says that perfection is boring because we are all problem solvers. When we see something imperfect, our consciousness wants to find out what is happening - we become curious. On the other hand, when something is too irregular or "cheesy" we dismiss it as irrelevant noise.
Generating curiosity is one thing... but what makes imperfections beautiful?
The difference between perfection and mastery
You may have read Giorgio Vasari's famous story about Giotto, an early Renaissance painter. In this story, Giotto was asked to prove his skill in painting. He did this by drawing a perfect circle without the use of any technical tool other than his brush. Unfortunately, I was not present myself, but I assume that Giotto's circle was not perfect, but was masterful. To explain the difference between the two, I'm going to show you how good, or bad, I'm drawing:
As you can see, my drawing is far from perfect. The red area shows how different my circle is from the ideal circle drawn by the software. This illustrates tension between goal and achievement. Mastery is the drive to make that area disappear. And Giotto's red zone was probably much smaller than mine.
Mastery is not perfection, it is the pursuit of perfection.
One of the things that makes hand drawings exciting: the effort
Sports events are exciting because of mistakes, misses, falls, setbacks - and the struggle to avoid them. The drama of the athletes serves as a metaphor for the personal struggles in our lives, the tension between our goals and our actual accomplishments. Watching an athlete perform flawlessly is nice, but watching him fight is even more exciting.
I now assume that a similar kind of struggle can be seen in hand-drawn pictures. What makes them "alive", "charming" or "personal" is not necessarily the unique "style" of the author, his personal "expression". This is his struggle for perfection. Watching someone draw can sometimes show this fight.
Artists and designers often hide this process and only show the brilliant results of their efforts. But in a world of perfect, brilliant products, process imperfections can be exactly what makes your work interesting for your audience. It makes the work human (in the best sense of the word) and thus beautiful.
We love to see the process, not just the result. Flaws in your work can be wonderful if they show your struggle for excellence rather than lack of care.
It's never enough - live with it!
Many creatives know this whining in their head while they are working on something. This voice will carefully point out all the shortcomings and errors in your work even before it is completed. this voice always - ALWAYS - convinces me that this is the worst thing I have ever done in my life. Ever. I see the wrong perspective, wrong proportions, crooked lines... it's all very dramatic. Imagine my relief when I realized that these mistakes could really please the audience because they can participate in my struggle! Following the ideas of Wabi Sabi, I got into the habit of accepting these imperfections and they became part of my work.
"Rooftops, Venice"
In our quest for excellence, we must learn to live with imperfections, with this contradiction between our goals and what we actually achieve. Just as we all know, this article could have been written much better. But this is the best I can do. Therefore, we must live right here and now.
Source: www.habr.com
