A001- Ramona Falls, Oregon

Ramona Falls, Oregon

Ramona Falls at Mt. Hood is unlike other waterfalls. Most waterfalls have a few commanding water drops. They are awe-inspiring due to their height and power. But Ramona Falls has no such commanding drop. Instead, the waterfall cascades over countless small random-shaped rocks. A photograph of the waterfall won't do justice because it is not splendid. But facing it on site gives a meditative aesthetic quality of beauty. Why?

I think the aesthetic quality of Ramona Falls is coming from its harmony of shapes that the countless splashes create. The harmony is the balance between unity and randomness (interestingness) of the rocks and splashes over them. It is the same quality that fractal in nature creates. I sense a sequence of events connected to each other through causality. We must acknowledge that this harmony is never created with the intention of aesthetics. Nature makes it by sheer coincidence. We feel humble in front of nature when it creates something of this beauty just by coincidence while we human beings devote our lives with every intention to create a beauty that can never compete with nature.

Ramona Falls reminds me of how absurd minimalism could be when it comes to beauty. A famed minimalist architect, Le Corbusier said "objects which are perfectly useful, convenient, and have a true luxury which pleases our spirit by their elegance and the purity of their execution, and the efficiency of their services. This rational perfection and precise determination creates the link sufficient to recognize a style." I wonder what a waterfall would look like when nature creates it "perfectly useful and convenient." It wouldn't look like Ramona Falls. Yet, Ramona Falls pleases our spirit by its harmony of shapes.

July 2020

Pyungchul Kim