Literati Questions

Vance Wood

By today's definitions and executions of the Bun Jin style it is possible to have a bit fatter trunk than the standard lodge pole in the ground type design. Bun Jin is after all more or less a representative, or impressionistic, or surrealistic style that leaves the door open to almost any kind of interpretation. So do with it what pleases you and leave it up to the viewer to sort out technical issues.

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The only finished bonsai is a dead one; me 1992 MABA Des Moines Iowa

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BentBarrel

Sounds good to me. I suppose it to akin to open mic. I am assuming that literati or bun jin isnt that popular a style? Or do we just not see it too much as its more an interpretation and therefore not shown as freely as a 'styled' tree would be. By all that Ive read and seen I could stop short of topiary with it and pretzel the trunk and still be bunjin?


I appreciate all the replies!

PatArizona

G'day BentB...

No, No, No..."...stop short of topiary with it and pretzel the trunk...".

Topiary and pretzel have no place in the design and devellopment of a bunjin...

Bunjin is probably the MOST DIFFICULT "style" to do well!

It is also something you either like...or you don't. There seems to be no "middle ground".

One more time...topiary and pretzels have no place in a bunjin...or bonsai, for that matter.

Pat

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BONSAI isn't about surviving in a storm, rather, how to dance in the rain.
THE ONLY WAY: Always remember, and don't ever forget, that whatever you read here is not cast in concrete... the intent of any advice is to help. In no way should you feel that I’m saying that my way is the only way…heaven forbid! I've seen far too much of the "my way or the highway" attitude in bonsai as well as in other areas of life.

weeijk

Found another article that may help you in your quest.

http://artofbonsai.org/feature_articles/literati.php

Again good luck, cause what PatArizona said is totally true, creating a good and convincing literati/bunjin tree is the most difficult to do.

Cheers, Wessel

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Every tree can be a bonsai, but only some will be.

lehket

Yep, that's the one. I'll try to remember (which is often a trick for me) to get a photo so I can post it eventually. I also may bring it to the next meeting I attend.

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--Dale
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Co-author of Spiritual Telemetry,
Host of Planet Baha'i and the Planet Baha'i Forum

lehket

From what I've seen, bunjin "lives" at two extremes of bonsai:

1. A highly regarded form that is among the most difficult to execute (which may be why it's not seen as often as the classical styles).

2. Something to do with a tree that has no other possibilities (which usually results in fairly poor bunjin that nobody is proud to show).

I've seen the latter at a couple of club meetings where some bit of nursery stock reject is brought in for use in some kind of demo, and upon inspection the group decides that the only way to do anything with it is bunjin. Problem is, usually it doesn't hold out much promise for that, either.

I took one of those home last fall because in spite of everything I thought I saw a way to make a windswept juniper out of what our club president unabashedly called "a dog". In ten years I might even have something semi-decent, but mostly I just wanted to practice on it and see what I could do with it.

__________________
--Dale
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Co-author of Spiritual Telemetry,
Host of Planet Baha'i and the Planet Baha'i Forum

BentBarrel

I didnt really mean topiary pretzel but the rules are not very strict per se about bunjin.

PatArizona

BentB...

"...rules are not very strict...". You fall just a little short here...

The FIRST RULE is...THERE ARN'T ANY MORE RULES!


Pat

__________________
BONSAI isn't about surviving in a storm, rather, how to dance in the rain.
THE ONLY WAY: Always remember, and don't ever forget, that whatever you read here is not cast in concrete... the intent of any advice is to help. In no way should you feel that I’m saying that my way is the only way…heaven forbid! I've seen far too much of the "my way or the highway" attitude in bonsai as well as in other areas of life.

rockm

Bunjin, at least GOOD bujin, does have rules, only they are rules that most people don't know how to apply. Bunjin is the essence of the "less is more" philosophy. It is a tree stripped of any extraneous mass. Making them is an exacting exercise in subtraction, removing all but the most essential parts to make an image. It is not easy to do if you're starting out. It's very hard to do if you've been doing bonsai for 15 years.

Don't fool yourself into thinking there are no rules and anything goes. There are and it doesn't.

Examine good bunjin trees on the web, in person, and in JAPANESE bonsai books to see what works and what doesn't. Avoid quick fix ideas.