Bonsai Elevations exhibit at the Pacific Rim Collection

Carl_Bergstrom

Good art is out of place when surrounded by unsuccessful art?

I don't get it.

-Carl

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CD one

That Sumac on the Dr. Seuss hat is one of my favorites of the Pac. Rim Collection. I'm not overly comfortable veiwing it as it is in this picture, but then again that is what art is supposed to do to you, bring out emotions. Perhaps the number of people through the gates is down and this is a (feeble?) attempt at getting some people out.

Colin



edit: better watch out for the spellin police

TreeBay

Are they Cajun?

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Carl_Bergstrom

So Matt, judging from your gallery, you made it to the show. Care to give us a review or to otherwise comment?

Best regards,
Carl

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Panamaniac

I am in 100% agreement with imyerhukleberry on the 2nd stand in the small picture. I loved this stand.

Big 200K picture


(this picture was taken by me at the exhibit and linked from an article I wrote on another forum)

As a matter of fact, it made such an impression on me that I copied the idea to make my bonsai stand as depicted below.

Big 225K picture

Big 250K picture

(pictures of my bench from an article I posted on another forum. Yes, a lot of the material I have on that stand is crap... needed to get something on there for the photo.)

I trully loved the exhibit. Some of the displays where over the top, but I think that if we limit experimentation, people will never know and/or understand what they like and don't like. Obviously that red-fire-acrylic thing was over the top, but there where some that looked like flowing water which where trully magnifiscent.

Not to mention that the exhibit inspired me to create a display of my own.

heymikey(deceased)

heyCrow; When I first saw the pictures of the Weyerhaueser "Elevations" exhibit I didn't like what I saw and I wondered how many of the bonsai artists were reaching for the "Pepto". But the longer I looked, the more the bonsai stands piqued my interest and the more merit was recognized in (most of) them. It requires that one "step outside the box" for a while to give them a fair shake. First off I feel that any stand should complement the tree/display and by necessity should play second fiddle to the tree, not equal billing and certainly not dominance--which some of them do. The wooden stand for the Atlas Cedar is somewhat traditional/modern and I like the simple geometric forms which contrast with the sinuous and textural qualities of the tree, however the bright orange coloration is too overbearing. A more natural/neutral stain is all that is required to make this one a winner: (see the first virtual below). Again, the steel stand for the Hemlock makes use of simple geometric shapes and a very attractively-colored earthy finish to effect a solid base for the tree, however IMHO the stand is too substantial for the subject Hemlock and should be scaled down as indicated in the second sketch below. If a large-trunked Pine or California Juniper were mounted on it, It might be great just as it is. My favorite of all was the stoneware stand with the Japanese Maple. It obviously has the shape and style of many typical bonsai stands but what moved me the most was the "apple pie crust" texture and the "cinnamon" tone accenting. This is a perfect complement to the apple colors present in the maple and the stands size, being closely matched to the pot reinforces the idea of a holiday pie snugly nestled in its pie tin. The more I looked at it the more I thought--This is American Bonsai. I closed my eyes and in no time I was taking in the wonderful aroma of roast turkey and sweet potatos--see sketch 3 below. Regards, heyMikey!!

Attached Images

	AtlasCedar-B.JPG (40.7 KB, 15 views)
	Hemlock-B.JPG (23.8 KB, 27 views)
	Alcove.jpg (51.5 KB, 133 views)

Carl_Bergstrom

The stand as itself is attractive. And yours looks even better, mostly because you've placed the trees more appropriately.

But the problem is that the Pacific Rim display shows a stand that is an aesthetic disaster when coupled with the redwood. . The redwood is OBVIOUSLY not a match for the stand, given the horribly dispropriationate sizes (at least, placed where it is - maybe it would look a bit better on the lower bench, though that has its problems as well.) My point is that if we want to further the art of display, we need to further the art of display - not to simply fashion nice stands in oblivion to the demands of the trees with which they will be coupled.

Do you disagree?

-Carl

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TreeBay

One of my favorites was the black pine. I haven't read the explanations at the Weyerhaeuser site yet, but that particular piece was particularly interesting. The mature pine was at the top of the tall stand at the end of a thread of barbed wire, with an immature sapling in a metal nursery type can at the other.

That seemed to me to symbolize a long, difficult life of bonsai training!

I think it would have been more effective if the featured trees were grouped together. As it was, they were scattered throughout the display. It was interesting to see, although that particular arrangment made it especially challenging to set aside one's expectations about traditional bonsai display.

Regards,

Matt

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Panamaniac

This almost made me blush... I'm working on getting a lot of my material (most not displayed) into training pots as opposed to the nursery containers I have them in to do the trees (and bench) justice. I have a long way to go, I'll have a busy next spring.


We are in agreement.

You've opened my eyes to the flaw in the composition... Nice bench, awesome tree, yet as you said the aesthetic composition doesn't do the tree nor the bench justice. I really wanted to defend my point here, but don't have much ground to stand on.

I have not looked at enough bonsai exhibitions to know how to "match" potted trees to displays on any level other than just feel. I still have tons to see and learn.