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functionalist theory: "wabi"

updated sun 30 jun 96

 

Dan Wilson on thu 27 jun 96



> how do you relate the idea of utility to that of beauty? The western
>system of >aesthetics does not seem to be able to make that leap.
>However, Japanese ideas of >'wabi", "sabi", etc. are eminently suited
>since they take up "qualities" that things
>possess, and not some sort of idea of efficiency.

I had to look up "wabi" in the dictionary (Japanese). At first I couldn't
locate it. The dictionary that is. I couldn't remember where I put It. The
last time I used it I was looking for a definition of Shi wan. I ran around
the house saying wabi, wabi, wabi. After searching all of the places I
thought the dictionary should have been, my wife, in frustration (she hates
it when I start chanting.) said "Check the utility room at the end of the
hall." There! I asked "Who put it in the utility room?" Quiet taste: Is a
wisper just this side of nothing.In the utility room.

Dan