bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - Artistry In Bonsai: A Simpleton's View

Al’s post discusses Artistry in bonsai: the application of design to a creative process. He puts forward a very good argument defining the terms, as he interprets them. You can not discuss artistry in bonsai without using the vocabulary of design. The language of design is a more common vernacular, so its use simplifies the discussion. Design is nothing but a plan until it has been implemented, at which time it becomes art. It is a foundation block of art, but only one of them. Unlike the fine arts where one starts with an idea and blank canvas, bonsai has an additional element, the life of the tree. Bonsai is never truly finished, it is always open to be remade. By its very nature, the artistry used to style the tree must be ongoing. The design can not be rigid, it must allow for the induction of chaos in the process. A branch may die, insect damage may force a change, and the artistry is the ability to modify the design to suit the tree. As in any art, we each bring our creativity, our skill, our past, our prejudices, our preferences, and our opinions to the medium. All of these channel through the artistry we practice into the art we produce.

12-Aug-2004	#23
JLDoggett bonsaiTALK Artisan Join Date: May-2004 Posts: 115	Al’s post discusses Artistry in bonsai: the application of design to a creative process. He puts forward a very good argument defining the terms, as he interprets them. You can not discuss artistry in bonsai without using the vocabulary of design. The language of design is a more common vernacular, so its use simplifies the discussion. Design is nothing but a plan until it has been implemented, at which time it becomes art. It is a foundation block of art, but only one of them. Unlike the fine arts where one starts with an idea and blank canvas, bonsai has an additional element, the life of the tree. Bonsai is never truly finished, it is always open to be remade. By its very nature, the artistry used to style the tree must be ongoing. The design can not be rigid, it must allow for the induction of chaos in the process. A branch may die, insect damage may force a change, and the artistry is the ability to modify the design to suit the tree. As in any art, we each bring our creativity, our skill, our past, our prejudices, our preferences, and our opinions to the medium. All of these channel through the artistry we practice into the art we produce.