The Beauty of Imperfection

Was listening to a vinyl record player the other day and thought:

Wow, this is so much more aesthetically beautiful-sounding than a “perfect” mp3 or streaming song.

Why is that? My thought: the imperfections is what made it beautiful. For example, the cracking and popping of the vinyl, the parts where it skipped, or the places where the vinyl was damaged.

Which made me wonder:

Perhaps we can extend this theory of aesthetic to other domains.

For example:

  1. Photography as more beautiful when imperfect: Slightly imperfect compositions more beautiful. Gritty aesthetics as more beautiful. This is where film photography is good; the light leaks, scratches, and ‘false colors’ and grain as more beautiful.
  2. People with wrinkles in their faces have more beautiful faces.
  3. Worn clothes as more beautiful than brand-new.

Towards a ‘wabi sabi‘ aesthetic.

The more you use it, the more beautiful it becomes!

To not ‘baby’ your things. But to “use and abuse” it! To have more pride in actually USING THINGS. To have shame in NOT using things.

Aesthetics >