Is there such a thing??

After reading a article in bonsai today showing the most popular bonsai in japan and then going through all of there faults it got me thinking ,We strive to perfect our trees day by day ,to try and get that perfect tree but will the tree ever be perfect??can we live with the faults??

just like to here your thoughts



ROBOKU

Rob,

I think the masterpieces of Japanese bonsai are largely due to provenance. Meaning the age, the history and the owner-designer of the tree move it on a line from Best in the world to on down.

Many of the masterpieces were established so long ago and have become so well known so called faults are overlooked and almost respected.

I really believe that standards have spiraled upwards in recent years. The priceless master class of the future may indeed be perfect in every respect.

I like the fact that you say you are striving for perfection with your trees. It takes a lot of work and thought to do this. We will try and follow you.

Hey Robo,

Perfection is relative, just like most other ideals. Even the most prized diamonds are the ones with a tiny flaw - the "perfect" ones are less valuable.

Bonsai is an art like any other, where we have to suspend some disbelief or we have to agree to be drawn into the story that the artist is telling. With a painting of a horse running in a meadow, we know that it is not a horse running in a meadow, but rather an artist's rendering of such using paint on a canvas. We allow ourselves to be drawn into the work and agree to participate in the realism (or the fantasy!) that the artist is trying to portray.

Now, there are aids and hinderances to our agreement with this portrayal, perhaps: poor composition or good composition, good proportion or poor proportion, good use of color or bad use of color, appropriate or inappropriate perspective, etc...

It is not different with bonsai. Bonsai will virtually never be without flaws, but it is how these flaws are compensated for or even utilized as compositional elements that help to give the work artistic value (in the eyes of the viewer).

"Perfection" in a bonsai work is not generally going to be embodied by a lack of natural flaws - all trees have these and so they are, therefore, quite natural. However, artistry can triumph over these flaws, dependent on the skill, vision and inspiration of the artist, to render them moot.

You're right, the perfect bonsai does not exist in all likelihood and if it did, it would not necessarily be as beautiful or as inspiring as a less perfect one that has been created with great skill and inspiration and artistic vision.

Yet another thing to consider is that a tree in a pot is nice, but it's not how bonsai should really be displayed and not the fullness of bonsai art. Bonsai art is the tree in a pot on a stand, displayed with 1 or two other relevant companion pieces for context, reference and to complete the story that the bonsai tree is attempting to tell.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
zone 8, Texas

Roboku:

Andy nailed it! I can't think of any way to say it better.

Andy:

Senor, you have such a way with the words!

I think your right erubeck

Thank you andy for your words of wisdom they are greatly aprechiated


thank you also bonsainut

Regards


ROBOKU

Perfect? Perfection?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So is perfection.
I have never seen prefection. If you see it would you please let me know?

I would also like to see a tree which is pefect

If anyone has a picture of somthing they think is perfect please post it here

I also beleve that Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but if you decide to show someone your beautiful tree and they turn around and say "thats crap" Would you look at your tree differantly ??



ROBOKU

Well so far I have never seen a perfect tree. But what is perfect? I'm guessing perfect follows all the rules of bonsai set out by the Japanese. SO I guess you need to get the tape measure and mesaure the girth of the trunk to the height of the tree and that the first, second and third branches are in the exact location as specified by the Japanese rules.

I have never said to anyone that they have the perfect tree. I have said to people that their trees are magnificent, beautiful, excellent etc. That's as far as I would go. I don't know all the rules of bonsai so I can't judge whether a tree is perfect. I simple know whether a tree is magnficent and other relevant adjectives.

David

Hi David,

You wrote:
"Well so far I have never seen a perfect tree. But what is perfect? I'm guessing perfect follows all the rules of bonsai set out by the Japanese. SO I guess you need to get the tape measure and mesaure the girth of the trunk to the height of the tree and that the first, second and third branches are in the exact location as specified by the Japanese rules."
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The Japanese did not create any rules. They did, by virtue of utilizing many relevant artistic guidelines in an appealing manner, set an aesthetic standard, but the "rules" of bonsai are the "rules of art. They are neither Japanese nor attributed to any other culture.

The references to ratios of trunk width to tree height are not "rules" at all. They are merely some simple examples. Trunk width and tree height ratios are dependent upon the character of the tree and the aims of the artist. Being aware of these ratios is often useful in acheiving a certain aim, but there are no "perfect" ratios. Please work to understand this. ;-)

You also wrote:
"I have never said to anyone that they have the perfect tree. I have said to people that their trees are magnificent, beautiful, excellent etc. That's as far as I would go. I don't know all the rules of bonsai so I can't judge whether a tree is perfect. I simple know whether a tree is magnficent and other relevant adjectives."
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Yes! The "rules" of bonsai don't have anything to do with perfection. Perfection is not part of art either. There is successful and unsuccessful art, and while part of the equation that makes up these qualities has to do with the "rules" (the useful guiedlines and conventions of artistic communication), it is the skill and inspiration of the artist that largely determines the level of quality for the work.

I urge you to learn the basic principles of bonsai art - what many mistakenly refer to as "the rules," and then learn the many ways that these fundamentals can be employed to create your own aims. And have fun! Good luck!

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
zone 8, Texas

Andy,

Just as a reference, can you give some examples of successful and unsuccessful art?

Bonsai would be nice, but any Art would do.
Remember both must be Art!