Wabi-sabi refers to an elusive and elegant beauty. Wabi suggests a beauty of elegant imperfection. Sabi means loneliness or rather aloneness. Together, they suggest the beauty of ‘the withered, weathered, tarnished, scarred, intimate, coarse, earthly, evanescent, tentative, ephemeral.’ ~ Crispin Sartwell, Six Names of Beauty
Someone asked me recently what wabi-sabi meant to me. I told them that it often showed up in subjects that are overlooked, but wondered if this was a true definition for the term. A beautiful little book called “Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers *” by Leonard Koren, has me thinking yes.
Koren says that “It 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.”
Originally, the term ‘wabi-sabi’ had a negative connotation. Wabi referred to “the misery of living alone in nature, away from society” and sabi meant “chill, lean, withered.” But, during the 14th century, living life as a hermit was newly seen as a spiritually enriching experience. It became associated with appreciating the minor details in life, where beauty could be found in the inconspicuous and overlooked aspects of nature. I too enjoy my solitude and silence, which gives me the time and space to notice and appreciate what we often overlook in life.
This tiny book is chock full of information, as well as excellent photographic examples. Next week, I’ll delve into the qualities of wabi-sabi in greater detail, using my own examples. Link to Part 2.
* Thanks to The Improvised Life for recommending this book.
** Books mentioned have Amazon affiliate links, meaning I make a few cents if you purchase through my link. I only recommend books that I’ve read.
I’ve written about this topic before in an article from a series on urban decay, Urban Decay (part 2) – Wabi-Sabi and Wood.
Wonderful article! thank you , very inspiring
I had photographed Wabi-Sabi type images for years without knowing the name. A flickr friend who teaches art in Arizona remarked “your images are Wabi-Sabi.” I immediately went to resources and found, among other information, Koren’s book. I am moving on from a body of photographic work that focuses on the homeless and street portraits and returning to square frames that express an autumnal quality. Your commentary today enhances and enlarges my interest. Thank you.
Many thanks, Kim for the book recommendations. Very timely for me…..
John
Totally agree Kim…I so enjoy my alone time and totally believe that’s when I find these overlooked aspects of life. A major lover of wabi-sabi. Enjoyed this posting…thank you.
lovely post on wabi-sabi
your photo is beautiful
I published a book about Wabi Sabi Photography at Amazon. Title: Phot0artfolio No 1 – Wabi Sabi Photography No 1 by Franz Huempfner. With much theory and many photos about Zen Aesthetics.
Wonderful. Thank you for sharing it.