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“Carol Lynn: Prophetess” by Trevor Southey
By Steven Fales | June 26, 2010
I commissioned this oil portrait of Carol Lynn Pearson by Trevor Southey. This photograph was taken before the portrait was finished. The finished portrait has a line from one of her best poems painted in red, “We who are seed of deity.” Below the portrait is a statement from Trevor Southey about the portrait followed by a small tribute I wrote which gives further context to the commission.
“Carol Lynn: Prophetess” by Trevor Southey
In 2002, Steven Fales commissioned me to paint a portrait of Carol Lynn Pearson. The result is a work that has been unusually compelling in exhibitions, literally drawing viewers past other works to a somewhat distant location.
My connection to Carol Lynn is deep and long as I illustrated her first volume of poetry BEGINNINGS while we were students at Brigham Young University. The cover image, inspired by the poem, has become a summary of the best in human potential for me and appears again in the portrait, as it has done perhaps more than any other subject in my career, becoming iconic for me. So when she came to my studio for our sittings it was a longstanding continuation of unusual friendship and collaboration; another significant conversation.
I feel the painting probes a life and reflects an accumulation of experience that has been and remains unusually intense and complex. From the joy of her powerful and large portfolio of writing to her personal sorrow, it reflects the light and shadow of an artist. But pathos is contained in great dignity and a wide capacity for compassion and empathy. Carol Lynn has turned her grief to service, especially for those who are reviled still. Her vision and availability and her active involvement for change and understanding have been of profound import to me at a personal level, and much more the Mormon church and wider society. This portrait, I would hope, embraces the beauty of a person and also of a character of unusual import, that will have a very long lasting impact on people now and into the future, embracing her history and her posterity. This heritage is hers and dwells, I believe in the representation of her in this portrait.
Trevor Southey
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June 2, 2010
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
In August 2002, while staying at the home of Carol Lynn Pearson during a developmental run of CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY in San Francisco, I felt inspired to commission internationally acclaimed South African gay Mormon artist (and fellow gay father and friend), Trevor Southey, to paint her oil portrait. That Carol Lynn had never been immortalized on canvas was unacceptable so late in her career, especially since her children had already been painted by Trevor. This was an egregious oversight in the world of Mormon Arts and Letters and in the Pearson family. Though it may sound presumptuous, I believe that my deceased former father-in-law was somehow behind the inspiration to put this portrait into motion.
Trevor Southey was gracious to offer a family discount and Carol Lynn sat for the portrait in his studio in Oakland, CA. Trevor and I collaborated on the symbolism. It was only fitting that he use his iconic “God in Embryo” design, but I chose a line from her best-known poem “Beginnings”: “We who are seed of deity.” (BEGINNINGS was the book of Carol Lynn’s poems that Gerald Pearson first published and which Trevor illustrated.) Carol Lynn’s hand over her heart shows her compassion.
The title is significant. Trevor wanted to call it “Carol Lynn”. I had always wanted to call it “Prophetess” (because of her important work about the Feminine Divine). And since cash is king, I think the two titles together make for a complete, three-dimensional representation of a woman both legendary and human. The portrait is extraordinary in craft, symbolism, subject, and story. I believe the painting to be priceless: CAROL LYNN: PROPHETESS.
This painting was paid for entirely from wind-fall runs of CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY, in which she is portrayed. Many points of light come together in this portrait. I believe it represents the very best and finest work of the Mormon Arts Movement. Carol Lynn, Trevor Southey, Gerald Pearson, and others were pioneers in the Mormon Arts Renaissance that began in the late 60s and early 70s at Brigham Young University. Though excommunicated from the LDS church myself, I walk in their footsteps as an intrinsically gay Mormon artist still.
I am proud to offer this portrait to the maternal grandmother of my children for whom she has given so much. I have been touched by her work including MY TURN ON EARTH (which inspired me as a child) and GOOD-BYE, I LOVE YOU (which inspired me as an adult), and many others. For her many kindnesses tome and for what she has stood for, I hereby transfer ownership of this portrait to Carol Lynn Pearson, “The Belle of the Rockies”, “The Eliza R. Snow of the Twentieth Century.”
Sincerely,
Steven Fales
Steven Fales and Carol Lynn Pearson, Affirmation Conference, Washington D.C.
Topics: Confessions of a Mormon Boy, Steven Fales | No Comments »