“The European Renaissance was a period of 300 years. For the Mormon Renaissance, patience is in order–as well as tolerance and encouragement for those in the apprenticeship of their craft, or those who are willing to experiment with new forms of expression or media . . . . Mormon pens have awakened, and we would do better to measure and commend each moment of literary progress, than to await the messianic arrival of some future Mormon Milton.”– Gideon Burton, “Our Mormon Renaissance”

It seems ironic that upon entering the intelligentsia of the Mormon community, one must almost swear off one’s own culture, speaking of it derogatorily if at all. This trend seems particularly prominent among BYU graduates who feel the need to defend their participation in this flagship of Mormon culture: they claim an education in the Church but not of the Church.

In fact, however, I find that most people who deride Mormon culture don’t really know what it is. When they—perhaps I should use “we,” since I have been guilty myself—speak of Mormon culture, we think only of the sappy products sold in the commercials between general conference sessions, of the latest goofy Mormon comedy playing in Utah cinemas, or perhaps of some Enrichment craft suggested by Sister So-and-So, whom we particularly dislike.

To me, this pejorative view of our own culture seems similar to judging American culture by the musical stylings of Britney Spears or the trashy novels at the supermarket counter. Perhaps looking at the lowest common denominator is a valid way to criticize society, to point out its severe flaws, but it does little in the attempt to understand what America would like itself to be. And even more important, it removes ourselves from the responsibility to change it. For that, we ought to be studying the best of the culture: perhaps some of the current best-sellers, but also some of the undervalued independent art, and certainly the great classics. This is a more charitable way to study the arts, by looking at what they have tried to be and helping when they have fallen short by our own contributions, rather than condemning art to death because of imperfection.

Such a movement—studying the best rather than the worst in Mormon culture—has taken place and is taking place in little pockets all across BYU campus and across all fields of Mormon academia. Experimental theatre groups perform Mormon plays and Mormon influenced versions of the classics. Artists express themes that are intertwined with their belief in the gospel using mediums that are strangely, wonderfully Mormon. Writers seek out a literature that can contain both doubt and belief while treating its subjects with a Christian eye. Film makers try for something genuine rather than a parody. And critics seek to make sense of this experimental madness, magnifying where it excels, prodding where it needs improvement.

And yet, many in our own community remain unaware that there is a discussion going on. They continue to believe that Mormon film started with God’s Army, that Mormon literature means the most recent novel from Deseret Book, that Mormon theatre only happens at Palmyra, Nauvoo, and Manti. Although each of these are a valid part of Mormon art, our friends and neighbors remain largely unaware of both the history of our Mormon Renaissance and the experiments it is currently producing. Because of the recent fiscal viability of Mormon arts, people are talking about what Mormon art should be, both at BYU and elsewhere, but so many of the ideas they discuss are repetitions of older conversations. We don’t know enough to place our conversations in the context of what went before, so we’re stuck looping through the same discussions of our ancestors.

Thus, one of the major problems in the current state of Mormon art is communication. Many different groups are working towards the same goals, unaware of each other’s progress; many people are wishing someone would write this or draw that, when it already exists, made either sixty years ago or just last month. The problem is that we don’t know what progress we are making. The community surrounding each little production, each little art show, has been greatly edified by it, but somehow the momentum tends to die there.

Thus, the goal of this blog is threefold, as the threefold mission of the Church:

• We would preach the gospel that Mormon art (and therefore Mormon culture) is not just redeemable, but something remarkable, necessary, and worth striving for.
• We would redeem the dead works of past efforts at a Mormon aesthetic, raising awareness of our tradition as a people and learning from that heritage, allowing it to inform our own efforts.
• We would perfect the craft, critical discernment, and the quality of Mormon artistic efforts by promoting current Mormon artists and scholars and encouraging participation in the critical conversation.