How is art an inroad to our experience of God? How does making things give us a more tangible knowledge of the love of God and the joy of being a human in God’s image? What role do imagination and creativity have in a full-orbed theology? Our guest has some profound thoughts on these things. We are deeply honored to have renowned artist Makoto Fujimura on this episode of the Reintegrate Podcast.
Mako Fujimura is a leading contemporary artist in what is called the “slow art” movement. As a Japanese-American, he studied art at Bucknell University and then studied traditional Japanese painting in the doctorate program at the Tokyo University of the Arts. His art is a fusion of fine art and abstract expressionism utilizing the techniques of ancient traditional Japanese art. His art has been featured widely in galleries and museums around the world including collections in The Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, The Huntington Library, and the Tikotin Museum in Israel.
His latest book is Art and Faith: A Theology of Making (Yale University Press, with a foreword by N.T. Wright, 2021).