Mormon Artists Group is pleased to announce the publication of
The Book of Moses
with paintings by Linda Etherington
For many artists of faith, a natural outgrowth of belief is a visual dialogue with scripture and its stories. Contemporary LDS artists grew up with the Book of Mormon illustrations by Arnold Friberg, for example and cite those images as early influences in their own work. But the standard works have had multiple artists’ interpretations with diverse styles and points of view including publications with artwork by LDS realists Minerva Teichert and Walter Rane, abstractionist Wulf Barsch, comic book artist Michael Allred, etcher John Held, fine press artist Rob Buchert, and various 19th century illustrators whose work appeared anonymously, among others.
Mormon Artists Group approached Linda Etherington and invited her to create original works for The Book of Moses. The result is a suite of thirteen large paintings produced over a period of two years. They are exuberant, emotional works, complex and colorful. For this volume, the paintings are paired with the scriptural text, using the 1878 edition of The Pearl of Great Price.
A note on The Book of Moses’ text may be helpful. It has an interesting history. In 1851, Franklin D. Richards gathered scattered fragments of the new translation of the Bible that Joseph Smith began in 1830 and continued for the rest of his life. The book, The Pearl of Great Price, was printed in England for the benefit of the European membership who otherwise had no access to these documents. The full title was The Pearl of Great Price, A Selection from the Revelations, Translations, and Narrations of Joseph Smith, First Prophet Seer and Revelator to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1878, Orson Pratt prepared a revised edition which placed the work in chronological order and reconciled the manuscript between sources owned by the Church and by others. The section we now call the Book of Moses consisted of two chapters, “Visions of Moses” and “Writings of Moses.” It was the 1878 edition that was accepted by the Church as one of the standard works in 1880. Later, in 1902, James E. Talmage divided the book into chapters and verses, made necessary changes in punctuation, and added footnotes. In 1921, the book was printed in a two-column layout, and in 1981, additional study references were added.
In the Book of Moses, Etherington has found a narrative that is surprisingly contemporary and personal, even domestic. It is largely the story of a family after all, and like every family it is alternately disfunctional, loving, sneaky, supportive, corrupt, obedient, deviant, joyous and righteous. The artist, who is herself a young mother of seven daughters aged 6-20, examines the theme of family in her Moses paintings. Her Adam laboring by the sweat of his brow, works alongside his children, for example; Adam teaches his family about God in a scene that looks like a traditional Mormon Family Home Evening; Joseph, a young father, takes his newborn son Jesus outside to show him the star of Bethlehem; and so forth.
The paintings are full of natural beauty, of birds, an abundance of plants and a variety of animals. There is tenderness in the works--Adam and Eve are one flesh as newlyweds, but they also kneel and pray together holding hands in their old age--and there is violence too as Cain raises his arm to murder his brother Abel. Ultimately, the book is about a family of man that tries and often fails, thereby betraying the trust of God. The final image of the book depicts Enoch as he sees God’s heartbreak at the behavior of his children on earth and asks Him, “How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?” This foreshadows the great flood that will destroy nearly all mankind.
Despite the gravity of the book’s ending, there is hope everywhere in the text. This is, after all, a book that reveals that God’s work is to bring about Man’s immortality and that man exists to have joy. There is a corresponding sense of wonder and discovery in the paintings and in the layout of the book design.
The Volume
The limited edition volume is large and luxurious, 14.5” x 11.25” x 1.25”, 62 pages. It is covered in white silk moire bookcloth from Japan. The paper is heavyweight 280 GSM white BFK Rives mouldmade paper from France with deckle edges. It is sewn and bound by hand over boards by Glen Nelson. The book was designed by Cameron King with silkscreening on the cover printed by Alana Twelmeyer. It is published in an edition of 100, signed and numbered by the artist. Mormon Artists Group is simultaneously issuing a smaller, paperback edition of the book, in full color, 8.25” x 6”, 62 pages.
The Artist
Linda Etherington was raised in Kennewick, Washington on a small farm. Her mother was a landscape painter who offered art lessons to the neighboring children. Linda began painting at an early age. After her freshman year at Brigham Young University, she had her first solo show in Richland, Washington. Since graduating in 1991, she has been in numerous local and international shows in New York, California, Virginia, Utah, Idaho, Washington, and Mississippi. Her work is in the permanent collection of Brigham Young University Museum of Art and the Springville Museum of Art. She is currently represented by David Ericson Fine Art in Salt Lake City Utah.
The Book of Moses (paperback) - $12.95
The Book of Moses (limited edition) - Sold out; no longer available