Craig,
That pot of grasses I talked about was 4' high. It was in a chinese pot and it would be hard to classify it as an accent plant..........it stood on it's own.
I'm
not saying you can just slap any old crappy plant in a crappy pot and call it
bonsai or art. What I am saying is that you can think outside the box and create bonsai out of any plant in a tray so long as it conveys a certain sense of beauty. What you described doesn't fit in that catagory.
I come from a horticultural backround so I like to see plants go through their seasonal changes. I like to see the differences in their roots and so forth. I enjoy propagating them and watching them grow. This part of bonsai is important to
me.
What I'm trying to convey was best said by Kyuzo Murata in the preface of his last book before he died. He came to these conclusions after 70 years of doing bonsai, 60 of which were spent caring for the Imperial household's collection in Japan.
Art is a cultural thing. I'm not Japanese but my own personal preferences lean towards the
classical style of bonsai(Japanese style). Not growing up in Japan I don't have the temperment or the same sensitivity that most Japanese bonsai people have. Their culture is different but we are seeing a melding of the culture in our lifetime. I think that's one of the reasons why there are so many styles emerging such as the Contemporary style or what ever you want to call it.
It's difficult for me to explain these things on a forum- I don't type fast.
If you don't have a copy of Kyuzo Murata's book
"Four Seasons Of Bonsai" try and get one and look at the pictures and read his words. It does have a way broadening one's thinking about bonsai and what it is.
It's enjoyable to be able to discuss these things.