheist for the entire time I went to BYU, from
1995
> to 1999]
>
> I'm actually pretty disappointed that the project got cancelled. It would
have
> been very cool to have had my hand in that project, and to be able to tell
> people that my uninspired ass was responsible for making some important
> decisions about the sacred sacred scripture paintings.
You didn't tell anyone you were an atheist.
You said you were uninspired.
The project was cancelled for unknown reasons.
Maybe THEY were inspired?
TheJordan6
>Date: 9/15/2003 2:28 PM Central Daylight Time
>Message-id: <jpo9b.12382$1D5....@nwrddc02.gnilink.net>
>
>
>"TheJordan6" <thejo...@aol.com> wrote in message
>news:20030915152201...@mb-m20.aol.com...
>> A pointed, humorous account from the ExMo bulletin board:
>>
>> I was just thinking about my college days, and I remembered something I
>hadn't
>> thought about in a while.
>>
>> [Quick reminder: I was an atheist for the entire time I went to BYU, from
>1995
>> to 1999]
>
>>
>> I'm actually pretty disappointed that the project got cancelled. It would
>have
>> been very cool to have had my hand in that project, and to be able to tell
>> people that my uninspired ass was responsible for making some important
>> decisions about the sacred sacred scripture paintings.
>You didn't tell anyone you were an atheist.
That story wasn't mine, Ozzie. I merely forwarded it. That's what "Fwd"
means.
But since you mentioned it, a lot of atheists and other non-believing Mormons
attend BYU. Many of them only go to BYU because their Mormon parents will pay
for their college only if they go to BYU. So the kids lie in order to get
their college paid for.
Incidentally, during my speech at last year's ExMormon Foundation Conference in
SLC, I referred to a couple of recent 'Ensign' magazines. After my speech, a
lady came up to me, thumbed through the magazine, and pointed out a painting
inside it that she had been commissioned to do.
She told me that the church publications department still calls her to do
artwork for them---even though she's an "apostate."
>You said you were uninspired.
>The project was cancelled for unknown reasons.
>Maybe THEY were inspired?
The project might have been canceled because the researchers found no
information in ancient American culture by which to produce "Book of Mormon
artwork."
They apparently wanted something to replace the old Arnold Friberg paintings
which depicted "Book of Mormon people" in Greek or Roman-style metal battle
helmets, riding horses, and wielding metal swords and bows and arrows.
They may have decided that depicting ancient American culture as it actually
existed was so different from what the BOM claims, that the new project would
not have been any more believable than the silly Friberg works.
Randy J.
Joshua Israel Gemmell
> It was fun doing that research, but I think that Greg (and the people
> at Bookcraft who were signing the checks) may have been more than a
> little disturbed that they had an atheist doing most of the critical
> research for a set of paintings that might have made their way into
> the official LDS scriptures (missionary edition).
Sounds like someone bragging about working for to further their cause.
Know that I have lived in Salt Lake City, many times, and one time I
came across a gay man at a gay bar, and you know what I mean, there are
many gay bars near Temple square. He was a scholar and linguist and he
was not a second party as you were to the famous artist, but he was
directly involve and employed by the church, and hired to translate the
entire Book of Mormon into Russian, and this was just a few years
before the world even knew Russia would collapse and opened up.
So, what is the big deal in your story?
At the time I felt just like you, I found it ironic that they hired a
gay man to do something very sacred. ASk him how could that be?
However, upon becoming more informed, I learn that even the Holy Bible
which the King James Version, was first to open the way for the common
folks of the world read the bible. Yes, the eighty scholars employed by
King James, even wrote in the bible great praises to King James telling
us how God had used King James to give the world the bible, well, was
not King James a faggot? This is common knowledge in England. So you
see, it no be thing to be a second hand party to a famous painter,
which will have nothing to do with the actual texts, but just add
something.
Anyway, I think there is a more famous painter than the one you speak
of which in better known, he the one who did the paintings that are
already in the Book of Mormon. Yes, he did the muscle pictures first,
but he is not even Mormon, but a good Christian, he belongs to another
faith.
Yes, your story could be strange, if one is not better informed.
Know that I also met a singer in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and he
was not even Mormon, but it was not a requirement to join he said, he
just like the free travel.
Also, I lived in Scotland when I was seventeen, in Scotland the
students are better school than Utah, even better qualified as students
to attend BYU. Know that it is only an honor and privilege to attend
BYU if your are a Mormon, and you are not an exceptional person for
going there.
Yes, I lived in a small fishing town of Peterhead, Scotland, and I was
just a teenager, and before I could enter the England I had to declare
what I was going to be doing in England, because when you are sixteen
in England you either have to go to work or go to collage. My younger
brother who was ten years younger went to school, even had the
headmaster of his school come to interview him before admission to
grade school.
I on the other hand was unable to attend collage at seventeen because,
the standard there were just too high. They wanted to know if I knew
“pure math” I said yes, I knew math, but then I found out that the
“pure math” they required was not what American called math, but what
we call something which beyond calculus. Yes, this was what a student
at sixteen should have known in Scotland. I do not think that pure math
is required at BYU at the time of admissions. However, I personally
knew two students who went to BYU, they were brothers, one even became
the student president of BYU. One was so perfect that he was
mysteriously taken while in his sleep, no reason ever found for his
death, and the other is now a leader in the Mormon Church, became a
stake president where his father was stake president, yes, they wanted
him to marry one of my sister Dafne, who was born with a perfect face,
and was once offered a chance to become famous for her looks around the
world, by one of the largest company in the world.
AS for your for time and work, I could have offered the Mormons better
workers for their money, my uncle is a better painter, he has done over
a dozen pictures for the post office, and my uncle’s work is like
Michael Angelo. He has done many saints for the Catholic Church, and he
has one painting of Christ that is so perfect you can see the very
cells of his skin, and now sits in the Museum and has become priceless.
Yes, you would think you were looking at a photo of Jesus, and not a
painting. Well, he was baptize a Mormon, and could have done the Mayan
temples for he is famous for doing that sort of thing for the postal
office, and has had two of his postal stamps, become collectors around
the world. Since he lived in Guatemala, and did the work for the post
office there. My uncle had many friends known as real scholar better
train than you could ever be, having already published book about
Mayans Temples. So, you see, if only the Mormon Church had talked to
me, I would have lead them to people better qualified people to do the
work.
In addition, my father’s aunt owns the plane that go to Tikal. Yes,
they know all about Mayan scholars, since it their job to get them
there.
Yes, her story is much more interesting I think, since she became rich,
after finding a King’s treasure in Guatemala. Yes, she found gold
buried in her backyard, and she now owns all the buses in the country
of Guatemala, and the planes to Tikal, aluminum factories, paint
companies, construction warehouses, you name it she has it. The homes
her children live in are over a block long. While very modern in
design, not the cheap sort of houses commonly seen in Utah. It could
take a long time to find that sort of homes in Utah. You have to go up
the mountains, and still it is hard to find anything close in size,
except one big house I saw overlooking Park City. Except my relatives
homes in Guatemala are design by famous designers, and do not have the
rustic look, but the Greek Classic designs with modern adaptations. One
even has a swimming pool underground in the basement, gold plated
fixtures everywhere, another is in Antigua Guatemala which has over
fifty rooms, yes, one of the the top fifty romantic places to visit in
the world.
Yes, the painter you speak of could have stay at one of grandmother’s
houses, she even owns three house just a few blocks from the Airport,
and he could have stayed in a million dollar room free of charge, and
have been taken to see real scholars.
As for boats, my family comes from a long line of shipbuilders, my
grandfather being a Master Mariner and his family having built over a
thousand ships, even the ship that Prince Charles was commander of,
would have been better inform person than you could ever be about tiny
boats. Yes, my grandfather even owned one of the Mayan scrolls written
by the Mayans, I think there has been only two scrolls ever found
besides the one my grandfather had.
My father’s brother help over throw the government of Guatemala and him
and the president of Guatemala, they took all the art treasures and
money out of the country of Guatemala. My uncle being the first jet
flyer and owner of the first Airline for the country and the personal
pilot for the president was able to take out all sorts of artifacts
about Mayans, even took one vase, which there are only two in the whole
world, and sold it in New York City. My uncle was later given a job for
the the UN, until the day he retired. He even when back to Guatemala
and divide up the whole country and started the land reform, which has
cause so much trouble in Latin America.
You see, what good is it to really brag, I find it pointless. Yes, my
family could have done the work for the Mormon Church free of charge,
and they would have thought it as a great honor to serve God. However,
know that it’s not the Mormon God that has an interest in painters
making pictures of muscle men, but it is the human nature of people to
want something to stimulate the senses.
Therefore, the Mormon Church could not have found a better person than
you to do the research, don’t you think?
What I would like to know, and I think would be the real interest to
others, is knowing who you really are? Know that you do not need a
famous painter to be someone interesting.
I find that I am always asking the right person this question: and I
have notice you name, and I feel that there is a story to your surname.
I just can’t recall where I once saw it. Are you in anyway much like
the Tanner’s which are well known. I met with them in Salt Lake City,
and went to thier home and bought the largest book they had, which was
full of anti-Mormon documents, becuase I found it interesting to see
what was being said.
Just wondering,
Joshua Gemmell