Entertaiment

Becoming the Vision the Prophet Saw
by Kieth Merrill

Note from the Editor: Following is the key note address given by Kieth Merrill at the Mormon Arts Foundation on April 12, 2002. The Mormon Arts Foundation is a non profit organization created by an anonymous benefactor to encourage Mormon Arts. It is sustained by private donations.

Select artists from each of the several artistic disciplines are invited to attend the 2-day annual conference. They show their work. They share their dreams. They discuss the role of Mormon Art and artists in building the Kingdom of God on earth.

For more information about Mormon Arts Foundation or to make a tax-deductible donation please contact – ds***@bi****.com

It is an honor to be among you. I revere your talents. I admire your accomplishments. I would confess that I am envious of your gifts, but as you shall soon see, that would betray the soul of what I hope to say to you today.

We are gathered as Mormon artists. It is curious the labels we place upon ourselves. My daughter put this label of “Mormon” in unique perspective. Several years ago we filmed a feature documentary about Native Americans. We had a small crew. We traveled 30,000 miles in a caravan of trucks and motor homes. We took our young families with us and we lived on the road.

I returned to camp one evening from a day of filming at Turoweep on the north rim of Grand Canyon. I discovered my 5-year-old daughter and my partner’s 6-year-old son playing in the back of the coach. They were-how shall I say this delicately? In Farmington where I grew up we called it, “playing doctor.” Let me say simply these two innocent children were “exploring life” together.

“Ah, a teaching moment” I said to myself. I took my sweet little child aside to explain. “Kahna,” I said, “It is better that you don’t take all of your clothes off when there is a boy in the room.”

She looked at me with big innocent eyes and said, “Oh, its OK Dad, we’re both Mormon.” Gratefully I got that straightened out before she came to BYU.

In spite of a public relations effort to root out the use of term – I suspect we will forever refer to ourselves as “Mormons.”

It is curious that nowhere else is what people DO defined by their affiliation of faith. The Danish artist who created The Christus was Lutheran, but is never known as “the Lutheran sculptor, Bertel Thorvoldsen.”

Staring at the ceiling of the Sistine chapel-as I have many times-I have never heard a Vatican guide refer to the painter as, “catholic artist, Michelangelo Buonarroti.”

Labels
Labels are curious things. We wear ours with unprecedented pride – we are willing – even proud-to be described with those two words, “Mormon Artist.” It is because the first word defines WHO we are to an even greater degree than the 2nd, which only speaks to WHAT we do.

One label attached to me years ago is “Academy Award Winner.” I confess I have enjoyed that. Having been introduced that way for 20 plus years makes me wonder if I might have disappeared without it. [I see some of you nodding.]

Winning an Academy Awards gets you invited to things. A few years ago Dagny and I were asked to be Grand Marshals at BYU Homecoming. We rode in the parade, ate lots of free food and were introduced to 60,000 fans in the football stadium at half time. As we waited on the sidelines for the big moment, the array of giant speakers reverberated with, “BYU Alumnus Kieth Merrill, winner of the Academy Award,” and my wife tugged on my arm an announced. “this is the LAST time I appear with you in public for something you did twenty years ago.”

Happily, being nominated again vindicated me. The Academy Award nomination for our IMAX film, AMAZON -produced with my friend and associate Scott Swofford-brought me back to Oscar night three years ago. This time I took four of my kids. The highlight of the evening might have been meeting Ed Harris in the mean’s room if it hadn’t been for my son, Dagen.

With his hair long, blonde and sort of in his eyes, Dagen looked a lot like Leonardo DiCaprio. Dagen rented a tux just like the one he saw on Leonardo in People Magazine. We arrived early and mingling with the rich and famous – but mostly people you have never seen nor heard of. I glanced around and saw Dagen surrounded by beautiful young women – starlets and wannabes – posing for pictures and signing autographs. It was the year of Titanic. DiCaprio was in the limelight, but wasn’t at the Academy Awards. Dagen had been mistaken for the famous star. The bell sounded. The last of the girls scrambled to hug, touch or be photographed with Dagen. As we walked in I shared my amusement. “But whose autograph, ” I asked, “were you signing?”

“Leonardo’s” he grinned.

Winning an Academy Award so soon in my movie career taught me early what my primary teacher had told me when I was 7. “All that glitters is not gold”. No one put the “glitter” of the Oscar in better perspective than my little daughter. We lived in Los Altos Hills in Northern California. Not many movie people there so our little triumph was a really big deal. For three days there was a swirl of attention from the local press and adoration from our neighbors and our friends. I confess I was very caught up in myself.

In the middle of it all there was a tug on my pant leg. It was my 8 year old daughter, Kaele.

“That little gold doll you got is really important, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Yes honey,” I boasted, “it is really important.”

“Do you love it?” Her big bright eyes waited for the answer.

“Well,” I mused thoughtfully, “yes, I do, I think I love it.”

“Do you love it more than you love me?” It came with such honesty and innocence my heart almost stopped. In an instant this child had made me realize what a fool I’d been, caught up in myself, believing the honors of men really mattered. I dropped to my knees, put my arms around her and said, “There is nothing in this world I love more than you.”

“Good,” she smiled, “can I take it to show and tell?”

The Oscar went to show and tell. He rode in baby buggies built for dolls. It spent time in the sand box and was accessible to any who wanted to hold it. It was finally dropped and broken by a little boy at the Stanford Children’s Hospital. It listed in one corner of the book case for a lot of years. Dagny finally said, “fix it or get rid of it.” My vanity had not vanished entirely. I had it repaired.

The honors of men give us a kind of “mystique.” In Mormon circles “mystique” never translates into money, but it does generate a lot of invitations to speak. The mystique of even modest notoriety makes impressing kids at a youth conference easy. There are no impressionable kids here today.

I feel special responsibility. I feel a certain vulnerability. I certainly experience genuine humility in the presence of your remarkable accomplishments.

What is our role as Mormon artists in God’s plan?
God’s purpose is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” God’s purpose for the artist-if indeed it differs in the slightest degree from his purpose for plumbers, electricians, teachers and Indian chiefs-has only to do with the language we speak.

People are constrained by a language tied to their tongues and limited to a few thousand words. There are over 400 different languages on earth . No one speaks them all. No one but the artist!

The language of art is unconstrained. The artist does not utter idioms limited by cultural boundaries. The artist expresses him – or herself-in universal symbols, images, sounds and feelings.

As artists we have the unique opportunity to present our perspective of eternity in visual and aural symbols universally understood.

The purpose of our gifts is the creation of art that reaches the soul- that speaks the language of God-that touches the heart in ways the ears can never understand.

Aristotle said, “the aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”

Spencer W. Kimball admonished that we “create great art to communicate the truth. “

“There is no music in hell,” Brigham young proclaimed. “Our art must be the kind which edifies man, which takes into account his immortal nature, and which prepares us for heaven.”

The word “artist” does not appear in holy scripture, but the presence of the artist is unmistakable. “All manner of workmanship” is described as “exceedingly fine” and “curious.” It is evident that the creative process is rooted and revered in heaven by the Lord’s own use of the word “workmanship,” not only to define the artistic accomplishments of his children, but the results of his own creation. “Look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end.”

For 30 years I have carried the vision of president Kimball in my planner. Like many of you, it has encouraged and sustained me. I have always believed he was speaking to me. The essence of his words are now familiar to us all.

“The full story of Mormonism has never yet been written, nor painted, nor sculptured nor spoken. It remains for inspired hearts and talented fingers yet to reveal themselves. They must be faithful, inspired, active church members to give life and feeling and true perspective to a subject so worthy. “

This prophecy is pasted on the walls of your studios and halls of your heart. Every Mormon artist I know sees themselves in this prophetic academy of “inspired hearts and talented fingers” .

Indeed, I believe that you are.

In the 34 years since President Kimball spoke these words, you, the writers, painters, sculptors, musicians, performers and artists of the church-and thousands like you-have laid the foundation for a prophecy fulfilled and the ever-rising tide of Mormon art that will never end.

I would love to name names and cite works – but there are too many – and so many truly great-that I would fall far short of just acknowledgement.

To the movie makers among us the prophet promised, “Our moving picture specialists, with the inspiration of heaven, should tomorrow be able to produce a masterpiece -written by the great artists, purified by the best critics-that should run for months in every movie center, cover every part of the globe in the tongue of the people . A masterpiece that will live forever.”

While the rest of you, blessed to be called “Mormon artists” have filled the world with your books, your music and your art, we movie folks are running way behind .

Thanks to the talent and tenacity of Richard Dutcher, the day of something now called “Mormon cinema” has dawned. There have been Mormon film makers for a long time. Now there are Mormon films for Mormons. And if we are good enough, the world.

It is a providential coincidence that Other Side of Heaven opens tonight in 300 theaters nation wide. [Produced by Gerald Molen and John Garbet, Directed by Mitch Davis, all of them Mormon film makers.]

Shortly after the success of God’s Army, I heard Richard wonder aloud whether other young Mormon movie makers would follow his success and jump into his wake. He does not need to wonder any more. There are a lot of people “overboard.” Some swimming strong. Some floundering. Some already drowned.

I thought it would be fun to track down the dozen or so LDS film makers working on projects and give you a kind of “State of The Mormon Film Making Union” address.

I sent two dozen e-mails and requested they be forwarded. I received a flurry of responses. I found LDS movie makers in Norway, Canada, England and Australia . I got several responses from California and the predictable pile from Utah.

In my quest I stumbled across ldsfilm.com, a website created by LDS music composer, Thomas C. Baggaley and David Preston Hunter of Texas.

I had intended to name names and point to projects. It is not possible. There are hundreds of names and scores of projects in production, in planning or planted firmly in the garden of dreams.

Movie making is a very different kind of “art.” Some would argue that film making isn’t really “art” at all. “How,” some argue, “can we equate the murals on the walls of the Navuoo temple with Singles Ward?” But each has its perfect place. Each is sublime within its context.

The challenge of reconciling film to art may be challenging. The challenge of making films is colossal. Consider a hard dollar- out of pocket – comparison between the cost of making a movie and the cost of what you do.

An artist buys easel, canvas, paint and brushes. Discounting lunch and time at painting costs a few hundred bucks at best.

The best- equipped writer with word processor, software programs, research, and library is out a few thousand.

The sculptor’s armatures and clay are not cheap, but still affordable even when you work in heroic proportions. I realize of course that the clay is your master and the cost of casting lies ahead. But even so, it is within reasonable boundaries.

One of our top composers actually broke out the hard cost of making a movie score. Including the toys in his studio, computer, synthesizer, keyboards, amps and speakers he is out less than $40,000.

Most of you are one-man bands. You are soloists. You create your art in private. You finance your own creations. Movie making is very different. The pursuit of our passion is very expensive.

Orson Welles once said, “making films was like being a boy with the greatest toy train any boy every had.” He is right, but the toy train is made of gold.

Even the lowest of the low-budget films being made by LDS film makers in this new era of “Mormon cinema” are costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. How they manage to do what they do with the money they have is miraculous to me.

Film makers do not work alone. Film is a collaborate art. It requires cast and crew, cameras and films, lights and equipment and three rooms full of costumes and props. It takes trucks and motor homes and if you’ve got the money it even takes a honey wagon.

Ruskin said, “All great art is the expression of man’s delight in God’s work, not his own.”

Michelangelo called “the true work of art a shadow of the divine perfection.”

Moving forward we must maintain the vision. We must have clarity. We must stay focused. We must take care that our rising confidence and zeal does not overpower our subtle sense of destiny and blur the line between God’s purposes and our own.

Amadeus
Nowhere is this more powerfully spoken than in the film Amadeus. I was directing a feature film for producer, Saul Zaentz ,when he started that film. Saul and I are friends. I remained close to that the project. I was in the editing room with Director, Milos Foreman. I sat through the first rough cut screening . I have watched the film many times.

My life has been impacted by the tortured life of Antonio Salieri, played brilliantly by Murray Abraham, for which he won the Academy Award.

Most see the movie as a story about Mozart. In truth it is about the evil elixir of envy and pernicious poison of pride.

As a boy, Salieri feels a passion for music that his father doesn’t understand. In church he prays to God in secret. It is the proudest prayer a boy could think of. “Lord make me a great composer, let me celebrate your glory through music – and thus celebrate myself. Make me famous to the world dear God. Make me immortal. After I die, let people speak my name with love forever for what I wrote. In return I will give you my chastity, my industry, my deepest humility every hour of my life. Amen.”

In time he becomes court composer to the emperor of Austria. He praises God for his good fortune that seems to seal the divine bargain he has made.

Then he meets Mozart. Wolfgang is immature, arrogant, egotistical, vulgar, and offensive. But his music is brilliant. Salieri knows music. He can recognize brilliance.

“It seemed to me,” Salieri laments, “that I was hearing the voice of God.”

Salieri believes his own talent pale by comparison. Envy grips his heart, jealousy destroys his soul. He feels betrayed by God himself.

“Why? ” he cries, “why would God choose an obscene child to be his instrument-all I ever wanted was to sing to God. He gave me that longing and then made me mute. Why? If he didn’t want me to praise him with music why implant the desire like a lust in my body and then deny me the talent.”

Music flows from Mozart in flawless perfection, page after page without correction. Salieri curses the crucifix and denounces God. In the most powerful and pivotal scene in the film he cries;
“From now on we are enemies, you and I, because you chose for your instrument, a boastful, lustful, smutty infantile boy and give me for my reward only the ability to recognize the incarnation. Because you are unjust, unfair, unkind, I will block you, I swear it, I will hinder and harm your creature on earth as far as I am able. I will ruin your incarnation.”

Salieri rips the crucifix from the wall and throws it into fire – but it is his own heart consumed by the flames of hell.

The Corrosion of Envy
Who among US has not in that dark trough of discouragement that lies between the lofty whitecaps of exhilaration-familiar to so many who are destined to create-have not been driven to compare ourselves with others?

Who among US will emerge as Michelangelo, Beethoven? Who among US will be the Mormon Tom Clancy, Harold Prince, John Williams, Thomas Kinkade or Steven Spielberg?

Elder Neal Maxwell mused, “Where are the great Mormon painters, sculptors, artists,-and film makers.?” It is presumptive for one with such ‘middlebrow’ tastes to attempt a response, but perhaps a ‘middlebrow’ has some special clinical detachment. For instance, since Church members now constitute about .001% of the world’s population, it is not statistically likely that we will have any Michelangelos or Beethovens-let alone several….”

But statistical likelihoods do not, nor cannot dissuade us from our own determined sense of destiny. Our passion and faith may overpower reason, but they are the substance of our creative power.

There are flashing yellow lights of caution
It seems so logical that the Lord would bless us especially – “members of his true church”– even beyond the capacity of our own talent if we are only willing to use our artistic gifts for his purposes.

Does Salieri’s lament find voice in us? – “All I have ever wanted was to do thy will – to sing, compose, paint, write, sculpt and film – to praise your name — Oh Lord, there is one more thing. Make me great. Let me celebrate your glory as I celebrate myself. Make me famous to the world. Let me be immortal.”

We may cower with envy in the shadows of artists in the world -who do what we do-who find themselves celebrated, crowned and glorified by the honors of men and treasures of the earth .

We may even feel, deep in our heart, that given the same opportunity, time, or money that we could do better, be greater, rise higher.

In making such comparisons and taking such flights of fancy, we may even forget to be thankful for the gifts that he has given us -faint and unexplored as they may seem to us.

“Why,” we may wonder, “have you given your greatest gifts to them ? To rivals, unbelievers, infidels, and even the obscene among us? Why have you made those who do not even believe in thee, possessors of the greatest gifts?”

Who is it that makes us ask such questions of ourselves? Who is it that would disappoint, dishearten and discourage with such deceptive deliberations?. Where does discontent come from? Or envy, jealousy and greed?

Elder Holland asked and answered my question perfectly in General Conference. “Who is it that whispers so subtly in our ear that a gift given to another somehow diminishes the blessings we have received? Who makes us feel that if God is smiling on another, then He surely must somehow be frowning on us? You and I both know who does this-it is the father of all lies.3 It is Lucifer, our common enemy, whose cry down through the corridors of time is always and to everyone, “Give Me Thine Honor.”4 [3. See 2 Ne. 2:18. 4. Moses 4:1.] Holland, Jeffrey R. The Other Prodigal, General Conference Address, April 2002.]

As Mormon artists we should bolster courage and take confidence that Satan strives to thwart us. It affirms that we have power for good.

There is no other alliance of artists on earth more determined to praise God, teach truth, inspire hearts and contribute to God’s plan of happiness .

Artistic talent is not named among the gifts of the spirit, but no one would deny that divine inspiration is the fountain from which the greatest masterpieces flow.

We must be vigilant to rise above the feelings that deprive us of the spirit of Christ which is the source of the creative power within us.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie assures us: “The spirit of Christ is the medium of intelligence that guides inventors, scientists, artists, composers, poets, and authors, when they set their hands to do that which is for the benefit and blessing of their fellowmen.”

Part II of Kieth Merrill’s Mormon arts address will be posted tomorrow.

2002Meridian Magazine.  All Rights Reserved.