I found it thought provoking but having a very western point of view, a view
which was thrown into sharp counterpoint as I am currently reading a book on
Chinese painting. Some basic tenets of western art, like originality - (and
thus communication in Andy's terms) were to the Chinese painters of quite
secondary importance and what mattered was dexterity of excecution: much
like one might get upset if a concert pianist started ad-libbing in the
middle of a Mozart piano concerto. The Chinese scholars really liked working
within a set of rules, which is why they managed to keep a civilisation
going for two thousand years.
Thus one thing I don't think the book treats well, and could definitely
benefit from, is an expansion on how cultural and individual expectations
are bound up into the concepts we call art and to analyse whether bonsai
(and penjing before it) were actually what we would consider art forms in
their original conception. We have adopted a concept out of its original
context(s) and are now trying to work out what it means when placed into a
wholly different western context. Since we don't generally have a tradition
of meditation or magic in the west, we are putting it into a catch-all
bucket we call art.
The explanation is helpful if it helps people enjoy their trees more, and I
think it will, but for me there is much more going on in the practice of
bonsai than creating an artwork - otherwise I'd go back to painting.
But anyway thanks for putting it out there,
Sean.
"Craig Cowing" wrote in message
...
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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