{"id":38186,"date":"2017-04-27T21:32:57","date_gmt":"2017-04-28T03:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=38186"},"modified":"2020-08-26T12:25:28","modified_gmt":"2020-08-26T18:25:28","slug":"behind-the-zion-curtain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/behind-the-zion-curtain\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Zion Curtain"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThe Man Behind the Zion Curtain\u201d by Ben Steele<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

G<\/span>allery owner Diane Stewart conceived\u00a0Art Behind the Zion Curtain<\/em>\u00a0as a challenge to artists with local ties to reflect on Utah\u2019s social, political, and cultural issues. Fourteen painters, sculptors, and photographers responded with pieces on view at Modern West Fine Art through May 13. The works are as varied as Utah\u2019s environment, running the gamut from comedy to serious reflection on political and social issues. Whether visitors are new to the state or informed and opinionated about local controversies, they will find the exhibition a refreshing push for artists to engage with Utah and its shifting place in history.<\/h4>\n
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\u201cUnhinged\u201d by J. Vehar-Evanoff, metal sculpture, 20\u2033 x 21\u2033 x 13\u2033<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

One of the first pieces on display as one enters the gallery is a sculpture by John Vehar-Evanoff, (who is more widely known as a painter), done in collaboration with Casey Loter. \u201cUnhinged\u201d is three pieces of painted metal: a white pin, lying in front of two upright, separated sides of a door hinge. One side painted red and the other blue, the piece is a straightforward observation about the widening gap between the country\u2019s two major political parties, which is especially noticeable in GOP-dominant Utah. The sculpture\u2019s focus on Utah\u2019s political realm is shared with pieces by Kevin Kehoe, Ben Steele, Jody Plant and Nathan Florence, who use their personal style to comment subtly or brazenly on current or historical politics.<\/h4>\n

The namesake of the show, Ben Steele\u2019s \u201cThe Man Behind the Zion Curtain,\u201d features the artist\u2019s signature media-bending painting techniques (see\u00a0here<\/a>), with the LDS-branded terms \u201cCTR\u201d and \u201cFamily Home Evening\u201d graffitied in neon, balloon letters on a brick wall in the foreground. The work also sticks to Steele\u2019s standard practice by pulling from the world of advertising and popular literature: a portrait of Joseph Smith emerges from L. Frank Baum\u2019s classic green curtain, where the Wizard of Oz ruled over a population hoodwinked by tricks and trappings that made him appear infallible. The poster for \u201cMoron Ale,\u201d in which the statue of the Angel Moroni should ostensibly create an \u201ci\u201d but doesn\u2019t, references the state\u2019s ever-changing and often-criticized liquor legislation.<\/h4>\n

Where Steele pulls controversy out of the shadows and plasters it boldly onto the very buildings of downtown Salt Lake City, Kehoe prefers to use understated images for his commentaries. Kehoe\u2019s \u201cWest End\u201d looks at the topic of Utah\u2019s liquor issues, a running motif in the exhibition. This year alone, two controversial bills, HB442 and HB155, have put Utah\u2019s tight regulation of liquor sales and consumption in the national spotlight. The first bill provides Utah restaurants with liquor licenses an option to replace their \u201cZion curtains\u201d \u2014 the 7-foot barriers that prevent people from seeing alcoholic beverages being prepared \u2014 with a 42-inch half wall that separates bars and dining areas, or a 10-foot buffer space. This seeming \u201cloosening\u201d of restrictions is counterweighted by HB155, which reduces the legal blood-alcohol content for drivers to the lowest in the nation\u2014.05 percent. In response, Kehoe has created a softly glowing painting of a liquor store at night\u2014strikingly reminiscent of Edward Hopper\u2019s work of the 1940s. The closed shop\u2019s isolated position in the middle of an otherwise-unoccupied canvas speaks to the state\u2019s liquor legislation\u2019s alienating effect on those who do or do not consume alcohol, as well as the economic effects. The ramshackle look of the painting\u2019s store seems to be a reference to the recent legislation\u2019s extra burden on businesses, which potentially shuts down sources of economic growth in the state\u2019s commercial and tourism sectors. Additionally, putting tight controls on beer, wine, and spirits (wittingly or not) creates a barrier not only between people and alcohol, but between different populations living in the same state. Kehoe\u2019s image is simple, but references complex issues that have far-reaching effects inside Utah.<\/h4>\n
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\u201cWest End\u201d by Kevin Kehoe,
\noil on board, 26\u2033 x 40\u2033<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In January 2017, Salt Lake City registered as having the worst quality of air in the country, according to the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s\u00a0AirNow.gov<\/a>, so it seems fitting Nathan Florence and Jody Plant chose to create works that speak to environmental concerns. Plant\u2019s mixed-media piece \u201cBroken Sky,\u201d on two small canvases, features two black-and-white wings facing outward, mounted and separate from their source of flight. Florence\u2019s \u201cThe Zion Curtain Inversion\u201d also combines media to portray the soupy inversion that frequently clouds Salt Lake Valley skies in the autumn and winter. His piece features a button-down shirt (a recognizable piece of LDS missionary uniform) pasted to a canvas, with gray, light brown, and white paint partially obscuring a dingy-looking Angel Moroni statue. The usually gleaming symbol of the LDS Church surrounded by haze seems a rebuke to a government that consists largely of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but has yet to propose significant legislative action to combat the deadly air quality problem.<\/h4>\n

Far from being an all-serious tour of Utah\u2019s problems,\u00a0Art Behind the Zion Curtain<\/em>features several artists who use the opportunity to celebrate the beauty of Utah or poke fun at the prevalent problems with which the state struggles. Woody Shepherd\u2019s \u201cAutumn Aspens\u201d is a vibrant explosion of color that could be at home in a variety of exhibitions, though in the context of this one the aspens begin to resemble a fence or wall. Dave Newman\u2019s mixed-media collage celebrates some popular Utah icons: redrocks, Jell-Os and carrots. And \u201cTwo Utes on a Unicycle,\u201d by Frank Buffalo Hyde, shows a circus-like scene of two Utes wheeling against a flowered background. The embrace of comedy can be read as an empowering statement against always focusing on the negative or contentious parts of society.<\/h4>\n

While Utahns are divided by political identities, questions about how to safeguard human health and the environment and even something as seemingly trivial as our beverage choices, art can help create a forum where people can reasonably discuss shared goals and how to shape the future.<\/h4>\n
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\u201cThe Zion Curtain Inverstion\u201d by Nathan Florence<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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\u201cBroken Sky\u201d by Jody Plant, mixed media, 8.5\u2033 x 8\u2033 x 1.5<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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\u201cUtah in the Lime Lite: Starring Red Rock, Jello and Carrots\u201d by Dave Newman<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
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\u201cTwo Utes on a Unicycle\u201d by Frank Buffalo Hyde, acrylic on canvas, 20\u2033 x 24\u2033<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<\/div>\n

Art Behind the Zion Curtain\u00a0<\/em>is at\u00a0Modern West Fine Art<\/a>\u00a0in Salt Lake City through May 13, 2017.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Man Behind the Zion Curtain\u201d by Ben Steele Gallery owner Diane Stewart conceived\u00a0Art Behind the Zion Curtain\u00a0as a challenge to artists with local ties to reflect on Utah\u2019s social, political, and cultural issues. Fourteen painters, sculptors, and photographers responded with pieces on view at Modern West Fine […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1523,"featured_media":38187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,14],"tags":[2779,1906,2127,3811,3812,405],"class_list":["post-38186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibition_reviews","category-visual_arts","tag-ben-steele","tag-diane-stewart","tag-jody-plant","tag-john-vehar-evanoff","tag-kevin-kehoe","tag-nathan-florence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/bste25_BenSteele_TheManBehindTheZionCurtain_oiloncanvas_30x33-888x800.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-16 18:32:54","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1523"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38186"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54634,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38186\/revisions\/54634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}