I hope this isn't political. I had no idea who this guy was until I just now saw a post of one of his paintings on facebook. Taking the politics out of it, what do you all think? (Perhaps this has been discussed before and I missed it.) It looks like another loving Mormon's way of saying how evil everyone else is and the demise of America is due to lack of morals and values. I have to wonder if that is specifically "Mormon values" they refer to. Forgive my lack of clarity. I should be in bed asleep.

A family member posted it and the preachy attitude is so annoying. I'm also very annoyed by the big Mormon push I am seeing on facebook. Do they think people really care that they had a great ward temple night, and that their no-mo or inactive friends are going to suddenly be inspired by seeing yet another quote by "insert random general authority"? I feel like they are looking to preach at every turn. Do they really think that's going to get me to come back? It's doing the exact opposite and I keep thinking about how stupid they are and then I get sad because they are living such a deluded life. If they are happy, fine, but their happy message ends at my doorstep and pretty soon it's going to end at my facebook. I am going to have about five people left in my newsfeed out of a couple hundred facebook friends.

Recovering is frustrating. I have way too many family members and old friends that are TBMs and I don't want to classify all of them as annoying and rude, but they are starting to make a pretty good case for it.

This McNaughton is to historical/political understanding as Breedem Young is to christianity/ethical understanding.

After looking at his site for about 1 minute, that was pretty clear. Makes me shake my head.

McNaughton is no artist. He is a propagandist. He is a businessman exploiting Mormon and Utah culture to enrich himself. He will never be invited to show his work at the Whitney Biennial. He will never enter the conversation of people who are actually in the art world except to be derided.

laryngeal nerve loop Wrote:
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> McNaughton is no artist. He is a propagandist.

^Yup^

His art is vomit inducing.

+1

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,672844,672844#msg-672844

Here is some posts from the past on the subject, XYZ had some fun with this thread.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/2013 04:12PM by gentlestrength.

He should never, ever paint people. His so-called patriotic paintings are especially bad, and keep getting worse. OMG, the last two are completely ridiculous. Even my mom, who shares his views, might laugh. But she'd probably buy one of his landscapes or religious paintings.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/2013 06:29PM by munchybotaz.

He doesn't know how to put a soul behind the eyes. His art looks like dead people posed in a variety of positions. Most LDS artists do that. The art work evokes little emotion or feeling. I did buy a post card once of HF with a child I found compelling. I found it in Deseret books. Other than that, the art work is a glaring defect.
I'm going to go see if I can find that card.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/17/2013 07:09PM by snuckafoodberry.

I know this guy--worked with him back in the 90's. He spent every spare minute drawing stuff and then a few years later I saw he had a store in the Provo Towne Centre Mall. By then I had left the church and I found his stuff quite creepy.

Is the one with Jesus, presumably at the second coming, holding an unfurled parchment containing the U.S. Constitution.

My next favorite one is his painting of President Obama holding an unfurled parchment of the Constitution, and it's on fire.

The guy is a complete weirdo. He should probably be writing comic book art.

This may sound a little off-topic, but, as you said, he seems to be one who believes that America's demise is due to declining morals and values. I find it interesting when people make this claim, considering our history of slavery, segregation, women's rights (or lack thereof), children's rights, etc. I for one think that our morals are slowly getting better. We're getting more tolerant of other walks of life and getting closer to equality for everyone.

I agree with Shark; slowly but surely American culture is acknowledging that women deserve equal pay, the GLBT community can live their lives without harrassment, and marry the person they love. That is, the right to be fully human.

As to my "favorite" MacNaughton - it is "The Forgotten Man". Yes, the American white male has faced so many challenges. *cough*. MacNaughton is a kook.