Integrative Natural History of Amnicon Falls State Park, Part 10: Further Documenting My Geo-Kintsugi Obsession | Wisconsin, USA
Looking at a section of the fault-breccia zone just under the fault gouge illustrated in Part 9, and the reverse Douglas Fault shown in Part 6.
The rock hammer provides scale. From handle base to the top of its head, it's 11 in (28 cm) long.
In Part 8 of this set. I first introduced the concept of geo-kintsugi, another one of those coinages of mine that has built up an impressive track record of being of no interest to anyone else. But I sure do like it, and just considering its ramifications has already given me hours of fun. In fact, it's become a real idée fixe, very much like an unshakeable musical earworm theme.
The Japanese root term, kintsugi, is one of the most thought-provoking and uplifting forms of art ever devised by the human mind. It involves making a virtue out of the imperfection caused by breakage—as in broken shards of pottery. When those shattered pieces are put back together, they're cemented with a golden, glittering glue that emphasizes the cracks and the whole process of rebirth through reassembly.
As a result, the reconstituted bowl or cup or sake bottle proclaims rather than hides what it's been through. The magnificent asymmetries and added strength revealed by the golden joints make one almost want to pity any thing or person with a claim to perfection.
To me, the clastic sedimentary rock known as breccia, whether produced (as here) by the grinding action of fault motion or not, is geo-kintsugi. Perfectly good rock units, in this case the Orienta Sandstone with some Chengwatana Volcanic Group basalt too, have been torn apart into angular fragments. And then they've been glued back together, so to speak, before those particles could travel far enough to get smoothed and rounded.
In this case, the cementing matrix wasn't gold, but it still makes it clear that a lot of breakage has been mended. To quote some obscure poetaster, "Our world is one giant kintsugi factory showroom full of reconnected collectibles, and we do ourselves an injustice in limiting our sense of aesthetics to mere human works."
You'll find the other photos and descriptions of this series in my Integrative Natural History of Amnicon Falls State Park album.
Integrative Natural History of Amnicon Falls State Park, Part 10: Further Documenting My Geo-Kintsugi Obsession | Wisconsin, USA
Looking at a section of the fault-breccia zone just under the fault gouge illustrated in Part 9, and the reverse Douglas Fault shown in Part 6.
The rock hammer provides scale. From handle base to the top of its head, it's 11 in (28 cm) long.
In Part 8 of this set. I first introduced the concept of geo-kintsugi, another one of those coinages of mine that has built up an impressive track record of being of no interest to anyone else. But I sure do like it, and just considering its ramifications has already given me hours of fun. In fact, it's become a real idée fixe, very much like an unshakeable musical earworm theme.
The Japanese root term, kintsugi, is one of the most thought-provoking and uplifting forms of art ever devised by the human mind. It involves making a virtue out of the imperfection caused by breakage—as in broken shards of pottery. When those shattered pieces are put back together, they're cemented with a golden, glittering glue that emphasizes the cracks and the whole process of rebirth through reassembly.
As a result, the reconstituted bowl or cup or sake bottle proclaims rather than hides what it's been through. The magnificent asymmetries and added strength revealed by the golden joints make one almost want to pity any thing or person with a claim to perfection.
To me, the clastic sedimentary rock known as breccia, whether produced (as here) by the grinding action of fault motion or not, is geo-kintsugi. Perfectly good rock units, in this case the Orienta Sandstone with some Chengwatana Volcanic Group basalt too, have been torn apart into angular fragments. And then they've been glued back together, so to speak, before those particles could travel far enough to get smoothed and rounded.
In this case, the cementing matrix wasn't gold, but it still makes it clear that a lot of breakage has been mended. To quote some obscure poetaster, "Our world is one giant kintsugi factory showroom full of reconnected collectibles, and we do ourselves an injustice in limiting our sense of aesthetics to mere human works."
You'll find the other photos and descriptions of this series in my Integrative Natural History of Amnicon Falls State Park album.