Yale’s St. Thomas More Catholic Chapel hosted Makoto Fujimura after Mass on Palm Sunday, where he lectured to the crowd about his philosophy of art.
Fujimura speaking to the audience at STM. (Credit: Evelyn Hernandez-Chico)
Evelyn Hernandez-Chico
Staff Writer, The Buckley Beacon
This past Palm Sunday, Yale’s St. Thomas More Catholic Chapel welcomed internationally acclaimed artist and author Makoto Fujimura, who gave a lecture titled, “Art Is: A Journey Into the Light.”
Born in America and brought up in Japan, Fujimura was inspired by traditional Japanese Nihonga painting, which is notable for its use of traditional Japanese pigments. He was the first Japanese-American to be invited to study in a prestigious arts program at the Tokyo University of the Arts dedicated to handing down the ancient practice of Nihonga.
Fujimura identifies himself not only as an artist, but an advocate for art. He has lectured at the British Parliament, the Aspen Institute, major universities in the United States and around the world, numerous conferences, and in 2022, met Pope Francis to present his work. Among some of his notable books include: Silence and Beauty (2016), Culture Care (2017), Art and Faith: A Theology of Making (2021), and Art Is: A Journey Into the Light (2025), which was published by Yale University Press.
Fujimura began his lecture at STM by referencing his most recent book, Art Is. According to Fujimura, his book “is not so much about trying to define what art is,” but rather about establishing “the reality that art exists.”
Fujimura posited that art exists in all of our lives and is present in everything that human beings do. “What we do is to make,” he explained. “We are all makers. We are all created to create.”
Beyond objects, Fujimura emphasized that the artist creates something much more profound.
“All of us artists tend to be kind of people who are cognizant, they’re aware that they are futurists,” Fujimura said. “What they make ends up influencing, whether it be experience or thought or even the object itself as a portal into something new that allows viewers and allows people to participate in this mystery that is unfolding in front of them.”
In what would become a recurring theme throughout his lecture, Fujimura spoke about the two kinds of attitudes of makers through visual representations rooted in his Christian faith. Fujimura introduced the first attitude as one “with open hands.” This attitude reflects vulnerability and giving oneself away, like Jesus on the cross. He then explained the other attitude, which he demonstrated by closing his fists. This attitude, Fujimura said, is “to hold on to something.”
To describe what art meant to him, Fujimura referred to the Saint Paul’s epistle in Philippians 2, which he characterized as the account of Jesus “becoming a servant instead of being a king” and “going among people and serving.”
“That is art to me,” he said. “Art of giving of yourself— constantly giving yourself away.”
Fujimura ended the lecture by referencing John 11:35, which is the shortest verse in the Bible, with two words: “Jesus wept.” He declared that it is this verse that defines almost everything he does, and not just in a metaphorical way, but a literal one. He explained that as demonstrated by the law of conservation of mass and energy, the molecules of Jesus’ tears would not have disappeared.
“So when I paint with Jesus’ tears, I’m assured that I am actually painting with Jesus’ tears,” Fujimura explained. “It allows me to know God’s presence in this broken world. No matter what’s happening, if I don’t believe in myself or if I don’t have faith in the future, Jesus is present in that.”
Following Fujimura’s lecture, St. Thomas More Associate Chaplain Father Gregory Waldrop spoke with The Beacon about the decision to invite Fujimura.
While looking for a visual artist to speak to STM, Waldrop became interested in Fujimura and his books. Waldrop told The Beacon that Fujimura’s writing “talks about the theology of making and how creativity is also a collective act by which we can help repair culture at a time when there’s so much [that is] antithetical to Christian life.”
When asked what he hoped attendees took away from Fujimura’s lecture, Waldrop said he “hoped that people would take away that a serious internationally known artist can also be himself religious and want his art to be understood from a religious perspective – to let people know that there is at the heart of it a religious conviction.”
Waldrop also expressed hopes for the student audience. “I think a lot of students kind of feel like they can’t afford to give a lot of time to the humanities, and therefore they don’t,” he said. “I was also hoping that there would be people in the audience who would profit from hearing his perspective, especially about slowing down.”
Fujimura received the 2026 Fay Vincent Jr. Fellowship in Faith and Culture, which was established by the Saint Thomas More Chapel & Center in honor of Fay Vincent Jr., a Yale Law alumnus who served as the commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1989-1992. Previous recipients of STM fellowships include Br. Guy J. Consolmagno, S.J., renowned astronomer and President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, and Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations.