5/19 DESERET NEWS: One-of-a-kind stained-glass dome will top Utah’s new Capitol building
The crown jewel of Utah’s new North Capitol Building is a $1.6 million, one-of-a-kind stained-glass dome designed to take visitors’ breath away even as it unites them in shared appreciation for the state’s beauty.
The custom-made vaulted ceiling will flood a multistory atrium with the diverse colors of the Utah landscapes it depicts once the expanded state office building, which will also house Utah’s first state history museum, is opened to the public in 2026.
“This stained glass laylight is a powerful reminder that Utah’s strength lies in our shared roots and our commitment to building a brighter future together,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said in a statement.
5/12 SLTRIB: Where are The Whale and The Claw? How two art installations captured the attention of Utahns.
There are few structures that have captured the zeitgeist of Utah more than The Whale and The Claw. The one is hard to miss when you travel on I-15. The other developed a cult following after a particularly good winter. But what are they and where did they come from?
The Whale
At the roundabout intersection of 900 South and 1100 East in Salt Lake City rises a colorful statue of a humpback whale breaching the surface.
The whale is officially called “Out of the Blue” and is 23 feet high. Created by artist Stephen J. Kesler, it is part of the public art collection managed by the Salt Lake City Arts Council. The mural on the whale is considered a separate piece of art, “Point of Reference,” and is by Michael M. Murdock.
When it was installed in 2022, it wasn’t without a bit of pushback. The roundabout had previously been decorated with garden gnomes, which some felt better reflected the neighborhood and that the giant whale was incongruous with the area.
5/12 DESERET NEWS: ‘Keepers of people’: Emmy-nominated Utahn’s documentary highlights rural West through quilters
A documentary about rural quilters made by a filmmaker in Sanpete County is nominated for an Emmy.
“My grandmother was an avid quilter. I have memories of her sunroom crowded with piles of fabric, antique sewing machines and talk of her ongoing projects and quilting groups,” director Carly Jakins said.
She wanted to capture her grandmother’s passion for the practice, but she died in 2023. So the idea for “American Seams” was born as a way to explore her grandmother’s legacy in her own life, Jakins said.
“American Seams” features three quilters who live in the rural Intermountain West who each have different reasons for quilting. The film honors strong women through highlighting the mental and technical work of quilting all while creating an emotional experience for viewers.
5/9 DESERET NEWS: South Salt Lake City Hall turns into a giant painting as Mural Fest returns this weekend
Not long after last year’s Mural Fest wrapped up, South Salt Lake leaders found a slight problem with painting the back side of City Hall.
DAAS, a Texas-based artist, painted the south side of the building in a colorful, abstract interpretation of the nature surrounding it. However, it ultimately left the rest of the exterior feeling barren.
“Every time we’d drive up and we’d look at the front, we were like, ‘Definitely, the back is happier,’” said Jody Engar, arts programming coordinator for South Salt Lake, with a chuckle.
5/9 SLTRIB: West Coast graffiti pioneer RISK has a new mural in Utah. Here’s how you can see it and meet him.
Despite Utah’s fickle spring weather — through rain, wind, and a little bit of heat — Kelly Graval toiled away to bring the mundane South Salt Lake wall to life.
Midweek, he’s wearing an all black outfit, splattered in a kaleidoscope of paint colors that have also dripped onto his leather phone case. The bold and bright tones can be color matched to the previously plain wall he’s painting at 340 West Andy Ave.
In just two days, Graval, better known by his graffiti tag RISK, along with two helpers, Brian Graget and Nathan Barton, transformed the wall, which pops with hues of nearly every color imaginable.
5/6 SLTRIB: Utah arts groups just saw thousands in funding pulled by the feds. Here’s what was cut.
A play for Utah students about coping with post-pandemic life. Free ballet performances for children with autism and their families. Teaching teens to produce, direct and shoot their own short films. And restaging the opera “Madame Butterfly” for modern audiences.
Those are some of projects that Utah arts organizations had secured grant money for under the National Endowment for the Arts — grants that the federal agency rescinded on Friday.
Nationwide, hundreds of arts groups received emails Friday, telling them that their grants would either be terminated or withdrawn. The notices arrived shortly after President Donald Trump proposed entirely eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts as part of his plan for next year’s federal budget.
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15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt nonprofit.
UTAH’S ART MAGAZINE SINCE 2001, 15 Bytes is published by Artists of Utah, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Categories: Mixed Media
