From another thread I see some interest in discussing the way we run our conventions.
It is my observation all around the world that the standard demos and workshops are just not good enough anymore. Even if we have the very best headliners we are loosing the audience. In Germany recently there were more people on stage than in the audience at THE major German convention. For world class demos people had to pay 15 US$ for a full day and that seemed to have been too much. I think even if we had given this away they would not have shown up. Workshops with world class masters cannot get filled anymore. Something is totally wrong here.
I have come up with a couple of suggestions:
EXTENDED TREE CRITIQUE
Instead of standard demonstrations or workshops I have developed another concept for a major lecture: People bring one or several trees to the public critique. The trees should be in all stages of development: outright raw material, intermediate and 'finished' bonsai. They should be in all variations of quality: very poor, normal, very good.
Normally I get from 10 to 30 trees for such a lecture. I then thoroughly analyze every single tree and discuss it with the audience. Make sure that everybody understands that a tree critique is about hearing the truth about a tree. Such a session can last from two hours to four hours.
The advantages over a regular demo: very educational, very entertaining, no cost to the club for demo trees, no problems of providing the right kind of demo material, interesting for all levels of experience, from outright novices to masters.
The advantages over a regular workshop: more educational than a normal workshop, more participants possible, in fact, the number is alomost unlimited, participants with all levels of experience find it interesting.
I think this concept can dramatically change the mainstream demonstrations. I have the strong feeling that something must be done here. The public obviously does not accept the old-fashioned way as it used to anymore.
One idea is to have several masters doing a critique on the same trees on stage. Like one hour master #1, one hour master #2 etc.. This could be quite interesting. People in all stages of expertise should want to see this. We could get back the major part of the audience which we are loosing with standard demonstrations.
TREE CRITIQUE
This is the normal procedure as handled in North America. It can be public or private. I walk through an exhibit or a collection and speak about all or most trees. I anylyze the tree as I see it and give constructive criticism. I say what I would do if it were my tree.
It must be understood that to be of value a tree critique is not an exercise in diplomacy. It is not about being nice to trees or people. it is about analyzing trees and giving workable advice. Sometimes people misunderstand this. It is more about what the artist thinks and not so much about what the student thinks.
The number of participants for a tree critique is almost unlimited. It can be one person; it can be a dozen to twenty if in an exhibit area where there is only somuch room for the audience; it can be hundreds if the critique is on stage in a big hall and the trees are delivered on stage.
MODERATION
I have developed the concept of moderating several artists who work in parallel on stage.
A single standard demonstration often can be quite boring. Either the artist is not a good entertainer although being a good artist. Or there comes the time of endless carving or wiring and everybody falls asleep or leaves the room.
When several artists are working in parallel there is always something going on that is of interest. A moderator makes sure that there is not a boring moment, that all artists can speak when they have something to say, that the public can ask questions or even participate in a discussion if feasable, that everything runs smoothly. A moderator can even be translator at the same time. We all were bored before by poor translations on stage. It is very helpful if the moderator knows what he speaks about.
A good moderator makes sure that the work of the artist is shown in the best light and that the audience gets the best possible show at the same time.
This concept can also make the sometimes outrageous costs of demonstrations obsolete. It is a good idea to bring several new artists on stage in parallell. They will be happy to do it for nothing. A good moderator still makes a remarkable event out of this. It is quite possible to have a big star and one or several much smaller stars on stage at the same time. In Munich in spring of 2004 Kimura will be on stage with several second liners at the same time, moderated by myself.
How about these ideas? Are there some more?
best regards
Walter Pall
http://walter-pall.de