“I like the fact that in ancient Chinese art the great painters always included a deliberate flaw in their work: human creation is never perfect.” - Unknown
I like this quote a lot because it mirrors a lot of what we've been doing in class recently, how we've been deliberately going back to paintings that to some could be deemed as finished or done, but aren't. This is powerful motivation to continue to work on a painting. The view presented here also hinders the practice of obsessing over a painting until it is "perfect." That idea in itself is very appealing because it can be so frustrating when you just can't get something right, but with this "ancient Chinese" attitude, leaving it that way becomes a deliberate and humble move.
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A lot of artists like to play with the idea that there is no actual perfection in the world, there's just an attempt to achieve something life perfection. A drive or challenge that can never be fulfilled. Flaws, I think, can be easily be overwhelming in a work. But when a some "flaw" is subtle and poetic enough it can be an attribute; it mirrors the same type of charming imperfection that we frequently recognize in people.
Another thing I think of (a mild analogy) is the difference between American and European dental aesthetics. Orthodontics in America is big business, and people with enough money nowadays will pay to have their teeth straightened, shaped, and whitened to perfection. In Europe, the attitude is different. people live more comfortably with the flaws of their dental architecture and I think it often becomes a strong part of their appearance and character that adds depth and charm...hideously bad buck teeth still need to be fixed wherever you are though.
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