Refractions 2: Second Wind

Makoto Fujimura
Refractions vol. 2

Second Wind


Dana Gioia, the current chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, recalls his years as a vice president of General Foods. “I would come home too late, and very tired,” he has stated in his interviews, “ but each night, I made myself sit down at my desk and simply copy the last paragraph of the essay I was working on, or the last stanza of a poem. Usually, I get my ‘second wind’.” With this “second wind” he became one of the most prolific, and influential American writers of our time.



I think of this when I, too, find myself exhausted by my “juggling act” of trying to make ends meet, raising a family in this wild city. And yet when I prepare a panel with freshly spread Kumohada paper, getting into the daily ritual of painting, I rediscover the joy of creating, no matter how tired I am. My spirit is renewed in the process. I find myself attuned to the details of life, rather than getting stressed by being overwhelmed. I find myself listening, rather than shouting into the void. This is our “second wind.” Such a state taps into what I now call eternal time-fulness.



Art is about being attuned to nuances and subtleties of life. I start by paying attention to the materials I use. I need to know them in the same way that a writer would know, and love, his or her words.



Minerals I use are like prisms, and they refract, more than just reflect. The color spectrum, and her subtle hues take a while to get used to, to truly see. The layering of these minerals reveals a mystery of reality; of a world full of life and enchantment. It is a world not of competition, but of complementation.


So today I pause, and consider the world around me, from the May irises on Greenwich St near my loft to the homeless (Larry) around the corner from my studio. When we do, and see the mysteries there, I think we, too, like Dana will find our “second wind.”


Yours for the hope of renewal,

Makoto Fujimura
http://www.makotofujimura.com

Refractions 1: Peacemakers

Makoto Fujimura
Refractions Volume 1





Peacemakers

As I spend time working in my studio, as I travel from Washington D.C. , to Japan and back to New York City, I’ve often wanted to have more opportunities to share what has transpired, and inspired me. This is my attempt to do so regularly. Refractions is a way to keep you updated on my journeys in art, faith and travels.

Recently, I have been invited to partake in a very important conversation on faith and life at Yale University lead by Dr. Miraslov Volf. If you are not familiar with Dr. Volf’s writings and work, I encourage you to listen to a recent interview by NPR.
http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2004/03/11_volf/

Dr. Volf, in his book “Exclusion and Embrace” discusses the theological and practical underpinnings of reconciliation beyond strife and division. He is a true peacemaker.

Jesus stated, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9) . The Greek word for “peacemakers” is “eirenepoios,” so it can be interpreted as “peace-poets.” It certainly suggest that peace is some thing to be crafted or made. We need to seek ways to not just be “peace keepers” but “peace makers.”

Art can play a central role in our making of peace. Jim Hall, the legendary guitarist, in receiving the Jazz Masters Award this January, stated: “Jazz is our great peacemaker.” When jazz musicians travel around the world (they are more respected today outside of the US than inside), their music carries a message of collaboration, the freedom of improvisation, of community — really the fruits of democracy.

As I prepare for my next exhibit here in New York, called “The Splendor of a Medium,” I am thinking about (and listening to) jazz, peacemaking, and the hope of renewal in these days of strife. The gallery, Kristen Frederickson Contemporary was birthed after September the 11th, 2001, right near Ground Zero. Our efforts at TriBeCa Temporary http://www.tribecatemporary.com helped to pave the way for her to establish this gallery. Art does not shy away from divisive truths, but rather, as Dr. Volf would have it, gives opportunity for embracing of the “other”. We are, in the very nature of the creative act, exercising the making of peace.


Yours for the hope of renewal,

Makoto Fujimura, New York City
http://www.makotofujimura.com