Art and Faith: A Theology of Making

>Summary: A theological vision for vocation and creativity and the connection between our work and our vision of the eschaton. 

I really love Mako Fujimura's art and his artistic vision. Every time I read one of his books or listen to one of his talks, I dream about buying one of his pieces of art. I am not new to his writing. I have read his book Silence and Beauty twice and his book Culture Care once. I have listened to a huge number of his talks and interviews. If you want an introduction, I think his discussion with Mark Labberton at Fuller Seminary is a good place to start.

Many of the themes of this book are touched on in his other books or in his interviews or talks. I think this is a good place to start if you are new to his work, and then I would encourage you to go back to his book Silence and Beauty as building on some of the themes developed in Art and Faith. The forward by NT Wright is a natural choice. Wright's theological vision, especially the ideas from Surprised by Hope are deeply worked out in Fujimura's vision of what it means to create and live in the world. This quote I think summarizes that thought.

“In my experience, when we surrender all to the greatest Artist, that Artist fills us with the Spirit and makes us even more. creative and aware of the greater reality all about us. By “giving up” our “art,” we are, paradoxically, made into true artists of the Kingdom. This is the paradox Blake was addressing. Unless we become makers in the image of the Maker, we labor in vain. Whether we are plumbers, garbage collectors, taxi drivers, or CEOs, we are called by the Great Artist to co-create. The Artist calls us little-‘a' artists to co-create, to share in the “heavenly breaking in” to the broken earth.”