For several years already, I had known in my heart and in my hands that I needed to spend more time drawing. Because the art of icon carving had become a lesser vehicle for the traditions of iconography, it seemed pressing for me to spend more time exploring the best examples of relief art and […]
(This talk on the meaning of the Zombie and on the place of monsters in the world was given at the OCA Diocese of the South Annual conference in Chattanooga, on July 27, 2017) We live in a time of monsters. I announce this to you but I think you already know that. We only need […]
For 5 years now I have been writing on many subjects for OAJ. Most of my attention has been to elucidate the patterns in iconography and liturgical arts and how these patterns relate to Scripture, to other traditions all the while acting as a map of how we should live in the world as Christians. […]
I have always been fascinated by liturgical book bindings from the Middle Ages. Their perfect union of leather, wood and metal, as a supple and tactile work of functional art, is singularly satisfying. In contrast, there is something lacking in most contemporary gospel covers, which are normally made by applying decoration overtop the cardboard covers […]
This is post 2 of 2 in the series “Divine Patterns In Story and Image” Divine Patters in Story and Image part 2: The Iconographic Structure of St-Gregory of Nyssa’s Life of Moses (This talk was given as the Climacus Conference, in Feb. 2017. Click here for audio and images) St-Gregory of Nyssa has given […]
This is post 1 of 2 in the series “Divine Patterns In Story and Image” Part 1: Encountering God in Stories (This talk was given as the Climacus Conference, in Feb. 2017. Click here for audio and images) The world is made of stories. Of course the world is made of things as well, but […]
The Climacus Conference is a classical Christian intellectual/spiritual event featuring scholars and voices across the fields of Theology, Philosophy, Classical Education, Literature, and History/Politics. It is unique in that it provides an opportunity for attendees to be enriched by thinking well across disciplines. In 2015, OAJ founder Andrew Gould participated at the Climacus conference and gave […]
Occasionally Jonathan Pageau and I like to experiment with our work – to skirt the boundaries of historical precedent, to revive forgotten and archaic techniques, or to juxtapose ideas in new ways. This project, an elaborate mixed-media icon of Archangel Gabriel, is such an instance. It was not a commissioned project, but rather something we […]
There are two basic images of Christ in the Church, each marking one of the two poles which hold the very limits of the cosmos. The first image is that of the Pantocrator and its derivatives, essentially Christ shown in the guise of a glorious emperor, both the origin and the final judge of the […]
When Jonathan Pageau and I were asked to make a grave cross for the late Fr. Matthew Baker, we were humbled by the task. Fr. Matthew was a beloved young priest, a prominent Orthodox thinker, and father of six children. His tragic death in an automobile accident on March 1st, 2015, on his way home […]