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Aug 04 2011 16 Comments

Wabi-sabi or simply wonderful?

Wabi-sabi is a fabulously vague concept that means a myriad of things to many different people. So much so, in fact, that it’s very hard to find any kind of agreement on what objects are (or invariably aren’t) wabi-sabi. And as any real definition is equally unforthcoming, it’s all down to feelings rather than facts.

The kind of feeling it turns out that my mother-in-law immediately got from the scene below.

Yet while I can see where she’s coming from, to me it’s simply beautiful. An ambiguity, along with its very personal preferences, that in many ways makes the notion of wabi-sabi even more wonderful.

wabi-sabi

Categorized: Culture, Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lizzy says

    8/4/2011 at 11:04 pm

    Either way it’s a fantastic picture. 🙂

    Reply
    • Lee says

      8/6/2011 at 4:26 am

      Thanks Lizzy!

      Reply
  2. Scott says

    8/5/2011 at 7:55 am

    A little slice of beauty. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      8/6/2011 at 4:27 am

      Cheers Scott.

      Reply
  3. Oliver says

    8/5/2011 at 10:56 am

    I think that you are both right…

    It is the very simplicity of the scene that is so beautiful.
    And the essence of it, so Wabi Sabi…

    Reply
    • Lee says

      8/6/2011 at 4:28 am

      That sounds like the perfect answer!

      Reply
  4. Tom O. says

    8/5/2011 at 4:07 pm

    Hey Lee.

    Another fine pic.

    What are some of the ways you’ve heard wabi-sabi interpreted?

    One of the ones I like is, “the beauty of worn and rustic things/cultured poverty.”

    Keep up the great work!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      8/6/2011 at 4:32 am

      Cheers Tom.

      Lots of ways. That’s the fascinating thing about it. Imperfection in one way or another tends to be a constant though. But then it’s the kind of imperfection…

      Reply
  5. Matt says

    8/5/2011 at 11:17 pm

    I usually get a kind of shrug when I ask my wife to explain it to me. I guess there is no explaining somethings. Beautiful photo.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      8/6/2011 at 4:35 am

      I usually just get a disagreement! But yeah, it really does seem impossible to define.

      Reply
  6. winnie says

    8/5/2011 at 11:57 pm

    Can I say have a type of Zen-like feeling?
    I love this picture!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      8/6/2011 at 4:36 am

      You certainly can Winnie. In fact it may even work better than wabi-sabi.

      Reply
  7. melon says

    8/6/2011 at 12:22 am

    I thought wabi-sabi meant something along the lines of “imperfect things hold a lot of beauty”.
    Like an old woman looks beautiful and natural with grey hair and wrinkles, even though our society favors a more youthful look.

    I don’t know, either way nice pic.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      8/6/2011 at 4:39 am

      Cheers Melon. I think that definition works perfectly well, it’s just how each individual interprets it!

      Reply
  8. starduest says

    8/6/2011 at 1:35 am

    I liked how it appears so still and calm, yet contains movement in the small stream of water

    Reply
    • Lee says

      8/6/2011 at 6:15 pm

      Yeah, it was a beautiful little spot for sure, and one so small that unfortunately many people will probably miss it.

      Reply

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