Artist:
Collective Exhibition
TITLE
Touch Our Eyes (that we may see)
ON DISPLAY
September 13, 2021 – January 13, 2022
LOCATION
Auditorium Gallery, level 1
Exhibiting Artists
Paige Crosland Anderson
Jennifer Barton
Lisa DeLong
David Habben
Jacqui Larsen
Ryan Moffett
Alexander Morris
Todd Stilson
Alison Stosich
Roland Thompson
Eva Koleva Timothy
Justin Wheatley
Exhibition curated by Melanie Allred (BYU adjunct faculty in Art History and Curatorial Studies and independent art curator) and Christiane Ramsey (BYU Harold B. Lee Library Visual Arts Librarian)
Exhibition Statement
“O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.” —Psalm 43:3
The scriptures and teachings of the prophets invite us to seek answers to our deeply held questions and to ask to know the mysteries of God through personal revelation. They also provide examples of how others have asked for and received this enlightenment. As we follow the invitation and examples to ask, seek, knock, search, ponder, and pray, we wait patiently for our eyes to be opened to see the light of divine truth. How and when answers come will always be in God’s time and in His way, but we can be assured that the experience will be deeply personal and customized to our individual needs.
Touch Our Eyes (that we may see) is a reference to hymn 305, The Light Divine, which offers a reminder that God gives life-sustaining light to all of his creations. This exhibition explores the process of enlightenment and personal revelation as an experience. It invites contemplation on how asking for “eyes to see” removes or softens the veil of disbelief, making simple doctrine or traditions profound or complex ideas understandable. The art of this exhibition does not attempt to offer answers to burning questions, but serves as gentle visual reminders that the mysteries of God are available to all those who desire to see and are willing to ask in faith.
Hymn 305: The Light Divine
Text: Matilda Watts Cahoon, 1881–1973, Music: Mildred T. Pettit, 1895–1977, arr.
[Chorus]
Father, let thy light divine
Shine on us, we pray.
Touch our eyes that we may see;
Teach us to obey.
Ours the sacred mission is
To bear thy message far.
The light of faith is in our hearts,
Truth our guiding star.
Touch Our Eyes (that we may see) was held in coordination with Art & Belief: A Symposium, sponsored by the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts and the Neil A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship. It was held at the BYU Museum of Art on September 24, 2021.
Auditorium Gallery Tour