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Dec 17th, '13, 09:28
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Good Wabi Sabi References

by betta » Dec 17th, '13, 09:28

Does a naturally fading painted fabric (due to exposure to sunlight) count as wabi sabi object?
What is the boundary between broken / rotten objects and wabi sabi object?
How rustic / rough does an object or teaware still be considered wabi sabi pottery?

Need help with good references regarding the wabi sabi concept for creating a wabi sabi home.
I searched some books in amazon, but would appreciate if there're additional inputs from experts here.
Thanks in advance m(_ _)m

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Dec 17th, '13, 09:35
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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by Teaism » Dec 17th, '13, 09:35

I am not really good at relating technical definition to it but I think whatever pleases my eyes and touches my heart come quite close to my understanding of wabi sabi. :D

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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by JBaymore » Dec 17th, '13, 12:21

Unless you read Japanese, the English language books on the subject are a bit limited. Try searching these Kanji........ 侘寂 or these 侘と寂.

Yes, since the fading fabric is expressing the aspects of impermenance and transience of all things. Even the highly non-artistic scientific concept of Entropy is at the very core of the wabi-sabi aesthetic.

There is no "boundary" to the expression........ any boundary you might see lies within you, in your spirit. Even crumbling ancient ruins can create feelings of wabi-sabi. As can a rusting old car frame or a tin can. Wabi sabi exists within you.... not in the objects. The objects themselves create those emotional resonances.

This is a quote from writings by Tim Wong, Ph.D. and Akiko Hirano, Ph.D. :

""Translation," wrote Kakuzo Okakura, author of the classic The Book of Tea, "can at best be only the reverse side of a brocade, - all the threads are there, but not the subtlety of color or design." Few examples illustrate this better than the Japanese concept of wabi sabi. Westerners tend to associate wabi sabi with physical characteristics - imperfection, crudeness, an aged and weathered look, etc. Although wabi sabi may encompass these qualities, these characteristics are neither sufficient nor adequate to convey the essence of the concept. Wabi sabi is not rigidly attached to a list of physical traits. Rather, it is a profound aesthetic consciousness that transcends appearance. It can be felt but rarely verbalized, much less defined. Defining wabi sabi in physical terms is like explaining the taste of a piece of chocolate by its shape and color to someone who has never tasted it. As long as one focuses on the physical, one is doomed to see only the back side of the brocade, while its real beauty remains hidden. In order to see its true essence, one must look beyond the apparent, one must look within."

This is one book that I use in my History of Japanese Ceramics and Making Handbuild Chawan courses I teach at the college. It is a good introduction for the average person :

http://www.amazon.com/Wabi-Sabi-Artists ... 0981484603

While not restricted solely to Japanese aesthetics and philosophy, this is also a good book relative to your stated objectives:

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Wabi-Sabi- ... 0740739603

This link might be helpful also :
http://www.pinterest.com/createdbysan/w ... %E5%AF%82/


best,

..............john

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Dec 17th, '13, 14:57
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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by betta » Dec 17th, '13, 14:57

John, thank you for the info. Unfortunately I am limited to english literature.
The quote you mentioned here is interesting aspect of wabi sabi: the state of mind or the way of looking at the current state and object that appreciates the beauty in imperfection and simplicity. Seems it could be a long process to learn :D.


Westerners tend to associate wabi sabi with physical characteristics - imperfection, crudeness, an aged and weathered look, etc. Although wabi sabi may encompass these qualities, these characteristics are neither sufficient nor adequate to convey the essence of the concept. Wabi sabi is not rigidly attached to a list of physical traits. Rather, it is a profound aesthetic consciousness that transcends appearance.

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Dec 19th, '13, 10:26
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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by kikula » Dec 19th, '13, 10:26

One of my favorite Zen Masters was also an artist and photographer. One of her photographs, displayed at an art gallery, was a little controversial. It was of a coil of dogshit in new grass, whitening at one edge but still ripe enough to have attracted a bright, blue-green fly. Very beautiful once you could see. :)

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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by 茶藝-TeaArt08 » Dec 19th, '13, 15:02

kikula wrote:One of my favorite Zen Masters was also an artist and photographer. One of her photographs, displayed at an art gallery, was a little controversial. It was of a coil of dogshit in new grass, whitening at one edge but still ripe enough to have attracted a bright, blue-green fly. Very beautiful once you could see. :)

This is brilliant! Do you have a link to the teacher and photo?:
"In the world of the sacred, there is nothing more sacred than shit."

Blessings!

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Dec 19th, '13, 23:08
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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by kikula » Dec 19th, '13, 23:08

It was a long time ago, and actually was a painting, I think... In googling just now to see if there's any mention of it online, I was immediately directed to pages and pages of variously seething and quivering articles and letters and etc., concerning controversies and subsequent condemnation of her Japanese teacher (the usual sexual abuse charges), and current new buzzings about her complicity in this and that, and the circumstances of her receiving inka... and if you've done the American dharma scene for any number of decades you know that's how it frequently rolls. Sigh. The painting's not to be found, in any case; if you want to know who she was, msg me.
So, shall we also appreciate this shit?
One taste.
But tie your horse to a tree.
:) :)

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Dec 24th, '13, 01:37
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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by betta » Dec 24th, '13, 01:37

I thought that wabi sabi concept honours very much cleanliness

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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by 茶藝-TeaArt08 » Jan 29th, '14, 15:20

kikula wrote:It was a long time ago, and actually was a painting, I think... In googling just now to see if there's any mention of it online, I was immediately directed to pages and pages of variously seething and quivering articles and letters and etc., concerning controversies and subsequent condemnation of her Japanese teacher (the usual sexual abuse charges), and current new buzzings about her complicity in this and that, and the circumstances of her receiving inka... and if you've done the American dharma scene for any number of decades you know that's how it frequently rolls. Sigh. The painting's not to be found, in any case; if you want to know who she was, msg me.
So, shall we also appreciate this shit?
One taste.
But tie your horse to a tree.
:) :)
So, shall we also appreciate this shit?
One taste.
But tie your horse to a tree.
Kikula,

I reread this yesterday and recalled this thread:

"Tung Kuo Tzu asked Chuang Tzu, "Where does this thing called the Tao exist?"
Chuang Tzu replied, "There is no place it doesn't exist."
Tung Kuo Tzu said, "Could you go on a little more about that?"
Chuang Tzu said, "It's in mole crickets and ants."
Tung Kung Tzu said, "What! It's in trifling things like that?"
Chuang Tzu continued, "It's in barnyard grass."
Tung Kuo Tzu exclaimed, "But that's humbler still!"
Chuang Tzu went on, "It's in wall tiles."
Tung Kuo Tzu said, "Hey! This is getting worse and worse."
Chuang Tzu then stated, "It's in piss and shit."

Tung Kuo Tzu did not respond" :wink:

(Chuang Tzu/Zhuang Zi chapter 22)

Blessings all!

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Jan 29th, '14, 18:13
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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by kikula » Jan 29th, '14, 18:13

Just like that.
:D

Wabi Sabi, though,is another thing altogether, highly refined unrefinement, deeply discriminatory. Or became that.
Omce they made an exacting aesthetic out of it.
Like ya do.

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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by woozl » Jan 29th, '14, 19:01


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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by kikula » Jan 29th, '14, 23:10

Well, the acceptance of transience part, anyway.

Call it Timey Wimey*.

(*Doctor Who reference, for the uninitiated)

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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by Drax » Jan 30th, '14, 08:48

I would totally go for some wibbly wobbly wabi sabi!

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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by MEversbergII » Jan 31st, '14, 10:09

As an old school Dr. Who fan, it burns me whenever someone references the new doctors :(

M.

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Re: Good Wabi Sabi References

by Drax » Jan 31st, '14, 10:43

I suppose I could make a really obscure comment about escaping the Talons of Wabi-Sabi, but I'm sure you'd find a way to poo-poo that one, too. :roll:

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