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Home for Christmas
In my first semester at BYU, as I introduced myself hundreds of times to the other wide-eyed freshmen at Helaman Halls, I quickly realized I had never quite figured out how to answer the question: “Where are you from?” My dad was in the Air Force for the majority of my childhood, so we moved around a bit. I can separate my childhood and adolescence into three distinct “worlds”: Coastal Mississippi, where the air was heavy and the frogs plentiful. I caught lizards and hung them from my ears, stomped on fire ant hills, ran through sprinklers in the scratchy, thick-bladed grass. The rhythms of our lives were modulated by the cycles and whims of the insects and the ever-looming Hurricane Season. Colorado, where I could see Pike’s Peak from my bedroom window. I traversed the mazes of connected neighborhoods with ease, climbed the winter snowdrifts over the fence that divided our backyard from the neighbor’s, listened to the constant rustling of the quaking Aspen trees. And Southern Utah, all red rock and palm tree and inescapable heat. I jumped from blazing cliffs into Sand Hollow Reservoir, sprinkled fluorescent glowstick liquid on the walls of lava caves, built fires in the sand and watched the stars from car rooftops after football games. My family has remained in St. George, so any one of them would likely call it home, but my four years was not enough to root me in the dry terrain. These diverse lands all hold memories for me, and yet none of the three beckons me to claim it as my own. And they have all changed in my absence. Hurricane Katrina overturned my small town...
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Vulnerability on Stage: A Meditation on Opera in the XXI Century
Overture Though a life-long lover of classical music, I resisted opera for many years. Too elitist. Too stuffy. It asks too much. I mean, how can you watch the stage and read the supertitles and enjoy the already demanding suspension of belief of people belting their emotions? Besides the fact that operatic scenes and characters are so often the object of pop culture ridicule…down deep, I thought, those Simpson parodies (here, here, and here) and Looney Tunes sketches (here) must be based on some truth about the outlandishness of the genre. My conversion, however, came unexpectedly and rather suddenly. First, my wife and I attended Utah Opera’s production of Daniel Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas in 2013. Her idea not mine, but as someone who studies both Brazil and the Amazon, I thought, let’s give it a try—it’ll be research! The combination of set, costume, and music was stunningly beautiful, and I thought about the performance for weeks afterwards. So we tried again, this time Utah Opera’s staging of Verdi’s La Traviata in 2014. I was enthralled. Afterwards, I obsessively watched other performances on YouTube (my favorite? the 2005 minimalist production in Salzburg with Netrebko, Villazón, and Hampson). At that point, I was hooked. Something about Verdi’s portrayal of Violetta’s precarity and the vulnerability of love touched me deeply. As a novitiate and enthusiastic recent convert, I claim no special understanding or expert knowledge of opera, yet I think I’m beginning to understand opera’s enduring appeal. Opera travels well. The reasons are varied: its unique fusion of music, text, spectacle, and performance; its sweeping scope, grandiose sets, and large choruses juxtaposed with moments of poignant intimacy between two lovers...
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An Artist’s Intention
In previous blog posts, I’ve written about art and beauty, and how the two terms are not synonymous. Beauty is relative, and limiting artwork to only the beautiful and pleasant restricts the full range and impact that ugly and disturbing art can have. Art is an especially relevant topic for me, given my role as an art student and artist here at BYU, so I found it imperative to expand on this topic—especially concerning artistic intent. When I use the word “art,” I’m primarily speaking about any purposefully constructed work that is a creative expression of the human mind. Traditionally, this has taken the form of painting or sculpture, but art has long since proven it can take many other forms: literature, theater, video, film, performance, installation, etc. However, as a practicing artist participating in the contemporary, capital-A “Art” world, I will primarily refer to examples regarding this sector of studio art practice. Artistic intention or motivation ultimately determines the end product that we consider as artwork. Just as a team of writers will determine a movie’s plot progression, an artist determines what material will be used and in what way. Eventually, their work is exhibited in a context like a museum or gallery that allows us as viewers to evaluate what we experience. This can often be met with mixed reactions. As BYU professor Collin Bradford stated in his Faith and Works lecture, it is not unusual for most people to walk into these places and become agitated when their expectations for beautiful, technically skilled, or uplifting artwork are not met. It is also highly unlikely that you will see the artist present and ready to explain their...
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Beauty in Difference: Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Kelling on Loving the Work
When I walk into Dr. Hans-Wilhelm Kelling’s office, he’s diligently working at his computer. “Have a seat,” he says kindly, “and help yourself to any of these treats.” On his desk is a pear, a bowl of M&Ms, and a bag of grapes. He jokes that he always keeps snacks at his desk so students will like him, though it became obvious over the course of our conversation that Dr. Kelling needs no help from the candy spread—his warm demeanor, genuine interest in others, and infectious energy for research are more than enough to make students feel at home. He has worked in academia for nearly 60 years, past average retirement age—and yet, while many senior academics find it difficult to keep up the same vigor and enthusiasm for research and publishing in their later years, Dr. Kelling maintains an insatiable drive to continue his work. “I love young people, I love my students, I love my colleagues. People are important to me, and that’s why I’m in this profession. I see the progress that students make, and it’s very satisfying to me.” For those who are just starting out in academic research fields, he advises, “The most important thing is choosing something that you love—something you’re really involved with—and then check in on yourself and make sure it still makes you happy.” Dr. Kelling, who started out studying chemical sciences, but has since pursued research projects in German linguistics, culture, and literature, has done exactly that. Right now, he’s working his way through over three thousand transcripts and documents of embassies in the latter nineteenth century, specifically Russian, French, German, English, and American embassies and the ways in...
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Events
Faith & Imagination Lecture: Barbara Newman
When: Friday, Mar 27, 2020
Where: B192 JFSB
more event details ->
Colloquium: Julie Damron
When: Thursday, Apr 2, 2020
Where: 4010 JFSB
more event details ->
RVSG Guest Speaker: Meredith McGill
When: Thursday, Dec 5, 2019
Where:
more event details ->
Humanities Center Blog
Home for Christmas
In my first semester at BYU, as I introduced myself hundreds of times to the other wide-eyed freshmen at Helaman Halls, I quickly realized I had never quite figured out how to answer the question: ...
continue reading ->
Vulnerability on Stage: A Meditation on Opera in the XXI Century
Overture
Though a life-long lover of classical music, I resisted opera for many years. Too elitist. Too stuffy. It asks too much. I mean, how can you watch the stage and read the supertitles and enjoy ...
continue reading ->
An Artist’s Intention
In previous blog posts, I’ve written about art and beauty, and how the two terms are not synonymous. Beauty is relative, and limiting artwork to only the beautiful and pleasant restricts the full range and ...
continue reading ->
Media Gallery
