Beauty, associated with Umberto Eco to the good and the beautiful, is an important part of our existence and becomes a relevant concept for reading man-made manifestations and artifacts. Beauty is something that fascinates, that generates attraction and desire to possess. For this intrinsic characteristic I believe that perfection is first and foremost subjective, as it depends on the tastes and appreciation of the individual. But there is an important point to highlight between beauty and perfection. Michelangelo's Pietà is a work of consecrated beauty, impeccable craftsmanship in both its sculptural gesture and artistic significance but, if we were to ask Michelangelo most likely would tell us a series of possible improvements and modifications to make it even more unrepeatable.
Apart from the beauty l'unrepeatability is one of the necessary factors to become legend, icon and archetype and I like to think that part of unrepeatability is also the result of imperfection, as well as creativity and the avant-garde.
The concept of perfection calls for absolute unconditional excellence, full completeness, maximum precision, superior level, lack of defects. The perfection thus described has a purely subjective value, perhaps only nature could define itself in this way. But we know that every snowflake is geometrically symmetrical, therefore perfect, but no snowflake is the same as another. Imperfect and irreplicable perfection. Concretely what many of us declare as perfect is actually imperfect.
If absolute perfection is unattainable, imperfection can be the basis for achieving the originality and uniqueness of gesture and content. The acceptance of this rule can be useful both for living better and for accepting that the degrees of judgment are predominantly individual and, distancing oneself from absolute superlatives and trying to tend towards continuous improvement and unrepeatability could be a decidedly more realistic and pragmatic model of behaviour. This principle of continuous improvement (invented by the Japanese of Toyota) is perhaps a possible way to be able to build an unrepeatable and original project over time and, according to this logic, I allow myself to add to the attributes of Eco on beauty (as well as good and beautiful) also unrepeatable and improvable.
“The key to the Toyota method lies not in any single element that characterizes it but in all of these elements working together as a system. It must be put into practice as a whole every day, constantly and not just once in a while” Shoichiro Toyoda (Honorary President of Toyota)
All the best!
