Wabi-Sabi

Wabi-Sabi

I was perusing my issue of Make: magazine. For those unfamiliar, Make: is a publication dedicated to project and things people do with every day objects and making them better suit the needs they have. For example, this issue I have has an article on creating an electric gutar from a cigar box. It also has an article on "bending" sounds in cheap electronic keyboars by jumping contacts on the printed circuit boards. My favorite is an ipod that is integrated into a 70s console stereo; remember the monster wood cabinets that had a heavy lid that had to be lifted to get to the suner and recors player? Yeah. One of those. I always thought they had a nice warm sound.

In the issue there is also an essay in which the author describes "Wabi-Sabi" with respect to these sorts of things. Wabi-Sabi is a japanese term for a philosphy on art and form. Wabi-Sabi is best expressed in the tea ceremony in which something very ordinary and every day is done with deep consideration of the smallest aspects. A tea house is often a rather shabby shack sort of affair and the tea cups are often handmade and very rough; but also very very old often generations old.

What appears to be a good online explanation is:
http://www.art.unt.edu/ntieva/artcurr/asian/wabisabi.html

" it is important to set aside Western aesthetics as criteria when making judgments about non-Western art. For example, many non-Western cultures recognize no distinction between fine art and craft, may not even have a word for "art," and may not separate art from everyday life."

To state it more simply:

"Wabi-sabi is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete.
It is the beauty of things modest and humble.
It is the beauty of things unconventional."

"All things are impermanent
All things are imperfect
All things are incomplete"

"Material characteristics of wabi-sabi:

suggestion of natural process
irregular
intimate
unpretentious
earthy
simple"

So what does this mean to me?

Well it puts into a concept why I like old motorcycles. It also describes why I like choppers, cafe racers and other home-brewed machines. It is an excellent concept that encompasses why I enjoy working on bikes as much as I do riding them. And it tells why it takes me so long to do the most mundane tasks to my bikes.

To give you an example of your own, go find a treasured and useful object. An object you have owned and used for a long time. Most men have a pocket knife or that they have used for years. Now just hold it in your hand. Consider each stain, nick or scuff. You know there are better, newer versions of it available. But this fits your hand. your hand naturally holds it. The motions your fingers go through as you use the object are familiar and comfortable.

Wabi-Sabi is the life an object takes on as it is used and becomes familiar with the owner. Wabi-Sabi objects can be passed from generation to generation and the wabi-sabi grows with each passage. The nicks, scuffs and chipped paint are not defects or "wearing out" but rather a record of the history of the object to be considered and honored.

So as I sit and consider my bikes, I take note of the imperfections. The worn spots where my knees have rubbed the tank. The scrape mark where I knocked one bike into another. The deep bluing on the exhaust. The clatter of solid lifters and worn rockers. I consider each of them and feel a sense of warmth and pride. The marks and imperfections are marks of honesty. Of labor performed. Of wisdom gained.

There is Wabi-sabi too in tasks. The Tea Ceremony is, as I mentioned, a simple task performed with contemplation of it. I do this unconciously every time I ride my old bikes. The ritual of donning my gear, checking the pockets for all my needed items. The slow contemplation of the bike as I check oil, tire pressure, gas level and such. Starting the bike is the final movelemnt of the ritual as I listen closely to the motor warming up begin the conversation with the spirit within.

Owning an old bike and becoming deeply involved with it over a long time creates great wabi-sabi in the machine. And the more intimate the relationship, the greater the wabi-sabi and the more rewarding its contemplation becomes. If you have held the pistons of your bike in your bloodied, filthy hands then when you ride that bike, the rejuvenation you get from the time out you take on it will be greater, because you know it is moving you along because of what you have done and you have infused the bike with your essence.

The next time you do something with your bike, whether it is changing the oil or going for a ride; take a moment. Consider each motion and moment separately. It doesnt matter if you have a new, flash sportbike or a wheezing old triumph. Take a few moments. This is the difference between grabbing a burger at mickey D's and enjoying a fine steak with your closest friends.

Savor the Wabi-sabi.