Jesuit Priest & Artist Father Jonathan Harmon on Art as a 'Work of Service', Defining Sacred Art and Seeking Justice Through Art

Warfare of Art & Law Podcast

Warfare of Art & Law Podcast
Jesuit Priest & Artist Father Jonathan Harmon on Art as a 'Work of Service', Defining Sacred Art and Seeking Justice Through Art
Apr 13, 2025 Season 6 Episode 144
Father Jonathan Harmon

Send us a text

To learn more, please visit Father Harmon's site.

Show notes:

1:15 Harmon’s background and work as priest since 2008

2:10 teaching fine arts and being a pastoral resource at Loyola University

3:00 his work in the arts

8:20 history of art in Jesuit community 

12:00 Daniel Segers, Jesuit Priest and artist 

12:30  Harmon’s process as a painter in light of being a ‘work of service’

16:00 Harmon’s painting from pilgrimage through Spain

17:30 students’ responses

19:15 his attendance at New York Academy of Art  

23:30 Jerry Alonzo: how to communicate through your art

26:45 Pope Benedict XVI’s Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate 

28:20 definition of ‘sacred art’

30:30 seeking social justice through art

32:00 his work in Brownsville, TX connected to his art

33:00 his series of Catholic objects

35:30 his balance of time

37:25 Alan Robertshaw’s comments about all art being sacred

42:10 Tolkien and Flannery O’Connor on religious imagination

44:00 incorporating Catholic objects into his work

46:50 Emily Gould - spiritual impact of artwork/architecture/nature

49:15 Jarnick Vitters - importance of the physical objects to Harmon’s faith

51:00 Alan Robertshaw - subjective importance of objects

53:30 Yelena Khajekian - art as a sacred endeavor

54:40 Nnebundo Obi - interest in hearing about priest’s pursuit of other vocations 

Please share your comments and/or questions at stephanie@warfareofartandlaw.com

Music by Toulme.

To hear more episodes, please visit Warfare of Art and Law podcast's website.

To leave questions or comments about this or other episodes of the podcast and/or for information about joining the 2ND Saturday discussion on art, culture and justice, please message me at stephanie@warfareofartandlaw.com.

Thanks so much for listening!

© Stephanie Drawdy [2025]

Episode Artwork Jesuit Priest & Artist Father Jonathan Harmon on Art as a 'Work of Service', Defining Sacred Art and Seeking Justice Through Art 57:29 Episode Artwork AI & IP Panel Discussion: A Global Perspective 1:30:23 Episode Artwork AI, Copyright and Justice - A Conversation with Copyright Lawyer Anja Neubauer 42:23 Episode Artwork Art/Cultural Heritage/IP Law Attorney & Musician Leila Amineddoleh - a 2ND Saturday Conversation 1:08:35 Episode Artwork Researcher, Writer & Advisor Frances Liddell on the Intersection of Emerging Tech, the Arts & Culture 53:45 Episode Artwork IP and Tech Attorney Ankit Sahni on the RAGHAV AI Painting Tool and "Suryast" Copyright Registration Efforts in India, Canada & the US 1:08:16 Episode Artwork Artist & Attorney Stefania Salles Bruins on "How to Work Your Lawyer-Trained Brain to Strengthen Your Cranial Nerve 2" - A 2ND Saturday Conversation 37:28 Episode Artwork D. Paul Schafer on the need to shift from the Economic Age to the Cultural Age and his new book, The Great Cultural Awakening: Key to an Equitable, Sustainable and Harmonious Age 1:10:16 Episode Artwork Dr. Andres Guadamuz on IP in the AI Age: Exploring Copyright, Authorship, and Future Regulations 1:00:42 Episode Artwork Artist in Exile: Tetiana Cheprasova Shares About Her Work as a Witness of her Time 59:22 Episode Artwork Author & Historian Angie Elita Newell Discusses her book, All I See Is Violence, involving the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn and the 1970s American Indian Movement 49:47 Episode Artwork Deadria Farmer-Paellmann Provides an Update on Restitution Study Group's Work for Slavery Justice, including the Status of the Benin Bronze Suit Against the Smithsonian Institution 36:37 Episode Artwork Fast Familiar Co-Founder Rachel Briscoe on Creating Audience-Centric Theatre to Facilitate Dialogue and Address Social Issues and How Tech Can Serve Humanity in that Process 40:16 Episode Artwork Author & Art Historian Dr Laura Morelli Discusses her Historical Fiction Novel The Last Masterpiece and WWII Looting of Florentine Collections 46:00 Episode Artwork Novelist & Attorney Barbara Hinske Discusses her Rosemont Series, Guiding Emily Series & Hallmark Movie, Discrimination Against the Blind, Art's Ability to Address Social Issues and Much More 1:00:11 Episode Artwork *Bonus* "Manifestation of Freedom" from Elicit Justice: Conversations Off Grid 3:18 Episode Artwork Appellate Attorney M.C. Sungaila on Space Cultural Heritage Preservation and Lessons to be drawn from Holocaust-Era Restitution Cases like Cassirer 47:07 Episode Artwork Attorney Sanjay Sethi Discusses Artistic Freedom Initiative's Work, Oppression of the Arts and Cultural Sectors Globally & the Need for Pluralistic Discourse 55:07 Episode Artwork Dr. Elizabeth White and Dr. Joanna Sliwa discuss their book, The Counterfeit Countess: the Jewish Woman Who Rescued Thousands of Poles During the Holocaust 57:14 Episode Artwork Researcher Chiara Gallo on Influencer Advertising & Art - A 2ND Saturday Conversation 51:10 Episode Artwork Anthropologist and Author Dr. Giovanni Ercolani on Artists in Ukraine Who Are Preserving the Spirit of Maidan 1:06:54 Episode Artwork *Bonus* “Signs” from Elicit Justice: Conversations Off Grid 3:54 Episode Artwork Copyright Advocate & Author David Newhoff on State Sovereign Immunity, IP, AI and Artists' Rights - A 2ND Saturday Conversation 1:07:52 Episode Artwork Dr. Samson Munn on Recovering Art by Jacob Mącznik and other School of Paris Artists, Escaping the Burden of Silence Through Dialogue, Citizenship, Israeli PM Netanyahu, the Fraught Concept of Legacy & Defining Justice 1:25:55 Episode Artwork Fair Use and AI - A 2ND Saturday Exploration 45:09