Rally in Provo supports keeping Minerva Teichert murals in the Manti Temple | Sanpete County, Utah News

A peaceful gathering of 150 supporters of Minerva Teichert, a notable artist and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, broke bread and marched to Provo City Hall on April 18.

The event was sponsored by the Paisley Shawl Revolution. It is a group of LDS female artists who use the paisley scarf and the history of the scarf as a comfort and piece of women’s history and culture.

Artist Andi Pitcher, one of the organizers of the event, noted that artists and local residents gathered after being asked to fast, break bread and celebrate the history of Teichert art and historical “Mormon” culture first.

Rather than being “a subject of controversy or friction,” it was intended as a “gathering of believers and like-minded creatives with the same goal of preservation,” Pitcher said, but still an event in support of conservation efforts.

The event, titled “Eat Your Bread And Go For A Walk,” was a response to the Church’s plan to remove Teichert murals from the Manti Temple during its renovation. Teichert painted the murals in 1947 to enhance the ceremonies in the temple.

“It was also a reminder of what was lost in the fire in the tabernacle (temple in downtown Provo),” said Pitcher. The only copy of Teichert’s “Restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood” was destroyed in the fire; others sang badly.

The Paisley Revolution is described as the building of collective creation that all living communities must have in abundance in order to thrive and keep creating, Pitcher said.

Pitcher noted that the gathering was talking about last year’s season of loss, showing gratitude, and gathering in the name of preservation.

The rally follows the church’s announcement that the Teichert murals in Manti Temple will be removed from the walls during the renovation and modernization of the Legacy Temple.

A recent statement on the murals issued by the Church indicated that the Teichert murals, which are valued not only for their beauty but also as a cherished reminder of the artist’s faith, talent and commitment, are preserved, but not on of the walls.

“The Teichert murals in the Manti Temple were originally painted on canvas that was attached to the plaster walls,” says the church’s statement.

“The church intends to separate the canvas or parts of the canvas from the plaster of paris and to keep the murals in a public setting for future restorations and exhibitions.”

The Church is currently seeking advice from international experts on art conservation during this process.

“The addition of new classrooms, a new method of presentation, seismic reinforcement, and changes to meet accessibility requirements meant that the murals in the temple had to be moved and / or repainted,” said a First Presidency statement. “It was impossible to know if the murals could be preserved during such a move.”

The First Presidency consists of President Russell M. Nelson and his aides, Presidents Dallin H. Oaks and Henry B. Eyring.

These walls have been repaired and repainted many times due to water damage and other damage.

“By switching to a film presentation, the rooms were reconfigured. For all of these reasons, the murals were carefully photographed and documented before they were removed, and some of the original parts are kept in the Church’s archives, ”the First Presidency statement read.

While there is a desire to keep as much of the Teichert art as possible, many people seem to be asking that the art and live presentations be preserved.

The Salt Lake Temple, which is currently under renovation, will also switch from live presentations to movies, and artwork will be missing from the Legacy Temple areas when it is completed.

“When we remember our past, what we had in the tabernacle, it reminds us of what we have,” Pitcher said.

Participants in the rally included active Church members, post members, the Brigham Young University LGBTQIA organization, and polygamists, all of whom have come together in a vibrant association, according to Pitcher.

The layers of art and the artist that gathered together resemble the layers of an onion. Most of the temple’s ardent defenders and guardians are generally those who do not visit the temple regularly, Pitcher said.

Teichert, a Mormon mother and rancher who studied art in Chicago and New York and was one of President Heber J. Grant’s artistic protégés during the Depression, tirelessly pursued her personally defined mission of creating distinctive art for meeting houses and temples, Pitcher said create.

“We have to paint the great Mormon story of our pioneers,” remarked Teichert in the laudation she gave at the funeral of her mentor Alice Merrill Horne in 1938. “We’ll tell our stories on the walls. … Religious art should be rich in stories and supported by faith. “

The need to support LDS culture and history is very important, Pitcher added. She said this was just the beginning of a rally to keep the manti murals intact.