Shadows, shades of gray and wabi sabi

Towards the Dynamic Art of Partial Comprehension (Part #2)

Shadows: The interplay between extremes is fruitfully reframed by consideration of shadows and their cognitive implications as variously explored, most notably in the light of their aesthetic importance:

Roberto Casati (Shadows: Unlocking Their Secrets, from Plato to Our Time, 2004)
Michael Baxandall (Shadows and Enlightenment, 1997)
Victor I. Stoichita (Short History of the Shadow, 1997)
Junichiro Tanizaki (In Praise of Shadows, 1977)

The insights derived from degrees and patterns of shadow, and the manner by which they are engendered, are clearly of value in recognizing the nature of (in)comprehension and the manner by which it may itself be patterned. The creative aesthetic approach to shadow fruitfully reframes the simplistic consideration of:

comprehension = light, enlightenment
incomprehension = dark, ignorance

The value of shadow is usefully "highlighted" by the appreciation of candlelight dinners, the ambiance they engender, and the nature of the communication they facilitate -- understood to be inhibited by an excess of "light", whether in a literal or metaphorical sense..

Shades of gray: Of related interest to shadow, the arts actively explores and value "shades of gray" -- reframing narrow preoccupation with a "false note" or "perfect pitch". As a metaphor, such shades are associated with recognition of the rich variety of human relationships and how they may be valued.

Technically it is interesting to note the distinctions recognized, as in the Wikipedia entry on "variations of gray". These include a pattern of computer web colour grays (as noted below), a set of 6 achromatic grays, a set of 4 off-grays, a set of 5 cool grays, a set of 5 warm grays.

"Shades of gray"

Configuration of grays proposed by Wikipedia

Computer web colour grays with (html) colour names

gainsboro
lightgray
gray
darkgray
dimgray
lightslategray
slategray
darkslategray

Aesthetics of wabi sabi: The recognition of shadows is taken further by Japanese aesthetics through wabi sabi -- an appreciation of "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" -- perhaps to be appropriately extended to include degrees of "incomprehension":

Andrew Juniper (Wabi Sabi: The Japanese Art of Impermanence, 2003)
Diane Durston (Wabi Sabi: The Art of Everyday Life, 2006)
Robyn Griggs Lawrence (Simply Imperfect: Revisiting the Wabi-Sabi House, 2011)

Indications of contrasting aesthetic extremes of "perfection" and "imperfection"
Schematic of a Greek vase or Chalice indicative of perfection	Harmonious imperfection of Japanese tea bowl

EU Anthem (Beethoven's Ode to Joy)	Eurovision Song Contest Winner (Athens, 2006) (Lordi's song Hard Rock Hallelujah)