Luminous: Conversations On Sacred Arts

When a Nobel Prize-winning physicist begins to speak of the universe as “a work of art,” don’t we want to ask him whether the universe itself could be numbered among the sacred arts? And whether he thinks there might be an Artist? Frank Wilczek is brilliant and engaging, with a talent (and commitment) to making complex concepts understandable for the rest of us.

Susan Ashbrook Harvey is one of the foremost scholars in her field of Late Antiquity (with a focus on Syriac Christianity). Two of her particular areas of interest and expertise make her an especially fascinating guest on Luminous. One is her study of fragrance (her book Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and the Olfactory Imagination is a classic), and the other is women’s voices in Syriac liturgical singing.

Fr Ivan Moody is a world-renowned composer, conductor, scholar, author. His music often draws on ancient chant traditions and then takes off into new directions, at once consonant with the past and building on it into timelessness. Listen to this conversation among deeply informed friends.

Tobi Kahn is a painter and sculptor whose work has been shown in over forty solo exhibitions and over sixty museum and group shows. For twenty-five years, Kahn has been making miniature sacred spaces he calls "shrines." Steadfast in the pursuit of his distinct vision and persistent in his commitment to the redemptive possibilities of art, Kahn has explored the correspondence between the intimate and monumental in paint, stone, and bronze.

Dn Haig Utidjian is one of the foremost figures in the world of Armenian musicology, as well as in several other fields including Czech composers. A gifted and much-sought-after conductor, an educator, a scholar/author, he is a delight to talk with on many aspects of sacred arts.

Paul Barnes is a force of nature. His music, and his insights about music, pour out of him, with beauty. His longtime collaboration with Phillip Glass has left an indelible mark on both of them. Our conversation on Luminous is full of that ebullient energy.

A conversation with one of today’s most brilliant and creative minds on creativity and holiness, through icons, poetry, fiction, monasticism, and so much more.

Rob Saler, an exciting and highly attuned theologian and culture maven, talks with Peter about the ways in which culture and theology learn from each other. Inevitably they focus on his favorite band—Radiohead, on whom Saler has authored a recent book.

Christina Maranci is one of the world’s foremost scholars of Armenian sacred art. She has played an inestimable role in the display and understanding of the arts of the Armenian Church—which dates back to the fourth century. She and Peter discuss the sacred arts, how these can properly be displayed in a museum, how churches become consecrated, and a host of other great things.

Gavin Bryars is one of the leading experimental composers of his generation. Among his diverse and prodigious repertoire, his best known work remains the process composition Jesus’ Blood Never Failed Me Yet, a stirring work of cumulative power. We talk about this and all his work, and whether the word “spiritual” may be applicable.