BYU Museum of Art Experience

This past week we had the opportunity to have an in-class presentation by Rita Wrights from the BYU Museum of Art, and then a guided tour by her the following class period.  One of the most interesting paintings, I thought, that we talked about both in class and at the museum is entitled Exchange No. 8.  It is a painting of two chairs, one lying in front of another that's standing upright.  The one lying on the floor is covered by a red veil, which is draped over the top of it.  The upright one is covered by a white veil.  This simple painting of chairs was one of the most symbol-rich works that we saw, in my own opinion.  It didn't have a single person in the painting, but it was clear that it was about the atonement of our Savior.

First, the chairs are both of a simple design, made of wood.  This typifies the Savior for two reasons.  First, simple wooden chairs remind us as his role as a carpenter, the occupation for which he was trained by his adopted father Joseph.  Second, the simple, inelegant design of the chairs echo Isaiah's words: "For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him" (Isaiah 53:2).

Next is the cloth.  The scarlet cloth placed over the fallen chair can represent many things.  The red can represent the mortality of the savior while on earth.  It could represent the scarlet robe placed upon his back by the mocking soldiers, or the blood which he spilt in Gethsemane.  It could represent the ultimate sacrifice of His life on the cross at Golgotha—or it could mean all of these things.  The white cloth reminds us of the linens in which Jesus' body was wrapped for His burial, and which were found neatly folded in the tomb after His resurrection.  It reminds us of purity, and of new life—even life everlasting.  It all points to the atonement.

Finally, there was a light circle around the whole painting.  This suggests that the atonement of Jesus Christ is the center of everything.  All of these symbols point to Jesus Christ—all worked into a painting which, at first glance, may not even appear religious.  This reminds me of an experience I posted about during a previous semester: Bible Culture.