Every time I see Wabi-Sabi, I think of Ted Nugent, but that was Wango Tango. Sorry for the derailment, on to the winning photo. I'm not sure I'm qualified to judge a challenge on Wabi-Sabi, but I will judge it on how I understand it. We did not get many entries, which makes reviews easier but judging harder.

Don's (djb47) photo is interesting, the side of an old brick building that had an adjoining neighbor building that is now gone, but remnants remain, scarring this building probably til it too meets the wrecking ball. The photo asks a lot of questions, like when they took those floor joists out, why didn't they fill in the holes?, was the door added after the tear down?, were there steps?, or did it just go into the other building?, did the other building actually share this wall since it looks like plaster on it? Just about as unwelcoming as it could look, but intriguing, at least it is to me.

Noel's (noelcmm) photo of a broken window (I think) is also really interesting. I like the photo, but I actually think the breakage is too perfect for the challenge. I'm looking at it and thinking how would it look backlit, and with colored lights? It's very cool!

DeepSchwartz's photo is similar to Don's, but again totally different, this building is probably much older, but also looks to be in use. The first thing I notice is the broken ironwork on the window on the left, and I think, they need to remove it, or replace it, but then, it adds a little character. Then I notice the vertical crack to the left of the right window, and the section that appears to have shifted, how could that have happened? Did the building settle? Was it hit in a battle? Maybe there was a fire and it was rebuilt?

I had a very difficult time judging this, looking up articles on Wabi-Sabi, it is a very broad subject and interpreted many ways by different artists. Although Don and DeepSchwartz photo's are similar and both conjur up different parts of Wabi-Sabi, I am choosing DeepSchwartz as the challenge winner, because I like the aesthetics better in a way that is unexplainable. Congrats to all!

[djb47]

Congratulations DeepSchwartz. Well done.

Thanks for the feedback RamseyBuckeye.

[gatorguy]

Congratulation to the winner, and deservedly so.

[noelcmn]

Yebo yes, congrats Deepschwartz. Like TomI like the aesthetics and the color palette. Thanks Tom for the judging exercise!

[IsaacReaves]

Thanks @ramsbuckeye, and thanks also everyone else for the kind words and kindred spirits.

Being a long time resident of the Pacific Rim in the USA, I was introduced to wabi-sabi about 15 years ago, along with it's close cousin, kintsugi, the more famous Japan practice of repairing broken ceramics with gold. Now having moved to Bretagne, many of the old buildings in our ancient Breton town epitomize the philosophy of "nothing is finished, nothing lasts".

In the photo I took there are several different periods of masonry repair evident in the facade, which are not evident on first glance. Even the angles on the window casing stones are crooked after a recent looking job. Often I find these buildings in a state of repair where the masonry is sand blasted and dug out from around the stones before new mortar is applied. It is an odd sight when the round faces of the stones on the facade have many inches of gap around them, and are all tightly bunched together on the interior, the exterior edges having worn away from hundreds of years of weather. And yet, after all this, a new set of inhabitants finds their way to make a home there, decade after decade, making the most of the place and content with it's imperfect charms.

Look forward to judging the next contest. Thanks all and see you in the threads to come.

cheers