When compared to India and China, the slower rate at which the United States is supplying the world with engineers is said to be putting our country at a competitive disadvantage. Perhaps the decline is partially because would-be physicists and biomedical researchers are going the way of Salt Lake City artist Jan Moulding.
Moulding began an academic career at the U8212;which he calls “the Big Red School”8212;in 1987. Until 1999, he was a full-time student8212;excluding a two-year period spent in Germany. His 11-year stretch on campus was dynamic. It generated a focus and major that shifted from mechanical engineering, chemistry and premed to physics. But somewhere between getting excited about the prospect of the Superconducting Super Collider being built in Utah (a since-decommissioned government project that explored particle acceleration) and a massive self-assessment, Moulding discovered painting.
His art involves patterns or systems, frozen objects and heavy color. It’s a style he calls “21st century primitive.” Moulding’s house-studio near Trolley Square is a headquarters of sorts8212;a place frequented by local artists and traveling acquaintances who can’t afford or don’t want to stay anywhere else. Its interior is filled with books, works in progress, obscure musical instruments and a well-fed dachshund named Kirby. Lately, Moulding has been incorporating lenses, circuit boards and guitar fragments into his work giving many of the pieces a 3-D aspect.
While immersed in his education and the process of fully realizing his aptitude for science, Moulding was employed at fitting, but not permanent, capacities. Post-university, he worked as a hardware engineer from 2000 to 2002. That company encountered Enron-esque difficulties and his interest subsequently faded. For three months in 2004, Moulding “wrote code in a cubicle” for Moog Aircraft. The job consisted mostly of convincing the FAA that a corporate jet was safe to fly. Like many engineers, Moulding was a spoke in an important wheel8212;but he felt as though something was missing. He took two steps back and assessed the nature of business and life. Now he fixes televisions on commission, plays music and paints.
“I realized that most of my work was signing off on things to sell8212;propping up the economy with products that go from a factory to consumers’ hands to a landfill in a month’s time,” Moulding said. “What is a real job? When do you really make a difference? Sometimes you have to do your own thing. I call it rugged individualism or cultural warfare.”
His lifestyle is a good explanation. Void of 50-hour work weeks, BlackBerries and debt of any kind, Moulding’s existence is voluntarily primitive. Time that would otherwise be spent analyzing corporate data is time focused on free thinking and creativity. This affords Moulding the luxury of believing in what he’s doing.
His go-your-own-way spirit isn’t alone. Alliances are being struck in the community between those of its members who still believe that passion should dictate occupation. Amy Britt and Jen Gilroy recently opened a restaurant across the street from Franklin Covey Field. Meditrina is a collaboration that’s just getting off the ground. A complete renovation of the building (on the corner of West Temple and 1400 South), a carefully selected tapas and wine menu and a meticulous eye for detail, has transformed the location into a mandatory dining destination. An arrangement between Britt, Gilroy and Moulding is at the heart of the local business’ uniquely charming vibe.
The interior artwork is all Moulding’s. But the stylistic success of their combined vision is what makes
Meditrina a beacon of entrepreneurism. The gallery-like setting in the front of the house allows patrons to simultaneously study the paintings while enjoying the atmosphere and food (prepared with comparable artistic talent) by Britt and Gilroy. The entire operation is an exercise in symbiotic creativity.
The trio’s relationship is rooted in a mutual understanding that suggests the highest quality product is one created by those with a passion for what they’re doing. These individuals are the new American risk-takers8212;not the kind banking on hedge funds or oil price futures, but rather a group that clings stubbornly to the belief that there will always be a market for individual authenticity. Whether or not the community chooses to embrace this alternative to whatever the mega corporations have planned for society is still up in the air. But economic downturns, or upswings, are not at the center of this breed’s decision-making process.
“If we can make it now, we can make it anytime,” Gilroy said.
“Good things happen to good people when they’re doing good things,” Britt said.
Whether or not Britt and Gilroy fully realize their departure from the tasteless side effects of money-driven actions, one thing is clear8212;they need the community’s support. Such individuals are the countermovement to the strategies that have been making a mess out of capitalism lately. Moulding identified the enemy in broader terms as “a fundamental flaw in man’s perception of his place and function in the universe,” suggesting that “our current one is just wrong.”
Dylan Shepherd
Dylan Shepherd