Art In Action (Part IV): Loving Offensively

July 25, 2008, 1:53 pm » Makoto Fujimura

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 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?

MF: Yes, and no.

Nick is one of the few people who talks about an artist’s responsibility as not the opposite of freedom, but rather that an artist’s freedom is connected to his responsibility in society. To Nick, they’re not disjointed.

This is another example of how Nick was prophetic, suggesting that freedom and responsibility have to overlap. If not, society will be broken by both outside forces (i.e. 9/11) and internal forces (i.e. gang violence).

Are we doing anything internally to address issues of societal injustice? Or are we just reacting to it when it happens? If we are just reacting, this is a violation of Christian love. Justice is not retaliation. It is dealing with internal injustices, and that is a responsibility of artists

The world is drawn to that work which seeks to transform culture. Even under attack, such as terrorism, we need to have language to address these issues – and create things not just because we hate our enemies, but because we love our neighbors. In one way, 9/11 exposed the fact that we don’t have this language.

IAM is not fighting a culture war, because in a culture war, no one wins. So many are driven by fear, and use fear to propagate their organizations and ideologies. If anything, we should LOVE offensively.

Comments

Sun, 07/27/2008 - 01:28 — bluediamond

What a profound thought.

"....because in a culture war, no one wins. So many are driven by fear, and use fear to propagate their organizations and ideologies. If anything, we should LOVE offensively."

Churchianity has a tendency to use fear a lot.

The verse, Micah 6:8 (The Message) responds to the ignorance of Israel.

But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—
take God seriously.

Kudos to the Give a Damn project in trying to address the issue of poverty in this world without using guilt or fear as a motivator. How effective could it be to engage Artists in Action in a similar concept by portraying poverty through a different lens than what we typically see.

Thank you for introducing the concept of art as a work that seeks to transform culture. I have not given much thought to art in this context before.