Refractions

A Journey of Faith, Art, and Culture

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$Refractions by Makoto Fujimura$

Explore how the arts and faith live together and how you can bring healing to a hurting world through your own creation.

Description: A collection of essays, thoughts, and prayers from award-winning artist Makoto Fujimura, Refractions brings people of all backgrounds together in conversation and meditation on culture, art, and humanity.

Wanted to be impressed

I wanted to like this book—I really did. The book’s subtitle indicates a promising combination of faith, art, and culture. Though this series of blog postings indeed focuses on the intersection of all three, it simply bored me. The writing exudes grace and the visual artwork intrigues, but felt largely bland. I was expecting the author to be sort of like Henri Nouwen (if he had been a Japanese-American visual artist), or this work to be a more contemporary version of Madeline L’Engle’s Walking on Water, and I suppose that is why I am disappointed. Peace-making and community-building are recurring themes in Fujimura’s writing, and I think they should be more emphasized in the subtitle so that someone interested in these subjects would be more likely to pick up this book. I do not consider myself a visual artist, and so perhaps I missed a lot of the richness of this text because of my ignorance. The book is beautifully presented, and I suspect there’s more substance than I was able to appreciate. Anyone who wants to join Fujimura in working as a quiet activist for peace, hope and beauty through the arts will likely be inspired by his writing. However, as an educated layperson inclined to be interested, I was unmoved.
Posted by Michelle Young on 6/14/2009 9:18:53 PM

Refracting hope

Refractions: A Journey of Faith, Art, and Culture collects essays written by Makoto Fujimura to artists from 2004 to 2006. Living in post-9/11 New York City, Fujimura challenges artists: How does your art recognize the brokenness around you? How does your art offer hope and redemption in the midst of it? I began this book months ago. The essays demand to be read contemplatively, even devotionally. I savored it morsel by morsel, letting each piece roll on my tongue, slide down my throat. As I digested it, it became part of me and part of my art. Makoto leads artists toward art that recovers dignity and beauty without becoming sentimental or ignoring the hurt and brokeness of the world. In fact, the path toward beauty moves through brokenness. He encourages artists to take the long view of their art in a time when fifteen minutes of fame, instant recognition, and "[peddling] our goods to find significance and survival" rule the art world. "Artists who labor to develop their craft, artists who are committed to a longer view of their art, suffer" (p. 142). But our art isn't for fame, recognition or even significance. It's to glorify God and offer a sacrament to this world. It is to bring God's power of resurrection to the dead. To do this, artists need the Church to invest in them spiritually and artistically. They need the Church to walk alongside them, to hold them up, even, to support them (emotionally, spiritually, and financially). Fujimura calls for an expanded role for the Church--not just appreciating the arts and using them in their worship (although these things are good), but to train artists and encourage them. Fujimura's writing awakens hope for the discouraged artist. And who among us is not or has not been discouraged? I read this at a time where I realized I had a choice: to take the easier (although not easy) and marketable road of art or to take the longer, sufferable road. I chose the longer road.
Posted by Heather A. Goodman on 6/3/2009 9:42:05 AM

Refractions, by Makoto Fujimura

This contemplative book is written from the introspective viewpoint of an artist, Makoto Fujimura, as a man who survived 911 and lives only a few blocks from Ground Zero in New York City. His heartfelt desire is to encourage artists to "wrestle with the deep questions of art, faith, and humanity in order to inspire the creative community to engage the culture that is and create the world that ought to be." Mr. Fujimura shows some of his accomplishments as an artist, using essay to demonstrate his skills and thinking in the creative process of developing artwork. In Refractions, Mr. Fujimura addresses such topics as: *911 *the National Council on the Arts *teens with regressive behaviors *tensions between the "old" and the "new" culture in China *the collision of art and democracy *sharing the true meaning of Christmas through art *dance - the gift of physical grace *the purpose of art *and more. While this book was more of an ethereal series of essays, thoughts, and prayers than I am used to reading, it made me think...a lot. I realize that my view of life is far different, maybe not theologically, but in my awareness of all that is around me. This was an interesting book that I prefered to read in bits and pieces, one chapter at a time. Whether you are an artist or not, I think you will enjoy this deeper philosophical book.
Posted by Julieanne on 5/16/2009 1:53:24 AM

Talk of art and more

Because I do crafts which involve creativity, I suspected that I could take away some helpful insight from Makoto Fujimura’s book since he is an artist and someone who understands the creative process. He certainly does know art, but he offers much more. I enjoy learning new information as well, so it was pleasing to come away with more knowledge than I had before. A good deal of wisdom about faith and art can be found among the collection of essays which make up this book. The author writes as beautifully as is his artwork, which makes it a bit intimidating for an average reader like me to dare comment about his writing! Take my word for it, readers will feel that they have become more cultured by exposing themselves to his thoughts presented in such an ethereal writing style. Mr. Fujimura lives with his family in the Ground Zero area of New York City and most of the essays shared were written between 2001 through 2006. As one can imagine, the events of September 11, 2001 had a life-changing impact on him and it is apparent that he has reflected on that day often. No doubt that there will be a few essays that readers will find especially moving to them, as I did. One note of advice I would like to give is that if a reader is unfamiliar with the definition of the word “refraction,” then look up its meaning. It is a word that the author uses about once per essay, so it bodes well to know what it means in order to understand its context as the book is read. See, even before readers open the book there is potential to learn something from the title alone!
Posted by Tracy on 5/14/2009 1:37:49 PM

Refractions

Mako, as Tim Keller lovingly refers to him, had been in and around my family of faith in NYC, yet I've never met him. Through this book, a series of essays, I feel as if we've now met. And I feel as if it's been long overdue. Though I am not an artist, my soul slowly dies without beauty of all sorts. And though I hate to admit this, paintings are one of the least refreshing to my soul, I think because I understand their messages the least. But through Fujimura's book, I now feel as if I have a much deeper understanding of artists and what their paintings are saying. Although Fujimura must have a different perspective than most artists due to his faith, it is a perspective I prefer. I was literally brought to tears reading some of his essays. I was reminded, and will continue to remember when I see his paintings, to look upward. I now clearly see how Fujimura's paintings are prayers to God--prayers of gratitude, grief, and hope. This book will be affirming to artists, challenging to those who think God is not glorified in the pursuit of the arts, and enlightening to those of us who connect to God through the arts.
Posted by Laura on 5/7/2009 8:54:53 PM

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Refractions

A Journey of Faith, Art, and Culture

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