Weekend Inspiration: Wabi-Sabi

I recently saw In Search of Wabi Sabi with Marcel Theroux on BBC4.  If you’re in the UK you can see it on iPlayer.  It was a documentary about Theroux’s attempts at uncovering the meaning of Wabi-Sabi, an inherently Japanese concept relating to spiritualism and aesthetics.

The documentary tracked Theroux’s journey across Japan and through many aspects of Japanese culture, from modern Tokyo city dwellers to the practices of artisans in Kyoto and the daily life of strict Buddhists.  He even lived a day and night in a temple as a Buddhist; it was definitely amusing to see how difficult their extreme discipline was for him.

Theroux’s background appeared to be firmly set in British individualist society.  Certain elements of Japanese culture are less individualist, especially historically, so he struggled to come to terms with the fact wabi-sabi has many interpretations and meanings depending on who you are.  Enlightenment for him seemed to occurr towards the end when he realised the key to wabi-sabi was the value of his own interpretation and the difference between an object being beautiful and the deeper spiritual sensation when beauty is perceived within the observer.

If you’d like to learn some background on the concept, the Wikipedia article is a good starting point.  It includes references Theroux discusses in his article, which may have been misleading after hearing explanations from tea ceremony practitioners and Buddhist monks.

If you’re in need of inspiration in your work, check out the wikipedia page and try and see Theroux’s documentary.  Who knows, maybe you’ll discover a new way of looking at you work.