Nick Olkovich - Professor of Theology and Philosophy -Part 2

My View Finder - How Photographers Approach Photography

Welcome! This is David Youn and this podcast is called My View Finder. I’m looking to get to some of the roots questions behind why we photographers do what we do. To start of this second season of weekly episodes I’ve moved completely away from photography. I called my friend Nick Olkovich. Nick and I went to school together many years ago when I masqueraded as a philosophy major. Nick is an Assistant Professor and Marie Anne Blondin Chair in Catholic Theology at St. Mark’s College in Vancouver. I wanted to start with Nick because I was interested in imagery and iconography. And while I could do with searching for art historians and aesthetics… I thought what better place than the use of imagery in religion.

Nick’s got a fascinating perspective both in his field and in our discussion being informed by the more contemporary writings of Bernard Lonergan - the Jesuit Priest Philosopher who, if I understand this correctly, sought to work with both rational and empirical data and the spiritual experiences of the unintelligible. Something he coined Critical Realism - according to wikipedia at least.

Imagery, it seems, are influenced by cultural context but can be gateways into a greater sense of fulfillment and, dare I say, the spiritual connection with our world. Photography has a direct relationship here. One that I’ll continue to explore moving forward.
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