Andy Rutledge wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Lewis"
The examples offered in photographs and graphics are good, but
the book is marred
by an overly strident and defensive style. IMHO.
------------------
Suggestion: Let's not go here . . . at least not on the list.
Jim Lewis
-----------------------------------------------------------

That's okay, Jim. Craig is right, in some measure. That's what I was
aiming at (the strident part)

Relax, Andy. Drink less coffee. No need to be hyper in your efforts to promote
bonsai as an art. It's a gentle art, at least the way I see it. I really don't
see much room for polemics.

and the defensiveness is something that might
surely be inferred - if for no other reason than the stridency. Not that I
necessarily agree with that, but I'm biased.


Of course you're biased. You wrote it. Now, perhaps "defensive" was not the best
term but at this point I can't really find another term to describe what I was
trying to say.


I'm okay with that, though. Not so sure about the "marred" part, though. I
think perhaps "characterized" is rather a better word. ;-) JMO.

My use of the word "marred" is intentional. What you have in the book about the
specifics of artistic principles applied to bonsai is fine, although I'd add that
I'd be interested to see how you apply these principles to your own trees,
something that most authors of books on bonsai do.

If the purpose of the book is polemical rather than simply presenting artistic
principles, then I can see why a strident style is not a defect but a means to an
end. I guess what it comes down to is that I see no need here for polemics. If
someone else doesn't see bonsai as an art, that's their problem, not mine. For me,
I do what I can to set an example.

Fundamentals should be presented as a strict and narrow road. There can be
no room for much fluidity and malleability when learning "rules" (gosh I
hate that word).

Then don't use it. ;0}

These were just the tip of the iceberg, the shallow end of
the art pool. There's so much more to this than could be covered in even a
very thick book. A series of thick books, maybe.

Clearly, it would take a tremendous effort to quantify artistic principles in
bonsai.

But then, once you get the
basics down, there is little reason to go quantifying all of the myriad
variations and permutations that can embody artistry. That's part of the
point, I guess.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
zone 8, Texas

Well, there isn't any need for you or any given author to qualify the possible
variations. That's up to bonsai enthusiasts to do. That's what art is. Limitless
possibilities.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

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