Decay

The picture above was snapped recently while out walking the dog. What you see is a detail of a metal signboard that has been corroded and invaded by ivy tendrils. How long has it undergone this attrition? Difficult to say, but probably not that long. But the only reason it’s there is because it belongs to an abandoned property, and no one has gotten round to removing it. One reason I took the photograph is because It’s unusual to find such beautifully worn surfaces here in South Korea. Everything looks new, that is, without history. Why is this? This questions is especially interesting for me because I really find that such surfaces carrying the random textures of time very poignant and aesthetically pleasing. Koreans, on the whole, don’t seem to have an aesthetic sensibility attuned to enjoying such time-textured surfaces. Why?