WABI-SABI Rhea Puri and Yeonju Woo 11MWD To find art in the unexpected is to find art in life as it is, seeing how it is the epitome of uncertainty and unpredictability, for everyone. What we see today, we perceive differently tomorrow and what we perceived then, we see differently now. Although art embodies a different purpose altogether in each of our independent lives, the act of discovering art in
appreciative perception rather than to instantly belittle or dismiss, enabling us to perhaps even delve deeper into the streams of our thoughts. Amongst a myriad of endless examples, Kintsugi is an ancestral technique, developed in Japan during the fifteenth century, which consists of repairing a broken object by accentuating its cracks with gold—instead of fixing the broken
the unprecedented and uncalled for is a much more universal experience than we realise. Of course, in a more pragmatic sense, art itself cannot solely embody a philosophical or poetic purpose; however, with the phenomenon of ‘Wabi-sabi’, it moulds itself into a form of art, unique to each onlooker or individual. Wabi-sabi refers to an intuitive appreciation for a transient beauty that embraces the flow of life at its truest and rawest. It thrives in the most natural, modest and imperfect forms; underlining a beauty in the impermanence of all things. By exploring wabi-sabi, you swim against the tide of standardized and artificial modern ideals. Wabi-sabi invites contemplation and detachment, rather than perfection. It accepts the impermanence of the many things we encounter in life. It emphasizes the irreversibility of time and the ephemeral nature of all. It reminds us to appreciate the humble beauty of simple things, patinated by time and the trials of life. Hence, to learn more about Wabi-sabi is to learn to see life with an
ceramic with an artificial adhesive, concealing and camouflaging its imperfections. This technique employs the use of tree sap dusted with powdered gold or silver. After its completion, as seams of gold appear through the conspicuous cracks of pottery, it celebrates the repair of the broken ceramic. Kintsugi also fits into the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, inviting you to embrace the beauty of simple, imperfect, and atypical things. It is inviting you to discern art in what would otherwise be subject to barely a prosaic glance or two. As legend has it, a famous tea master of the Japanese emperor, Sen no Rikyu was once invited to dinner. To honour Rikyu, his host offered him a very old and precious Chinese vase.
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