Stone and Makoto

Makoto Fujiwara is a Japanese sculptor who has worked for most of his life in Europe, far from the land of his origin, a small temple deep in the Japanese mountains. This book has evolved over the past four years, a document of his work as a stonemason and a very personal account of his unceasing playful curiosity and authentic tenacity in seeking to understand the world; following the vocation of his given name,—Makoto, ‘truthfully’—, his engagement with a seemingly most impenetrable material: stone. This collection of stories, streams of observations, happenings, and insights, scrawled by the artist on large sheets of paper, draws us into complicity as we become witness to countless iterations—chiselling and polishing—that progress over extended intervals of time; the preparatory work of scouting, recognizing, heaving, and moving; the aftermath of landscaping and setting in place; the many social interactions along the way as he invites colleagues to collaborate, and shares the labours of friends. The world that unfolds inspires appreciation of the unconditional and non-arbitrary in us who regard the ‘un-do’ as an always available option. After Makoto’s passing, we are left to finish this book in good faith, sadly missing his final seal of approval. —Andreas Schneider

Makoto Fujiwara is a Japanese sculptor who has worked for most of his life in Europe, far from the land of his origin, a small temple deep in the Japanese mountains. This book has evolved over the past four years, a document of his work as a stonemason and a very personal account of his unceasing playful curiosity and authentic tenacity in seeking to understand the world; following the vocation of his given name,—Makoto, ‘truthfully’—, his engagement with a seemingly most impenetrable material: stone. This collection of stories, streams of observations, happenings, and insights, scrawled by the artist on large sheets of paper, draws us into complicity as we become witness to countless iterations—chiselling and polishing—that progress over extended intervals of time; the preparatory work of scouting, recognizing, heaving, and moving; the aftermath of landscaping and setting in place; the many social interactions along the way as he invites colleagues to collaborate, and shares the labours of friends. The world that unfolds inspires appreciation of the unconditional and non-arbitrary in us who regard the ‘un-do’ as an always available option. After Makoto’s passing, we are left to finish this book in good faith, sadly missing his final seal of approval. —Andreas Schneider