A Trip to the Museum

This last Thursday, my New Testament class took a trip to the BYU Museum of Art, more commonly described as the "MOA". They have a collection of religious art there that is really fascinating including the painting of Jesus healing the man at the pool of Bethseda. If you don't know what painting I'm talking about, trust me, you've seen it. I'm pretty sure every Christian in the world has. But it was really neat to me how I was able to identify more with the artwork once I learned about some of the symbolism used in them. I had never realized before how much more a painting will draw you in if someone in the painting seems to be looking directly at you. Also, just trying to analyze a painting. For example, why did the artist place a garden outside the window? Why not a city? Or a beach? Or a tree? For what reason are the subjects of the painting in a specific color? What does the positioning of their hands mean? What does their expression convey? When an artist only has a canvas so big, he has to maximize his space and make every aspect of the painting count. Most artists, especially religious artists, are not trying to convey one word with their painting. They are expressing a story, an emotion, or a person and his or her character. With this new outlook on art, I hope that I can more fully enjoy looking at artwork and learn to appreciate it for its beauty and meaning.