Mr. Chris, I realize this is not 2 separate displays due to the lack of the bamboo between them, but perhaps someone just forgot to put the bamboo where they should...Just a feeble attempt at humor...
Mr. Emil, as I stated my thoughts on display are not worth the 'proverbial two cents', or not worth the web space they consume...I am totally self taught, I have never studied in Japan or any where else, until I joined a club about 3 years ago I had read very few books on bonsai, I have never taken a workshop although I have observed two or three, and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of demonstrations of 'recognized' bonsai professionals I have had the opportunity to witness...So, although I am humbled by your reference to my bonsai “encyklopedia” experience, I must disagree...Thank you though for the compliment...
Concerning your question, it is certainly nothing but a personal opinion...I have not read or heard this proclaimed by anyone...It is not worth arguing about or even explaining, however I will attempt to share some of the reasoning that brought me to this conclusion...
Everyone must come to their own conclusions about bonsai and display, or choose to follow the teachings which have been passed down through the years...For me the former is more appropriate...I have long been intrigued by the work of the Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese, Indonesian, and European bonsai...These trees seem to speak to me in ways that the Japanese trees don't...I have even ask myself the question “If the Japanese received the concept of bonsai from the Chinese, why do their trees not have the character and strength of the Chinese trees?...Why are they not memorable trees?...Please do not mis-understand me, I do appreciate the Japanese work, and I have a great admiration for many of the trees from Japan, but I do not find them in most cases to be memorable trees...There are always exceptions when speaking in generalizations, but I find most of them are much too 'predictable' and 'idealized' to evoke much emotion in me, therefore I find it difficult to form a mental picture of the trees without having them to look at...In most cases I only have a vision of a well tapered trunk with a 'green helmet' sitting on top...
When I had the privilege to view photos of some of the earlier trees from Japan I was amazed at how different they were to what is generally being produced now...These trees were much more like the Chinese trees...I fully realize from many years of learning and teaching music that the easiest method of teaching any 'art form' is to reduce it to the simplest form with rules and technique, reduce it to a craft if you will, and so it is too with bonsai...
Mr. Andy Rutledge, whom I have a great respect for, but seldom agree with, made a statement on this forum which hurt me deeply when I first heard it...He basically stated that bonsai is display...It is not the tree, it is the display...I must admit I struggled with this for quite some time...I could not accept the fact that my trees were not bonsai, even though I did not like to use the term bonsai when referring to my trees, and preferred to call them 'artistic potted trees'...I later read some writings of Mr. Andy on this subject, and still had a difficult time with it...
The light came on for me about this time last year when photos were shared on many forums of the BIB show...In excess of a week, every forum I visited had more photos of the show, and I did enjoy them...Let me say I do appreciate what Mr. Boon and his followers are doing for bonsai in the United States...Along with many others, especially on the West coast, they are spreading the 'joy of bonsai', and helping it to become more accepted in this country...After a couple weeks of not seeing the photos I realized, among all the good trees in the show I only had a mental picture of two of them...One was a multi-trunk cascade which was so butt-ugly, in my opinion, that I really liked it...It was different than what I was used to, something new and innovative...The other was a pine, I believe shohin which was cussed and discussed so much on the IBC forum that I could remember it...I thought about what Mr. Andy had said concerning display...Perhaps he was correct after all...There were some excellent displays in this show...Some probably would have even made the experts on Japanese display take a second look...But for me at least, the trees, while certainly good trees, were not extremely strong trees...They did not have the character which evoked emotion in me, and caused me to form a mental picture of the tree...Why was this?...Was it just me?...
I tried to research this, to find answers...I searched for examples of Japanese display, and attempted to analyze them...I found in most cases, my thoughts on weaker trees being used for display purposes seemed to hold water...One Japanese artist I regard highly is Mr. Kimura...This artist creates some very strong trees, yet most all photos I find of his work is not in a display setting...Why is this?...Mr. Robert Steven creates many very powerfully strong trees, yet seldom presented in a formal or informal display setting...Why?...Mr. Walter Pall is certainly one of my favorite artists because of the visually strong trees he creates, yet he too does not choose to use the formal display, preferring to exhibit the tree and allow the merits of the tree to speak...They do speak very loudly in most cases...Much too loudly to be part of a display due to the other elements taking away from the strength of the tree...
I have also often questioned why the tendency to use pots which were so 'plain' or inconspicuous, bordering on dull and ugly...I do not even have a good start on understanding the 'Eastern' culture and art, but I am aware that simplicity does play a great part in both, and this seems to be even more prominent in the Japanese culture...Could it be that these beautiful ornate pots would compete far too much with trees which are created to be used in display?...
Mr. Bill Valavanis posted some photos on the IBC forum of a book he had acquired of the first Kokufu Ten display along side many of the same trees in later shows...To me it was almost sad to see how trees which were once extremely moving trees had become just another trunk with a 'green helmet'...Could it be a result of the emphasis placed on display?...Is it possible that the Japanese have placed such importance on the display, that the trees have been groomed in such a way that they do not compete with other elements, but contribute to the overall picture or feeling of the display?...Is bonsai display?...Perhaps Mr. Andy was correct in his statement...Perhaps the prominence of display, and the desire to have equally strong elements is the reasoning behind the evolution of trees in Japan...
As I stated, these thoughts are only my opinion, and are certainly not based on what others have said or written...In fact, it is not something I even feel strongly enough about to wage a good argument...I am still learning, and trying to understand these things...It is my hope, that through knowledge and understanding, I can create better trees...Not all of my trees have enough character to stand well alone, and therefore I must find a method to display these trees to bring out the best of the tree...Formal or informal Japanese display is not an option I choose, so I look to other sources...I do look forward to learning what others have to say on this subject...We can all learn together...
Regards
Behr
