Season 3
In this podcast I explore how images influence our understanding of reality and the sacred through conversations with thought leaders on art, visual culture, and religion. Each episode delves into a different area of visual theology, opening to spiritual wisdom while deconstructing an image-saturated world.
You can also access all episodes in Radix Magazine. The podcast is also featured on the website for the Foundation for Spirituality and the Arts.
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EPISODE 1
Mark McInroy
Theological Aesthetics Explored
Mark is Professor of Theology and Founding Co-Director of the Claritas Initiative on Beauty, Goodness, and Truth at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is a constructive and historical theologian with interests in theological aesthetics, theology and the arts, mystical theology, and theories of perception, along with other arenas of inquiry.
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He is the author of Balthasar on the Spiritual Senses: Perceiving Splendour, and co-edited Image as Theology: The Power of Art in Shaping Christian Thought, Devotion, and Imagination, and The Oxford Handbook of Hans Urs von Balthasar.
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In this conversation, Mark and I discuss the meaning and importance of theological aesthetics and its emphasis on materiality as a means of divine disclosure, as well as how it might address ideas about judgment and the problem of evil. We also consider the influence of Hans Urs von Balthasar on contemporary ideas related to art and religion, the meaning of beauty as a divine attribute, and the role of beauty, truth, and goodness across various disciplines, including education and science.
EPISODE 2
Jennifer Awes Freeman
Evolving Religious Imagery
Jennifer is the Associate Professor and Program Director of Theology and the Arts at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Her recent publications include The Good Shepherd: Image, Meaning, and Power and The Ashburnham Pentateuch and its Contexts. Jennifer earned her PhD in Religion (Historical Studies) from Vanderbilt University, where she focused on early medieval art and theological controversies. Before that, she graduated with an MAR in Visual Studies from the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale Divinity School.
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In this conversation, Jennifer and I explored the agency of images, the implications of iconoclasm, and the evolution of religious representation as it applies to the concepts of the Good Shepherd and the Trinity. We also delved into ritual theory, viewer reception, and the impact of digital culture on our engagement with religious images. Our conversation also addressed the materiality of art, the way perspectives on imagery vary across different Christian traditions, and the importance of presence in both religious and secular art. ​