Okay, Andy, I'm intrigued.

Your label "bonsai kitsch chick" sticks marketably well to the image! A "kitsch chick" is likely either insipid or outrageously fun! These arrangements are not as insipid as mediocre bonsai. They engage attention based on the imaginative, colorful pot
s, alone-- though that is questionable as an objective for bonsai imagery.

Can we attempt to understand Lisa Tajema's plantings before summarily dismissing them. She offers an alternative to darkside-- a place where a few aging men fidget with precious tools on rare plant material and hordes of wannabees do something blandly im
itative on a budget. If you contemplate creating more serious bonsai than she proposes, she offers an alternative or an occasional escape.

Some influential publishers are giving the chick a chance to promote her idea of bonsai and improve their sales of bonsai publications. Not only Bonsai Kindai Shuppan but Kodansha is publishing these images-- and Kodansha has placed THIS book at the top o
f its spring marketing for books of the category (including a reprinting of _Classic Bonsai of Japan_).

The "pop bonsai" are eye-catching. They can be engaging due to the planting. IMO, the 4th planting (moving from left-to-right) on Lisa's gallery is intriguing:
http://lisa-t.hp.infoseek.co.jp/gallery1.html

A display of "pop bonsai" & an individual kusa planting have been noted at the prestigous Gafuten:
http://www.shohin-bonsai.net/g27-04.htm.

This "new convention" is instantly recognizable. Is it overly circumscribed, already? The pot reigns over the planting in most examples. Perhaps Lisa is today's leading kitsch pot promoter for bonsai though she has some major competition.

If not taking her pots too seriously (as collectable works), the trendy and youthful marketing of plants suggesting larger images is not taste-less. By often relegating the plant to negligence, the "pop bonsai" focus on pots disturbs the image of bonsai,
for me-- but should it? A stunning mature bonsai in a kick-ass pop bonsai pot would not serve the display of either, well.

Best wishes,
Chris... C. Cochrane, , Richmond VA USA

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