[Piscineidiot"]
You have made it quite clear that your view of what the pinnacle of bonsai is is not being reflected in international trends. I'm simply going to point out that objectively speaking, there is no pinnacle, there is only a radiation. A myriad different directions and subtly different styles moving out in all directions from any single approach. There is NO 'better' or 'worse'. There is ultimately only what you, I and others 'like'.
From ''ART'' by Clive Bell. ''Any system of aesthetics which pretends to be based on some objective truth is so palpably ridiculous as not to be worth discussing''. ''We have no other means of recognizing a work of art other than our feelings for it''.
If we are to consider the subject in a purely objective manner, how can any exchange of ideas ever me made? We would become constantly bogged down with the tedious line of ''Well others don't see it that way'' or ''Beauty is in the eye of the beholder''. The purpose of this discussion is to articulate the way individuals see (feel about) what they are looking at and their reasons for it.
I have attempted to explain (probably unsucessfully) my reasons for disliking a particular form and my preference for another. Some have agreed with me and others have not.
To say ''there is no better or worse'' contributes nothing to further our understanding of aesthetics. It only says to me that there is no point to this conversation due to the subjectivity inherent in it. Of course there is better and worse in art. Of course there is bad and good and right and wrong.
You brought up the subject of indigenous art. It's blatantly obvious to me that contemporary works from that community have been steered in a certain direction from the Western perspective and with commerce in mind. Beautiful though the works can be, this should be obvious to even the casual observer.
Is it ''wrong'' to be influenced by outside forces which distort the original and true aesthetic? Of course it is. In this case it lowers their (the works) innate value while increasing their monetary value.
This, I strongly disagree with. The aesthetic of those 'modern' bonsai more closely resembles depictions of trees in Japanese artwork. Compare those trees to wood cuts, silk screens and ink paintings from the same time period as that painting with the roosters and the hydrangeas. I'd argue that the trend is towards mimicking traditional, Japanese artwork with the trees as much as is possible while still working with a living tree. No, it doesn't mimic the qualities of 'wildness' and 'nature' that you value as much as you might desire or adhere to your interpretation of the original definition of bonsai (if there is such a thing), but can you really argue that the Japanese evolution of a Japanese art is WRONG? Sure, you don't have to like it, but to say that it's not 'true' bonsai is a bit much. Anthropologically and culturally, the very opposite would be true. I mean, if we followed your line of logic, then you or someone else with similar tastes needs to go to Japan and show them the error of their ways! I wonder how everyone would react...
I don't need to go to Japan to show the errors of their ways. There is just as much of this sentiment (if you care to read between the lines of the various Japanese texts) in Japan as in the West. Things like ''This tree appears unnatural'', wiring this will make it look fake'', ''this looks plastic'', ''Shimpaku are over worked these days'' etc etc are commonplace.
Well in that case, no constructive outcome can possibly be reached. Nothing will come of us ranting over and over and over about something that we can neither control or really contribute to in any concrete way. Then, it just becomes whinging. Noise for a purpose has its place and value. Noise for the sake of noise, well, it's just pointless. We may as well just forget this discussion ever happened and go and prune our trees. Literally no difference has been made.
Well that makes no sense Owen. The whole point of a bonsai forum is to talk about bonsai. The constructive outcome is the fact that folks saying what they want to say makes others think.
A final note. They say pictures help. I am looking at what is presented in front of me NOW. The question of who made it or how much experience they have or the tradition involved or the reputation of the artist or his skill or the age or the size of the tree or whether others see it differently or any other factor is meaningless. How something makes you feel is everything.
Good bonsai art. It convinces me that it is a wild plant hanging from a rocky precipice. I can ''see'' the mountain all around it. If I ponder long enough I can feel the wind and hear birds singing. Good! Superior..
Bad bonsai art. It does NOT convince me of a natural scene. It tells me nothing. It makes obvious the work of humans. Bad!...Inferior
..cheers Brother
