Bonsai As A Trust

FredL

Saw an interesting new thread questioning the best way to start with Bonsai in which readers were referred to an article by Andy Rutledge. The article got me thinking, as many of Andy's comments often do. The question raised by Andy regarded how we think of ourselves in our relationship to Bonsai.

I have an answer suggested in passing by Andy but not really expounded on: how about thinking of ourselves as Bonsai Caretakers?

I am coming to think that this is how I'd like to consider myself.

Bonsai. as living, developing beings in their own right are really quite different from art constructed of non-living materials. Many of them were extraordinarily beautiful objects before even being touched by any human hand and even the most poorly developed tree in a pot is a fascinating living being which is quite beautiful, even left unimproved by an artists hand. I remember still today seeing my first pictures of bonsai in Life Magazine, trees which were hundreds of years old and which had been cared for by many generations of caretakers.

I am wondering if we are losing something in stressing the importance of bonsai as works of art. I am coming to prefer thinking of bonsai as something totally unique, that thinking of them as works of art loses the real essence of what they are. Yes, artistry can contribute much to their beauty and a Bonsai Caretaker who understands artistic concepts and can apply them to the bonsai in his or her care can greatly enhance his turn at caring for a bonsai in his trust. But it is not a "work of art" that he is caring for; it is a bonsai. And it is not the next Bonsai Show that he is preparing it for; he is caring for it for the ages.

I think it is good to include in one's collection any tree that the owner can see beauty in, whether it is there before him in a mature tree, or largely in the oner's mind's eye, dreaming of what it may become in the future. I think a sort of companionship exists with a Bonsai at any stage of development which is far more like the relationship with a pet than like ownership of a painting or statue. Unlike a dog or a cat, however, which is generally outlived by its human owner, a bonsai, if properly cared for, may have many generations of owners. This makes its relationship to its owner totally unique in human experience and, perhaps, accounts somewhat for the unique attraction of bonsai to people with a certain sort of mentality.

Fred

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Fred,

If you keep thinking like the world is going to exist after you're gone, you're gonna start doing silly things like recycling and conserving energy. Then, before long, we'll find you driving a fuel-efficient car and hugging whales (hopefully not both at the same time).



Regards,

Matt

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Bart Thomas(deceased)

FredL:

This is the mindset of collectors of traditional art (paintings, sculpture,etc.).

At first we think we own them. Then we realize that we are responsible for their preservation. This can involve a considerable amount of maintenance.

So it is with bonsai. Would you consider owning a masterpiece until you knew how to care for it, or, as in the case of many japanese, knew someone who did?

grampz

Some wonderful thoughts Fred...In his e-book, Andy well stressed the communication aspect of art and how it relates to bonsai...Try as we may, not one of us can create a tree as beautiful as those we find in nature...even the ugliest of trees still has an indiscribable beauty...

I think of Walter's critique of the oak in California, how ugly it was, how unsightly, how non-bonsai, yet, it touched him deeply...The site Rene Voortwist posted a link to, of all those wonderful trees in Europe, so old, so huge, yet most every one had features which were against the conventions of good bonsai...

If we can communicate the beauty we see in nature through our trees, I do believe we are artists...Yet, as you have so well stated we are only 'caretakers'...If we do our job well that tree will be there for the next 'caretaker', hopefully improved in design, for them to continue developing and maintaining...

Yes I agree our trees are so much more than works of art...



I truly like that statement...Thanks for that...

Regards
Behr

Little Arborist

Just another newbie.

Impressed.

Learning.

Picked up my first not yet bonsai a week and a half ago.

Now thats contrast.

Nice story. I hope the story alone has a legacy in the trees I come across, and that the appreciation of the story is reflected in trees entrusted to me as time passes by.

Humbled by a little tree I've never seen,

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Attila

Reading Andy's story reminds me of another thread I've started a while ago called Contextual Information. There I was talking about how knowledge about a certain tree can enhance our appreciation and enjoyment. Andy's story instantly changed the way I feel about this red pine. That's why I feel that we should keep a record of all information we know about our trees.

Information has value and adds this value to the tree. We can see countless examples in the arts market where the discovery of the origin and history of a piece of art takes its price through the roof.
In Japan keeping track of the tree's history is common practice.

I like Fred's idea of how we should relate to bonsai. It is truly a unique relationship.

Attila

bnsaijim

I noticed Andy never mentioned that he stopped eating bugs. At least I can let him sit on the good couch....

Andy has romanticized the story a little bit, I think the truth would be a bit less inspiring- rife with allusions to scale production.

I expect this would not be so for many of ours- many, unfortunately, do not work with trees of this level- more like nursery cast offs, seedlings, etc. To stir the pot, I think that leaving something worthy of caretaking will depend more on our success at producing or preserving a viable bonsai image and to a lesser extent our ability to romanticize it's past. Our Korean grower was probably more concerned with feeding his family then providing a legacy for some American bonsaiist.

I think the risk of over-romanticizing is schmaltziness- you end up like a certain artist(s) that feel a need to name every tree and make up some story about it that adds grandeur to the trip to the bonsai shop i.e., a trip to the hermit's hut, simply because it makes an article more interesting or makes you "feel good" when showing your otherwise mediocre tree.

A bad bonsai from Japan is no better than one from America, even if a Kimura touched it once.

With the same stroke of the keyboard I do include myself amidst the romanticizers to an extent.

I have a story sort of like Andy's. Mine concerns a collector and bonsai pioneer from Louisiana- Vaughan Banting. Long before I ever met the man I had read much of his written work -snippets extend back several decades in the old "newsletters" now grown to full fledged "Journals".

I was invited to a "pre-sale" of his collection as his illness had left his body handicapped and unable to care for a collection of trees, but his mind continues to be keen for bonsai and looking for new techniques.

I sort of felt I was being interviewed.

I purchased two moderately well known trees- one a flat top bald cypress with a hollowed out trunk that "met Dan Robinson's requirements of having a hole in it..." which can be seen in a vague photo in BT... This is the only completed "Banting flat top" in a private collection I'm told.

The other, a water elm that appeared in Outstanding American Bonsai, happened to be one of the most captivating images for me when I first started getting serious about the art. It was and continues to be in very poor health; the horticulture of water elms in pots is only moderately succesful- forcing them out of normal growth habit (i.e., Japanese "pine-tree" style) worsens the outlook. I hope to return it to some semblence of it's prior glory, but so much die back has occurred obliterating many of the original features.

With the first I've had very little to do; the challenge is keeping true to Vaughan's vision but also making decisions regarding the long term look of the tree. The second I fear is going to involve a much more extensive imprint of my talents.

I believe these "pedigree trees" in particular have value for future generations because of who collected and styled them, (and hopefully one day because of who maintains them), but primarily because they were excellent material when collected and became good bonsai.

The bottom line is that these trees must stand on their own merits regardless of who touched them or where they came from.

Should circumstances become such, I too will "interview" their next owner, whether that is one of my sons, yet to be born grandchildren, or someone outside my familial circle...

Sincerely,

Jim Stone

Attila

Romanticizing history means reinventing (falsifying) it based on someone's preconceived idea. That's never a good thing since it is misinformation.

However, Andy qualified his story as "fictional", so the story is supposed to be romantic (or any other style that the author choses). There is nothing wrong with fiction as long as it's not presented as reality.

Attila

clrosner

During the 60's I was an antique gun collector, and was able to obtain two Wheelocks that were made in the 1500's.
They were the two reveered pieces in my collection, and when I sold my 75 gun collection (to put my daughters through College), I did interview the buyer to make sure they had a good home, since as previously stated we are only guardians of objects as they pass through our hands during our life time....
I enjoyed the fictional story by Andy and the true story by Jim Stone.... It does not hurt, if we just enjoy the Bonsai in our collection on a day to day basis, but at some point we must think of the future of that collection.

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