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The discipline of Japanese design is to refrain from embellishment and to let the art work by itself without trying to improve it. Some might argue that the artist must refrain from putting in any of his own personal ideas of taste or style in order that the piece should be free of any pretension or foibles of the ego. Personality, however remarkable, is still no match for nature, and so the stamp of individuality is not seen as being important—there are in fact those who decry it. For the truly great individual artists, who have through their efforts managed to transcend the bounds of their own individuality, their art then becomes egoless and artless. The great esteem shown to artists who have man- aged to transcend themselves and make their art artless reflects the intense difficulty of the task. The Japanese seek the enlightenment of the artist in the work that they do, for it is this element that makes some art truly great. Design criteria: ■ Asymmetry or irregularity ■ The form comes from the physical properties of the materials used. ■ Artlessness not artistry ■ The piece evolves in a natural and unforced way. ■ No symbolism Texture Where a large percentage of modern designs use materials that often have a smooth and sleek finish, wabi sabi expressions tend to use theorganic nature of the materials and forms to leave the object with a rough and uneven surface. As nothing in the world we perceive is perfect, the idea of perfection is an unattainable concept that can only be approximated. If we look at any object in enough detail we will see imperfections and flaws that are an unavoidable part of the randomly evolving environment we live in. If an object is supposed to be unflawed then the eye is drawn to and inevitably offended by any imperfections. On the other hand, where something makes no attempt at perfection but yields to the universal laws, then the image sits more comfortably on the eye. The iron surface of an old kettle slowly changes over the years until there is a kaleidoscope of nuances that are pleasing on the eye. These colors are then further enhanced by the random pitting caused by the corrosion. So although the overall shape of the kettle may be attractive, the real wabi sabi beauty lies in the small details where the passing years have added an extra depth. The mind can then, without trying to fit the object into any conceptual category, enjoy the randomness and imperfections of the piece and feel in it the imperfections present in our lives. Through the textural variations, roughness, and wear and tear over the years of use, objects can become more expressive and still more appealing. The examples of textures are almost limitless and include the cracked mud walls of a tearoom, the uneven weave of antique mosquito nets, the coarse feel of an unglazed pot, and even the worn contours of a tool handle. Textural complexity and randomness are essential elements in wabi sabi, for without them the piece will not truly suggest the arbitrary nature of evolution and devolution. Design criteria: ■ Rough and uneven ■ Variegated and random ■ Textures formed by natural sporadic processes Ugliness and Beauty The words are steeped in emotion as people grow up in societies that deplore the former while adulating the latter. Our ideas of what rep- resents beauty and ugliness are based mainly on learned assumptions about the items that we perceive in our own separate worlds. But, in the Buddhist view of the world, there is no duality, no life, no death, no beauty, and no ugliness. These exist only in the minds of those who are not enlightened and are the ideas we must dismiss if we are to perceive the world that lies beyond that. As Buddha said, “If in the land of Buddha, there remains the distinction between the beautiful and the ugly, I do not desire to be a Buddha of such a land.” It has been said that wabi sabi is the coaxing of beauty out of ugliness, but this seems to suggest that the two ideas are opposing absolutes. Zen would maintain that the two are one and the same and only divided by learned perceptions. The beauty of wabi sabi is not in the realm of learned ideas of beauty and ugliness, it lies in an intuitive, nonintellectual feeling toward objects that can bring about the wabi sabi experience. The real beauty that we can enjoy in true and pure aesthetics is neither beautiful nor ugly, it is the magical state that happens before any of the concepts have found voice in the intellect. A knot in a piece of wood may be seen by some as an unattractive flaw that should be cut out, but there are many who find the gnarled tentacles of the knot more appealing than the even grain of the rest of the wood. For some, the lack of order and cohesive symmetry makes things ugly, for they are not so easy to analyze in terms of other known forms or textures. If the mind cannot easily categorize them, then it may find them unappealing and difficult on the eye. On the other hand, seen from a different perspective, the object, because it does not easily yield to a common form, may hold far more potential as it can stimulate new mental activity in much the same way an infant first starts to explore the world. It is precisely the deviation from pre- conceived notions of beauty that presents a new challenge in the way we perceive an object. Wabi sabi can therefore be seen as both beautiful and ugly, but the resulting emotional response will ultimately depend on the disposition of the audience. By avoiding any deliberate attempts at classical beauty, wabi sabi focuses on the world before these ideas existed and gently pushes the observer toward this realization. Perhaps the emotions aroused by wabi sabi expressions are reactions to the chords resonating deep within our souls, a resonance of the freedom of early childhood and the call of the eternity surrounding us. Design criteria: ■ Disregard for conventional views of beauty ■ An aesthetic pleasure that lies beyond conventional beauty ■ Beauty in the smallest most imperceptible details Color With the use of natural materials and dyes, wabi sabi rarely strays from the boundaries of subdued colors and lighting, for it is through these that the atmosphere of intimacy can be transferred. In the tea- room, the pastel colors of a mud and sand wall blend effortlessly with the straw used for the tatami mats, the wooden support beams, and the paper screens. Light is let in only to the extent that vision is not impaired by its absence, and the subduing of color provides the most suitable environment for the subjugation of the active mind. In the same way that red is used in fast-food restaurants to discourage guests from settling any longer than is necessary to consume their food, the colors of a tearoom instill a guest with an unusual degree of calmness and serenity. Nearly all things considered wabi sabi have not just one color but a myriad of colors blending together. Unlike modern finishes, the surface is rich with nuance and the flows of colors create the most intricate and intriguing patterns. On careful inspection one can almost get lost in the wondrous flux of colors coming from a slowly rusting iron bowl, a decaying tree trunk, or even a dew-soaked rock. The textiles and papers used by the tea masters rarely strayed from the ingredients to be found in nature, but large areas of uniform colors as well as any bright colors were always assiduously avoided. While the shoguns and wealthy nobility often favored gold and other ostentatious colors, the Zen monks and the tea masters preferred the more mundane colors such as browns, greens, and grays. They also tended to favor darker shades over light. The colors were often toned down by the medium in which they occurred, such as the mud walls inside the tearoom. The surface is very uneven and there is a degree of inconsistency in the mud itself. The result is a whole spectrum of colors that blend together. Within the cracks and the textural variegations lies wabi sabi, both in the tiny details of the wall and its overall effect on the room. Design criteria: ■ No harsh or strong colors ■ Subdued lighting ■ Colors and dyes from natural sources ■ Diffuse and murky colors ■ Matte colors that lack uniformity Simplicity As hinted at above, there is a need to focus only on the essential part of the design; beyond its functional requirement no further embellishment should be required. This is one of the cornerstones of Japanese design and one that has stood the test of time while fashions have come and gone. Yanagi called for a return to the crafts where the function and the natural materials used were the sole dictums for design. Nothing more should be required. Sometimes Japanese art and architecture can seem almost brutally austere, with no quarter given to ornate design ideas, and Yanagi argued that it is here that true beauty exists as a synergy between the unlettered craftsman and the natural raw materials that he uses with such humility. It was indeed these very items that inspired the first great tea masters when they came to fully appreciate the craftwork of the simple-living potters in Korea. With nothing beyond what was required and little premeditation the potter would make his wares without considering artistic expression or personal preferences. The tea ceremony has been called the religion of beauty, and for its top exponents, tea masters like Shukan, Joo, and Rikyu, it was the uncompromising simplicity of these rustic pots that embodied the very essence of beauty. The paring down to the very minimum while still retaining the poetry was the tea masters maxim for design. The discovery of this obscure beauty was the challenge laid down to all those taking part in the tea ceremony. Once attuned to this peculiarly Japanese way of perceiving beauty, the potential for aesthetic pleasure broadens considerably while the need to follow the whims of fashion is significantly reduced.