Heart and Soul: The new iconographers

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 1 March 2024

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dr Irena Bradley and Kelly Latimore are both iconographers taking the ancient tradition of iconography into the 21st Century. Both interpret their icons very differently. Irena is more traditional in her approach - creating an icon is an act of worship and to bring in the faithful who look at them in the presence of God. However Kelly’s approach maybe considered more modern, painting images that reflect modern day social injustices within biblical settings. Nastaran Tavakoli-Far hears from both of them. What drives them to do what they do and do they see their work as inspired by god? She brings them together to hear how they relate to and interpret one another’s work.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Global Story, with Smart Takes and Fresh Perspective, on one big news story,
0:07.8	every Monday to Friday from the BBC World Service.
0:11.3	Search for The Global Story, wherever you get your BBC podcasts, to find out more.
0:19.6	So we're in the studio, there's a lot of light. There windows all around there's loads of icons and Sam is busy working. It's a winter morning in an art studio in Highwickham in England.
0:36.0	Dr. Irena Bradley is an iconographer and she's about to teach her two young students how to create icons and before they start work they
0:46.6	pray our father who are in heaven hallowed be thy name.
0:53.0	They stand in front of a stunning icon of the Virgin Mary, which is one of Irena's creations.
0:59.1	In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1:03.0	This is the documentary from the BBC World Service. I'm Nasran Tavakolifar and in this episode of Heart and Soul which explores personal stories of faith and spirituality from around the world, I'm speaking to two modern day iconographers,
1:27.3	Dr. Irena Bradley and Kelly Latimore. They use their icons to help people connect with their spirituality and with the divine.
1:37.0	But the way they both do this is very different. I paint icons because it is my spiritual calling and I started painting icons sometime after I was diagnosed with
1:58.1	cancer when I was young and when my children were very small age 2 and 6.
2:09.0	So do you remember how much
2:12.0	Gama Arabic report?
2:13.0	Yeah, like 50 P.
2:15.0	50 P, exactly.
2:18.0	Irena Bradley teaches at the King's Foundation School of Traditional Arts in London.
2:23.6	It's also where she got her PhD,
2:25.6	which was on the icon of St George and the Dragon.
2:29.1	Her works exhibited often and was also shown at Buckingham Palace in 2018 for King Charles's 70th birthday
2:36.4	celebrations. In fact there's a half finished icon in the studio that she's working on
2:42.1	right now which is a coronation gift for him.
	...

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