The Fashion of Patina
When, exactly, did patina become fashionable? Was it in the 70s, when ‘distressed’ furniture started making an appearance, when the well-worn, used look became all the rage? I’m thinking that must have been the beginning. I also remember thinking how silly paying extra for false ‘patina’ was when that distressed look became popular. It’s gradually spread its appearance across nearly all forms of things, from kitchen cabinets to clothes, to tools, to cars. Anything that gets use, weathering, wear and tear is subject to the perception that the look of use, and even abuse, is beautiful. When it crosses into the abuse category I feel the need to draw the line. In most cases, I have a hard time finding the beauty in that.
I grew up in an age where you took care of everything you had. First, those things weren’t come by easily. Secondly, I was of a mind that if you bought good stuff, that is, well made clothes, quality tools, higher end paint, they paid for themselves with increased lifespan and utility. And if you took care of them, they lasted even longer, gave you a satisfaction not only of their quality but by extension the things they were used on.
Seeing the celebration of things that have been abused does not give me much satisfaction. I celebrate exactly the opposite – the dedicated, even loving, care exhibited by something well-preserved. Like a well-used car that still displays shining paint, polished chrome and broken-in, but clean and structurally sound upholstery. It has expected signs of wear, things like creases, small pits or scratches, little imperfections unavoidable by the passage of time, but overall, obviously not damage from neglect. That’s patina. It shows use, care, history, appreciation for the glory of the machine. It’s not perfect, but it’s use has been driven by a care for it to last.
I appreciate the effort made to preserve. I have little love for the person who puts a machine in a garage for decades, where it’s unloved, uncared for, discarded and ignored. Good intentions to ‘get to it someday’ don’t mean squat. I’ve always regarded sincerity as backed by action; a wish never manifests itself into anything. There’s a point where restoration is preferable to preservation. Rat rods, for instance, have their place because they don’t pretend to be anything other than a fun takeoff of a low-budget effort to keep a vehicle running.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m fascinated by the history and look of a preservation vehicle that still has the dust, dirt, rust and all after being pulled from a barn. But, it needs to run, it needs to be structurally sound; it needs to be a semblance of the thing it was originally intended to be. It must retain its function, its purpose for existing, otherwise it’s merely a much less interesting fossil. It needs to still impart the experience of use. That is what gives it true context.
All that said, I’m a perfectionist, so I have a much greater appreciation for those who have maintained their vehicles to a high standard from its beginning. There are some vehicles out there, like the twenty-year-old Honda S2000 I recently purchased, that look nearly brand new. They have been pampered but used. That’s an effort for which I have great respect. For me, it’s a demonstration of the appreciation for society at large, for the work, the pride that went into creating this utilitarian, kinetic art form. For me, showing respect and care for things made by others is part and parcel with respect for yourself and, in a greater sense, for mankind. It’s difficult for me to extend that feeling to a POS.
This is probably a bit harsh, but the vast majority of things that cannot be used for their original purpose should be restored, destroyed or left to rot, not preserved. It’s just that the use of ‘patina’ to describe a machine that has obviously been seriously neglected does not sit well with me. Over time, patina results from normal use and an effort to preserve a machine’s function. Patina isn’t a catchall phrase to describe anything that’s old and less than perfect regardless of condition. Trying to make a POS into a romantic work of art just doesn’t pass the smell test. To my mind, it’s still just a POS. But, there’s a lot of money being spent on ‘preservation’ collector cars that disagrees with me. Oh well… sometimes I wonder at the insanity of the universe.
