Book Review: Art and Faith
Art and Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura (Yale University Press, 2021)
Three of Makoto Fujimura’s books—Culture Care, Silence and Beauty, and now Art and Faith—have been of great help to me in my spiritual journey. A distinguished Japanese-American artist and founder of the International Arts Movement, Fujimura has a way of discussing the topics listed in the title of his latest book that feel fresh, almost radical. I was struck, while reading Culture Care, by his call to Christians to step away from the culture wars and think of culture in a whole different light: as something we are to steward lovingly and wisely, as we might tend a garden.
In Art and Faith, Fujimura carries these ideas further. He argues, like Dorothy L. Sayers before him (though he refers to her only once), that those of us made in God’s image were made to be makers, just as God Himself is. I’ve always been intrigued by this idea of Sayers’s, but to be honest, I always wished she had explained it a little more fully. For instance, what of those among us who aren’t artists or craftsmen, or who are gifted creators but have little or no opportunity to use their gifts? How can they said to be fulfilling this image of God in themselves? And how can we really know that being made in God’s image means to be makers ourselves? Couldn’t it perhaps just mean that we are to be loving and kind like God?
The great value of Fujimura’s book to me is that it tackles these tough questions and offers convincing explanations. Moreover, he explicitly connects the idea of being a maker with the idea of showing lovingkindness to the world around us. All of us, he believes, can be makers, even if we aren’t artists. By letting God’s truths enrich our imagination, by seeing His beauty in the world He gave us, by loving people and things, by exercising our creativity—in whatever task is at hand, whether writing a symphony or making an omelette or rebuilding after a disaster—we are makers who reflect the image of God.
I still feel there’s more to learn about this idea, and I still have a few questions that Fujimura didn’t really get into, but I love the expansiveness of his vision. He calls Christians to be people who live generously, who “waste time” creating lovely things and giving of themselves to others. He describes art as “useless” in the best possible way.
One example that came to mind for me was the films of Gene Kelly. Now, some of you know that classic movie Twitter is one of my favorite places to be, but it has its annoying moments like every other place. I often get seriously annoyed when one of Gene Kelly’s big elaborate film ballets is airing on TCM, and the carping starts from a few ever-reliable critics: The ballet is useless, it’s wasteful, it has nothing to do with anything, it’s pretentious, it’s egocentric. The thought never seems to occur that Kelly was a dancer and choreographer who loved to create, and as such, he was simply making beautiful dances to bring enjoyment and inspiration to people. I don’t know if Fujimura likes movie musicals, but I think his words perfectly capture these moments of beauty: they’re “useless,” utterly non-pragmatic, and with it all they’re transcendent.
Another recent example: If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that my mom decided to leave the Christmas tree up this year. No one in the family liked the idea of taking it down, so it was stripped of ornaments and left to stand in the corner of the family room. For Easter, we decorated it with eggs and bunnies and bows. Mom took those down after the holiday, and was left pondering what to do with the tree. She considered just leaving it bare for a while. But the next time I saw the tree, it was garlanded with branches of small white silk flowers, a cat ornament, a porcelain bird in a nest—anything pretty she could find around the house. This artificial tree in a corner perpetually calls forth her care and her creativity—the part of her that was made to be a maker, and thus to reflect God’s beauty.
Art and Faith is a book that helped me connect such beautiful, imaginative, inspirational moments with my belief in God, and inspires me to look for ways to create more of them as acts of worship and of generosity.
Cover image copyright Yale University Press.
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Back in pre-pandemic times, I used to review theater and opera now and then for DC Metro Theater Arts. Last weekend I had a chance to review for them a production of the play Dear Elizabeth, streamed online by Vienna Theatre Company. It was nice to be reviewing a play again, even from afar! Here’s my review if you’d care to read it.
I loved this book when I read it and I've been pondering it ever since. The call to stop thinking in terms of culture war and instead focus of making beauty and repairing the broken world speaks deeply to my heart as a poet, a critic, a mother. I love your examples of Gene Kelly's dancing and your mother's tree of useless art that is life-enriching and reflective of God's beauty.
I love this essay. I’ve heard of Art and Faith—I know I write the title down while reading another faith-based book but I can’t remember which one! I will explore all three of these. Have you read Create Anyway by Ashlee Gadd? Maybe that’s where I saw the reference. I love thinking that we’re cocreators and making things is part of our calling.