Guest Post on Creation by Sam Barrett

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INTRODUCTORY NOTE: This is the written version of a talk given by Sam Barrett in sacrament meeting February 2014 as part of the Berkeley Ward’s arts Sunday. The assigned topic was “What CREATING teaches me about the CREATOR.” Sam works in advertising and is also a composer under the name Samson Y Hiss. His stuff is fun and creepy and weird—circus-hell music, you might say. (Worth mentioning: He agreed to let me post this here after seeing the word “grotesque” on the AMV about page.)

Samson Y Hiss is currently raising money on Indiegogo to record his music with real musicians on real instruments. I highly recommend checking the project out and supporting it. I have a cd of his work in the car and it certainly makes late-night drives more nightmarey. (The photos here are taken from the Indiegogo page.)

By means of introduction, if I remember correctly, the talk is structured around his day-to-day thinking about the topic as he prepared. You know. In case you find an all-caps MONDAY confusing.

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MONDAY

In the mid-40s at midnight in Manhattan, a young man named Thelonious Monk was working as a pianist at a nightclub. Much of his style was developed during this time as he participated in “cutting competitions” which featured many leading jazz soloists. While engaged in one of these sessions he fell upon an old song he’d written years ago at the age of 19 back in North Carolina. Returning to the song nearly 13 years later as a superior musician he embellished upon the tune greatly almost to the point of rewriting it completely. This new tune would become known as Round Midnight. A song a number of jazz artists including Cootie Williams would reinterpret for years to come. Round Midnight became the most recorded jazz standard composed by a jazz musician. It appears in over 1000 albums.

He sold candy and newspapers on trains running from Port Huron to Detroit, and sold vegetables to make money. He also studied qualitative analysis, and conducted chemical experiments on the train until an accident prevented further work of that kind. Moving to Newark, New Jersey Thomas Edison began his career as an inventor with the automatic repeater and other improved telegraphic devices, but the invention that first gained him notice was the phonograph in 1877.

The accomplishment was so unexpected by the public at large as to appear almost magical. It recorded on tinfoil around a grooved cylinder. And despite its limited sound quality and that the recordings could be played only a few times, the phonograph made Thomas Edison a celebrity. And he became known as “The Wizard of Menlo Park” New Jersey.

Creators come in many forms. They are musicians, painters, sculptors, inventors, scientists, philosophers. They are actors, writers, directors, designers, builders, preachers. They are moms, dads, grandpas, grandmas; even crazy uncles. As sons and daughters of God creativity is an all of us no matter our profession or position. Continue reading “Guest Post on Creation by Sam Barrett”

Mormon Arts Sunday is June 14

Mormon Arts Sunday is June 14. I’ll include links to previous posts below, but here’s the gist:

Mormon Arts Sunday was created by Scott Hales as a way for members and wards to recognize the important contribution that arts make to the LDS community. It’s entirely a grass roots effort, which means you should feel free to participate at whatever level you feel comfortable with/have stewardship over. This could include:

  1. Consuming a work of Mormon art on June 14 as an individual or with family or friends.
  2. Letting your favorite Mormon artist(s) know that you appreciate their work.
  3. Wearing maroon/dark red to church and/or another article of clothing or accessory that relates to art and artists.
  4. Incorporating an excerpt from or work of Mormon art in your lesson or talk for the day.
  5. Selecting hymns that are by Mormon poets (Eliza Snow, Emma Lou Thayne, Orson F. Whitney, etc.)
  6. Making creativity/art the topic for sacrament meeting (not something that most of us have influence over, but there are at least two wards that have done so in the past thanks to Theric Jepson and Kent Larsen).

Other ideas are welcome in the comments (and can also be found in the posts below, especially in the comments). Here’s a timeline of Mormon Arts Sunday posts on AMV:

January 2013: Scott Hales kicks the whole idea off by announcing  Wear a Black Beret to Church Day

February 2013: Reminder from Scott of Black Beret Sunday

February 2013: William explains why he wore a maroon tie to Church

February 2014: Theric celebrates Mormon Arts Sunday in the Berkeley Ward

May 2014: Kent discusses what the talks should be about for Mormon Arts Sunday

June 2014: William invites everyone to celebrate Mormon Arts Sunday

June 2014: Tyler shares a Mormon arts-themed sacrament meeting talk he gave

June 2015: Theric shares what the Berkeley Ward did this year for an early celebration of Mormon Arts Sunday

Mormon Arts Sunday is this Sunday, June 8

Mormon Arts Sunday is this Sunday, June 8. Wm explains the day’s origins and has some ideas on how to observe it.

Brothers and sisters I invite you to celebrate Mormon Arts Sunday this Sunday, June 8, 2014, and, from now on (unless we change it again) every second Sunday in June.

BACKGROUND

Mormon Arts Sunday started back in February 2013 when Scott Hales suggested a wear a black beret to Church day. That post was both inspired by and somewhat spoofing the feminist activism of the time of wearing pants to church, but the more some of us thought about it, the more interesting an idea it became. Scott expanded on the idea and then I explained why I wore a maroon tie to church that day. And when February rolled around this year, I kind of forgot about it, but Theric made sure the Berkeley Ward observed it in February.

But since we missed February, and since I don’t want to compete with Scout Sunday, and since AMV was founded in June (by the way: this is our 10th anniversary), we landed on the second Sunday in June.

Kent Larsen is already on board. He serves in a bishopric so he is able to influence the theme of sacrament meeting. But not all of us serve in a bishopric, so…

OBSERVANCE

  1. Wear a beret or a dark red/maroon item to church this Sunday. Dark red is AMV’s color, but it’s also a good color to represent Mormon Arts Sunday — it’s rich and vibrant and not generally a color that people wear to church all the time. Purple would also work. Wear purple if you’d prefer.
  2. Wear a cockroach accessory (not my personal reference, but see the Scott Hales posts above for an explanation).
  3. If you are talking or teaching this Sunday, include a piece of Mormon literature or visual art in your talk or lesson. The right poem can work quite well for that. One good source for that is the winners of the Eliza R. Snow Poetry Contest, which the Ensign used to run.
  4. Bring a work of Mormon art to church or to a home/visiting teaching appointment and share it with someone who you think would appreciate it.
  5. Do this on Saturday, but: buy a work of Mormon art. Something from Zarahemla Books, maybe. Or a Whitney Awards winner. Or from whatever your favorite purveyor of Mormon art may be (tell us in the comments).
  6. Have a special Sunday edition Family Home Evening where you consume and/or discuss a work of Mormon art.

That’s all I have. What suggestions do you have? How else could we observe Mormon Arts Sunday?