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Art Is: A Journey into the Light
From a widely celebrated artist, this dazzling book takes listeners on a profound journey into the heart of creativity
When Makoto Fujimura painted as a child, he felt a mysterious electrical charge pass through him. Over decades of art making, writing, and reflecting in his studio, he has come to understand this charge as his Creator—a source he connects with most profoundly when making art. To be human is to be creative, Fujimura believes, and art making is a discipline of awareness, prayer, and praise by which we journey back to our original light.
In this book, Fujimura takes listeners along on his meandering journey as an artist. We witness him making his “process-driven slow art”—using pulverized minerals, gold, or pigments made from oyster shell—as he considers the plants and wildlife on the land where he lives. He draws on Japanese aesthetics, modernist art, Christian theology, sado (art of tea), literature, ecology, and personal narrative, with inspiration ranging from William Blake’s poetry to the art of Mark Rothko and Josef Albers, and from the wisdom of Scripture and Japanese tea master Sen no Rikyū to the traditional Japanese painting technique called Nihonga.
Bringing together the author’s written reflections and his paintings, drawings, and photographs, Art Is invites us to see the world in prismatic and diverse lights, helping us navigate the fractured, divisive times we live in.
When Makoto Fujimura painted as a child, he felt a mysterious electrical charge pass through him. Over decades of art making, writing, and reflecting in his studio, he has come to understand this charge as his Creator—a source he connects with most profoundly when making art. To be human is to be creative, Fujimura believes, and art making is a discipline of awareness, prayer, and praise by which we journey back to our original light.
In this book, Fujimura takes listeners along on his meandering journey as an artist. We witness him making his “process-driven slow art”—using pulverized minerals, gold, or pigments made from oyster shell—as he considers the plants and wildlife on the land where he lives. He draws on Japanese aesthetics, modernist art, Christian theology, sado (art of tea), literature, ecology, and personal narrative, with inspiration ranging from William Blake’s poetry to the art of Mark Rothko and Josef Albers, and from the wisdom of Scripture and Japanese tea master Sen no Rikyū to the traditional Japanese painting technique called Nihonga.
Bringing together the author’s written reflections and his paintings, drawings, and photographs, Art Is invites us to see the world in prismatic and diverse lights, helping us navigate the fractured, divisive times we live in.
232 pages, Hardcover
Published October 21, 2025
19 people are currently reading
204 people want to read
About the author
Makoto Fujimura
48 books333 followersMakoto Fujimura, recently appointed Director of Fuller's Brehm Center, is an artist, writer, and speaker who is recognized worldwide as a cultural shaper. A Presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts from 2003-2009, Fujimura served as an international advocate for the arts, speaking with decision makers and advising governmental policies on the arts. In 2014, the American Academy of Religion, named Makoto Fujimura as its ’2014 Religion and the Arts’ award recipient. This award is presented annually to an artist, performer, critic, curator, or scholar who has made a significant contribution to the understanding of the relations among the arts and the religions, both for the academy and for a broader public. Previous recipients of the award include Meredith Monk, Holland Carter, Gary Snyder, Betye & Alison Saar and Bill Viola.
Fujimura’s work is represented by Artrue International and has been exhibited at galleries around the world, including Dillon Gallery in New York, Sato Museum in Tokyo, The Contemporary Museum of Tokyo, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts Museum, Bentley Gallery in Arizona, Gallery Exit and Oxford House at Taikoo Place in Hong Kong, and Vienna’s Belvedere Museum. He is one of the first artists to paint live on stage at New York City’s legendary Carnegie Hall as part of an ongoing collaboration with composer and percussionist Susie Ibarra.
A popular speaker, he has lectured at numerous conferences, universities and museums, including the Aspen Institute, Yale and Princeton Universities, Sato Museum and the Phoenix Art Museum. Fujimura founded the International Arts Movement in 1992, a non-profit whose “Encounter” conferences have featured cultural catalysts such as Dr. Elaine Scarry, Dennis Donoghue, Billy Collins, Dana Gioia, Calvin DeWitt and Miroslav Volf.
Fujimura’s second book, Refractions: A Journey of Faith, Art and Culture, is a collection of essays bringing together people of all backgrounds in a conversation and meditation on culture, art, and humanity. In celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible, Crossway Publishing commissioned and published The Four Holy Gospels, featuring Fujimura’s illuminations of the sacred texts.
In 2011 the Fujimura Institute was established and launched the Four Qu4rtets, a collaboration between Fujimura, painter Bruce Herman, Duke theologian/pianist Jeremy Begbie, and Yale composer Christopher Theofanidis, based on T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets. The exhibition will travel to Baylor, Duke, and Yale Universities, Gordon College and other institutions around the globe.
Bucknell University honored him with the Outstanding Alumni Award in 2012.
He is a recipient of four Doctor of Arts Honorary Degrees; from Belhaven University in 2011, Biola University in 2012, Cairn University in 2014 and Roanoke College , in February 2015.
Fujimura’s work is represented by Artrue International and has been exhibited at galleries around the world, including Dillon Gallery in New York, Sato Museum in Tokyo, The Contemporary Museum of Tokyo, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts Museum, Bentley Gallery in Arizona, Gallery Exit and Oxford House at Taikoo Place in Hong Kong, and Vienna’s Belvedere Museum. He is one of the first artists to paint live on stage at New York City’s legendary Carnegie Hall as part of an ongoing collaboration with composer and percussionist Susie Ibarra.
A popular speaker, he has lectured at numerous conferences, universities and museums, including the Aspen Institute, Yale and Princeton Universities, Sato Museum and the Phoenix Art Museum. Fujimura founded the International Arts Movement in 1992, a non-profit whose “Encounter” conferences have featured cultural catalysts such as Dr. Elaine Scarry, Dennis Donoghue, Billy Collins, Dana Gioia, Calvin DeWitt and Miroslav Volf.
Fujimura’s second book, Refractions: A Journey of Faith, Art and Culture, is a collection of essays bringing together people of all backgrounds in a conversation and meditation on culture, art, and humanity. In celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible, Crossway Publishing commissioned and published The Four Holy Gospels, featuring Fujimura’s illuminations of the sacred texts.
In 2011 the Fujimura Institute was established and launched the Four Qu4rtets, a collaboration between Fujimura, painter Bruce Herman, Duke theologian/pianist Jeremy Begbie, and Yale composer Christopher Theofanidis, based on T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets. The exhibition will travel to Baylor, Duke, and Yale Universities, Gordon College and other institutions around the globe.
Bucknell University honored him with the Outstanding Alumni Award in 2012.
He is a recipient of four Doctor of Arts Honorary Degrees; from Belhaven University in 2011, Biola University in 2012, Cairn University in 2014 and Roanoke College , in February 2015.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 11, 2026
A warmly intimate reflection on the role of art in culture and spirituality. Fujimura reveals the soul of an artist who takes colors to canvass in a quest for inspiration. Faith blends with a vibrant intellectualism that elevates the work. Very enjoyable read.
January 19, 2026
Religious faith is something that I have always felt at the edges of. despite my best efforts it's not something that I have been able to connect to, landing me firmly in the label of agnostic. Because of this I can admit I was a little reluctant to dig into this book. I could not be more glad I kept listening.
Making art is an inherent part of who I am, but over the past few years I have struggled with what it means to be an artist in the world that we live in, the role of the artist and our porpuse in society.
Fujimura does a masterful job in guiding his audience through an exploration of his own artistic practice, how it connects to the world and his faith, inviting us to slow down and through that finding a truer understanding of art and life.
Making art is an inherent part of who I am, but over the past few years I have struggled with what it means to be an artist in the world that we live in, the role of the artist and our porpuse in society.
Fujimura does a masterful job in guiding his audience through an exploration of his own artistic practice, how it connects to the world and his faith, inviting us to slow down and through that finding a truer understanding of art and life.
December 13, 2025
A meandering and evocative glimpse into the artist’s imagination, a book which disarms our normal way of seeing the world.
November 22, 2025
Sometimes I have no idea what he is saying, but the parts that do make sense to me more than compensate for the parts that don't.
December 2, 2025
Makoto Fujimura’s Art Is: A Journey into the Light models itself after the artistic process: it’s exploratory, indulgent, and ultimately more fulfilling as an exercise than an end point.
For years, I’ve admired Fujimura’s vision for the role of art in culture. Particularly as a person of faith, it’s been refreshing to see someone reject Christianity as a political weapon and instead use it as the foundation for generative conversation. As such, I was really excited when Art Is was announced, and while it’s a nice addition to Mako’s little canon, it isn’t an essential one.
If you read Culture Care or Art and Faith and didn’t enjoy them, Art Is won’t win you over. Fujimura has no clear argument—he simply holds the book’s titular statement in his hand to learn how it feels. As such, the writing can feel unfocused, but I think it’s helpful to consider how the author approaches text as a visual medium. Each sentence lands like a brush stroke, gesturing in a direction that may immediately be contradicted. Much of the language here is invented or inverted terminology, serving as texture more than meaning. Rather than building to a clear conclusion, Fujimura uses all of these techniques to simply shade and highlight what he has written before.
Whether or not it works is up to the reader’s taste and patience.
Having read all of Fujimura’s prior work, I’m as entranced by this book's beauty as I am disappointed to see that he isn’t doing much new here. The subject matter is very similar to Art and Faith, and with the exception of some truly gorgeous artwork, it feels like a palette swap more than anything else. I wonder, however, if this is even a fair critique of what Fujimura is attempting. As a painter, he regularly encourages viewers of his work to stare—or “listen”—past the point of comfort until hidden depths reveal themselves. Art is does something similar. It’s deeply concerned with the iterative value of repetition—the way recurrence becomes a kind of prayer.
Is there not something sacred in writing the same book over and over until new meaning emerges?
For years, I’ve admired Fujimura’s vision for the role of art in culture. Particularly as a person of faith, it’s been refreshing to see someone reject Christianity as a political weapon and instead use it as the foundation for generative conversation. As such, I was really excited when Art Is was announced, and while it’s a nice addition to Mako’s little canon, it isn’t an essential one.
If you read Culture Care or Art and Faith and didn’t enjoy them, Art Is won’t win you over. Fujimura has no clear argument—he simply holds the book’s titular statement in his hand to learn how it feels. As such, the writing can feel unfocused, but I think it’s helpful to consider how the author approaches text as a visual medium. Each sentence lands like a brush stroke, gesturing in a direction that may immediately be contradicted. Much of the language here is invented or inverted terminology, serving as texture more than meaning. Rather than building to a clear conclusion, Fujimura uses all of these techniques to simply shade and highlight what he has written before.
Whether or not it works is up to the reader’s taste and patience.
Having read all of Fujimura’s prior work, I’m as entranced by this book's beauty as I am disappointed to see that he isn’t doing much new here. The subject matter is very similar to Art and Faith, and with the exception of some truly gorgeous artwork, it feels like a palette swap more than anything else. I wonder, however, if this is even a fair critique of what Fujimura is attempting. As a painter, he regularly encourages viewers of his work to stare—or “listen”—past the point of comfort until hidden depths reveal themselves. Art is does something similar. It’s deeply concerned with the iterative value of repetition—the way recurrence becomes a kind of prayer.
Is there not something sacred in writing the same book over and over until new meaning emerges?
November 29, 2025
I've read most of Makoto Fujimura's books, I've taught through a couple of them, and I've given some as gifts. By this point, I'm pretty familiar with his usual topics, and I never mind returning to them. Opening a new book by Mako feels like returning to a conversation that I've been having with a good friend over several years. Though perhaps nothing is surprising, there's a comfort in having a shared language. All Mako has to say is "border-stalker," and I know exactly what he's talking about.
Art Is feels more personal, more vulnerable, than his previous books. I learned more about his development as an artist in his youth, which I enjoyed reading. I resonate with his reflections on introversion and the slow process of discovering his identity in Christ and his place in the world.
In this book, my favorite chapter is "Slow Art," in which Mako muses on the idea of all cultures being a kind of yobi-tsugi, a result of different cultures participating and commenting on others. I like his way of expressing that sometimes a culture needs outsiders to see value that insiders may not think of in that way. For me, this chapter offered a perspective that has a lot to say to our current climate of growing isolationism and perceived superiority and independence from others. In this and other chapters, Mako proposes images and connections that I know I'll contemplating and bringing into my teaching.
One other point to mention about Art Is: It's a gorgeous book, just as a physical object. Yale Press put a lot of care into the design and production, from the dust jacket to the cloth covers to the paper quality and the color photos of Mako's work and of him at work in his studio. Kudos to the publisher for investing so beautifully in this book. It's a delight to read.
Art Is feels more personal, more vulnerable, than his previous books. I learned more about his development as an artist in his youth, which I enjoyed reading. I resonate with his reflections on introversion and the slow process of discovering his identity in Christ and his place in the world.
In this book, my favorite chapter is "Slow Art," in which Mako muses on the idea of all cultures being a kind of yobi-tsugi, a result of different cultures participating and commenting on others. I like his way of expressing that sometimes a culture needs outsiders to see value that insiders may not think of in that way. For me, this chapter offered a perspective that has a lot to say to our current climate of growing isolationism and perceived superiority and independence from others. In this and other chapters, Mako proposes images and connections that I know I'll contemplating and bringing into my teaching.
One other point to mention about Art Is: It's a gorgeous book, just as a physical object. Yale Press put a lot of care into the design and production, from the dust jacket to the cloth covers to the paper quality and the color photos of Mako's work and of him at work in his studio. Kudos to the publisher for investing so beautifully in this book. It's a delight to read.
December 3, 2025
As Fujimura recounts his journey into the light, we are invited to see art and artmaking in its prismatic mystery. Art cannot be reduced into a singular register, and this book reveals that depending on the season or the context, art may be a prayer of lament, a “documentation of miraculous discoveries,” or “an act of intuitive peacemaking.” Most often art is all these things at once: a portal to create meaning out of darkness and light, death and life, endings and beginnings. In Art Is, Fujimura sings his soliloquy of art and life with skill, honesty, and hope, witnessing to the God who makes all things new.
January 17, 2026
More like Mako writing a lyrical reflection on his art. Beautiful pictures, paper is smooth and a delight to hold and feel. Best to read in hardback, slow and enjoy the wandering.
Definitely will read and reread.
Definitely will read and reread.
January 19, 2026
A wonderful read for those who enjoy Fujimura’s art of that of any abstract expressionist. Where this book shines, however is in the author’s philosophy and theology of “making” as a spiritual practice. It is a breath of fresh air in our overworked and insecure society.
January 3, 2026
"artists (and liberal arts education) are now ever more critical for creating our educational future, and as an antidote for our tech-filled culture war journey that only creates anxiety and fear."
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews