Following is Part Five of Christy Tennant’s recent interview with Makoto Fujimura about the theme of the next IAM Encounter: CT: You mentioned that merely reacting to things that happen in our society is a violation of Christian love. Can you elaborate on that a bit? What are some of the reactions you are referring to?
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Following is Part Four of Christy Tennant’s recent interview with Makoto Fujimura about the theme of the next IAM Encounter: CT: If art is supposed to be a means of repairing and rehumanizing the culture around us, what is the artist’s responsibility to that end? Does Nicholas Wolterstoff place the responsibility on artists themselves?
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IAM’s next Encounter will take place February 26-28, 2009,in lower Manhattan, and the theme of the Encounter will be “Art inAction.” When asked about the genesis of the next Encounter’s theme, Makoto Fujimura points to the 1982 bookby Nicholas Wolterstorff of the same title. “Art in Action” has remained a staple on the bookshelf ofartists and creative catalysts throughout the world who seek to dig deeper into the meaning and purpose for art. Following is Part Three of Christy Tennant’s recent interview with Makoto Fujimura about the theme of the next IAM Encounter: CT: You mentioned that Art in Action is a philosophical approach to the arts, especially for artists who are Christians. What is one ofthe philosophical insights you gleaned from Art in Action? MF: I am deeply concerned with the issue ofjustice, and this book partly addresses the fact that Art and Beauty flow fromconcern for justice and the brokenness and how unjust the world is. Art is a medium for mediating that conversation. We don’t usually think of art that way. Often, art is divorced from society – Art egotistical, and Society is common. But for Nick, art is based on this idea of justice within society. For him, art is a means for rehumanizing the world. Nick doesn’t talk about “excellence” the way we so often do. Instead, he talks about art’s “fittingness.” One of his criteria for beauty is Does this expression properly fit this broken reality? Something beautiful and lofty might not be good if it doesn’t fit. Should we have an absolute standard of excellence for beauty that does not take into account the circumstances of the broken world? How does that fit? The Greek philosophers tried to define happiness and goodness by sets of ideals determined by your status and the accomplishments you work toward. Their conclusions were that beauty and happiness could be achieved if all of the circumstances were in place to make one happy and beautiful. But Augustine of Hippo was one of the first Christian philosophers to say no, it’s not like that, because God doesn’t work that way. God wants us to be aware of brokenness, as a precondition of “loving our neighbor.” It is only possible to have godly happiness if you are aware of sorrow and brokenness. The Christian definition of love requires an identifying with suffering, rather than divorcing yourself from suffering. So art divorced from love is like the Greeks ignoring the plights of the broken and obtaining a form of happiness that is removed from cruelty. Plato would have an absolute standard but on a practical level didn’t want to be connected to reality, while Augustine connected reality and brokenness. Love is the object – this is what Christ has shown to be immovable. Nick’s new book on Justice (Justice: Rights and Wrongs, published 2007) is much clearer about this article and deals with it in more depth. For the artist, Artin Action speaks on many levels, and poses both Christians and non-Christians with conceptual issues and questions that people would not normally ask in art school. It gives post-modernist philosophers language to not just divide, but connect. If we believe in a standard of love, everything changes.
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IAM’s next Encounter will take place February 26-28, 2009, in lower Manhattan, and the theme of the Encounter will be “Art in Action.” When asked about the genesis of the next Encounter’s theme, Makoto Fujimura points to the 1982 book by Nicholas Wolterstorff of the same title. “Art in Action” has remained a staple on the bookshelf of artists and creative catalysts throughout the world who seek to dig deeper into the meaning and purpose for art.
Following is Part Two of Christy Tennant’s recent interview with Makoto Fujimura about the theme of the next IAM Encounter (February 26-28,2009): CT: I heard you say once that Art in Action was very prophetic. How so? MF: Art in Action first came out about thirty-six years ago. Nick (the author) was pointing out the problem of art being disconnected from society, where there is almost a movement away from wanting to communicate to the audience. He hit on something that we are seeing realized today – where the arts are on the fringe and not really impacting the whole of society. So in that regard, it was very insightful and prophetic.
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Fujimura Studio announces:
Charis Exhibit to open at Dillon Gallery in New York (555.W.25th Street, between 10th and 11th Ave.) July 2nd (opening from 6-8:30pm) to August 2nd (closed on Mondays). Charis exhibit is comprised of three large gold paintings that Makoto Fujimura has completed in the last decade in New York. Here's a note Makoto wrote about the exhibit.
I began to use gold, in the leaf form as well as in the powder form,
very early on in my studies of Nihonga (literally "Japan-painting"). I was
taught as a student that I must use the best materials in order to
truly get to know the ancient craft. So, despite the cost involved, my
MFA thesis painting used the best gold and minerals that I could
purchase. I wrote in River Grace
about the experience of encountering the extravagance of beauty leading
to a profound wrestling of faith and art. The three major pieces that
I've done in the last ten years in New York reveal the consistency (or
stubbornness) of my insistence on continuing to use these materials,
but with diverse results.
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Recently my wife, Judy, and I attended a wedding officiated by Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City. His wedding message was, as usual, succinct and powerfully resonant. Tim began with Kierkegaard, who stated that at the end of history, we will have to take our masks off, as in the midnight hour of the masquerade, and reveal who we really are. "Marriage," Tim reminded us, "is a radical endeavor. It is radically discomforting and radically comforting at the same time. And the Christian gospel is the only paradigm that can bring these opposites together."
Unlike the Kierkegaard metaphor, Tim continued, a marriage forces us to take our masks off; we are completely vulnerable. Marriage, therefore, can give us strength and confidence to move into the world, or it can devastate us from within.
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CT: Let’s talk about the language itself. One of my favorite words in the third language is “rehumanize.” I find it really insightful that the word “dehumanize” is recognized by SpellCheck, but rehumanize is not. When I type “rehumanize” into Dictionary.com, I am told, “No results found for ‘rehumanize.’” So clearly, this concept is not common. How would you define “rehumanize?” MF: “Re-humanize,” which I took from Jane Eyre, is, to me, rooted in the biblical theology of shalom found in Isaiah 61, which is also what Jesus quoted when began his public ministry. This passage is God’s re-humanizing vision for the world. It’s also in Romans 8. Creation itself is waiting for the re-humanization of humanity. God has frustrated creation so that it won’t be satisfied until humanity has been restored. I love the way Hans Rookmaaker put it – “Christ did not come to make us Christians; He came to make us fully human.”
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CT: Tim Keller’s latest book, Reason For God, deals with addressing hard questions that all people grapple with. For example, he delves into the theology of suffering, and all the hard questions that arise simply because “good people” suffer tremendous evil, while “evil people” seem to get off scot free. How does the issue of suffering inform your art? MF: Tim’s book is apologetical – it’s a resource aimed at defending our faith. But he’s been doing this since the ‘90’s – this book is not just because of “new atheism;” it’s not a response, as much as it is an addressing of genuine questions bubbling in culture for a long time.
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Christy Tennant serves as Director of Development and Public Relations for the International Arts Movement. She interviewed Mako about his thoughts on "The Third Language." First, some comments from Christy.
One of the things I love about working for International Arts Movement is that I get face time with our founder, Makoto Fujimura, regularly. What a treat it is for me to sit with this inspiring individual, discussing deep issues, wrestling with the things that are difficult to get my mind around, and gleaning insights about beauty and the gospel. In many ways, and I know I’m not the first to say this, Mako is teaching me “how to see” – art, the Bible, Jesus, and the world around me. |
| After 20 years as a successful artist in Japan and the U.S., Fujimura has become a voice of bi-cultural authority on the nature and cultural assessment of beauty, by both creating it and exploring its forms. | |
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