Such a dither!! What Andy says is correct. But any assumption
that a competition that focuses on one part of display will result in "a
ridiculous mess" also assumes that the jury will not appreciate the need
for harmony in composition. 'Tain't necessarily so.
Bonsai stands can enhance or ruin a bonsai display. I seem to
recall that the announcement mentioned that the stands would be matched
to specific bonsai, so the artist who enters should realize the need for
compositional harmony, if they hope to win. I'm sure there will be a
few ridiculous messes, but what's the harm?
I don't see how bonsai is threatened by events like these.
Mostly the traditional styles are superior, but occasionally someone
manages to come up with a novel idea which will eventually become one of
the "traditional" styles. Such scolding stifles creativity and sucks
the fun out of bonsai. No wonder we're such a geriatric group on the
whole!
Alan Walker
http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Lewis
Enter if you wish, but, like a daiza isn't ART, neither is this!
Jim, THAT'S gonna get you some emails!! :)
Dale
Well, not yet, but as Andy noted to me -- offlist -- the extent
to which bonsai is an art is . . . so, at least partially, because the
tree/pot/stand/etc... harmonize for a cohesive (single) image. This
business of working to make one of those elements conspicuous only
occurs at the expense of the overall display. .
.. . In other words, making any part of the composition conspicuous
makes, by definition, the "composition" fall apart and become a
ridiculous mess.
If Pac. Rim wants to highlight stand or pot art, they need to do
so outside of the realm of bonsai.
Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL

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