I hope that in the future, judged exhibits will become more widely accepted and respected by bonsai enthusiasts in the U.S.. I hope that the benefits that can come from learned criticism, comparison, and evaluation can become more widely recognized by enthusiasts. Too often, judged events in the U.S. are greeted with fear, contempt, and misapplied criticism. I believe that the attitudes that prompt these responses are unfortunate and that indulging these attitudes harms our endeavor.

I hope that event organizers may begin to dispense with the often ridiculous criteria for entry into judged exhibits. Poor choices for entry criteria are partly responsible for the needless criticisms leveled at judged bonsai exhibits. So long as our entry criteria are referential to people and completely ignore the objects of the exhibit, so will such events be irrelevant to our art.

In Japan, the community and its organizations are smart enough to differentiate between events characterized by owners exhibiting bonsai from their collections (Kokufu-ten and others) and those where artists exhibit their work (like Sakufu-ten). The U.S. in particular needs this same wisdom in order to begin to obviate the misguided approach taken for most of our judged exhibits.

Judged exhibits are vital components in the growth of skill and understanding among enthusiasts, as well as the growth of understanding of the art form among the general public. I hope that this fact becomes more widely recognized and that relevant, intelligently conceived events are more commonly promoted in the future.

Also...

As a vitally necessary component to the former item, I hope that some leader organization in the U.S. launches a program for training and maintaining a contingent of skilled bonsai exhibit judges. The popular practice of inviting a respected foreign artist to act as judge or to offer a public critique at a judged event should not be based on utter necessity, as it is now. When a national group of enthusiasts has no other choice in the matter, such invitations are robbed of all courtesy and become little more than contract labor opportunities for foreign artists. Such invitations should be an exercise of our international friendship rather than a crutch for our necessity.

A bonsai judge training program would be one of the best ways to provide credibility to judged events and opportunity for a leader organization’s more skilled and enthusiastic members. Such a program could be characterized by a wide range of scope definitions; from no more than evaluation training to the fullness of a comprehensive bonsai training syllabus. Done right, it could facilitate great positive change in our bonsai community. I hope that just such a program is soon devised and implemented by a leader organization.


Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.andyrutledge.com/
zone 8, Texas