When people think of going to a pageant, they may imagine actors adorned in extravagant costumes, posing dramatically across an outdoor stage.

But pageants also are lining the walls at the BYU Museum of Art this fall in the exhibit "Minerva Teichert: Pageants in Paint."

Teichert tells majestic stories of the American West and her Mormon pioneer heritage as 47 large-scale, mural canvases act as stages for beautifully painted characters.

"Pageants and murals are very similar in purpose," said Marian Wardle, curator for the BYU Museum of Art. "They are both created to tell a story, to portray the history of a particular community or to laud an event or person."

This connection between theatrical pageants and mural painting was prevalent in American popular culture during the early 1900s, when Teichert studied art, drama and dance in Chicago and New York. Her love for the dramatic and the cultural influence of pageantry took root in her art.

Teichert's murals feature everything from American Indian dances and cowboy brawls to elegant pioneer women and romantic, Western love stories.

The exhibit also includes many of Teichert's paintings of stories from the Book of Mormon and the Bible.

"People might look at these murals and say that they are not realistic, but they weren't meant to be literal depictions," Wardle explained. "They are dramatic depictions, and if you look at them as if they are pageants, then you see her work in a different light."

The exhibit explores the similarities between mural painting and pageantry, showing both the technical and creative ways that Teichert combined the two art forms.

For example, Teichert's paintings are entirely dedicated to the human form, and include simple backgrounds that do not distract from the action in the foreground.

Many of Teichert's murals are devoted to processionals of characters and scenes with music and dancing, all of which are common in pageants.

Also, the characters' poses in much of Teichert's art are taken directly from a technique called the Delsarte System of Expression, which was introduced in America in 1871.

"Delsarte poses are over-exaggerated gestures that were used in theatrical productions so that audiences could easily interpret the characters on stage," Wardle said. "Teichert learned these poses and used them for the same reason in her work."

Additionally, many of the paintings are from private collections and have never been displayed.

"A lot of people are familiar with Minerva Teichert's work to a certain extent," said Christopher Wilson, communication manager for the BYU Museum of Art. "But this exhibition gives people an opportunity to see both the familiar and the new and to look at her work from a different angle."

IF YOU GO:

Minerva Teichert: Pageants in Paint

Where: BYU Museum of Art

When: Now through May 26, 2008, Monday-Friday 10 a.m.- 9 p.m., Saturday noon-5 p.m.

Cost: Free, however, tours must be scheduled at least one week in advance

Info: 422-1140, cfac.byu.edu/index.phpfiid=194