It seems to me that when the average person looks at a Bonsai, s(he) judges it by the totality of the effect on him(her). Flaws have very little meaning. We like it alot, somewhat, not too well, etc. Flaws come into the picture when an artist tries to figure out how to improve the effect on viewers or when art critics do their art critic thing. In the former case, I'm not sure the mind set is even about "flaws", but is about possible improvement.

"Flaws" expresses an art critic or Bonsai Judge mentality. It is a mind-set I am not very sympathetic to

Best regards, Fred

Hi Roboku,

The first "painting" (masquerading as a sketch) may be a realistic representation of what the artist saw out in the countryside, the various elements may be painted very well, but the composition of the piece is not really artistic. One thing to keep in mind is that artists do not record, rather, they interpret. The first painting is not an interpretation, it is a recording of what the artist looked at.

In the second painting, the artists used the same elements, but arranged them so that they "worked" on the canvas better. The arrangement was the artist's interpretation of the elements he saw, but arranged to be consistent with his endeavor - to create art. He arranged these elements on the canvas so that the viewer's eye would flow into and around the canvas, taking in the work, but also providing focus for the viewer.

If this were an actual painting, the artist would have likely added a focal element to the work, near the point where the trees, road and mountain meet. You can see how the angles in these elements interact and lead the eye to that point. Perhaps the focal point would be a house or farm or a person walking along the road, etc...

The same can be done with bonsai. The branches and flow of the composition can be arranged to lead the eye to a focal point or to convey a certain feeling or idea or ideal, etc... The flow of the trunk, the flow of the branches, the texture of the small shoots and foliage, the character of the base..., in artistically formed bonsai, all of these elements work together as a cohesive whole to lead the viewer's eye into and around the composition and work to convey a consistent meaning.

In the above example, the same tree with the same elements, but arranged differently so as not to work together for a consistent message would be less appealing to the viewer and there would not be a cohesive "message" conveyed. This is part of what I'm talking about.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
zone 8, Texas

Very interesting thread guys. Keep it up.

One thing to respond to. Yes, art is interpretation, however the feeling that the artist is trying to put to canvas determines how the painting will come out.

Perhaps the artist saw painting #2 but his feeling made him draw #1. Perhaps he was in a somber or calculating mood. Would we call it bad art because everthing was lined up in the center of the page? Maybe he felt like an accountant that day. He is still expressing himself as well as if he were to arrange it differently. Take the egyptian art as example. They liked to line the important aspects up in the center with the lesser radiating out in a very linier way.

My point is that wether art is pleasing or not is often not in alignment with wether the artist succeeded in conveying his message or his feelings. I think this is a little divergent from the art of Bonsai as I've never seen anyone try to make a sad bonsai. Just a couple of thoughts that occured to me.

Hi "skydivingcoffee"?

Sure, I agree with your assertion of the artist's mood affecting the image created, etc... The point that my little exercise was making was that artistic arrangement (linear, as in your example or trianglized as in my #2 pic) is subject to certain artistic principles. You defined the linear principle (central important, periphery less so...) and I've referenced yet another one.

My point is that composition is a conscious, purposed element to art and that one can achieve different effects with different compositions (and, of course, with different treatments of the specific elements).

Your having never seen a "sad" bonsai is also a noteworthy issue. Mood, feeling, character, etc... all of these qualities can be conveyed with bonsai by means of various artistic treatments to the compositional elements (branch, twigs, foliage, trunk, display composition, etc...). This is, in fact, the main line that I'm working toward in my explanations/observations. I hope that we can keep this up! ;-)

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
zone 8, Texas

I think also the reason that you don't often see "sad" Bonsai is that it's hard to make a tree look sad while keeping it healthy. Hell, even a weeping willow doesn't really look sad, just Southern.

I suppose somoene could kill their Bonsai as an artistic statement but I don't personally know anyone who would.

I think it would be fair to say that the topics for expression in bonsai are somewhat limited. For example, it is highly unlikely that anyone would attempt to make a statement about the degeneration of America's religious traditions using Bonsai as a medium, but that would be a valid topic for an author or even a painter. Art exists within limitations, and certain media are more appropriate for the expression of certain messages than others.

MY FIRST SAD BONSAI IN 3 YEARS

no its not winter and yes its dead


and it was not in the name of art



ROBOKU

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I think the egyptian example only strengthens the point that art must maintain a context to be viewed to its greatest effect. Sure, I could just use my initial reaction to judge the value of a particular art, but understanding teh conventions and limitations fo a specific form or even class of art can greatly increase the appreciation of a given piece.

A Bonsai example: When I was new to the art of bonsai I had a particular likeing to deciduous trees. Only problem was, I didn't find them that attractive to look at when they weren't green. After some time I discovered the degree of skill required to develope tignt ramification and pleasing branch placement, and began to understand why these trees were often displayed in the fall. Far from unusual, this appreciation seems to have been shared byany other bonsai enthusiests I have met.

Another example: If you were to look at an early work of picasso, you might note that he had an outstanding grasp on skills of clasical painting. Then a look at his later, and better known works show what appears to be simple techniques and childish forms. If I were to tell you that a specific painting, that is often derided by people at first look was an attempt to illistrate simultainaity in a static image, yur appreciation might increase. You might not like it all that much, but you would be able to understand that it has met its goal, and developed a set of conventions for other artists to do the same.

D.S.