Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers

Great Read

I was surprised at the brevity of this book, though not disappointed by it, as it made for a very concise read. I got through it in just an hour or two. Leonard Koren approaches this material as someone with a background in design/architecture. I bought it based on a primarily philosophical interest in the subject. The book focuses, I think, a bit more on design/art theory than pure philosophy, but it still makes for a very informative read, and the philosophical basis of Wabi-Sabi is nonetheless given due consideration and explanation. The book itself is designed pleasantly, with a great tactile feel on the cover and glossy pages with a pleasant gray font. The text is interspersed with Koren's beautiful photography, highlighting objects that embody the Wabi-Sabi aesthetic. If you're interested in learning about the history and nature of Wabi-Sabi, especially if you are a student of design, then I would highly recommend this book as a starting point.

Wabi Sabi is a book I discovered in Marfa, Texas. It explains the Japanese concept of the imperfectly perfect. Because it articulates the concept of beauty in imperfection, this book helped me to understand a bit more clearly why I find dilapidated or abandoned buildings so intriguing. If you are an artist I highly suggest this short, enlightening read! It will add dimension to your art.

I was not looking for spiritual guidance in this book. I have that well under control. I'm a long time photographer. I realized there was a strong parallel between the Wabi-Sabi philosophy and many things I had come to understand about my own vision and values. Any statement of the philosophy seems to be very difficult to pin down and translate to American culture. I purchased this to try to understand it better. It helped - a lot. The book is simple and does a pretty good job of explaining things. True Wabi-Sabi seems to be an encompassing life philosophy, and it is difficult sometimes to wade through that in this book, but I still found it very valuable. It gave me a deeper understanding of why I'm drawn to well executed pictures of common things and why I appreciate some old worn out, rusty things as valuable art and reject others as just junk.

A moving book, very serious. Gives one an understanding of Wabi-Sabi, which is difficult to describe, let alone grasp on a deep level. I found this in a book store so was able to read it before buying a copy for a friend. The design of the book, its pages and the layout of the copy, is like poetry. It's quite beautiful. A great gift for that friend who likes to drag home from the beach, pieces of wet, sandy wood or who picks up old, rusty things found in abandoned, over-grown lots... you know the type, they find beauty in unusual, dark-ish, imperfect things.

I love short books that are meaningful. This book I read in a couple hours and the message is so peaceful and life giving. Wabi Sabi is a term that comes from two Japanese words mashed together and it is rarely defined, indeed it kind of avoids being defined. The author says Japanese people know the feeling but not the definition. This was indeed my experience in Tokyo as I asked my friend to guide me to things that connected with Wabi Sabi culture. There are black and white photos on almost every other page of this book, of various things that convey the Wabi Sabi idea. The book spends a few pages on conveying the definition or more accurately, the feeling of Wabi Sabi, it gives a bit of history, then outlines the "Wabi Sabi Universe" which includes the following headings: Metaphysical Basis Spiritual Values State of mind Moral Precepts Material Qualities Wabi Sabi is the opposite of the Rat Race. It reminds me of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount or the struggle against nature. It values simplicity and perhaps above all the process of nature. Thoreau and Emerson would approve. Some quotes: "Get rid of all that is unnecessary" "Wabi sabi tells us to stop our preoccupation with success--wealth, status, power, and luxury--and enjoy the unencumbered life." "Things wabi sabi have no need for the reassurance of status or the validation of market culture."

I happened upon this book because of those Amazon suggestions that were displayed when I was ordering another book...a copy of The Book of Tea for a friend. Perhaps I should stop harping about the Big Brother aspect of such practices. LOL. I had a sort of epiphany in realizing there was a name for the aesthetic that I love and strive to create. And I suppose it influenced me, since I seem to have embarked on a new path, or perhaps just returned to one and continued on the journey. I was intrigued by comments made in one of the popular reviews here concerning a disappointment that the book did not address techniques for creating Wabi-Sabi. It made me think of the notion that you can teach knowledge, and skills, but you can't teach talent. And my first impression is that Wabi-Sabi has much more to do with the latter. And perhaps it has a much stronger link with the subconscious. I mean, isn't a fundamental aspect of the aesthetic that it looks like there was no human involvement in the creation? In any case, this is one of the few books that will be on my shelf permanently.

A super short book you could finish in a day or while traveling. There are a lot of pictures, the text is large, and that pages are thicker than your normal book. I read it again after first reading it in 2019. Something about it this time fell a bit short from what I remember. The first 50 pages are dedicated to history, mainly in the origins of wabi-sabi and tea culture. From there it gets into more poetic, tangible descriptions of wabi-sabi in everyday life. Untouched nature, mended belongings, lived-in spaces. These are ordinary things that show their history as they edge close to nothingness. There is a memento mori quality in wabi-sabi. I think my main takeaway is that it's a term for organic: let the human element appear in the work, eliminate the hierarchy, treat nothing as too sacred.

Excellent read.

Das Büchlein versucht eine grundlegende ganzheitliche Darstellung des Themas. Dies ist nicht ganz einfach, weil wabi sabi dem rationalen Denken nicht ganz zugänglich ist, es ist aber in diesem Fall überaus gut gelungen. Es vermittelt kurz gefasst das Konzept und die Geschichte auf der intellektuellen Ebene, angereichert um schwarzweiße Photographien die auf der intuitiven Ebene funktionieren. Sehr gelungen und absolut empfehlenswert.

Um dos melhores livros que li na vida, uma poesia em forma de ensaio sobre a estética, a arte e o olhar oriental sobre os objetos, a natureza, o espaço geográfico... em muitos momentos temos a sensação de estar lendo um texto de cunho espiritual, porque de fato essa leitura tem a proeza de levantar o espírito, tamanha a sua leveza e sensibilidade. Recomendadíssimo.

Piaciuto tutto.

Este libro es una joyita, es chiquito te lo echas rápido.