Wabi-sabi is a beauty of things imperfect,
impermanent and incomplete
It is a beauty of things modest and humble
It is a beauty of things unconventional
(Leonard Koren)
This is the intriguing introduction to Leonard Koren’s book “Wabi-sabi for artists, designers, poets & philosophers“. He introduced the term “Wabi-Sabi” in 1994. But the roots of this concept are much older. Its origins lies in Chinese Taoism and Zen Buddhism. Koren describes the Japanese aesthetics in art, literature, poetry and wisdom of life. From its growth in the 15th century until now.
The first description of these aesthetic values from Japanese culture, is by Japanese auteur Kakuzo Okakura. In an attempt to close the gap between the aesthetic values of the east and the west, he wrote “The Book of Tea” published in 1906. Because he wrote it directly in English he made it accessible to Western readers who can’t read Japanese.
Where the West strives for greatness, perfection and the denial of decay, Wabi-Sabi embraces the human measure, the irreversible and the cycle of all that lives. This concept of life has not only much to offer the ceramist.
Wabi
The phrase “Wabi-Sabi” is relatively new, but both words separately have been used in Japanese culture for centuries. The term Wabi comes from the tribe “wa”, which means harmony, peace, calm and balance.
- A way of life, a spiritual path
- The inward, the subjective
- A philosophical construct
- Spatial events
Sabi
The term Sabi describes “the flowering of time”. A natural progression, touch, grayness, rust; the extinguished sheen of what once shone.
- Material objects, art and literature
- The outward, the objective
- An aesthetic ideal
- Temporal events
Wabi-Sabi ceramics
It’s hard to define Wabi-Sabi. Because this aesthetic view is conveyed more through poetry, stories and images. This “narrative knowledge” stands in stark contrast to the Western tradition of empirical research. Capturing facts as accurately as possible has great advantages in science. But in art the “narrative” offers more room for one’s own interpretation.
It is even more difficult to graft these aesthetic values onto a particular art form, such as ceramics. Wab-Sabi ceramics have an important place in Japanese culture. That’s why it is no coincidence that in the most tangible Wabi-Sabi tradition, the tea ceremony, ceramics play such an important role. Raku ceramics are descended from this ceremony, but has taken a very different direction in the West.
Beauty in transience and imperfect appeals to me very much. Because handmade ceramics are always about human dimensions, the connection with the past, future and our mortality. Wabi-Sabi offers insights and comfort. Beauty is in unexpected places. If your eye is trained, you see it everywhere.
In my blog “Wab-sabi ceramic design” I will explore concrete design choices.
Read more about Wabi-Sabi
- Kakura, Kakuzo, “The Book of Tea” (1906)
- Koren, Leonard “Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers” (1994)
- Koren, Leonard “Wabi-Sabi: Further Thoughts” (2015)
- Juniper, Andrew “Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence” (2003)
- Lawrence, Robyn Griggs “Simply Imperfect: Revisiting the Wabi-Sabi House” (2011)
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