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Title: Wabi-Sabi: for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers
ISBN: 0981484603
Author:
Leonard Koren
Publicate Date: 2008-11-01
Publish: 2008-11-01
List Price: $16.00
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $9.01
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $15.52
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.88
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| Customer Review: |
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1: delightful read for anyone interested in aesthetics or design
a close friend of mine loaned me the book on saturday - i read it once on sunday, and again yesterday (monday)
the book is more powerful than i can describe in a review. 5-stars, no-brainer.. read this book!
the orientation is more ideological than demonstrative or critical.. the relative shortage of (delightful!) examples leaves me wanting more. and as much as like loved this book, i would like to read the large glossy version titled "wabi-sabi: for people with ipods, large televisions, and who generally disdain reading" :)
in its existing form, the book is an easy and inspiring read. if you're intrigued by the beauty of a pair of worn-out shoes, the grime of a subway station, the cracks in a crumbling rock, a decaying leaf, etc.. this book may give words, insight and extension to your aesthetic perception. given the relative lack of high-fidelity examples, it may be hard for others to gain an appreciation of wabi-sabi through this book
wabi-sabi is primarily contrasted with modernism, providing a much more useful and forward-focused comparison than against its more classical/baroque aesthetic ancestors - however the comparison does imply an inappropriate (imo) us-vs-them context with modernism. modernism is concerned with the clean, permanent, undistracting, impersonal, etc.. wabi-sabi is about the dirty, organic, distracting and personal. the author positions wabi-sabi as occupying a subset of aesthetics that is *not* modern.. i don't know if this "anti" element is a crucial part of wabi-sabi (?). wabi-sabi would be more powerful to me if it were described only in terms of its own fundamental traits, without counter-reference to other aesthetic ideologies. i find my ipod attractive *and* i find decaying leaves attractive - is it possible there could be more one "good" aesthetic?! the author generally defines wabi-sabi as fundamentally antithetical to modern design aesthetics. for example, on page 9 he writes:
"wabi-sabi - deep, multi-dimensional, elusive - appeared the perfect antidote to the pervasively slick, saccharine, corporate style of beauty that i felt was desensitizing american society. i have since come to believe that wabi-sabi is related to many of the more emphatic anti-aesthetics that invariably spring from the young, modern, creative soul: beat, punk, grunge, or whatever it's called next"
otherwise, i don't know anything about zen buddhism - and the book left me wanting to know more
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2: A little disappointed
It was not as good as I expected. I would not pay full price for it again, in fact, it did not stay in my collection but was bought by a used bookstore. If you are interested in a philosophical or spiritual aspect of art or writing, look elsewhere. While it is a lovely looking book, the information could have been found online for free. I would have been happier with a small book of Haiku.
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3: Articulates the essence
This book has been very important for me in its ability to explain something that is hardly explainable - more to suggest the essence of Wabi Sabi and let the reader take it the rest of the way. Particularly in the second half of this slender book does the nature of Wabi Sabi come to life. It is a book I will continue to read on occasion, and it sits next to my Tao te Ching ready to be accessed at any time.
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4: Wabi-Sabi 101
A good introduction to the history and basic concepts of Wabi-Sabi. It has good examples that are relevant to our culture and lifestyle. I wish it had better photos. But overall I recommend it.
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5: easy read with beautiful design
This was a great intro to the ideas of wabi sabi. the use of modern art as a reference point is a very constructive way to describe "what is" and "what is not" wabi sabi. I definitely recommend this book for any artist or creative mind.
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