Repairing Perfection
“There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”
~Leonard Cohen
Stuff breaks. Today, broken things are often discarded. This was also true in the past. However, both today and in the past, some things—special things—are repaired. Their specialness may come from their economic, symbolic, or political value; their beauty; or their connections to personal or family history.
All of the objects in the Repairing Perfection section of the Less Than Perfect Art Exhibition have been repaired. Many of the repairs were purely practical: to allow objects to continue to serve their intended function. Some repairs were concealed to make the objects appear new. Others are visible, when menders chose not to hide their work.
While all repairs fix broken objects, some are meant to be seen and admired in their own right. They add to an object’s beauty and celebrate its history, including the harms it has suffered. The gold-lacquer kintsugi repaired vessels provide striking examples of this approach.
Most people don’t purposefully shatter their cherished pieces of pottery, but that isn’t always the case in Japanese culture. Adorning broken ceramics with a lacquer mixed with powdered gold is part of a more than 500-year-old Japanese tradition that highlights imperfections rather than hiding them. This not only teaches calm when a cherished piece of pottery breaks; it is a reminder of the beauty of human fragility as well.
Rather than concealing imperfections, the joins of these repaired vessels are defined by bright gold lacquer in a technique known as kintsugi or “golden joinery.” Multiple layers of lacquer are applied to bond fragments of a broken vessel together. Gold dust is mixed into the final layer to highlight the joins. The elegant repairs celebrate the age and history of the vessel, enhancing its beauty and marking it as a valued heirloom.
This centuries-old art is more than an aesthetic. For the Japanese, it’s part of a broader philosophy of embracing the beauty of human flaws.
In a world that so often prizes youth, perfection and excess, embracing the old and battered may seem strange. But the 15th-Century practice of kintsugi is a reminder to stay optimistic when things fall apart and to celebrate the flaws and missteps of life.
In an age of mass production and quick disposal, learning to accept and celebrate scars and flaws is a powerful lesson in humanity and sustainability.
Sources:
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