Courtney Jones, Author at BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications

BYU Design and Art Students Share Their Talents to Serve Homeless Youth

Courtney Jones — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 18:14:28 +0000

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Megan Sanborn Jones Discusses the Power of the Body at Faith and Works Lecture Series

Courtney Jones — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 21:45:39 +0000

Jones’ remarks address how physical actions and rituals bring individuals closer to Christ “Be Ye Therefore Perfect” is a commandment that weighs heavily on the minds of BYU students and can become overwhelming when in the context of where we are now and where we are trying to go. Theatre professor Megan Sanborn Jones suggested that the weight we feel is manifested in very real ways through our bodies. Jones cited statistics ranging from the high rates of diagnosed depression and anxiety in Utah County to the growing opioid crisis. The data BYU Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provides for BYU students and faculty indicates that there has been a 45 percent increase in unique annual clients in the last four years alone. “Clearly the weight of what we are asked to do and our perceived ability to do it is hard on our bodies, hard on our hearts and hard on our spirits,” Jones said. “Particularly when we try to sum up everything we have to do with one commandment—be ye therefore perfect. That’s a commandment! We have to do something that we actually can’t. I am not surprised by the weight we feel, but I want to talk about how we can take that commandment and use our bodies to find a way through in a way that is healthy and helpful.” Bodies as a Tool for Reaching Perfection Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have a unique view within Christianity that the body is not something corrupt that has to be overcome, but rather a tool given by God to be a support to the spirit. Jones said, “Bodies are a gift; honoring and respecting the body is key to the plan of salvation and a key to becoming perfect. We have a body and a spirit equally powerful and equally divine.” “We need to look at the life of Jesus Christ to understand what he did,” Jones said. “If we are meant to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect, then we should probably look to somebody else who is perfect who we have records of—Christ.” It is impossible to know what Christ was thinking or feeling while he was on the earth, but there is a record of his actions. According to Jones, Christ gave a perfect example for what the body can and should be doing on the earth. “I believe in the power of embodied, encoded ritualistic movement,” Jones said. “The word ‘ritual’ might sound strange, but we do them all the time—how we take the sacrament or how we pray in certain ways. That embedded performative gesture in praying matters because it has become a part of who we are, even when we don’t think about it. In the doing and the repetition of the doing, the thing you are doing becomes powerful and important.” Jones believes that people can train their bodies to become more perfect, much as actors train their bodies to achieve certain personas or emotions on stage. Jones said, “The more you could train to do things with your body and your voice, the better chance you will have of having consistent good performances. When you are in tune with your body and your physiological reactions, you can actually start to feel the things you are trying to act.” She relates this idea to the rituals that people can create for themselves. “Sometimes we feel like ‘I have to be converted, I have to always feel the spirit.’ I have to confess that I am not always in that spiritual place, but I can always kneel down. I focus on what Christ did when he was on the earth. I know I can’t replicate Christ’s connection to the divine, but I can do some of the things he did.” Christ’s Body and Example There are numerous examples in the scriptures where Christ heals others. Jones specifically highlights instances where Christ reached out to others, such as with the daughter of Jairus, the multitudes of people he fed, the apostles whose feet he washed and the deaf man he healed. “There is one thing these accounts all have in common. In every single miracle that the Lord performed he was one-on-one, he touched them physically, and then he blessed them. We have the example of the one perfect person who has ever lived on this earth, and we are told to do what he did. What he did was he reached out his hand, he held, he touched and had one-on-one encounters.” “Even if you don’t feel like it, you should literally physically reach out your hand to someone,” Jones said. “Even if it is so much easier to type out a text. You should be there when someone needs it. Even when you are in a large crowd you can look around and find the one person who needs to be taken aside and to have that one-on-one experience with you. That is how I believe we can better be perfect even as our Father in Heaven is perfect.” “These actions start to become part of our bodies. It is clear that encoded actions are powerful. As we do these repetitive actions, they become particularly effective. Simple things such as washing a foot have power in their simplicity. I am not suggesting anything fancy; they come from a specific place and the more you do them the more powerful they become,” Jones said. “I know the connection between the body and the spirit is real and powerful. We need to do what Christ did—we need to reach out. That is how we will heal, that is how we will help, that is how we will become perfect and when that happens, that is when we will kneel before our God and know that He loves us and we love Him.” Photos courtesy of Alyssa Lyman.

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College of Fine Arts and Communications Office of External Relations Wins Golden Spike Award

Courtney Jones — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 18:12:29 +0000

The office of External Relations was awarded with the Golden Spike award for their work with Sacred Sounds: Can Music Heal the Religious Divide The Golden Spike Awards competition, sponsored by the Utah chapters of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), annually honors Utah organizations and teams that demonstrate excellence in public relations practices and business communications. This year, the external relations office of the College of Fine Arts and Communications was recognized for their work on Sacred Sounds: Can Music Heal the Religious Divide? Sacred Sounds was an interdisciplinary exhibition curated by Maddie Blonquist, who graduated in 2018 with a double major in music and humanities. The project investigated the musical sounds used in worship in the three Abrahamic religions—Christianity, Judaism and Islam—and led to the creation of BYU’s first interfaith club. The external relations office worked alongside Blonquist and her collaborators to produce multimedia content promoting the exhibit and highlight the positive community impact of the project. Sacred Sounds: Can Music Heal the Religious Divide? was a finalist in the Community Relations, Print Communications and Videos categories, and won the award for Community Relations. Learn more about the Golden Spike Awards here.

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BYU news media students attend national journalism convention in Maryland

Courtney Jones — Fri, 30 Nov 2018 21:27:41 +0000

BYU Society of Professional Journalists’ chapter president Eleanor Cain Adams attended sessions discussing everything from resume hacks to covering sexual assault at SPJ’s three-day convention in Baltimore Fellow news media student Emma Benson and I attended the Society of Professional Journalists’ national Excellence in Journalism convention from Sept. 27-29 with faculty member and SPJ advisor Kris Boyle. The Society of Professional Journalists encourages ethical journalism and the freedom of the press, and hosts several regional conventions each year in addition to the national gathering we attended. The convention offered a variety of informational sessions to choose from each day, with a combined keynote session each afternoon and plenty of networking opportunities with journalists from around the country. In addition to networking, I loved learning new marketable skills from real professionals. A favorite session I attended was “Al’s Jaw-Droppingly Cool Tools,” where Al Tompkins from the Poynter Institute shared his favorite apps, websites and online resources for doing journalism. For me personally, the most powerful moment of the conference was when we all sat together in solidarity as the publisher of the Baltimore Sun retold the tragic events of the June 28 shooting in their newsroom and of the heroism that followed. It was a bold reminder to me of why it is so important to support and protect the free press; it was something I could never have experienced here in class at BYU and that I will never forget. Over the course of the convention I attended a variety of sessions on everything from how to get a job, cover sexual assault, freelance and podcast to covering midterm elections. As a student, I appreciated the opportunity to learn from the variety of professionals in attendance and couldn’t wait to come back to campus to share my new knowledge with other news media students. Attending SPJ’s national convention helped me realize the importance of the free press and of what SPJ does — especially here at BYU’s SPJ chapter. To learn more about SPJ and upcoming events, follow them on Facebook. By Eleanor Cain Adams

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The Power of the Perfect(able) Body is Professor Jones’ Theme for December Faith and Works Lecture

Courtney Jones — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 15:59:38 +0000

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Joe Ostraff Explains Collaboration in Art and Relationships that Matter

Courtney Jones — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 20:08:18 +0000

To kick off the 2018-19 Faith and Works lecture series, Joe Ostraff shares how his faith in spiritual relationships has influenced his art to be a collaborative experience A glass bottle rolling away from a man in the street is an unexpected start to a testimony building collaboration mindset. However, this is the moment that Ostraff points to as the reason he became fascinated in the experiences that bring people together. As the bottle dropped, a group of business men and woman waiting at the bus stop were drawn into the experience. They inhaled in unison during the moments they were sure the bottle would break, exhaled in relief and rejoiced together when the man finally got his bottle back. Then the bus came. Just as suddenly as this group had been tied together they dispersed. These fleeting moments of collaboration are what have inspired not only Ostraff’s work, but also his faith. “I have two foundations of my faith,” Ostraff said. “The first is that we are children of heavenly parents and the second is that we are all brothers and sisters here on earth. The result of my faith is that my work celebrates the relationships we have with people.” “The definition ofthe perfect work of art for me is a piece where people are unified in a way that makes ownership dissolve,” Ostraff said. “We realize that everyone was essential to the work and the final product is owned by everyone.” One collaborative project Ostraff mentioned was “In the Name,” where students and faculty members traveled around the United States collecting polaroid pictures and audio of people talking about the meaning of their names. Ostraff has worked on many other collaborative art projects meant to break barriers, especially across disciplines, combining dance, music and visual art into works that can no longer be claimed by one person. Although these projects involve many people and address varied issues, Ostraff said, “Most of my art projects are to help me. I see an issue in myself and use art to eradicate it. We are the first patient of our art. It was meant to change us. I hope that as I am involved in collaboration processes I will knock off some of my ruffage in the process.” During the lecture Ostraff encouraged audience members to stand up, bob heads, pump fists and jump to “Time to Start” by the Blue Man Group, creating a collaborative moment of art. As the audience sat down, Ostraff explained, “These are memories that you will look back to and smile. They are moments that bring people together. Life is filled with mundane events but there are occasional bursts of intense feeling as we interact with others.” Ostraff left the audience with the advice, “You need to get past worrying about being ‘flashy’ or trying to do what is cool in your art. If I keep making art for the rest of my life I need to do the things that feed and sustain me.” “My faith sustains my work. I know that when I am alone I am not really alone. I am a part of a larger fabric,” Ostraff said. Ostraff is the first of five presenters in the Faith and Works Series. Learn more here. Photos courtesy of Alyssa Lyman

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Linnie Brown Featured at The Allen+Alan Fine Art Gallery in Salt Lake City

Courtney Jones — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 22:11:18 +0000

Brown’s solo exhibition is currently featured in the A Gallery Linnie Brown, an adjunct art professor at BYU, is currently featured at the Allen+Alan gallery in Salt Lake City. Her solo exhibition “Retrace” can be visited through Nov. 3, 2018. The exhibit includes works such as ‘A Series of Past Actions,’ ‘Need only to Reattach’ and ‘Site of Drenched Rigors.’ Brown shared that through her art she is able to express the culmination of all her individual life experiences. “We are an accumulation of our past. All of our experiences come together and are the reason we are the way we are,” Brown said. “Many of my pieces started with the floor plans of places I lived.” She continued, “Then I combined shapes and color until they all come together into one form—similar to all of our experiences coming together into one cohesive whole. My pieces are like maps of my experiences.” The journey to her first solo exhibit at an art gallery has not always been easy. “I started out at BYU with a major in painting and eventually switching to art teaching. I taught art for a couple years, but everything changed when I had kids.” Although Brown was not able to put a major focus on a career, she made time every day for her art. She went back to school in 2013 once her children were older, and is now working part time in the BYU art department. Brown has shown her art at many nonprofit events and has become more involved with local art galleries. Brown said of getting her art out in the public sphere, “You can’t sit back and hope good things are going to happen. You have to push yourself.” Brown has reached many of the goals she aspired to as an artist but believes that there is a lot more she has to offer. “There are always goals that you are working towards as an artist but there is never a time that you have truly ‘arrived’. Once you reach your goals there is always more you can achieve.” “What I wish I had done more was immerse myself in the art community. Get to know gallery owners, other artists, and art professors. Successful artists are well known because they have those relationships,” Brown advised students hoping to make a career in the fine arts, “Be flexible with your goals—just because you are not successful two years out of school doesn’t mean you never will be.” Brown’s work can be seen at the Allen+Alan Fine Art Gallery at 1321 S 2100 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84108. Admission is free.

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BYU Arts Takes Home Gold at the UCDA Design Competition

Courtney Jones — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 20:02:27 +0000

Out of more than 1,000 entries, BYU students and faculty won top award for their performing arts posters at the University and College Designers Association Competition Every year the UCDA Design Competition recognizes the best of the design work done nationally to promote educational institutions. This year, BYU Arts competed against 1,269 entries and won gold for the 2017-18 BYU theatre season posters and an excellence award for the 2017-18 CFAC Faith+Works lecture series posters. Only five Gold awards were given out, and BYU’s competition included top design firms such as Design Army, Pentagram and Doyle Partners. “It amazes me that the work I have been a part of can be displayed at a national level next to some big design firms,” said Nick Mendoza, Creative Services Manager for the CFAC. “It also gives me great joy to see BYU get exposure like this. I’m very proud to receive another Gold award at the UCDA design competition. It is amazing to think that out of 1,269 entries we received one of the five Gold awards.” Stephanie Ottehenning McAllister, BFA Graphic Design student involved in the creation process, said, “As a student I mostly created singular posters. It was huge for me to step up and take ownership over the execution of a collective series like the yearly Theatre posters. As a student, you think that graduating will suddenly make you confident in your skills, but it’s really being given the opportunity to make decisions using everything you’ve been taught about good design and seeing it play out.” “The collaboration with [Mendoza], who I saw as a mentor, was humbling and an honor for me. I was able to work side by side with a designer I respect, work through problems and push the project with full confidence from him. I realized I just needed to apply what I learned and trust the process,” McAllister said. McAllister said of the collaboration process, “As the art director, Nick was looking at big picture concepts, and I was aiding in some of the details. We split the task of iterating the imagery of each poster in half, however, and once we narrowed down the concepts we liked, we posted them up in order of date to see how they would look next to each other. I headed up the challenge of finding the colors to tie them together while keeping each one true to the content of the show, and manipulating the lettering and font to make each title unique.” “I used these competitions to showcase the hard work and skill sets our students have,” Mendoza said. “These awards showcase the talent of our students, BYU Arts, the Department of Design and BYU.” Photos courtesy of Nick Mendoza.

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Like a Frayed Cord

Courtney Jones — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 15:46:22 +0000

“It started with fear,” says Ryan W. Moffett (MA ’05). “Everybody I knew with MS was in a wheelchair.” Moffett, a ceramics teacher at Murray High School, stands in his art studio next to one of his sculptures—a large, ceramic torso and head with minimal details. It’s one of a series that he created in the wake of learning he had multiple sclerosis in 2013. Moffett titled the sculpture Demyelination, after the nervous system–eroding process that occurs with MS. The sculpture is inspired by Bronze Age statues made by island dwellers in the Aegean Sea, but it also departs from the traditional: the top left chunk of the head is cleanly cut away where the brain should be, and a frayed electrical cord protrudes from the right half. Read more here.

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Design Students Improve Their Skills During Inktober Challenge

Courtney Jones — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 19:46:21 +0000

BYU artists take on the Inktober challenge by doing one ink drawing a day for the entire month of October This October, the BYU Department of Design has encouraged students to try their hand at a month-long drawing challenge known as Inktober. BYU alum Jake Parker created the Inktober challenge in 2009 to improve his own drawing skills, but it has since grown to include thousands of artists who participate each year. Amber Kommavongsa, an illustration major at BYU, said, “I started Inktober this year because I haven’t touched ink in a while. I see Inktober as an opportunity to really push myself over my inhibitions and just draw.” Inktober has just a few rules: make a drawing using ink, post it online using the hashtag #inktober and repeat. Each day of the month there are different one-word prompts to inspire artists. Parker encourages artists to participate as much as they can, whether that be every day or just once a week. Amelia Galloway, a junior in the illustration BFA program, said, “Over the past few years I have very loosely participated in Inktober by posting one or two images over the whole month. This year, I felt like it would be really helpful for me to participate fully with a full-blown story and an illustration every day to improve my online presence and to help me get back to traditional drawing.” “It’s a workout for my creative muscles,” Abby Staker Graham, a BYU Design student, said. “Inktober pushes me out of my comfort zone. I mostly work digitally, and I like the motivation to work in a different medium.” Finding time to draw every day can be daunting for any artist, but especially for full-time students. Kommavongsa said, “While it’s a challenge, I see it as a way to also draw for myself. When you have a lot of art classes it can be hard to make time for personal work and you can forget why you started drawing in the first place. Inktober is the perfect excuse to do personal work and experiment.” The consistency of the Inktober prompts gives students a chance to stretch themselves to draw and create every day. “I think the beauty of Inktober is that it’s scheduled. If anyone is looking to improve their drawing skills, Inktober is a great place to start no matter how artistically competent or incompetent you may think you are,” Galloway said. “The purpose of Inktober is to improve—not to make amazing things every time. The best way to get really good at creating art is by being okay with making a lot of really bad art along the way.” To see what BYU Design students are creating this Inktober, check out #byuinktober and #byudesign.

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