Building for the Divine: The Art of Orthodox Architecture with Andrew Gould
In this long-format interview, Andrew Gould discusses numerous aspects of liturgical arts and architecture with Anglican organist Matthew Wilkinson. Our conversation touches upon church architecture, Eastern and Western rites, American cultural heritage from hymn-singing to fine woodworking, robotic production of ornamentation, historic styles from baroque to brutalist, liturgical music, acoustics, and much more.
Continue reading »Humility
If only we could speak to ourselves from the future! How many valuable insights and skills could we have shared with our past selves! On the other hand, how would we have learned these things if not through the mistakes we make today? Is there a way to learn without mistakes? We have books, videos,…
Continue reading »Making Magnificent Hammer-Crafted Icons; an Interview with Evan Wilson
Gould: You’ve only recently started making icons using chasing and repoussé, yet your first projects are nothing short of magnificent. Can you tell us something about your background, to put this work in context? Wilson: I am a married father of two young sons, living on the outskirts of Austin, Texas. We attend Transfiguration Greek…
Continue reading »American Aristocrats: Art, Patronage, and Beauty with Andrew Gould and Dr. Timothy Patitsas
This video features a discussion I had with Dr. Timothy Patitsas. We discuss liturgical arts, patronage, culture, and the experience of the artist. We delve deep into the practical difficulties of realizing good art in the modern age. If you enjoyed this article, please use the PayPal button below to donate to support the work…
Continue reading »The Memory Keepers
This text is not just an article – it’s also a call for a combined effort. We invite you to support our documentary film the on Svaneti frescoes and the dedicated people who maintain them. Help us to preserve Svaneti’s invaluable treasures of Orthodox Christianity for centuries to come. Georgian church art reflects exceptional artistry…
Continue reading »Churches of North Macedonia – Monastery of Saint Naum
Continuing my photojournalism series highlighting Balkan churches, this post features an especially beloved monastery in North Macedonia – The Monastery of Saint Naum. Saint Naum was a disciple of Saints Cyril and Methodius, and participated in their mission to spread Christianity and literacy in Europe. After completing the Moravian mission, he settled in Bulgaria…
Continue reading »Teaching Iconography in the Twenty-First Century
Sharing our teaching method, I invite fellow iconographers to share their views on teaching, as only by approaching this subject from several sides can we foster a new generation of iconographers who will be better than us. The teaching method my wife Olga Shalamova and I now use took its shape gradually. In Italy in…
Continue reading »What is an Icon – A Response for Philip Davydov
Editor’s Note: This open letter was written in response to Philip Davydov’s call for master iconographers to address some fundamental questions about their art and its relationship to the Church. Dear Philip, thank you for the interesting article. It seems to me that the questions you have presented to us are not that difficult to…
Continue reading »Questions for Iconographers
Writing this text, I can’t help but feel that it opens up (or continues) a very extensive subject, which will require a lot of effort just to be introduced, and even more effort to be explained, but I will try… On February 12th, 2024 I was invited to the Andrey Rublev Museum in Moscow as…
Continue reading »Churches of North Macedonia – Saint George in Staro Nagoričane
Resuming my photojournalism series highlighting Balkan churches, this post features an especially interesting and beautiful church in North Macedonia – The Church of Saint George in the village of Staro Nagoričane. The church bears a unique form and history. It was originally built in the 10th century, almost certainly as a three-aisle basilica. It was…
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