Today I want to share some thoughts about art. No, I’m not revisiting the old question of whether art is a necessity or simply a luxury. To me, the answer is plain. Art is not simply a luxury because we are human beings with emotions and art is a channel (and often a very powerful one) to express our emotions, especially when words fail.

The question I like address today is what makes some art timeless. Put differently, why does this or that form of art survive over time when others of the same era have faded away? What follows is my attempt to throw light on this question. You may disagree with my take, and that is alright. Art is subjective, and the more voices there are, the more interesting the subject of art becomes!

I want to start with a picture. The following is an old tea bowl or chawan that was used in the Japanese tea ceremony. This tea bowl dates to the 17th century.

This tea bowl is built entirely by hand (i.e., without the aid of a potter’s wheel). That is why the surface is uneven. The artist who made this bowl thought it would look good if the rim was also uneven unlike the bowls in our kitchen that comes out of a factory looking perfect. Not only that, the potter also thought it would be a good idea to scratch the surface of the bowl with his spatula, thus adding some textures to the surface. Finally, as was customary of that time, he glazed the bowl in one color: black, mainly to provide a color contrast to the green matcha tea. No other decorations of any form was added to the bowl to make it more more pretty. To the potter, .and all tea masters of ancient Japan, the simplest tea bowls are the best to concentrate the mind on the essentials, namely the wabi-sabi notion that we should embrace beauty in what is impermanent and imperfect as life itself is impermanent and imperfect. This unpretentious tea bowl is a statement of that philosophy.

The tea drinker will respectfully hold this bowl by the palm of both hands and feel the warmth of the matcha tea, while gazing at the lovely color contrast between the green of the tea and the blackness of the tea bowl. He will then take small sips of the tea in the presence of his host. If this sounds like a slow art performance, it is.

Now contrast this rustic tea bowl with the modern tea cups we use and you will see and feel the difference. Drinking from a handmade wabi-sabi tea bowl is an emotional (some say, a spiritual) experience. One is reminded that despite life’s imperfections and impermanence, there can be fleeting moments of calm and beauty.

Few modern objects we use daily can induce such profound feelings. The objects may be glossy, they may feature arresting decorations but they lack the human element, the intimacy of holding something made by hand and with a profound sensibility of timeless truths. Modern, machine made tea cups or any utensils cannot match the timeless quality of a traditional tea bowl like the one shown.

I am not the only one who think this way. Here is a passage from the book titled Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence by Andrew Juniper, a British author.

“Why has this style survived when almost all others of the same era have been relegated to art history? It may well be a testament to the fact that the beauty of wabi-sabi will, because of its profound artlessness and purity, always strikes a chord in the spirit of man, affirming our insignificance in a world of constant flux.”

If I may paraphrase Juniper, art that embodies eternal truths is almost by definition, timeless art. Imbuing objects with wabi-sabi attributes as seen in the above tea bowl is one way to make that object timeless. It may not look like art as we know it (pretty, decorative and colorful etc) but once you have fully absorbed the wabi-sabi concept, you can easily tell a timeless work of art from one that is simply trying to please.

The wabi-sabi approach is one way to create timeless works of art, but not the only way. An artwork can be joyful and playful, yet be timeless if it is executed with taste, and with a degree of restraint to acknowledge that all happiness on earth are fleeting. Here is an example.

This is tall cup with a handle shaped like a human ear. Made by the distinguished contemporary Japanese artist, Miwa Kyusetsu, it is a beautiful example of a functional object transformed into an artwork with the simplest gestures. The teasing ear handle is the highlight of the piece, without which I think the cup loses its allure. Like the black tea bowl above, the cup’s rim is uneven, as is the milky white glaze, subtle reminders that beauty can reside in imperfections.

Here is another example.

This whimsical vessel (it can be used as a snack bowl) is by the famed contemporary ceramic artist, Suzuki Goro who is known for his inventive and playful approach to pottery, and this bowl is evidence of that. The surface is hand-painted with a profusion of abstract cartoon-like motifs such as ravens (Goro’s favorite animal) and persimmon flowers. Yet this work is not reduced to the level of a trinket because of Goro’s artistry, nor is it merely decorative. The torn rim in particular is a reminder that despair is an equal partner with exuberance, a timeless fact about the human condition. These combined features is what gives this artwork a timeless quality.

My last example is a work by a western artist. Mark Rothko (1903-1970) is famous for his highly abstract “color field” paintings that subtly blends layers of colors of rectangular shapes. Here is an example.

Not all people like Rotkho’s style but I find them mesmerizing. The color fields have a depth and transcendent quality that evoke intense feelings in the viewer. In his more somber works, like Number 14, I would say those feelings encompass a sense of being alone and lost, of being plumbed into a state of despair words cannot adequately describe. One looks at a Rothko painting, even a more colorful one and one is reminded of the dark side of the human condition, the unchangeable fact that each of us will always be alone no matter how rich, famous or popular we are. Like a Japanese tea bowl, a Rothko painting is a meditation on our ephemeral and fragile state. This soulful (some say, spiritual) quality is what makes a Rothko painting timeless.

Further Reading

Wassily Kandinsky, Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Penguin Books, 2024.