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Jonathan Pageau

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Jonathan Pageau
Pageau in 2023
Personal details
NationalityCanadian
SpouseCaroline Pagé
Children3
ResidenceMontreal
Alma materConcordia University, Université de Sherbrooke
OccupationSculptor
ProfessionArtist, writer, teacher
Websitewww.pageaucarvings.com

Jonathan Pageau is a French-Canadian icon maker and public speaker, mostly on matters related to symbolism, religion and the Orthodox faith.

Early life and education[edit]

Described to interviewers, Pageau's childhood was spent in Montreal, where he was strongly shaped by the dominant Catholic culture of that time, though his family became Protestant, his father serving as a pastor of their French Baptist Church.[1][2]

Pageau attended the Painting and Drawing program at Concordia University in Montreal.[3] At the school he was trained in Postmodern approaches to art, graduating with distinction.[3][4] On graduating he set up a studio, but became frustrated by the "aloofness about Contemporary Art" he was producing.[1] He broke with contemporary art, eventually throwing away his work from the period.[1][3][4] By his 20s, Pageau had moved to Africa with a Mennonite charity, spending four years in Congo and three years in Kenya.[1]

Artistic career[edit]

Wooden cross with carved stone icons by Jonathan Pageau and Andrew Gould, 2016

Returning from Africa, Pageau chose to study Orthodox Theology and Iconology at the University of Sherbrooke.[4] Iconography re-kindled Pageau's interest in art and, from 2003, he began specialising in carved iconography in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the art form for which he became known.[4][5][6]

Conservative commentator Bradley Anderson has describe Pageau's iconographic work as a response to the "dead ends" of modernism, offering instead art that invites people into community "with reverence and humility."[3] Writer Grayson Quay has described his work as initiating viewers into "the symbolic world" of myth, legend and Scripture.[7]

In addition to creating religious artwork, he teaches seminars in wood carving and iconography.[4] He began publishing online videos on spirituality, art and symbolism from 2017.[8] From this time, Pageau has also begun appearing in podcasts with Canadian writer and psychologist Jordan Peterson; he has also collaborated with the American Catholic Bishop, Robert Barron.[9][10]

Pageau has exhibited his icons in several museums and exhibitions to Orthodox communities in North America.[11][12] He has argued for a return to artistic treatments of Jesus of the early church.[13] Rather than portraits which identified Christ with one ethnic or cultural group, the "goal was to help people encounter Jesus. If an Egyptian visited an Orthodox church in Norway … he would still recognize an icon of Jesus Christ. It would speak to him. There would be unity there."[13]

Views[edit]

Pageau speaking to delegates at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship in 2023

Pageau has become known for his online dialogues with Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist.[14] Hence he has been seen as an advocate for a symbolic approach to the world, as well as to the Holy Scriptures.[15]

His concept of the "Symbolic World" holds that all of reality should be understood as a series of interlocking patterns which embody meaning.[16] He argues that humans are innately religious, noting the practice of kneeling that has come with 21st century social activism.[7] And that a religious view of the world, as embodied in the writings of the Church Fathers such as Saint Maximus the Confessor, is just as complex, structured, and comprehensive as any worldview founded on science.[17]

Pageau believes his role as an artist is to explore “the symbolic patterns that underlie our experience of the world.”[8] A world that, he believes, is intrinsically symbolic, and is best navigated by the use of symbols.[8] Some of his arguments, about the atomisation of society, have left some critics impressed, and others "uneasy" and unpersuaded.[18][19]

Cracks in "cultural cohesion" have been a concern for Pageau.[20] His observation is that Western culture has been returning to paganist patterns of thought, with social practices such as euthanasia, abortion, androgyny, some aspects of homosexuality.[17] He describes state of the contemporary world as being "diabolic" in the literal sense, referring to the etymology of the word, derived from the Greek verb for "division".[16]

Personal life[edit]

Over time art has become integral with Pagueau's own faith, explaining that "being a Christian artist in a Church without icons, in a post-modern world of cynical modern art, did not make much sense after a certain point."[17] He lives in the city of his birth, Montreal, with his wife and three children.[1][21]

Published works[edit]

  • Pageau, Jonathan (2022). God's' Dog: Monster. Montreal: Symbolic World Press. ISBN 978-1738726219.
  • Pageau, Jonathan (2023). The Tale of Snow White and the Widow Queen. Montreal: Symbolic World Press. ISBN 979-8989083107.
  • Pageau, Jonathan (2023). The Symbolism of Snow White. Montreal: Symbolic World Press. ISBN 979-8989083169.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e . Theos Think Tank. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  2. ^ Cotnoir, Phil (2022-08-18). "Christ and Consciousness". The Gospel Coalition | Canada. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  3. ^ a b c d Anderson, Bradley (December 2017). "Portrait of the Artist as Iconographer: Searching for meaning in the postmodern wasteland: American Conservative". American Conservative. 16 (6): 9–10 – via EBSCO.
  4. ^ a b c d e Carr, Kathleen. "Jonathan Pageau". Catholic Art Institute. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  5. ^ Hargreaves, Scott (1 April 2024). "Liberalism to the Barricades, Again". Institute of Public Affairs Review. 76 (1): 34.
  6. ^ Mattingly, Terry (22 November 2018). "On Religion". The Daily Review. p. 6.
  7. ^ a b Quay, Grayson (Spring 2022). "The Perils of Re-Enchantment: Beyond the end of materialism, G.K. Chesterton and Darren Aronofsky see nightmares: Modern Age". Modern Age. 64 (2): 34–40 – via EBSCO.
  8. ^ a b c East, Brad (2024-05-08). "Digital Lectors for a Postliterate Age". ChristianityToday.com. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  9. ^ . Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  10. ^ Barron, Bishop Robert (2021-10-13). "How to live a meaningful life". The Catholic Voice. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  11. ^ "Jonathan Pageau Archives". Comment Magazine. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  12. ^ "'Living Tradition' Symposium in Charleston, SC". OrthoChristian.Com. Retrieved 2024-05-31.
  13. ^ a b . Religion Unplugged. 2020-08-28. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  14. ^ Mattingly, Terry (3 September 2022). "New telescopes, old question: Where is heaven?". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
  15. ^ Brierley, Justin. "I saw Jordan Peterson at the O2 last night. He's asking all the right questions". Premier Christianity. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  16. ^ a b Dreher, Rod (2024-03-02). "Jonathan Pageau: A Prophet Rises From Quebec and YouTube". europeanconservative.com. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  17. ^ a b c Κορνάρου, Μαρία (2023-11-22). "Ἡ Ὀρθοδοξία εἶναι τό τελευταῖο ὀχυρό τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ»". Αντίφωνο (in Greek). Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  18. ^ "Jordan Peterson and the Apocalypse". Crisis Magazine. 2024-04-09. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  19. ^ Marriott, James (7 November 2023). "My long night with Jordan Peterson — and his superfans". The Times.
  20. ^ Mattingly, Terry (9 November 2021). "On Religion: Facing modern chaos, priests need old symbols and truths". Tahlequah Daily Press . p. 3.
  21. ^ Gosselin, By David B. (2024-02-06). "Review: Snow White and the Widow Queen by Jonathan Pageau". thechainedmuse. Retrieved 2024-06-28.

External links[edit]

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