THE ARTISTRY OF IMPERFECTION

Rex Burress

Down by the riverside, in the Centennial Gardens on the levee, there was a defective guide-light built into the walkway. Moisture leaked in and condensed under the glass, making a very good set-up for photographic closeups of condensed droplets! The maintenance crew fixed it with a new seal, changing imperfection to perfection, and took away what I thought was beautiful!

Thus it is that many things that some people value are seen as defective by others. Thus it is that society is composed of a wide range of opinions and personal judgments...and unexplainable likes and dislikes. The opposing attitude-complex slips right into politics, where gaining a majority has become almost impossible.

I'm not alone, though, in seeing a special beauty in old gnarled, decaying trees and deteriorating barns. Most artists are delighted to find such a state of imperfection, and an old dead oak on a steep hill will set a plein aire painter or a photographer off with joy! Even John Muir piped in, “The woods are full of dead and dying trees, yet needed for their beauty to complete the beauty of the living.”

Don't expect a trove of old wood around a city park, though; “public safety” demands that every defective tree limb and suspect shrub be hustled away to the dump. Leaving dead wood to add richness to the woodland floor is often frowned on as a “fire-fuel” danger. Where can one go to find “old growth forest?”

Fencing the dead cottonwoods at River Bend Park so the woodpeckers could finish nesting before cutting the trees, was an admirable gesture of the Feather River Park and Recreation Dept. in Oroville, CA.

There's something about weathered wood, or wrinkles on the aged human's face, that follows the lines of good composition and tells a story more vividly than a younger state of affairs.

Artists also know that accidental dribbles of paint or smears on canvas can lead to some interesting achievements critical viewers might exclaim to be the work of a genius! Of such is born abstract art where paint is purposely slung about with abandon, either to create a special effect, or because the artist is out of ideas! It might seem unjustified to praise the slap-side type of rendering when a realistic detailist spends many hours in an attempt to create perfection. But that is the way of judgment...and diversity.

It was interesting to see the work of a photographer who set about to portray the most beautiful woman from each country in the world. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” and for one person, or many people, to pick the prettiest piece of potential perfection from any group is nigh impossible. Of course, beauty is only skin deep, too, so you're only seeing the surface.

I became aware of the unsettled kind of response to perfection when judging camera club competitions. Someone has to make a choice for the most perfect picture, and it's very difficult when nearly all of the entries are “top” pictures, which brings it down to a personal decision based on personal taste and compositional correctness. So there are happy winners and aggravated losers...and equal emotive reactions to the judge. A member judges whether you are a good judge or a bad judge by the choices you choose...especially whether the entry was there's. “Thou shall not judge” said no one.

What is perfection in flowers...or seeds...or the leaves on a tree? When you get down to close-up seeing of plants or photographs, you find no finalists free of some type of imperfection; there is always some minute blemish, irregularity of growth, or the intrusion of erosion or injuries. Insects are posed to disrupt the perfect blossom.

We are acquainted with the assertion that no two leaves on a tree are alike, but with that condition, we experience diversity and the beauty of differences. There is a specialness in variety and imperfections...in different races of people...in youth and in age...in sparkling new trees, and in textured old trees--look for them!

“Usefulness is not impaired by imperfection. You can still drink from a chipped cup.”

--Greta K. Nagel

“Have no fear of perfection; you'll never reach it.” --Salvadore Dali

“They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they'd

 make up their minds.” --Winston Churchill