Customer Reviews

Wabi Sabi Style

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a student of Japanese culture, this book depressed me. The contents bear no more relation to the true spirit of "wabi" and "sabi" than does a chrome Sony Diskman. The book's core sensibility is mediocre, middle-American interior design thinly coated with a layer of Japanese cliches. What made me very sad was the complete misuse/misundertanding of the important aesthetic terms "wabi" and "sabi." The tipoff is in the title. Wabi and sabi can never be a "style" in the Martha Stewart home decorating sense. (Although I'm sure Martha Stewart would have at least made a beautiful, if not intellectually honest, book.) Wabi-sabi is NOT a style or, as the authors maintain, something akin to feng shui. This book is an example of cultural fusion at its worst. Not recommended.

Much appreciation to the authors for bringing Wabi Sabi to the masses. In doing so they have rescued Wabi Sabi from the pretentious "WABI SNOBBY" pseudo intellectuals.
here is a sampling of a few jewels found in the text of Wabi Sabi Style;
"To ennoble the ignoble"
"Moving beyond the glossy, gilded, and gaudy - the simple organic elegance of wabi sabi is for those who have no need to prove who they are. Wabi Sabi is for those who are at peace with themselves and want to feel the peace of the world around them at all times."
"In order to understand wabi sabi, beauty must first be understood on a conceptual level. The traditional Japanese concept of beauty differs radically from that of the West. The Japanese have long held the notion that beauty is not inherent in an object but rather is experiential. Given an order set of circumstances, beauty is the elicited response experienced by the perceiver."
I am an admirer of Leonard Koren's writing on wabi sabi, but it is apparent that there are those who make the unfortunate mistake of comparing the Crowley's work with Koren's. As Confucius has told us "comparisons are odious" Even the work of Lennox Tierney deserves recognition. The Japanese know that "there are many paths to reach the top of Mount Fuji"
It is apparent that there are those who deem themselves the guru's and sensei's of a fabricated "wabi sabi movement or school" these individuals or groups are in direct opposition to the spirit of wabi sabi . Let us all remember Koren's wabi sabi universe, under "Moral Precepts" and "focus on the intrinsic and ignore material hierarchy."
Thank you to Koren, Tierney, and the Crowley's for bringing the values found in wabi sabi to the west.

Will "wabi-sabi" become the new buzzword among corporate retailers and mall mongers? That seems to be the authors' intention. They attempt to transform an elegant and rarified sense of beauty into corporate easy speak: high bulk, low content. The authors' flawed methodology is to take a mishmash of things Japanese and, by association, assume it's wabi-sabi. They haven't done their homework.

Sorry, I don't understand why this book gets glowing write-ups on the Amazon review page. I found this book poorly thought out and amateurishly written. Yes, there are pretty pictures, but I wanted to learn something about wabi sabi. I didn't.

Wabi-Sabi is a must-read book for those into Asian Design and simplicity. Before I read the book, my room was a disaster. Now, my room is completely transformed along with my lifestyle. I have thrown away all of my junk or clutter, and only display a few items which are important to me. By changing the paint color to a more earthly and natural tone of color and using natural wood for the trim as contrast, my room clearly displays beauty in its simple form. The authors of the book, give great advice in beautiful detail as how one can apply the wabi-sabi approach to one's home regardless of its size. The ability to stay with a minimalistic attitude shows wisdom and self-control as explained in the book.

I don't think some of the past reviewers were seeing the same book that I was. Every image was artfully taken and beautifully illustrative of what it is and how to appreciate Wabi Sabi. Understanding that old and crooked can be more restful and pleasing than new and straight and unblemished is a new and freeing concept to many. This books allows people to explore what they once discarded and to appreciate a new esthetic for their surroundings, in both their home and garden. The colors and textures inspire me every time I open it up for another look.

The authors have achived the elusive, communicating concepts of wabi and sabi through poetic text and evocative images.