From A Holy Experience:
"I spent some time with an unlikely spokesman for religion and the arts, a Japanese-American by the name of Makoto Fujimura.
"I spent some time with an unlikely spokesman for religion and the arts, a Japanese-American by the name of Makoto Fujimura.
Mako's paintings hang in almost every major museum in Japan and in the U.S., too, his work commands respect and high prices. He was honored with a career retrospective in Tokyo before he turned forty, and as a Presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts, Fujimura served as an international ambassador for the arts.
A thoughtful Christian, Fujimura was also named the 2014 recipient of the Religion and the Arts Award given annually by American Academy of Religion.
One thing about Mako impresses me more than his many accomplishments: In the wider artistic community he lives out his faith with grace and compassion.
On September 11, 2001, Mako was residing a few blocks from Ground Zero in an area popular with artists. After the World Trade Center disaster, with many of these artists shut out of their homes and studios, Mako opened a communal studio to allow them to continue working. He called it his tea house, and dedicated it as "an oasis of collaboration by Ground Zero artists."
No comments:
Post a Comment