Shownotes:

Chris is joined by contemporary artist Makoto Fujimura, author of Art + Faith: A Theology of Making. His book explores the role of creativity in the spiritual life, and it draws upon quiet disciplines such as awareness and waiting. The meditative space that Fujimura creates for prayer and praise breaks open new avenues to seek the never-ending depths of God’s beauty and grace. Sophisticated and intellectual, Fujimura’s art has been praised as a vehicle for hope, healing, redemption, and refuge.

Fujimura explains how the power, mystery, and depth of art drive us to ask deeper questions. He introduces his spiritual discipline of “slow art,” speaks to the nuances of tradition, and ponders the ways art can liberate us in our cultural context. Fujimura gives us space to identify where we meet Jesus in both making and consuming. This conversation speaks to the healing gift of art as culture care, rather than a commodity.

Series Info:

Christians spend a lot of time talking about what is true or exploring goodness, but we do not spend as much time exploring beauty, aesthetics, and the arts. In a world full of content curated to our specific taste, we need more time and space to fill our souls with the kind of art that breaks open our curiosity and makes us come alive. Where does God meet us in the beauty of our imagination? How does art and culture shape our desires and longings?

In this series “Art and Culture,” we’ll talk about imagination, memory, culture making, and memoir writing. We will have three guests guide us through the relationship between art, faith, life, story, trauma, healing, place, and nature. We pray that these conversations allow breathing room for deeper introspection, greater awareness of the natural world, and space to explore the depths of the imagination.

Resources:

Follow Makoto Fujimura on the web:

https://makotofujimura.com 

Check out Makoto Fujimura’s book Art and Faith: A Theology of Making here:

https://culturecarecreative.com 

Learn more about Makoto Fujimura’s art here:

https://www.waterfall-gallery.com/makoto-fujimura 

Read Makoto Fujimura’s biography here:

https://imagejournal.org/artist/makoto-fujimura/ 

Follow Mako on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/makotofujimuraart 

www.instagram.com/iamfujimura 

https://twitter.com/iamfujimura