The Curious Cat Library
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. The most beautiful things in life are the ones that remain hidden, concealed, and it is only through the slow, careful process of uncovering them that we begin to see them for what they truly are. Books, like all things in life, are not merely objects to possess or read for the sake of entertainment. They are mirrors of the world, both in what they reveal and in what they obscure, and it is often in the act of searching for meaning within them that we lose ourselves. In that process of losing ourselves, perhaps we discover who we truly are."
Marcel Proust
In Search of Lost Time
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The Curious Cat Library
The concept of Esprit Wabi (Wabi Spirit) is central to Vervoordt's work. Originating in 12th-century Japan, the Wabi philosophy advocates for simplicity, humility, and a respect for the action of time on objects, explicitly rejecting the superfluous, the artificial, and the perfect in favor of the essential, the natural, and the imperfect. Vervoordt adapted this into a Western context, creating a style defined by emptiness, silence, modesty, melancholy, asymmetry, patina, and a refined austerity using raw, recycled, and rustic materials.
He detailed this approach in his book Esprit Wabi (published by Flammarion in 2010, also known as Wabi Inspirations), co-authored with Tatsuro Miki. The book documents his personal journey with Eastern philosophy and illustrates how this ancient concept translates into modern interior design, promoting an art of subtraction and harmony with nature. His aesthetic is often described as an "oasis of beauty" that dialogues across different epochs.
Watch the complete book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tWQu...
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The Curious Cat Library
Karl Blossfeldt (1865–1932) was a pioneering German photographer, sculptor, and teacher best known for his stark, highly magnified black-and-white photographs of plants.
Born in Schielo, Germany, he initially trained as a sculptor and iron caster before studying ornamental design in Berlin. Blossfeldt had no formal photography training but built homemade cameras capable of magnifying subjects up to 30 times their natural size.
He used these images primarily as teaching tools for his students at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Berlin, where he taught design from 1898 to 1930. His work gained international acclaim with the 1928 publication of his seminal book Urformen der Kunst (Art Forms in Nature), which established him as a key figure in the New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit) movement.
He died in Berlin on December 9, 1932.
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The Curious Cat Library
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. A heartfelt thank you to each of you for your continued support over the years. I look forward to sharing more books with you in 2025 😸❤️✨
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