Makoto Fujimura

Book Thoughts: Refractions by Makoto Fujimura

June 3, 2009 By heather 2 Comments

Refractions: A Journey of Faith, Art, and Culture collects essays written by Makoto Fujimura to artists from 2004 to 2006. Living in post-9/11 New York City, Fujimura challenges artists: How does your art recognize the brokenness around you? How does your art offer hope and redemption in the midst of it?

I began this book months ago. The essays demand to be read contemplatively, even devotionally. I savored it morsel by morsel, letting each piece roll on my tongue, slide down my throat. As I digested it, it became part of me and part of my art.

Makoto leads artists toward art that recovers dignity and beauty without becoming sentimental or ignoring the hurt and brokeness of the world. In fact, the path toward beauty moves through brokenness.

He encourages artists to take the long view of their art in a time when fifteen minutes of fame, instant recognition, and "[peddling] our goods to find significance and survival" rule the art world. "Artists who labor to develop their craft, artists who are committed to a longer view of their art, suffer" (p. 142). But our art isn’t for fame, recognition or even significance. It’s to glorify God and offer a sacrament to this world. It is to bring God’s power of resurrection to the dead.

To do this, artists need the Church to invest in them spiritually and artistically. They need the Church to walk alongside them, to hold them up, even, to support them (emotionally, spiritually, and financially). Fujimura calls for an expanded role for the Church–not just appreciating the arts and using them in their worship (although these things are good), but to train artists and encourage them.

Fujimura’s writing awakens hope for the discouraged artist. And who among us is not or has not been discouraged? I read this at a time where I realized I had a choice: to take the easier (although not easy) and marketable road of art or to take the longer, sufferable road.

I choose the longer road.

Psst—If you find this post interesting and think others might as well, would you mind taking a minute to stumble it? It would mean a lot to me.

Filed Under: art, artists, books, Makoto Fujimura, Refractions

September's Glimpses (and other zine related events)

August 30, 2008 By heather 4 Comments

Here we are, approaching the beginning of a new month.

(Some of us are still in mourning from the end of the Olympics.)

But we all know what the beginning of a new month means.

Glimpses!

This month, I have an interview with, story of, and art by Makoto Fujimura. I also have a blurb on worshipping creatively in your Church. You can sign up on the sidebar.

Also, ready for the big announcement?

(No, Mom, I’m not pregnant.)

I’m moving from a Religion/Philosophy channel editor at Blog Nosh to a Fiction/Poetry editor. So here’s what I’m looking for (in this order):

1. Posts with short fiction or poetry

2. Posts about the craft of creative writing

When you email me your blog posts for consideration, remember:

1. The posts need to have fallen off your first page.

2. Send me your blog URL, the post URL, and your RSS feed URL.

Email them to me!

Filed Under: art, Blog Nosh, church, ecclesiology, fiction, Glimpses, Makoto Fujimura, worship, worshipping creatively

Around the Blog–Misfit Artists, Storytelling, and Dancing

July 3, 2008 By heather 2 Comments

(1) You remember my misfit post, yes? And though I’m a part of a church that embraces me (and which I embrace), and though I have many friends, both "real" and cyberly, there’s still a part of me that’s misfitian. So how could I not rejoice in this series?

I find a kindred spirit in these misfit artists (though my work is not the quality of theirs!). They were rejected, their work declared ugly (as I write that, I realize that it sounds a little like Christ). Here’s one of my favorite lines from the post:

No simple or singular definition of their art, or their lives, would suffice: they were surprisingly varied in their personalities, political persuasions, and aesthetic dispositions, but found a common ground in their ambitions and in their brokenness.

Fujimura goes on to talk about the spiritual influences of the artists, the artists’ influence on spirituality, and what we can learn from them.

He says,

For me, even to reflect on the work of a contemporary artist is to wrestle deeply with questions of faith. For me, the role of an artist and a follower of Christ in contemporary culture is to transgress in love, learning from Jesus.

He mentions John Cage, one of the composers I studied in college (and performed some of his works). I always considered him almost more of a philosopher than musician, but I think I was wrong. I see now that you can’t separate the two in an artist–art is philosophy and philosophy is art.

Great article. You must hope on over to see it.

Other related links:

Impressions at a Museum

Someone’s in the Kitchen with Dinah

Movies and Theology–Pollock

On Aesthetics

Aboard the Black Pearl

(2) There’s a conference in Hollywood in the fall on Storytelling in the 21st Century. Let me tell you, if I didn’t already have so much going on in the fall, I’d be hopping on a plane for that one. It’s hosted by Act One. They’re asking some great questions. Since I can’t go, perhaps it’ll be interesting to bat around some of the questions here. Go to the link and come back and tell me which questions are most interesting to you. My readers are smart people, and I’d like to discuss these things with you.

(3) I saw this video at Diary of an Arts Pastor, so I know many of you have seen it. It’s a picture of the gospel. It reminded me of Philippians 2, of every knee and every tongue glorifying Jesus. It’s fun and beautiful and good. David Taylor said he almost cried at the end, and I thought (before watching it), how silly. Cry at a man dancing?

Then I watched it.

And I cried.

All I can say is, like Deborah Kerr in An Affair to Remember, beauty makes me cry.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.