WABI-SABI

Derived over time from the 15th century tea ceremony in Japan, Wabi-Sabi says that as things age they become more beautiful. Wabi-Sabi is organic and eschews any decoration that is not integral to structure.

Excerpts from Leonard Koren’s book “Wabi-Sabi, for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers,” provide a meaningful (and convenient) design philosophy and support for John Hix’s work. Koren explains it plainly by contrasting Wabi-Sabi with the modern movement.

WABI-SABI		MODERNISM
Ostensibly crude		Ostensibly slick
Bowl as metaphor		Box as metaphor
One-of-a kind		Mass produced-modular
Natural materials		Manmade materials
To everything there is a season		Everlasting
Living for the present		Living for the future
Generally dark and dim		Generally light and bright
People adapting to nature		People adapting to machines
Earthy, imperfect, variegated		Polished, smooth, seamless
Fundamental uncontrollability of nature		Control of nature
Personal idiosyncratic solutions		Universal prototypical solutions
Accommodates degradation and attrition		Needs to be well maintained
Corrosion makes its expression richer		Purity makes its expression richer
Comfortable with ambiguity & contradiction		Intolerant of ambiguity & contradiction