Thread CLOSED: The AoB NORTH AMERICA vs. EUROPE PHOTO CONTEST

midwestbonsai

The Art of Bonsai Project
Proudly Presents the Great
NORTH AMERICA vs. EUROPE PHOTO CONTEST
Sponsored by Bonsai Today Magazine

The contest objective is for bonsai artists from North America and Europe to submit quality pictures of world class bonsai which will be judged and awarded points by qualified judges who reside neither in North America or Europe.

The goal of this contest is educational and is meant to inspire friendly competition between artists of both regions.

http://artofbonsai.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=62

-Paul

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FlyBri

I guess that counts me out then...

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Ian_Homer

mmmmmm.... maybe we could have an INTER-FORUM Contest in the very near future.... You know, along the lines of posting up 10 trees voted on by the members at each said forum, then getting the opposing side to vote on who has the best selection. Remind me to start a thread elsewhere to promote it as well.

Fly, mine is a little more "tongue in cheek" reply....feel free to delete it if you wish.

Regards,
Ian.

RonMartin(deceased)

I'm a bit confused. Is this going to be a contest where the quality of the photograph or the quality of the tree is getting the points.
Also what qualifies it as a world class tree. Does it have to have previoulsy won awards. If so what ones.
What exactly qualifies as world class.
If it is to be a world class thing how come well over 2/3 of the world is ineligible to enter.
Is it like American football where the best of the world is based on a few competitors in one country ;o)
Lots of questions on a contest like this. Not too many of them are answered in you post.

midwestbonsai

Is this going to be a contest where the quality of the photograph or the quality of the tree is getting the points?

This is, as labeled, a photo contest. It is a photo contest because what is being judged are photos of bonsai. This contest is for high quality trees of which high quality photos will be submitted for judging. Since the photograph is the only thing the judges will be able to see, we ask for high quality photographs so that the tree can be better seen and judged.

Also what qualifies it as a world class tree. Does it have to have previoulsy won awards. If so what ones?

There are different classes of bonsai and they are usually divided as follows:

Club Class - those which are shown at local clubs and judged against trees of other members.

Regional Class - those which are shown regionally and are judged against trees of other artists in the region.

National Class - those which are shown in national shows and are judged against other artists in the nation.

World Class - those which are shown in world shows and are judged against any other artists in the world.

For our contest, the tree simply has to be of very high quality. We realize that there are world class trees that may never have been shown, these are allowed of course. We also realize that many regional, national, and even club level trees could indeed also be world class. We trust that a person knows very well if their trees are of this quality, those that are in doubt can wait and see the quality of the submissions.

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carmi

I had never heard of a more ridiculous and vulgar idea, I wonder what artist will participate…
Next contest will be Japan against the rest of the world, and then China against Japan, and so on…
Are we Bonsai artist or bull fighters?

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Moshe.

Colors are an optic illusion of light – As viewers for the bonsai creation. M.S.C.

Attila

Hi Carmi,

Here is the idea that started this. Vance Wood started a thread at the AoB website, called "The problem with the american bonsai". It was a very popular thread, it went on for a long time, and a lot of people joined in. Some of them were accomplished and well known artists. During the thread, the idea that European bonsai is much better than American bonsai, was frequently voiced by some. Others vehemently denied this. Of course, nobody could give a final answer.

So - we thought - why not organize a friendly contest? If people are so opinionated one way or the other, why not put their money where their mouth is? This could be really fun.

I am not a big fan of bonsai contests. I love bonsai as it is, without trying to prove anything. But others love contests. Especially in Europe, contests are very popular. They do it all the time, and with spectacular results.

Carmi, I don't know whether or not you ever played soccer with your friends. People come together, and play, and they have a lot of fun. It is not vulgar, and it is not ridiculous. It is fun.

You can look at it as a friendly soccer game (or pick any other sport) between two continents. Wouldnt' you think that a lot of people would be interested in watching such a game?

Some people believe that this is too "exclusive": other nations cannot participate. Well, we have already done a world-wide contest. And we will do more of those. We cannot do it every month.

This is a little different. This is a contest that requires two teams. Just like any other competition between two parties. Friendly competitions are very popular in all cultures around the world. They bring people together, for the love of the game: in this case, the "game of bonsai". Bonsai can be art, hobby, but can also ge a game. The point is to have fun. Nobody will make any money here, but we can all have fun.

We selected Europe vs. America because people from Europe and America seemed to be the most interested, according to our observations. Of course, if this turns out to be popular, we can do it with other teams as well, we have absolutely no problem doing that.

In conclusion, I can only say that some people love contests, others hate it. If one hates contests, one probably hates the "Crespi cup", and the "Gingko awards", and the "World Bonsai Contest" as well. If one loves contests, then this could be an interesting one. We don't claim that this contest is as prestigious as the ones I''ve menioned above, but in the past we have received some pretty impressive sumbissions from very talented artists. We hope that it will be the case this time as well.

This is an experiment, never done before. As all experiments, there is always a risk of failure, and we have the courage to take that chance. If it turns out that people are disinterested, no problem. But there is a chance that people will be motivated to show what they have accomplished during recent times. There is a chance, that some artists will be motivated to show that, although bonsai is a very recent development in their country, they came a long way from their humble beginnings and they can compete with the best. If that's the case, this could be exciting to watch. We also hope that the list of awards will increase as the competition goes on, which will make this even more fun for the participants.

In conclusion, I just wanted to let you all know what was the idea behind this. If you feel that this doesn't belong to this forum, feel free to delete it. We are just trying to bring a little more excitement in the bonsai community, it would be really sad if you saw this as an insult.

Best regards,

Attila

RonMartin(deceased)

I don't see it as an insult. Far from it. But I do see it as a bit of blatent free advertising for AOB. Not too many other reasons for posting the message in the General section of another forum.
But then that is only my opinion. Take it for what it is worth.
BTW is this the same contest that AOB approached ABS to cosponsor. Just curious.

mike_p

I must say that there is a lot of "bull fighting" on the bonsai internet
Much too much in fact.

Mike

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Learning the art of bonsai may be more like water wearing away a stone, or climbing a mountain where the peak is always shrouded in fog and just out of reach.
Persist, and someday you may see the peak in sunshine. You may pick up the stone and it's a thing of beauty.

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