The actual premise of this thread aside (a genuine and admirable request for information about an unfamiliar situation), the whole circumstance surrounding the exhibition of art and the resultant public response has got to be of the most significant import to humans as a species - while at the same time being wholly irrelevant to the value of artistic creation. Even so, sometimes casual and seemingly trivial responses can be destructive.
Second only to the physical act of intimate love, sharing art has to be the single most personal sharing of one with another we humans can initiate. There is nothing so personal as the art a person creates and to bare one's soul, one's mind and one's heart publicly is from the very start a doomed enterprise. The instant at which the artist offers up his or her creation to be seen/heard/felt/experienced by others, at least half of the work's significance is removed, for no one but the artist can understand or experience the depths of meaning and importance the work embodies. Each piece of work as seen by others is only a fraction of its whole and this is all we can share with others. So those with whom we share this art are both treated and cheated.
However, there is scarcely such a thing as sharing one's art with others without caring deeply about the responses and opinions of those who see the work. It is such a shame that the only feedback that is possible comes from those who can experience less than half of the work's value, half of its meaning, half of its impact. So even the greatest artistic achievements are judged on a fraction of their contents. In this respect, sharing art with others is like sending one of our ships out to sea, laden with cargo to sell, but once at sea the ship dumps half of its cargo into the ocean.
The thing is, none of this even matters. There has to be artistic creation, we have to share our art with others and we have to care about what others think of our work. Even though the return on our investment is almost always less than half what we put into it, it is often more than enough to keep us engaged in the process of creating and sharing art. It's part of what makes us human - and perhaps the greatest evidence of our humanity.
Tiptoeing around displays of artistry is irrelevant and even damaging behavior. Responding to an exhibition of utter honesty with less than utter honesty is despicable and an insult to artists. Such behavior diminishes the work even more than the act of sharing it. This is why indignation in the face of honest and informed criticism turns my stomach. When an artist presents his or her pure truth, responding with less than pure truth is nothing short of pollution.
So, yes, I was kidding when I advised our questioner to say nothing more than, "this tree is perfect and the artist is a wonderful person." Surely by now such happy sarcasm can be recognized as such.
Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.bonsai365.com/ :: living bonsai every day
zone 8, Texas