Walter_Pall

Conifers are usually styled in the abstract and expressionistic contemporary style. Deciduous trees are often styled in a naturalistic and impressionistic manner similar to the classical Japanese style or also in a style which looks very much like penjing. Now this is becoming a trend in the West too with new species and forms not seen before. One could call it either contemporary or neo-classical.

It is clear that the new liberal spirit opens the door to all sort of nonsense. This new freedom can be used by a genius or a fool to declare anything as bonsai art now. But it opens the door, and new creations will evolve which will pass the test of art history. It will tell us eventually whether something we have not liked at all at first sight was just a mistake or a breakthrough into a new era. Such a breakthrough can be clearly visible to everyone or just be a subtle detail. It helps a lot to not have to care about a traditionalist sensei doing his critique in a traditionalist manner afterwards. Therefore it is not by coincidence that the new creations mostly come from quarters where the Japanese influence is minimal. Some even are proud to not have had Japenese teachers and feel that they are not “corrupted “ by oldfashioned design patterns. At the same time a lot of “good tries” or simply rubbish can be the result.

If one speaks of contemporary bonsai art, often examples are presented of trees, pots or exhibits which seem to be contemporary, but are quite old. This is supposed to prove that there is no such thing as contemporary bonsai. Yes, It is always possible to find a tree that was done in the contemporary style, but only much earlier. There are many examples of trees which could pass as modern avant-garde bonsai. It is usually overseen that contemporary bonsai started already at the end of the 19th century in Japan and continued to coexist with the classical style until today. Also pots can be found which are quite old and still as extreme as some are nowadays. This is very interesting, but does not change the concept.

In art there are always creative people who try something. In countries with so many bonsai practitioners like Japan or China virtually everything must have been tried before. But the test is whether this from then on became a trend or a movement. Usually this was not the case. Maybe the artist was not known well enough, maybe the piece just was not good enough anyway, or often it just was not the time yet. If a new style becomes a trend, then one must consider the very early examples as important landmarks. If a trend did not evolve from this, it is just for the records. History of art is full of such examples which do not prove at all that a new style is not new. Sometimes it may happen that a style which was started and finished in a dead end some time ago, becomes rediscovered and then really takes off.

Let's take Impressionism as an example. The term impressionism, or impressionistic painting, describes a kind of painting which is flecked and somewhat formless, as opposed to that which is linear and clearly silhouetted. It applies to many epochs. The term Impressionism, however applies to a particular late nineteenth-century style… There were already Roman wall paintings which are clearly impressionistic. This shows that styles somehow are always present, but sometimes are becoming dominant for a while. Why should this not be true for the bonsai art?

For an artist to work in a specific style means more than just a decision to do so. It means a total change of mind, of a way of thinking about bonsai and doing bonsai, turning away from traditions radically. It is understandable that those who (still?) hold up traditions have great problems accepting this and are usually fierce enemies of change. History has shown that the young revolutionaries get old and then fiercely defend their revolution against new ones.

While we all know how to judge classical bonsai most enthusiasts have a problem with evaluating more contemporary creations. It only seems that these are outside the bounds of established standards; they are only out of the bounds of established rules for classical design. As Lynn Boyd points out, there are always standards, long-lasting and universal standards to judge by – even the avant-garde. A judge can move from the list of conventions (rules) onto the very long-established area of proportions, balance, texture, relationship of objects, conceptual arrangement, as what might be termed compositional elements. And Brett Johnson adds that there are well defined rules to judge abstract sculpture dealing with geometric shapes, according to which bonsai as a form of sculpture can be judged. Even if there are no rules it is always the artist who must have some standard with which to create. He may not be able to verbalize that standard, but it is still there.

This requires much from the judges, as they must be flexible and have a broader knowledge base from which to draw. Because of this, bonsai in the category of avant-garde/contemporary should be categorized in an exhibition as such and judged as such. This is another reason why classification of traditional and avant-garde must continue to be proposed and disseminated; it allows the existence and validation of these more radical bonsai within the formal public exhibits.

Where will this all go? There is much talk about national (Western) bonsai styles which are evolving or which are even already there. The new liberal spirit leads some to believe that one should try hard to create a national style. But who needs that and why? There are cases where a certain tree species grows in a particular way in one country. This is about the only need for a national style or rather form. How about a “Liechtenstein Style”?

The truth is that while some countries are progressing at higher speed than others it is very unlikely that the result will be clearly national styles. This was true in arts at times when there was almost no communication between nations. Nowadays with travel being so easy and everyday communication in person or via pictures across national boundaries is normal, everybody learns from everybody else across the whole world. The result will be more liberty and more distinctive personal styles, especially in the West. Colin Lewis doesn't see a homogenizing of bonsai styles, but a diversification, as more creative souls take up the art.
There will be more artists who feel free to do what they think is right and they will have followers, thus creating new groups which style in a certain way all over the world. They may have more followers in some countries for a time, but this then should not be called a “national” style.