Quote:
Originally posted by bonsaial1
What Andy says has nothing to do with you!
What Smith utters has nothing to do with you!
Do bonsai your way! That is the way of the future. Your Future!
Because nothing else matters....Al
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At the risk of sounding like the prig -- that's with a "g" -- of the group, I'm sorry to see this kind of cheerleading go on in the name of bonsai artistic freedom. What Andy or anybody else says about the norms of bonsai style has plenty to do with everybody's practice of the craft.
It's the mindset that says "that has nothing to do with me" that is behind the fact that so many so-called bonsai by (chiefly, but not exclusively, American) practitioners look like nothing more than little shrubs in funny pots. This is excusable in people just starting up: there's a heck of a lot to learn. And as I have said in a different thread, there are masters who can break certain rules magnificently -- although usually they don't break all of them at once! But to practice bonsai for years and still wilfully disregard the norms that give significance to the art and allow enthusiasts from widely varying places and times to discuss and judge individual pieces meaningfully -- well, that's just wanking. Wanking.
I think if some of those who wave a "libertarian" banner were to honestly examine their own practice of bonsai, they would have to admit that in their own work they try to conform to numerous traditional norms. Maybe just not all of them. After 30 years involvement with bonsai, I still feel like a beginner when I stand before a piece of material, ready to start work. Hope I never lose that in a silly fit of pride, thinking about "MY bonsai future" -- whatever that's supposed to mean.
Barry