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Jonathan Pageau
Pageau in 2023
Personal details
Born30 June 1975 (age 49)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
SpouseMarti Vrastiak
Children3
ResidenceMontreal
Alma materConcordia University, Université de Sherbrooke
OccupationSculptor
ProfessionArtist, writer, teacher
Websitewww.pageaucarvings.com

Jonathan Pageau (born 30 June 1975[1]) is a French-Canadian icon carver, YouTuber and public speaker on symbolism, religion and the Orthodox faith. He is the editor of the Orthodox Arts Journal, the host of the Symbolic World blog and podcast and founder of Symbolic World Press.

Early life and education

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Pageau's childhood was spent in Montreal, where he was strongly shaped by the dominant Catholic culture of that time.[2] However, his family became Protestant, his father becoming a pastor of the French Baptist Church.[2]

Pageau attended the Painting and Drawing program at Concordia University in Montreal where he trained in Postmodern approaches to art, graduating with distinction.[3][4] After graduating, he set up a studio, but became frustrated by the "aloofness about Contemporary Art" he was producing.[2] He broke with contemporary art, discarding his work from the period.[2][3][4] By his 20s, Pageau had moved to Africa with a Mennonite charity, spending four years in Congo and three years in Kenya.[2]

Artistic career

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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][3] However, it is his Youtube dialogues, most notably with Jordan Peterson where the psychologist appeared to have embraced faith, that have given him most prominence.[10][11][12]

Pageau has exhibited his icons in several museums and exhibitions to Orthodox communities in North America.[13] He has argued for a return to artistic treatments of Jesus of the early church.[14] 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."[14]

Views

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

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] He believes the world 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, and some aspects of homosexuality.[17] He describes the 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] By contrast, Pageau believes the role of all art is to “unite opposites.”[21] Many of these ideas are explored in Orthodox Arts Journal, where he sits on the editorial board and through his publishing house, Symbolic World Press.[22][23]

Pageau's work on universal Biblical patterns has influenced others, including American educator David Mathwin.[24] Mathwin argues children learn best when they are able to explore these patterns in the world around them.[24]

Personal life

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Pagueau lives in the city of his birth, Montreal, with his wife and three children.[2][25] His brother, Matthieu, is a mathematician and computer scientist who writes about symbolic patterns in the book of Genesis.[26]

Published works

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  • 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

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  1. ^ Pageau, Jonathan (11 August 2024). "X-wit". x.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Oldfield, Elizabeth. "Jonathan Pageau on icons, political dehumanisation, and befriending Jordan Peterson". Theos Think Tank. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  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. ^ Oldfield, Elizabeth. "The Sacred: Jonathan Pageau on icons, political dehumanisation, and befriending Jordan Peterson transcript on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  10. ^ Mattingly, Terry (3 September 2022). "New telescopes, old question: Where is heaven?". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
  11. ^ "Is Jordan Peterson about to move from Jung to Jesus?". The Spectator. 2021-03-10. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  12. ^ "Jordan Peterson describes his difficulties with Christianity". www.churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  13. ^ "Jonathan Pageau Archives". Comment Magazine. Retrieved 2024-03-13.
  14. ^ a b "Christian Icons And Art Before The Rise Of The Blue-Eyed Jesus With Blond Hair". Religion Unplugged. 2020-08-28. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  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 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. ^ Bennett, Katherine (2023-09-25). "'As art degenerates around us, so too does unity in the Church'". Catholic Herald. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
  22. ^ "Jordan Peterson and the Apocalypse". Crisis Magazine. 2024-04-09. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  23. ^ Haddad, Tareq (2019-10-30). "Religious Scholar Says 'Kanye Is a Fool, but a Fool We Should Listen To'". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-07-02.
  24. ^ a b Mathwin, David (2024). The Classroom as Cosmos: Teaching as Pattern Application. Kalos Publishing. p. 19. ISBN 979-8-9895991-2-7.
  25. ^ Gosselin, By David B. (2024-02-06). "Review: Snow White and the Widow Queen by Jonathan Pageau". thechainedmuse. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  26. ^ "The Language of Creation: The Definition of Heaven". Archdiocese of Regina. Retrieved 2024-07-01.
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