Wabi-sabi and bonsai

[Ellen]

I have been doing a bit of reading about Wabi-sabi philosophy and how it might apply to bonsai. We have monthly tree competitions at our club and it seems to me that showy and dramatic pieces, especially if they are large, are often voted the best tree in the show in preference to ones that display a modest, unpretentious beauty, which is at the heart of Wabi-sabi. I was wondering if this is the way we should be heading with our judgements of what makes a good bosai.

[Mitchell]

I can't say I have a whole heap of experience relating, yet feel that perhaps offering basic plants in that style may not be so appealing compared to larger more dramatic stock as a single plant. Though if you were to invest serious time learning the style presenting several plants, perhaps with some time the "judges" may come to appreciate the more simple things. If the "judges" are not external to your club, then maybe some gentle persuasion may be at hand.

If the judges have some knowledge, they would appreciate the style and take it into account, perhaps the arrangements are just not up to the scratch of the larger ones?

I say persist, they will notice, try and get more in the club to offer Wabi-sabi styled plants. Perhaps you could try and arrange someone knowledgable in the area, to come and give a talk? It's all about education.

[Bretts]

It's an interesting subject Ellen. Wabi Sabi translation can be very different from one westerner to another I reckon. Wabi Sabi very much applies to some bonsai compositions although I like to think that the imagination is not limited in Bonsai so we should never say never.
If a bad tree in a bright pot is winning over a great tree in a subdued pot then I would say there is probably an issue. Yet a description of trees can be very limited I think it would be much more productive if you could show some pictures. Or at least find some pictures of other trees that show what you are describing.

[kcpoole]

I have noticed at our display nights at school. That the larger more impressive trees will get more of the popular vote then smaller trees regardless of the work put in to each

Maybe subconcioulsely people think that "bigger is always Better" ?

[Jamie]

wabi sabi is a definate part of bonsai but understanding it properly can be quite difficult. with what your saying that the larger showy trees are more popular, do you feel that if you had a similar tree but in a shohin size it would get the same attention? to get the balance of the wabi sabi pilosophy isnt the easiest of ideals either, the thing with big trees is i feel minor issues arent as noticed as much either, where a shohin sized tree will have to be near perfect without being perfect in a sense to go along the lines of the pilosophy. the negative spaces, the deadwood play, the overall composition and presentation all falls into wabi sabi and bonsai.

i also think that to try and get the interest away from a large tree with interplaying deadwood and wickend movement to a smaller tree is always going to be hard, that being said they are some absolutely wonderfull shohin and mame compositions out there which i beleive could do it, but i also think that is trying to compare two different things. shows generally have categories of sizes in which they are shown and you dont generally see the smaller trees going up against bigger ones.

just a few thoughts any way, if they made sense i dont know

jamie

[Pup]

I am sorry! but I do not think Wabi Sabi has any thing to do with it. We do not have a monthly judging, but we do have displays. Members bring in trees for display in all phases of there journey with or with out proper pots wire on ( that by the way needs to be better ). Large and small I have seen a very large tree in full flower over looked for my shito sized elms. It is what impresses the most when it is shown.

Judging monthly shows should be done like I encountered at the Bonsai Kai in London last year. Size, style, years in training. I was asked to judge and give a little of my thoughts.
I was told to be Honest not to gloss over, I was a comment coz I had my ubute hearing aids then.

Bloody Aussie what would he know. To that I answered as much as you think you know, that got a laugh he stormed out. I beleive he has not been back.

No Wabi Sabi just what was right at the time.

The Philosphy of Wabi Sabi is for us Westerners very hard to understand and pin down.
Our club has a book on it, our current President was the first to read it.
His comment I did not know that!!. He is Japanese born to it, so even a specific book written on the subject is confusing even to those born to it.
He did say it was close but it would still leave out the inner feelings you need. To grasp the full meaning.
Cheers Pup

[Kunzea]

Hi All
ellen, what a deep topic you've raised. There will be no end to its exposition.

Web searches for wabi sabi and suki are useful. It takes quite a time to internalise all the various ways people have of understaning wabi sabi.

Here is one that was interesting (from: http://www.flickr.com/groups/wabisabisu ... uss/30566/ )

found this Extract from WABI SABI SUKI :The Essence of Japanese Beauty – by Itoh Teiji direct from the source:

Wabi:
Tranquil Simplicity - The refined and elegant simplicity achieved by bringing out the natural colors, forms, and textures inherent in materials such as wood straw, bamboo, clay, and stone, as well as in artifacts crafted from them like earthenware, tile, handmade paper, and lacquerware, and in textile fibers like hemp, cotton, or silk – this is the core of wabi. Wabi may describe beauty in nature untouched by human hands, or it may emerge from human attempts to draw out the distinctive beauty of materials. While eschewing decoration, contrivance, or showiness, wabi treads the fine and precarious line between beauty and shabbiness. To discover wabi, one must have an eye for the beautiful, yet it is not an aesthetic understood by the Japanese of old, but a quality that can be recognized by anyone, anywhere who is discriminating and sensitive to beauty.

Sabi:
Patina of Age - Beauty that treasures the passage of time is sabi, echoing the original meaning of the word: rust or patina. Objects or constructions created from organic materials and used in daily life are of course beautiful when they are brand new. But sabi describes the new and different phases of beauty that evolve in the course of their use and enjoyment, and the conviction that the aesthetic values of things is not diminished by time, but enhanced. The wear and tear of daily use, lovingly repaired and attended to, does not detract, but adds new beauty and aesthetic depth. Indeed, sabi is at its ultimate when age and wear bring a new thing to the very threshold of its demise. Appreciation of sabi confirms the natural cycle of organic life – that what is created from the earth finally returns to the earth and that nothing is ever complete. Sabi is true to the natural cycle of birth and rebirth.

Suki:
Subtle Elegance - Originally expressing attraction, fascination and curiosity, suki is aesthetic adventure beyond conventional standards, delight in the unusual, curious or idiosyncratic. Initially, suki seems to have expressed an idea of beauty that was heretical and unorthodox. The shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori (1399-1441) was a patron of the arts known for his revolt against old and established aesthetic rules. His salon was receptive to bold and new ideas that were to become firmly established in the sixteenth century as what we might describe as “subtle elegance”. Many today are devotees of suki, the pursuit of beauty in unconventional forms and guises, but their search continues to be faithful to the quality of subtle elegance, which circumscribes the ageless essence of suki.

I find the concept personally useful for bonsai and me. It is not one that is likely to find great appreciation amongst most bonsaiists though. Appreciating the qualities that will make a bonsai fit within the wabi sabi tradition are things that usually take time to assess, see, consider. Sitting quitely, meditatively with a bonsai with wabi sabi character doesn't fit well with our modern approach to life, bonsai included. Watch people at a bonsai show. Most will spend less than a minute on each tree, or at most less than 5 on one that particularly attracts them. The institution of the 'bonsai show' is itself often counter productive to encouraging wabi sabi character: so many trees on display, and one has only a limited amount of time to see them, perhaps in the company of friends who also need to see and move on to the next thing.

For me, this means that the quieter, more in depth appreciation of a bonsai is something that comes in more quiet settings, perhaps with a friends where only a few trees are available for seeing and there is time to comtemplate, to visually explore rather than just 'see'. The focus on 'beauty in imprefection' aspects of wabi sabi are really antithetical for many who have quite different interests and goals in their bonsai appreication (which is fully OK too). They strive for perfection in branch placement, foliage neatness and control and the like. There is room for many different ways to create and appreciate bonsai, and wabi sabi is likely to be attractive to a smaller proportion of bonsaiists than many other styles.

Keep working on your wabi sabi approach. You will benefit personally and may produce some beautifully imperfect trees that show their age and impermanence with elegance and simplicity.

Kunzea

[Bretts]

Thanks for that Kunzea
That is not an explanation of Wabi Sabi I have heard which shows how diverse this subject can be. The first time I read about it was from Pter Chan's book. It was described from a human perspective. Will dig it out and quote it.

[Ellen]

Thanks Kunzea. I agree with everything you say. I will try to go towards the wabi sabi path.