The Artistic Expressions of Latter-day Saints (feat. Mason Allred & Amanda Beardsley)

In a world where new forms of media have enabled the artistic expression of numerous cultures and experiences, the question must be asked: how do the millions of Latter-day Saints around the globe define themselves artistically?

This question is tackled by many Mormon Studies scholars in the 2024 book, Latter-day Saint Art: A Critical Reader. The book's editors, Mason Allred and Amanda Beardsley, sit down with host Nicholas Shrum for this episode of Scholars & Saints. Together, they discuss the diverse nature of global Latter-day Saint paintings, film, architecture, and other visual media. They also examine the universal themes that arise in this artwork—themes that relate to broader Mormon experiences. While they don't wish to create a canon of Latter-day Saint art, both Allred and Beardsley discuss the impact they hope this book will have as the first critical treatment of Mormon works of art.

Mason Allred is the Associate Professor of Communcation, Media, and Culture at Brigham Young University-Hawaii. 

Amanda Beardsley is the Cayleff and Sakai Faculty Scholar in Women's Studies at San Diego State University.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction
• 3:32 Professor Allred and Professor Beardsley’s Backgrounds
• 11:22 The Inspiration for and Goals of "Latter Day Saint Art: A Critical Reader"
• 21:20 The Difficulties of Defining Mormon Art
• 27:54 Highlighted Essays from the Book
• 29:10 Terryl Givens and Art as Theology
• 32:05 Colleen McDannell and Temple Art Diversity
• 34:10 Nathan Rees and Ashlee Whitaker Evans on Community and Public Image
• 40:16 Mary Campbell on Photographs
• 43:36 Josh Probert on Temple Architecture
• 49:13 Mason Allred on Global Mormon Cinema
• 52:19 Amanda Beardsley on Mormon Feminist Art
• 57:57 The Book’s Future in Mormon Studies
• 1:01:47 Conclusion