The beauty of everyday things / Soetsu Yanagi ; translated by Michael Brase.
Material type:
TextLanguage: English Original language: Japanese Series: Penguin classicsPublisher: London : Penguin Books, 2018Copyright date: ©2017Description: 346 pages : illustrations ; 18 cmContent type: - text
- still image
- unmediated
- volume
- 9780241366356
- 0241366356
| Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book
|
Main Library | NonFiction | 745.0952 Y21 | Available | 33111009729902 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Our lives are filled with objects. Everyday things used in everyday settings, they are our constant companions. As such, writes Soetsu Yanagi, they should be made with care and built to last, treated with respect and even affection. They should be natural and simple, sturdy and safe - an aesthetic fulfilment of our practical needs. They should, in short, be things of beauty.
Long revered as the authority on craftsmanship and Japanese aesthetics, Yanagi devoted his life and writing to defend the value of craft. In an age of feeble and ugly machine-made things, this now-classic book is a call for each of us to deepen our relationship with the objects that surround us. Inspired by the work of the simple artisans Yanagi encountered on his lifelong travels through Japan and Korea, it is a heartfelt defence of modest, honest, handcrafted objects, from traditional teacups to jars to paper. Objects that exemplify the beauty of everyday things.
"Radical and inspiring ... Yanagi's vision puts the connection between heart and hand before the transient and commercial" - Edmund de Waal
"Soetsu Yanagi's unerring eye has influenced generations of makers. His notion of Zen and the art of design continues to inspire all those involved in shaping our everyday world" - Jasper Morrison
The essays appearing in this book were selected from Yanagi Soetsu korekushon 2: mono (Chikuma Shobo; chapters 2-7, 10-14) and Mingei yonju-nen (Iwanami Shoten; chapters 1, 8, 9, 15, 16) -- Title page verso.
First published in Japan as Soetsu Yanagi: selected essays on Japanese folk crafts by the Japanese Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture (JPIC) 2017.
"The common utilitarian objects depicted in this book were considered aesthetically insignificant until the appearance of Soetsu Yanagi. It was Yanagi who discovered the beauty that could only be produced by simple, humble craftsmen repeatedly and unselfconsciously working on the same objects day after day. From this quotidian world emerged a distinctive beauty - wholesome, free, and devoid of self-awareness. To bring these crafts to the notice of the world, Yanagi established the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in 1936, from whose collection the objects illustrated herein have been chosen for inclusion by the publisher. In the essays, Yanagi expounds his philosophy of folk crafts and highlights particular pieces. Altogether, the book constitutes a penetrating insight into the world of Japanese handicrafts"
Translated from the original Japanese into English.