FredL

I think a couple of years ago when I started participating on bonsai forums, the question of why bonsai is not more popular and the related issue of what might be done to make it so was more popular than it is today. Perhaps it has been replaced by the issue of whether or not bonsai is art.

I think there is a relationship between these subjects.

Many years ago when I was growing up, running was an activity reserved pretty much to two groups of people: students in school and world class athletes. It was pretty much unknown to the general public. There were no running shoes, no races and no magazines devoted to it. It was distinctly "odd" for a mature adult to be seen running anywhere.

Then, along came Dr. Cooper and his famous book, "Aerobics". This book and its view of running changed everything. In a few years major corporations existed which focused mainly on running shoes, road races were being run everywhere and running magazines could be found on every newstand. Today, this phenomenon has died down somewhat, but, compared to, say, 1955, it is still wildly popular.

What happened?

I think it is simple to understand. Dr. Cooper and others presented the idea that running is good for you and is easily accessable to anyone. Others came to see that it is also fun. Others came to see it as a spiritual experience.

But the main thing was that the focus of running changed from the accomplishment of goals in a competitive setting to enjoyment of the experience. Yes, there were still competitive runners (Running as an artform?) and, no doubt all runners (as well as "Joggers") were competitive to some degree. However, the emphasis had changed. Profoundly.

I don't think bonsai will ever become widely popular unless the emphasis changes. Perhaps that is just as well, but I think the majority of people doing bonsai would like it to become more widely popular. Myself, I think the key to that is somehow communicating what the experience of doing bonsai is like to others and to make that experience accessable. Just as there is a lot of pleasure in running 10,000 meters in 45 minutes for alot of runners, there is a wonderful pleasure in learning craftsman skills and applying them to several very average bonsai in the backyard that is somehow not getting across to more than a few people outside the circles of the "Bonsai Elite".

Dr. Cooper was not even close to being a world class runner; in fact, didn't have a background that included any kind of running. Perhaps it will require somebody outside of the small, incestuous world of bonsai to popularize it.

Fred

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