Thinking Feelings

This series thrusts itself into the mind map of its author, seeking to describe—though never define—the process by which humans perceive and desire perfection, all the while despising the very ideal to which they aspire.

Perfection, as we define it, does not exist in the natural world. Circles and lines only exist in mathematics—and in the imagination. Though Western religions and cultural norms spurn us on toward this pursuit in this life or the next, the result often proves lifeless and unmoving.

The beauty that we seek in perfection is only made accessible and resonant by the presence of imperfection. A machine-generated song made more palatable by changing its timing to ever–so–slightly irregular. A creator god, only made approachable by his/her presence on Earth. The impermanence of life only made real through the permanence of death. 

Perhaps through this, we expose an underlying motivation: the perception of perfection is often more important to us than its achievement.

—Benji Peck