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 wrote an article for PRISM magazine and this blog  here is my ensuing thoughts. To see the article in full, click here.

 

 

Hip Hop is one of the greatest cultural movements in the last 20 years. It has seeped into almost ever facet of life here in the U.S. And as I have traveled around the world, I find that Hip Hop is a voice for many who do not have one. In Paris, the only different between the youth there and here in the U.S. was the language: they spoke French. Other than language differences, there were amazing similarities in style, dress, personality, and social issues. Hip Hop is global, and for those of you who still think it is a “Black Thing” shame on you! It is much bigger than just a “Black Thing.” The media would have you believe it’s that, but in reality, Hip Hop is diverse in philosophy, pedagogy, theology, and spirituality; not to mention extremely diverse in ethnicity and culture.

What Hip Hop has done is create a voice for many who would otherwise not have one. But, what about the mess we hear on the radio? How does Soulja Boy’s song “Crank it Up” even begin to convey a “voice” for many? Moreover, how does rapping about one more SUV or girl you’ve had sexually uplift a community? Well, I tell you, these are all great questions, but we must begin with what Hip Hop really is and therefore, what is its missiological significance to really understand what makes a song like Ludacris’ “Pimpin All Over the World” such a hit.

 

Let’s first begin with a working definition of Hip Hop:

 

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I saw "The Visitor" last night in one of my favorite Seattle theaters. Well crafted and understated, the film climaxed at the very end with the screen going dark and when it did, n obody moved. The space within the walls was enveloped in complete silence as we collective paused to allow the weight of what we'd just seen settle in. Only slowly, when the credit music began, did people rise from their seats and leave. If you'd like to see a film that will touch both your heart and your mind, "The Visitor" will take you there.

The simple plot appears like a prism; held up against the light of our own experiences, it invites us to consider themes of aging, grief, intergenerational relationships, hospitality, racism, pluralism, overwork, and some of the forces that create that good disease I call "good Samaritanism".

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So I am a regular reader and blogger at Beliefnet.com. It is one of the largest gatherings of people across the religious spectrum (more eclectic and inclusive than our community at Conversantlife).   Steven Waldman and staff are to be congratulated (hopefully) on their recent sale to Fox. Beliefnet built a brand by offering substantive and entertaining takes on a variety of spiritual subjects, with especially strong insights on entertainment and politics. But Beliefnet also brings a certain gravitas to the proceedings, definitely not made for or by Generation Y. Given their authority amongst those who take religion seriously, I suppose it was only a matter of time before they became a satirical target. (Is that still a form of flattery?)

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More e.e. cummings; this one ranks up there with the Mad Farmer Liberation Front for encouraging me to keep on being curious and open to change.

may my heart always be open to little
birds who are the secrets of living
whatever they sing is better than to know
and if men should not hear them men are old

may my mind stroll about hungry
and fearless and thirsty and supple
and even if it's sunday may i be wrong
for whenever men are right they are not young

and may myself do nothing usefully
and love yourself so more than truly
there's never been quite such a fool who could fail
pulling all the sky over him with one smile

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I’ve got a review of Wall*E in the pipeline, but for now, here’s the remainder of my all-time top twenty, which seems to reveal a liking for gloomy thrillers. Strange, I don’t feel gloomy…

Knife in the Water—A master of sophisticated unease, Roman Polanski specializes in macabre, moody thrillers (often with an occult theme) of a peculiarly personal strain. A thorough understanding of his idiosyncratic filmography begins with this stripped-down drama. Set almost exclusively aboard a tiny yacht and featuring a cast of three characters (a husband, his wife, and a hitchhiker they pick up), it’s a meticulous study in triangular tension, and perhaps Polanski’s finest, subtlest work.

Le Boucher—Claude Chabrol has often been called the French Hitchcock, but that title doesn’t really do justice to this neglected member of France’s New Wave. Chabrol’s thrillers are more relationship-oriented, and less emphatic in their suspense devices. This might be his most perfectly realized film, a deceptively serene chiller about a schoolteacher and the lonely town butcher, who may be a murderer. It builds to a climax that invites and repays close scrutiny.

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My friend, Martin Hynes, has a smart, sexy and spiritual film opening in select theaters this weekend. I caught the captivating premiere of THE GO-GETTER at the Sundance Film Festival. It is equal parts road trip and romantic comedy with echoes of Garden State. Following his triumphant turn in Thumbsucker, Lou Taylor Pucci stars as Mercer, a young man dislocated by the death of his mother. Mercer hits the road to inform his wayward brother, Arlen. Mercer has only one thing holding him back—a lack of transportation. He “borrows” a car that contains the owner’s cell phone. Mercer begins a soulful conversation with Kate that guides his misadventures. As Kate, Zooey Deschanel portrays a genuinely original muse.

In 1991, Makoto Fujimura began a small gathering of artists and creative catalysts interested in wrestling with the many questions of art, faith and humanity. This group became known as International Arts Movement (IAM), and today, IAM is constantly breaking ground as a non-profit arts organization that stands not cleanly within religious or secular arena, but rather in a third arena that intersects the two. Because of its strong emphasis on matters of faith, especially the mission of seeking to rehumanize modern culture through the arts, the IAM community attracts many men and women of faith, eager to incorporate their beliefs into their creativity. Likewise, because of it’s strong emphasis on artistic excellence and generative creativity, many artists with no particular faith commitments seek to join the discussions that take place at IAM’s gatherings.

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A couple of us from ConversantLife.com attended Book Expo America (BEA) in Los Angeles last week. It's a massive event, with more than 2,000 exhibitors, 1,000 authors, and 25,000 people attending. It was hard to tell if any business was being conducted, but lots of people were milling around. Truth is, the publishing world is in a great deal of turmoil right now. Sales are flat, if not in decline, due to a number of factors: a decrease in reading among younger people, a move from print to digital content, a flat economy, and a dearth of blockbuster titles, such as Harry Potter.

Of these, the factor with the most serious long-term consequence is arguably the move from print to digital content. For every person who says, "I'll never read a book online," there are many more people who are accessing increasing amounts of digital content, whether it's news, commentary, or entertainment. It may be too early to declare the book to be an outmoded form of conveying content, but it's not to soon to recognize that most of us are getting our content from a wide variety of sources, with books being just one.

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Making my rounds…

Iron Man, another superhero franchise kick-off from the Marvel stable, has the privilege of being the first in line at the summer box office. It sets the bar high. Helmed by Jon Favreau and starring a buffed-up Robert Downey, Jr., the film is strong where most other blockbusterly films are weak: in its pacing, wit, and character development. The storyline and moral questioning are comic-book simple, yet the film craftily manages to critique America’s penchant for slaughter without succumbing to liberal piety. Good fun.

David Mamet’s Redbelt functions as a rebuke to the traditional Hollywood martial arts picture, taking the well-trod theme of the moral hero tested by corrupt influences and finding fresh meaning in it. The film is full of the pleasures of Mamet—his rhythmic, precise dialogue, honed to near-perfection and spoken confidently by a well-appointed cast; his patient, temperate, invisibly intelligent direction which rarely (if ever) calls attention to itself; his ability to take clichés and make them seem as new.