Carl Bloch- facebook, paintings, midgets and exaltation. you are welcome.

What would your relationship with the Savior be like to create so many amazing paintings? Tonight I went to the BYU exhibit featuring Carl Bloch and i was captivated by his work.

I'm convinced that Facebook has changed the way I see people. Seriously. It is especially apparent in dating because after a date I refer to FB for stalking. Unavoidably, and inadvertently, FB photos become a means of determining how attracted i am to said date (you are laughing-- but this is sadly true.) What I find interesting, and frustrating in the dating realm, is that a person looks different in each photos. Hair color and length changes, lighting effects the angles of the face and our faces are dynamic. Hence, confusing me when I'm trying to fall in love, yet intriguing to me that the same person can look different in several photos. What I most liked about Bloch's paintings, which in my artless opinion differs greatly from other Christian painters, is that Christ looks slightly different in each painting. For example, in a lot of Greg Olsen paintings the Savior looks exactly the same. I appreciate consistency, especially where salvation is concerned, but I felt like this made Bloch's work more realistic. Also the paintings are huge, life-sized, which added to the life-likeness of the Savior. The detail in the paintings created the illusion of snapshots, or FB photo albums, of Christ's life. How cool would it be to tag Christ in your profile pic? Or have Him tag you? I'm convinced after this exhibit that if Carl and Christ had FB they would not only be FB friends, but have several mutual friends and be tagged in each others pictures because you have have to be close to Christ to paint Him this way.

A lot of his work is familiar, but this was the first time I'd seen this one below; it was my favorite.

I like how gentle Christ is with the little child, my dad used to put his hand like that on my shoulder, cheek and hair. He probably still would if I were a midget. The point is that they are familiar. The child also seems to be at peace with the palm leaf, which looks so simple here in a child's hand, but is a powerful symbol of peace, love, sacrifice and the resurrection. I like how they are both looking at me. I like how Christ gesturing to the child seems like an invitation to become as a little child and lean on Him, grasping tightly His peace, His love, His sacrifice and His invitation to exaltation and eternal life. (How did we just get from midget to exaltation?)

I can't even describe how beautiful this painting was in real life. It looked 3-D, and it was life size. I felt drawn to it when i walked into the room and can only imagine how this painting has affected centuries of Danish lives as they listen to teachings of the Savior with this incredible, life-sized visual-aid displayed above the altar in their Danish parish.

Always remember there is nothing worth sharing, like the love that let us share our name.

Here is another post about family. I've had the lyrics of the Avett Brother's song 'Murder in the City' stuck in my head recently. More acurately the last line that says, "Always remember there is nothing worth sharing, like the love that let us share our name."  This week I have been really grateful to live close to family- last friday my car overheated and my brother came immediately to the rescue with some advice, water and even a few laughs. Then on tuesday, we got pounded with some serious snow and my car slid off the driveway, it was about 8:45 am and everyone i knew was at work.