Thursday, May 20, 2010

don't remove the poetry

There's a beauty to imperfection. This is the essence of the Japanese principle of wahi-sabi. Wahi-sabi values character and uniqueness over a shiny facade. It teaches that cracks and scratches in things should be embraced. It's also about simplicity. You strip things down then use what you have. Leonard Koren, author of a book on wahi-sabi, gives this advice: Pare down to the essence but don't remove the poetry. Keep things clean and unencumbered but don't sterilize.

Fried & Hansson, p.182

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