Luminous: Conversations On Sacred Arts

There’s nothing quite like the music of Nik Bärtsch: its flow, energy, dynamism bring the listener in deeply. In this conversation we explore the sensibilities, intuitions, and thoughtfully developed ideas emanating from Nik’s heart and mind, for a unique and special episode of Luminous.

Reflecting on a life well lived, and on music beautifully played, celebrated organ master Phil Baker contributes profound observations on music and the sacred.

A master photographer, Ralph Sidway also thinks and speaks articulately about the art of photography, and the beauty of putting the camera aside and simply seeing.

The symbiotic chemistry of two visionary artists is both creative and personal. This comes across palpably in our three-way conversation—a particular joy.

George Kordis is a world-renowned iconographer. His work can be found in churches, museums, and sacred spaces throughout the world. He's also a theologian and a teacher, someone who has really thought through his work. He's uniquely able to communicate his holistic sense of art, culture, and theology. Kordis's first conversation with Luminous, "Art in Secular Culture," revolved around theory and related subjects. This second conversation takes a different direction, one that sheds light on his own journey with the sacred arts.

It’s rare that one encounters a soul so vastly creative, and so clearly attuned to the things-that-are. Helena Tulve’s diverse compositional oeuvre finds its common thread in that attunement. She expresses herself with warmth and with precision. Our conversation begins on the subject of the Jesus Prayer and takes right off from there. 

 Kim Haines-Eitzen adds to a rich body of work with her most recent book, an exploration of the desert soundscapes that may have shaped the lives and writings of the ancient desert ascetics. We talk about this, and more, in a conversation I recorded from my forest hideaway in Estonia. 

In his art and in his thought, George Kordis articulates his ideas with breathtaking clarity. And he is one of the world’s great living iconographers. Enjoy this conversation, recorded in front of a live audience at St. Vladimir’s Seminary.

Mona Arshi brings all of herself to her poetry: her background as a human rights lawyer, a family lineage deeply embedded in the poetic, and a keen observation of the world—with a commitment to recognize and subvert patterns within that observation. All this makes her a very special interlocutor on her artistic medium. 

 Aidan Hart works in multiple media—painting, sculpture, carving, mosaics—to create liturgical art of stunning beauty. As an author and speaker, he also reflects deeply on the nature of the sacred arts, stemming from a profoundly theological vision of creation. Our Luminous conversation, recorded in his studio in Shropshire, visits all these places.