Professor Nick Olkovich

We start off Season 2 with my conversation with an old friend Associate Professor Nick Olkovich. Nick and I went to school together at the University of Toronto. He is not a photographer. He is a philosopher. He is an Assistant Professor and Marie Anne Blondin Chair in Catholic Theology at St. Mark’s College in Vancouver.

I wanted to know his opinion about the use of imagery and iconography in general discussions of faith and knowledge. I think his opinion sheds some interesting insight into our pursuit of photography and its impact on culture. While historically imagery took the form of paintings and iconography - I think the complex evolution of the use of imagery in religious settings informs how they are understood today. To be curt - that they seem to invoke a sense of faith, rather than a discussion of some reason. This can be a powerful tool. One, like any tool, that can be used for good or for naught. And, in our current day, for something more insidious… politics.

Here’s my chat with Nick in 2 parts. Help support the cause, subscribe and take a listen at all the other amassed conversations with image makers! Hopefully, like me, you’ll be inspired to look at photography deeply and spiritually as it is often a reflection, in my opinion, on the human condition more than on human events.