In light of the other art thread, I wish to opine within my own thread. There can be no confusion as to the basis of my convictions that way.
It has been said that the discussion of art with bonsai is essential to the forward movement of the art. I don’t agree. Years before the Internet, books or TV there were art in bonsai. The pursuit of art in its creativity process is a human driver of emotion. Be it ego, passion, or creative outlet. We strive for perfection in all that we do.
But...we do it because we want to do it.
Walter Pall said this:
This sort of discussion is VITAL. It makes all the difference for now and the future of bonsai in the western world. We are in the middle of a bonsai revolution and most have not noticed it. This sort of debate is a clear sign of it. We are about to emancipate from bonsai as craft and practice it as art form. In Europe this happened about ten years ago. And an explosion in quality and genuine artistry followed. I can see the same happening in America now. I look forward to see the progress and I wish a similar dramatic explosion of quality bonsai would happen as in Europe.
Italy was NOT on the bonsai map fifteen years ago. It was an underdeveloped country. Now the whole of Italian bonsai artists beat the whole of America. Easily, left-handedly! It took them fifteen years only. But what caused this explosion? They were the first ones to have discovered that bonsai can be an art form. Italy had NO history of bonsai, no burden of tradition, any masters who would clap on fingers for wrongdoing. They just did it.
They just did it. humm... Did they all do it? Or maybe just a select few artists that had talent. I’ll bet there are many backyard bonsai practitioners in Italy as I pound these keys. I’ll even bet there may be many that do not even have a computer or Internet. Yet they still manage to practice bonsai, and continue on with their training. I’m sure they are equally as happy as anyone practicing bonsai anywhere in the world at any level.
Bonsai artistry is moving forward in America and abroad. It will move at its own pace. It cannot be made to move faster, and it cannot be rammed down the mouths of those that wish to do bonsai differently.
I have found that in any art form there will always be those that will be on the cutting edge of societal evolution. There will be the Walter Palls and the Masahiko Kimura’s. There will be many artists that will give to the unwashed masses, but there will not be a mass turning point of Bonsai Masters at any given point within a time period. The old ones die, and new ones take their place. We may have hundreds, but we certainly don’t have tens of thousands of bonsai masters. I am pretty sure we never will.
We can discuss artistry within bonsai but we should also appreciate the fact that there will always be those that wish to do something different within our hobby. They deserve the same respect, and should benefit from the same education. There are those that will take that education and make it work for them and there are those that will take what they learn and apply it to what they have. Be it sticks in pots or worthy stock it’s their choice and we have no right to judge their way.
If I may sidetrack here I will use Will as my example. I read what Will has posted in the last six months and it is almost scary the way the timeline for his bonsai education has gone. I read the things he writes and think, “ man, did he just go to the archives and rewrite what I wrote 3 years ago?” If Will was to lose his computer tomorrow, it would not stifle his eagerness or desire to attain artistic bonsai. He would do whatever possible to get the training he needed to manage his goal. Whatever that may be. Hopefully Will will read this and over the next six months will come to learn that “making sure that everyone is on the same page in bonsai is not necessary in the BIG PICTURE”
I have come to find this and it has made my life much easier. I'll do my thing, y'all do yours. At what ever pace makes you happy.
It would be nice if some of you would post something once in a while, just so I know you are really doing bonsai and not just opining
Thanks, Al Keppler