The glow of grime Of course this 'sheen of antiquity' of which we hear so much is in fact the glow of grime. In both Chinese and Japanese the words denoting this glow describe a polish that comes of being touched over and over again, a sheen produced by the oils that naturally permeate an object over long years of handling—which is to say grime. If indeed 'elegance is frigid', it can as well be described as filthy. Jun'ichirō Tanizaki & Thomas J. Harper, In Praise of Shadows timeaestheticsfilthflaws
async A Photograph by Shiro Takatani & Yoko Takatani en.wikipedia.org Cover art for Ryuichi Sakamoto's album, async. Note the clay pot seemingly captured in freefall, just before hitting the ground. Ideas of permanence