wabi sabi
natural imperfection
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Review: In Search of Wabi Sabi
by Steve Smith · February 6, 2015 · leave a comment
Today I am reviewing the documentary In Search of Wabi Sabi by Marcel Theroux.
What is great about the documentary is Marcel’s genuine interest and yearning to find out more about wabi sabi. He is certainly no documentary maker for hire tasked to film a specific topic. Like his famous brother, Louis Theroux, Marcel really does want to provide a true ethnographic look at wabi sabi from within Japanese culture.
The big problem Marcel runs into is language and I mean this in two senses of the word. The first is the obvious language barrier. Speaking with people with limited English is a barrier which limits Marcel from being able to have prolonged, meaningful discussions. The second language problem is that many of the Japanese people Marcel interviews have an innate understanding of wabi sabi, which they cannot articulate.
With this in mind, Marcel does a respectable job (in trying to find out more about wabi sabi) with the limited resources at his disposal.  True to his hands-on approach, he is an active and willing participant even during the most awkward of moments (particularly the monastery scenes). Furthermore, Marcel does a terrific job in demonstrating/discussing how modern and traditional Japan are almost completely at odds.
Despite his genuine approach, Marcel does falter on a couple of accounts. The first is that he sometimes comes across as sarcastic (i.e. pulling faces at the camera) in front of the same people who have graciously hosted him. This is clearly to make the documentary more entertaining but it does feel at odds with the subject matter. The second problem is that Marcel ends up using the term wabi sabi too broadly. By the end of the documentary, Japanese people, Buddhism and wabi sabi almost crudely become one and the same.
Even though Marcel struggles to find answers, his journey is definitely worth the watch. He also partially redeems himself by providing a satisfying final answer/example.
Score: 4/5
Mark Reibstein on Wabi Sabi
by Steve Smith · February 5, 2015 · leave a comment
A short interview with the author of the children’s book Wabi Sabi, Mark Reibstein, and Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator Ed Young.
Review: Cool Japan
by Steve Smith · February 3, 2015 · leave a comment
Cool Japan, which offers a unique talk show format, looks at Japanese trends that have become cool to Westerners. Today I am reviewing their episode on wabi sabi.
The highlight of this episode is Paul Vincent, an artist from the UK, who has both the clearest and deepest understanding of the concept. He provides many illustrative examples of wabi sabi, including a Himalayan pine tree at odds with the human-made landscape and an understated statue down a Japanese back alley.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said of all the c