Nathan Florence – A Motley Vision

Part I: Whoops.

Somehow I failed to post this earlier this week. I hope you weren’t coming anyway.

Nathan Florence has directed a new documentary, Art & Belief, about a handful of artists including Trevor Southey and Dennis Smith, who believed not only that Mormonism and fine art were compatible, but that together they could change the world.

The Bay Area Mormon Studies Council is hosting Florence as he shares and discusses a twenty-minute excerpt this Sunday.

Here’s an interview with Florence for more information on the movement and his project, and here’s Terryl Givens on the movement. Visit the website if you would like to receive updates such as additional upcoming events or the film’s rollout.

Part II: A couple takeaways.

For some reason I hadn’t bothered to google him prior, but Nathan Florence is a painter, and a pretty good one at that (based on the jpgs).

I hope to do more on this film as time goes on, but for now, here are two nice quotations from the extant 20 minutes:

“Illustration answers questions. Art asks questions.”
– – – Dennis Smith (I think it was Dennis Smith)

“Vulnerability equals intimacy.”
– – – Trevor Southey (this one I know is correctly attributed)

Part III: What to do with $100,000.

They have a distributor and big names like Sterling Van Wagenen and Lesley Chilcott are on-board, but they need money to finish it. AMV readers are famed for their deep pockets and generous natures so, you know, get yourself an executive-producer credit.