Brigham Young University Museum of Art director Janalee Emmer

For Janalee Emmer, the transformative power of exhibitions remains at the heart of her curatorial philosophy. Whether engaging with medieval altarpieces, contemporary landscape photography, or Renaissance sculpture, she sees exhibitions as portals into other worlds, capable of reshaping how we see and experience art.

Emmer, director of the Brigham Young University Museum of Art, recalls first learning about the grandeur of Sienese painting in an art history class, where she was introduced to Duccio’s “Maestà”—a 16-foot-high altarpiece that, upon its completion, was paraded through the streets of 14th-century Siena as a city-wide celebration. “I love imagining this kind of world—where an unveiling of a painting is a city-wide celebration and art is woven into the very fabric of everyday life,” she says.

A recent visit to Siena: The Rise of Painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (which closed at the end of January), rekindled her fascination with early Sienese art and underscored the ability of exhibitions to create a deeply immersive experience. “The darkened galleries, painted in black and light gray to mimic the well-known zebra-like patterns inside Siena’s cathedral, allowed the paintings—many with gilded surfaces and gold leafing—to positively shine,” she recalls. Works by Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti brothers reminded her of the emotional power embedded in pre-Renaissance art. “While we tend to glorify the rise of humanism in the Renaissance and the mastery of depth and perspective, the art that came before was equally powerful and moving. It deserves more attention.”

For Emmer, the exhibition was a reminder of how profoundly art can shape perceptions and understanding. Siena: The Rise of Painting demonstrated that art exhibitions can bring history to life. “Most of all, it reminded me of the power of exhibitions to transport us to another place, visually and emotionally.”

Beyond her admiration for historical exhibitions, Emmer has been influenced by contemporary artists, particularly photographer Victoria Sambunaris. Having curated a show featuring Sambunaris’s work (October, 2020-May, 2021, BYU Museum of Art), Emmer credits the artist with altering how she sees Utah’s landscapes. Sambunaris employs large-format film photography, often waiting hours for the perfect moment in remote locations. “She has photographed all over the U.S., but has been repeatedly drawn to various places in the West. Sambunaris is particularly drawn to moments where humans have intervened in some way—highways through deserts, train tracks through the Great Salt Lake, and places where the land has been transformed by our use of it—for both good and bad. They are aesthetically arresting photographs, but they also force you to think about your relationship to the land and environment around you.  She’s never heavy handed about it, but gently invites introspection. … I think everyone in Utah should know her work.” (Sambunaris’ most recent catalogue, was published by Radius Books.)

Exhibition entrance for Far Out: The West Re-Seen featuring photography by Victoria Sambunaris at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art.

Staff at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art handle a plaster cast of Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise.

Currently, Emmer and her team at the BYU Museum of Art are undertaking a major project: the restoration and exhibition of a plaster cast of Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, the renowned east doors of the Florence Baptistery. Originally housed at BYU-Hawaii for decades, the cast has now been transferred to BYU-Provo, where the museum staff is carefully restoring broken pieces and preparing to gild and frame the plasters to replicate their originals. “We think this will be an incredible teaching tool for those studying Renaissance art or for any of our visitors to feel transported to Italy briefly—especially those who may not be able to see it in person,” she explains. The project is expected to be completed next year, offering audiences an extraordinary encounter with one of the greatest masterpieces of Italian art.

All images courtesy of Janalee Emmer.

Who Do You Love

During the month of February we ask Utah artists about a specific piece of art or artist, living or not, local or global, that has sparked their curiosity or influenced their work. We run their responses throughout the month.