Quote:
Originally posted by Treebeard
The very fact that we even have judging in bonsai is different... you don't have the Mona lisa up against the Haywain or the temptation of St Antony in a painting competition, do you?
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Chirs, I thought about this issue carefully before posting my initial response, and indeed thought of nearly exactly that example (actually, I put the Mona Lisa head to head against Starry Night, but same deal).
I think the example is somewhat unfair. These are established masterpieces and for whatever reason, those don't get judged. But how do you make it as an artistic photographer or ceramic artist or sculptor or painter these days? In part, by winning repeated in juried art shows and competitions. Not that this argument helps me any, because here we seem to have something a bit more like bonsai, in that owners don't seem to enter these shows on the artist's behalf...bringing these arts closer to bonsai than I originally realized in their organization structure. This is a complex business, it appears.
What I do see is this. Even the very wealthy don't play these games just to show how much money they have. They want to be seen as having a particular talent or flair or insight in what they do, be it investing in the right baseball team at the right time, supporting with venture capital a scientific project that turns out to go big, or commissioning an up-and-coming composer to produce certain works. This applies just as well to bonsai. Suppose someone had money and had the ability to see that a stellar tree (say, one currently at auction in Japan) could be even better with a few years in the hands of master artist X. That person could make it happen - and should take just pride in the accomplishment of having done so!
Best regards,
Carl