a color story: empty traffic sign by the swamp

I walked to the aggregate post boxes to pick up any incoming mail - a great excuse to get out of the house without a dog. The sun started to set. I heard birds chirp. The sky mellowed to a light blue - I thought that was strange for an evening. I heard the frogs croaking. Then, I noticed an empty traffic sign by the pond/swamp. It wasn't yellow. It wasn't grey. It was monochrome white. 

The no-utility sign left an unusual impression on me. 

The world of public sign were mini-forms of authority. You stopped at a stop sign. You yielded at a yield sign. You go at the green light. You noticed the signs when they are up on a stake. No signs served an ornamental purpose - that wouldn't be a great way to use tax money. 

Beside the unusual empty sign, there stood another staked sign with a cautionary note about the surging water levels and restrictions on the pond/swamp. One wasn't able to swim in it nor feed the wild life-  I recalled only those two out of the many. This "useful" sign was able to squish in all that information that I had to step in closer to read it. But, the empty white sign stood there without an authoritative purpose. 

In terms of aesthetics, the "useless" sign alluded to minimal Japanese aesthetics. Complimented by the croaking frogs, the pond seemed more inviting and approachable. Although I didn't bother to go through with it, the view was enough. The white sign served a minimal aesthetic by representing nothing. In the book White, the Muji creative designer, Kenya Hara discussed and explored the essence of white. He didn't approached the topic as a color but as a starting point, void and emptiness. 

The white sign served a minimal aesthetic by representing nothing. 

Of course, the government didn't have intentions for creating a minimal piece of art on a stake. There must have been another yield sign of some sort; spray painting the sign white was the cheaper alternative.  But, what good or fun does that "story" serve for my walks. I'd rather put on my slightly "delusional lenses" than accept the subtle economic truths. This was my walk after all. The white sign was the "bougie" part of my walk - nature could be overplayed sometimes. 

8:30 pm. Air conditioning was not an option yet. But, the rooms were turning into greenhouses. It was time to get out of the house. I walked along the neighborhood and  repeated the walking routine. The birds chirped. The frogs croaked. I saw the odd white sign.

I hoped it never filled in - this was my bit of Japanese minimal aesthetics in this part of town.