Saturday, March 9, 2013

Aging Architecture - Cincinnati


This building was in the middle of the industrial wasteland I was telling you about last entry.  I feel mixed emotions every time I see one of these old buildings slowly decaying in Cincinnati.  I always feel sad that such a masterpiece was let go.  Someone spent years carving all of these incredible ornaments and they are slowly crumbling to pieces.  At the same time I also absolutely love the state of decay they are in.  One would be hard-pressed to recreate this incredible patina.  Just look at the  colors... the gold and green and rust show through the paint in the most wonderful way.


Of course I can't help but think this building embodies the essence of wabi-sabi and I will leave you with a great quote from Leonard Koren's book "Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets, & Philosophers":

"Wabi-sabi represents the exact opposite of the Western ideal of great beauty as something monumental, spectacular, and enduring.  Wabi-sabi is not found in nature at moments of bloom and lushness, but a moments of inception or subsiding.  Wabi-sabi is not about gorgeous flowers, majestic trees, or bold landscapes.  Wabi-sabi is about the minor and the hidden, the tentative and the ephemeral... The closer things get to nonexistance, the more exquisite and evocative they become."


1 comment:

April Eight said...

I love this post. Such gorgeousness and, I do agree, the beauty is in the decay.