A life long member of the church, 40 year resident of New York City, and art enthusiast, Glen has his finger on the pulse of LDS art. Glen tracks not just religious themed art, but any and all artwork by members of the church. He connects daily with LDS artists around the world to find out what works they are doing and to promote their efforts. Tune in to hear his “Top Ten List” (we love a list!) of the some of the LDS art trends he is seeing today.
Check out his work at Center For Latter-Day Saint Arts and contact him at glen.nelson.nyc@gmail.com.
Glen Nelson is the author of over 30 books. Three of his books, as a ghostwriter, have been New York Times bestsellers. His most recent book is John Held, Jr.’s Fiction, published March 2022. He is co-founder, with Richard Bushman of the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts.
10 Trends in Art by LDS People
1. There are far more artists—painters, composers, writers, choreographers, filmmakers, etc.–who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints than anybody fully knows.
2. BYU’s influence on the creation of artists waxes and wanes.
3. Many LDS artists of accomplishment have no Utah connection—they were not born in the Intermountain West, didn’t go to school there, don’t work nor live there.
4. Today’s LDS artists’ values and beliefs are more subtle than previous era’s overt religious content.
5. Technology has allowed artists who are not looking for full-time careers to make and share their work easily.
6. The Church and its affiliated organizations (BYUtv, KSL, Deseret Book, etc.) are eager, even desperate to find new voices in the arts, particularly artists of color.
7. Artists are creating more work that speaks to personal identity rather than trying to represent “The Church.”
8. LDS artists are very much engaged with social issues of the day.
9. Arts scholarship is on the verge of exploding because there are many academics in the arts who are LDS.
10. LDS artists from history, who “left the Church” are due reappraisals because their work draws from the culture in surprising ways.
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