Thursday, February 27, 2003

Lack of Decoration on Special Containers Looks like I got ahead of myself yesterday. I had meant to discuss the lack of decoration that are sometimes associated with containers of special objects. A good example would be a Japanese Tomobako. They are used to hold pottery. These are often highly crafted, yet plain, wooden boxes. They may have some writing and a cord tied around them to keep the lid on. The pottery may be worth quite a bit, but the box could still be quite plain. In this case, I think the high degree of craftsmanship of the box speaks for the recognition of the valuale of the object within. The utter blankness, or simplicty, sets this type of container apart from the typical things around it. Just as white space is used to draw one's attention to the importance of the markings on a picture, so does a blank container draw one's attention to the object within. The sameness invites one to leave the busy minute to minute experience for a more contemplative state. There is also a notion of something void of differentiating detail that it signifies purity, flawless, or perfection. So here we have a different kind of decoration that does point to the importance of the object within. 9:56:48 PM