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This can have a tremendous effect on the environments we choose to live in and the choices we make in our physical lives. With its deep philosophical consistency, wabi sabi offers an alternative to the abject materialism relentlessly touted by the media and offers a more balanced approach to being in a modern society. Design criteria: ■ No embellishment or ostentation ■ Unrefined and raw ■ Use of freely available materials. Space The concept of space in Japan is more pressing than in most other countries both in physical and metaphysical terms. Physically because the mountainous regions that dominate the landscape severely limit the amount of space available for living—the average size of an apartment in Tokyo is only about forty-eight square yards (approximately 40 square meters). This physical restriction has out of necessity affected the way in which space has been used to maximize its potential. In the traditional house, beds, in the form of futons, are stored in cupboards that are integrated into the wall, and so when cleared away the room provides ample space for other uses. The scarcity of space has made it a prized commodity, so the use of space has formed an important element in the Japanese aesthetic. By keeping artistic expression to an absolute minimum they have managed to maximize its impact. How Japanese designs use space has also been powerfully influenced by metaphysical ideas about the material world and how people relate to it. Mu is the thorny Zen concept not of nonexistence, as the translation of “nothingness” suggests, but rather the passing through to that which lies beyond the dualism of existence and nonexistence. This love of mu is found in the constant use of space to suggest it. In the open expanses of the gardens, in the broad unused areas of monochrome painting, and in the complete lack of adornment in the tearoom, the Japanese show their reverence for space and the feeling it can instill. When considering wabi sabi expressions, an allowance should be made for space to play an active role. If for example a piece of driftwood is to be placed on a wall, it should be placed on a large, empty pale wall with nothing that will detract from the single piece of wood. This nonclutter requires discipline, and it is often necessary to get rid of all excess in order to give sufficient space to just one expression. The use of space is not just restricted to the space into which an object is placed, but also the space within it. There is a need to provide visual space so the nonmaterial aspect of the work can interact with and balance its material counterpart. Music has been described as the spaces between the notes, and in art, too, the areas that are not actually used can be just as important as those that are. An English flower arrangement may, for example, take up two thirds of the area directly above the vase with an abundance of extrovert flowers, but a nagaire flower arrangement from the tea ceremony may take up less than one tenth. Again, the space afforded to the single flower forces the attention to focus on the smaller details, and in so doing the life of the flower becomes imbued with far more poetry. Space and the discipline required to maintain it is a key aspect of the Japanese aesthetic ideals, and when considering wabi sabi designs, the provision of adequate space is an important element that adds so much more than “nothingness.” Design criteria: ■ Nothing surplus to requirement ■ Significant areas of “nothing” in interiors and gardens ■ Ample space around all accent pieces ■ Accent pieces at an absolute minimum Balance Balance and proportions are probably the main reason why so many designers continue to make a living, for it is the almost mystical process of balancing different elements of a design in an aesthetic way that separates the proverbial men from the boys. Of all the elements of design this is probably the hardest to provide guidelines for, and yet it is arguably the most important factor in the outcome of a piece. For example, a joiner had made a shelving unit for a Japanese designer as per the information provided, but when the designer looked at the finished piece, she immediately told the joiner that it had not been made correctly. After protesting that it had been made according to her instructions, a measurement was made and the unit was shelved! A thirteen-centimeter gap, not the prescribed twelve centimeters, was, to the Japanese designer’s eye, the difference between right and wrong. This was in fact verified when a new unit was made to the correct specifications. But ask a designer how he or she knows this and one is met with a shrug of the shoulders. The Greeks had a special formula to decide matters of balance and applied this to many aspects of architecture and design, but needless to say, no such rules exist for wabi sabi designs. In keeping with wabi sabi’s centrifugal reference to naturally occurring phenomena, all aspects of the design must be physically balanced in such a way as to reflect the physical balances found in the natural world. These natural proportions, which have evolved as being the best suited to the environment, are the yardsticks by which wabi sabi expressions should be designed. It is only by continued observation of the surroundings that a feel for these unwritten rules will become imprinted on the aesthetic judgments of those trying to create. The hard work of creation is in this relentless assessment of the guidelines provided by nature. The form of most wabi sabi pieces is usually dictated by the function that they are intended to fulfill. There is little history of art for art’s sake in the tearoom, as each part of the tearoom and ceremony are integrated into the function that they perform—the beautifully crafted whisk also whisks the tea beautifully. The artistic input for the ceremony came from the simple flower arrangement, the hanging scroll, the refined poverty of the interior, and the exquisite movements of the tea master. The Taoists and Zen monks were very practical people, so things without function were often considered frivolous. When considering wabi sabi designs, abstract sculptural pieces should make way for unforced designs that also incorporate an element of usefulness such as a vase, a table, or a teacup. Design criteria: ■ Careful and constant observation of the physical balances found in nature■ No prescribed formulae■ No regular or uniform shapes■ Design elements balanced in a way that looks completely natural and unforced Sobriety It is an undeniable truth that much of the beauty accredited to the simple lines in Japanese design comes down to the determination to keep both art and everyday designs to a functional minimum. There has been a tendency in the West to make something beautiful and to then spoil it by fussing it up. Art is sometimes better defined by what is left out than by what is put in. On visiting a client’s house we saw a wonderful piece of driftwood that had been placed on a plain pale wall. Everything about it was right, the worn colors with a hint of the ship’s blue paint left, the holes where joints had been made, and the overall shape. It was an inspired piece, so simple and yet so effective, and such a perfect balance with the otherwise clean and uncluttered feel of the house. However, when we went back a month later, the piece had been embellished by a few touches of paint to highlight the suggestion of the sea. For us the piece had lost its intrinsic appeal and its purity. To the Japanese mind, this purity and honesty is vital, as within any design the eye is naturally drawn to a feeling of sincerity. There was a master gardener who noticed an apprentice trimming a hedge while slightly off-balance. The master gardener quickly reprimanded the student, explaining that his lack of focus and effort would mean that this spirit would be transferred to the feeling of the garden. He said that it was vital that everything done in a garden was done in a spirit of dedication and humility, for it was through this struggle that the work would become imbued with spirituality. More than any learned ideas, it was the effort and attitude of the gardener that would decide the outcome of the garden. This way of making things is not limited to gardening but extends to every aspect of Japanese art. The quality of any piece of art is said to be decided before the pen or brush has been lifted, for it lies within each person, and the art that is produced is only as good as the spirit of the artist at the time it is made. The links between wabi sabi and Zen exist because the monks were well aware that artistic expression is a carbon copy of the awareness of the artist, and if anything of worth is to be made then the spirit of the artist must be the first criteria to be satisfied. In some ways it is fitting that sobriety forms the last section of the chapter, for it is sobriety that has cut its way through the long history of frivolous materialism, and it is sobriety that lights the way for all the future endeavors of mankind. Sobriety is a natural extension of the resolute modesty found in wabi sabi thought, and armed with this sobriety and humility Japanese artists, philosophers, and poets have continued to seek the ultimate truth of art and the life that it defines. Design criteria: ■ Reality of impermanence used to add a sense of perspective and finality ■ All design work approached with humility and sincerity ■ Clarity of personal motives ■ All aspects of design kept to a functional minimum ■ Pieces that are intimate and personal