Imperfection as a value

arcadia

“Cool little imperfections”. Eric Scott Pfeiffer and Alex Paknadel’s Arcadia (see more here: https://goo.gl/G5XAmV) illustrates elegantly how imperfection is an essential element of being human. Contrasted to the smooth (and scary) surfaces of humaniod robots the idea of beauty and perfection becomes more complicated in a highly interesting way where aesthetics ideals involves many factors. That is not to say that the imperfect is the ideal, but it opens for a wider debate about ideas of beauty.

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Kim Haagen Mathiesen
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I think imperfection could be ideal and not only in physical aesthetics. Think about the imperfection of Nietzsche’s or Kierkegaard’s mind, those men where hunted, but their mind was beautiful and the world would have been a poor(er) place without them and their writings.

Lara Eva Sochor
Member
Perfection though is the European approach to beauty and aesthethics. If you are interested in getting to know a completely different approach take a look at the principles of Japanese aesthetics. Other than our classical view of aesthethics, where perfection is the ideal, in Wabi-sabi imperfection plays a central role, especially because it does not suggest the existence of an ideal of any kind. A similar approach exists in islamic art, which goes to show, how much influence our culture has on what we perceive as beauty. Which is why I completely agree with you, there are wider debates to… Read more »
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