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Is a plain, white-washed building art? Probably not, but when I use my camera and create a point of view for that building, it becomes art. Is a tree art? (to define my term... art as something used to create or express some part of the human condition) No, a tree growing next to the sidewalk is not art because, all philisophical ramblings aside, it is not used for the express purpose of containing a part of the human condition within a medium.

Yet when we use a tree as a medium to express something about ourselves, we turn it in to art. A medium will always have it's basic formal requirements. If you paint, you obviously use paint, and some kind of canvas. If you do bonsai, you use a tree and a pot. There you have the basics of your medium, but it is up to you to create the artistic qualities of that medium.

As with any art, some will only look at the techinical aspects of your work, (which I feel takes all the fun out of it), and those who just want to look at the overall picture and figure out if they like it or not.

... but then again, do we do bonsai for the sake of other's enjoyment, or do we do it for our own?

9-Aug-2007	#4
lakestreetvice bonsaiTALK Neophyte Join Date: Jul-2007 Location: Los Feliz Country: USA Posts: 5	Is a plain, white-washed building art? Probably not, but when I use my camera and create a point of view for that building, it becomes art. Is a tree art? (to define my term... art as something used to create or express some part of the human condition) No, a tree growing next to the sidewalk is not art because, all philisophical ramblings aside, it is not used for the express purpose of containing a part of the human condition within a medium. Yet when we use a tree as a medium to express something about ourselves, we turn it in to art. A medium will always have it's basic formal requirements. If you paint, you obviously use paint, and some kind of canvas. If you do bonsai, you use a tree and a pot. There you have the basics of your medium, but it is up to you to create the artistic qualities of that medium. As with any art, some will only look at the techinical aspects of your work, (which I feel takes all the fun out of it), and those who just want to look at the overall picture and figure out if they like it or not. ... but then again, do we do bonsai for the sake of other's enjoyment, or do we do it for our own?