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Wow, I just found this and have enjoyed everyone's posts.

Let me put a finer point on my characterization of this topic. First, I agree with many that the word, "rules," is both agitating and inappropriate.

ARTISTIC RULES = useful conventions and configurations of the elements of the medum used in art/craft, which assist us in conveying meaning and beauty.

The "rules" don't make the art. They simply provide a simple meas for us to get near the configuration that people can understand as beautiful and meaningful. It is up to the artist to make art based on these useful conventions - or by augmenting or disregarding some of them (sometimes, even hinting at them, but not using them blatantly).

Someone asked, "Who makes the rules?" and the answer is that the laws of human perception do - the way that humans interpret beauty and meaning from how the elements of a work are composed. For instance, in a landscape painting, if the tops of the trees in the foreground are even with the horizon or the tops of the hills in the background, it is disturbing to the viewer, distracting; not artistic. With the same elements simply arranged better, more artistically, the work is far more "beautiful" to the viewer.

Someone else asked why Americans' work and approach to bonsai is so often criticized - why we seem to take such a nonchalant approach to this. My take is that inaddition to the things I've said before on this subject (much!), it is exacerbated by the fact that in our judged shows, it is not the bonsai that are categorized and evaluated. Rather it is WE who are categorized and evaluated. This is all rather insulting. Our show categories are as follows: Professional, Advanced, Novice, etc... This is absurd and has nothing to do with evaluating the art and beauty of bonsai! The only categories should be : Conifer, Deciduous, Fruiting/Flowering, Large, Medium, Small, etc...

I'm glad to see that more of us are discussing this important issue and I hope that positive things come of it.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
zone 8, Texas

15-Dec-2002	#32
K.A. Rutledge Guest Posts: n/a	Wow, I just found this and have enjoyed everyone's posts. Let me put a finer point on my characterization of this topic. First, I agree with many that the word, "rules," is both agitating and inappropriate. ARTISTIC RULES = useful conventions and configurations of the elements of the medum used in art/craft, which assist us in conveying meaning and beauty. The "rules" don't make the art. They simply provide a simple meas for us to get near the configuration that people can understand as beautiful and meaningful. It is up to the artist to make art based on these useful conventions - or by augmenting or disregarding some of them (sometimes, even hinting at them, but not using them blatantly). Someone asked, "Who makes the rules?" and the answer is that the laws of human perception do - the way that humans interpret beauty and meaning from how the elements of a work are composed. For instance, in a landscape painting, if the tops of the trees in the foreground are even with the horizon or the tops of the hills in the background, it is disturbing to the viewer, distracting; not artistic. With the same elements simply arranged better, more artistically, the work is far more "beautiful" to the viewer. Someone else asked why Americans' work and approach to bonsai is so often criticized - why we seem to take such a nonchalant approach to this. My take is that inaddition to the things I've said before on this subject (much!), it is exacerbated by the fact that in our judged shows, it is not the bonsai that are categorized and evaluated. Rather it is WE who are categorized and evaluated. This is all rather insulting. Our show categories are as follows: Professional, Advanced, Novice, etc... This is absurd and has nothing to do with evaluating the art and beauty of bonsai! The only categories should be : Conifer, Deciduous, Fruiting/Flowering, Large, Medium, Small, etc... I'm glad to see that more of us are discussing this important issue and I hope that positive things come of it. Kind regards, Andy Rutledge zone 8, Texas