Mission & Vision Statements: Applying Wabi-Sabi Aesthetics

 

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Check in

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Vocabulary

Mission Statement
It is a formal summary of the aims and values of a school, company, organization, or individual.

Vision Statement 
A vision statement is a declaration of an organization's objectives, intended to guide its internal decision-making. 

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Examples of Mission and Vision Statements as they appear in the websites of three schools.

New World School of the Arts 

https://nwsa.mdc.edu/about/

Mission

New World School of the Arts (NWSA) is a Florida Center of Excellence in the Visual and Performing Arts. NWSA provides a comprehensive program of artistic, creative, and academic development through a curriculum that reflects the rich, multicultural State of Florida. The school empowers students to become state, national, and international leaders in the arts by challenging them with innovative ideas as they prepare for professional careers in a global community. These principles guide intensive and rigorous education for talented high school and college arts students

Vision

We are committed to providing educational and artistic excellence for our students.

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Miami Arts Charter School

https://www.miamiartscharter.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=153154&type=d&pREC_ID=299441

 

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Design and Architecture Senior High School

https://dashschool.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=509337&type=d&termREC_ID=&pREC_ID=981020&hideMenu=0

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Activity1

 

Gather in groups and come up with your group's mission and vision statements in accordance to your ideal school.

 

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WABI-SABI AESTHETICS

In traditional Japanese aesthetics, wabi-sabi is a world-view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete."

 

Wabi-Sabi refers to the kind of beauty found in asymmetrical, uneven or unbalanced things. The asymmetry of a ceramic bowl is an example of wabi. Sabi is the beauty of aged things and speaks to the impermanence of life through the passage of time. An example of sabi is the lovely patina found on a rusted old metal wall.

 

Wabi-sabi is a concept that motions us to constantly search for the beauty in imperfection and accept the more natural cycle of life. It reminds us that all things including us and life itself, are impermanent, incomplete, and imperfect. Perfection, then, is impossible and impermanence is the only way. 

 

With roots in Chinese Zen Buddhism, the story of wabi-sabi can be traced back to a 16th-century Japanese legend about Sen no Rikyu and his tea master, Takeeno Joo. The tale tells how, upon his master's request, Rikyu cleaned and raked the garden to perfection. 

 

 Zen Buddhists use a round symbol called enso (円相) to express their version of wabi-sabi. This perfect circle of black ink painted with a thick brush is made of infinite motion: always moving, never standing still. Sometimes, a painting will feature a gap in the circle.

5 principles for living the wabi-sabi way

1. Get rid. De-clutter your living space and it will help to de-clutter your mind.
2. Head outside. Give yourself time to sit and think in the outdoors, amongst nature.
3. Live seasonally. Observe the seasons as they come and as they pass.
4. Embrace the imperfect. ...
5. Enjoy your emotions.
   

 

Question 1

How can wabi-sabi principles advance your commitment to make the arts part of the general curriculum?

 

Question 2

How does the concept of wabi-sabi apply to installation art work?

 

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Activity 2

 

 

Individual Work: Bring nature indoors with flowers, foliage, twigs, bark, grasses, feathers, pebbles, shells, rocks, crystals, pine cones, conkers, nuts and seeds. Use the nature items to reflect the seasons and create interesting provocations through an installation art piece.

 

LINK:  https://www.communityplaythings.co.uk/learning-library/articles/wabi-sabi-keeping-it-simple

 

Students' Work 

 

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Connectedness

 

Isabel Gomez

To me, this piece symbolizes the connectedness of all things and all forms. The spirals and curves of the toilet paper roll-- a manmade object-- mirror that of the bark-- a natural object-- showing the ways in which the two are one and the same. The toilet paper roll came from a big, beautiful tree, just as the bark did, despite now holding a new form.

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The Colors of Life

 

Maggie Obregon

With the items I have collected from outside it shows that even the smallest things bring such great brightness and joy to this world. Sometimes, we have to go outside and enjoy nature with all the beautiful different colors it gives us. Through out the seasons and temperature changes it allows them to bloom different flowers, plants, fruits, and some animals and insects even change colors or their shells. It allows us to appreciate the beauty in this world.  

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Sprouting Cycle

Jackson Bond

The leaf and small weed represent the sprouting of life throughout each season. The weed sprouting out of the broken snail shell represents the cycle of life. The rock represents the subtle and stillness of stopping and enjoying life once in a while. The sticks around it are in response to holding everything together.

 

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Blooming

 Ananya Malhotra

 

 For my installation, I decided to use a stick, pebbles, and a yellow and green leaf to depict what the arts can bring to our lives and how they challenge us to think with a more open mind. The stick and rocks represent the basic standards of education that most schools use, teaching STEM, history, and languages. They serve as the base of our knowledge and understanding of the world. The yellow leaf represents us as we learn about the arts and our world view broadens. The way the leaf is above the rocks and stick, as a combination of bright colors, represents how much more enlightened we become when we understand these different facets of the world and can fully "bloom" as human beings.