So Is It Art?

Carl_Bergstrom

We've had a number of very interesting threads on artistry lately. They've given me a lot to think about.

Let's distill this debate down to something even simpler. We've talked about artistry in bonsai; what about artistry in kusamono?

Here's a photograph of an accent planting that I put together this past spring. It's not the culmination of decades of planning, nor is it a masterpiece of nature's own design collected from the wild. But is this art? Why, or why not? Were artistic/design principles brought into play here? Are there things that could have been done better?
What are they?

I'll be very interested to hear your perspectives.

With my best regards,
Carl

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In love with trees

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Jon Kypros

I definitely think this is artistic. I think it is art because it brings back memories of mine through the way it is composed and it is pleasing very calming and beautiful/vibrant but not over whelming. I definitely see artistic design in the set up and also in the positioning of the plants behind the moss rather than in front, to the side etc. This placement makes the illusion that something is behind the grass waiting to be seen. The way the pot flows up makes the moss more prominent and the slab matches the leaf tips nicely. the only thing that could have been done better would have been either a scroll in the display of a spring type scene with water in it.
Anyway that is what I drew from this. I could just be full of it

washout03

If looking at one thing makes you think of something else, isn't that the base of what art is? Just looking at your accent piece makes me think of a pond at 6 in the morning. I truly believe bonsai is an art form. If nothin more than making something pleasing to the eye, it is still art.
Tom

eighten

Sure it is! It's not spectacular by any means, and I think that the moss would be less distracting without losing prominance if it bulged out a little along the pot edge (like it does now) but then smoothly sloped under the planting. In other words, your moss has too much character and is taking away from the plant. That's subjective though, and in any case I think that it shows grace, fragility, vitality, and peace in an artistic way.
In this case, you did very little. Your job as a designer was simply to choose a pot and planting method that let the natural beauty of the plant shine. Your job as an artist was simply to pick the right plant. It would be hard to speak so simply of a bonsai. Oh, and if we're being picky here, the stiff green shoot on the far right could go, and the moss under could go down a bit, it's throwing off the balance a little. One more thing, I'd have to see it in person, but unless that wooden base matches the red on the blades absolutely perfectly, it will look like you tried to match it but failed and you'd be better off without it.

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~john, Midwestern U.S. zone 4a

bonsaial1

This is my take.

The planting is great..
The pot is great..
The backdrop is great..
The stand is great..

The photo is
art

Regards, Al

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I been kidding the last seven years.
no.... really!

Carl_Bergstrom

This is great - we're getting down to nuts and bolts, which I really appreciate. Thanks!

I'll post my thoughts more generally, and answer your first remarks, once a few people have had a chance to comment.

Best wishes,
Carl

__________________
In love with trees

agraham

it's art

Will_Heath

Studying this I found myself at peace with the world and the beauty within it. Wonderstruck that God could create such remarkable beauty and how just one plant can stand alone, by itself and inspire such thoughts and feelings.

The plant is perfect, the moss perfect, yet man fell short in trying to display the perfection, as we always will because try as we may, we can not outdo God. We come close sometimes as in this accent planting which is why it moves us and we call it beauty, art, etc.

We take a small piece of creation and let it be all it can be, all it was meant to be. We remove the flaws of enviroment and try to achive that perfection that we call art. It is unreachable by us mere mortals but we know and recognize it when we come close. I think that if we ever did see total perfection that we would go quite insane at the shear beauty of it.

Is this accent art? Yes, because it inspires such feelings. The picture showcases the plant, for if the same picture were taken with the plant in front of a million others, no feelings would be there. The same could be said for the pot, moss, stand, lighting, etc. It is mans attempt to put it all together, to reach perfection, to bring out, to showcase the best in the plant, that causes one to recgonize the beauty and once that is achived then you have art.

washout03

Al, just for the sake of discussion (wich this thread is all about), why is the picture of the accent art when the accent itself is not? a sculpture is art before a picture is taken of it, why not a bonsai?