by Adam K. K. Figueira -
© Mark Mabry. Used with Permission. mabrystudios.typepad.com
One of the easiest pitfalls as an artist is to seek to influence others with my art. Latter-day Saints (and many Christians) are naturally invigorated by a missionary spirit and much art has been created with the intent of taking the Gospel message to the world by directly preaching it. I see this as a mistake in most non-institutional cases, because it reorients the art away from the artist’s relationship with God and towards his conversation with his or her audience. In other words, this kind of art can easily attempt to dictate what another person’s worship should look like, rather than reflecting the artist’s own worship. A reflection of personal worship can influence others, but that is not its intent.