The Art of Bonsai Project

I looked at the site Will reccomended and really don't approve of that sort of thing. I feel that tanuki (or badger bonsai) aren't really worthy of the classification of bonsai either. It's one thing to use a plant like that for a decoration in a Chinese restaurant with low light or for a gag gift, but entirely another thing to enter that sort of creation into a show. One of the posts talked about "hanging ghosties" in the trees and putting tombstones in the soil. I think for this art to be taken seriously, people should have a little class in an effort to be ambassadors for bonsai. I find it interesting that in this country, bonsai literature is found in the gardening section while in other countries (Europe for sure), bonsai books are found in the ART sections.

Earlier in this thread, someone mentioned that if it happens in Nature, it should be o.k. I agree with this statement with only few exceptions: Grafting to me is fine as long as the union is not glaring. I agree that once a graft union takes, the two parts are then one whole plant. Grafting roots for nebari improvement or adding a branch to a bare area seems "legal" especially if the plant in question was a yamadori collected form rock or doesn't bud on old growth respectively. Another gray area to me is deadwood carving. I feel it is one thing to use power tools to modify a part of a bonsai to evoke a more natural appearance and scale, but entirely different to add "plug jins" from another dead plant.

I know very little about the art side of bonsai but a great deal more about the science (horticultural) side. I really respect this site for an emphasis for the Art side.

Although I agree in principle with what you are saying Owen and I am a firm believer in taking the art of bonsai seriously, I must state that there need not be a lack of fun, innovation, or experimentation in bonsai in order for artistic results to be obtained.

The work of Nick Lenz ( http://artofbonsai.org/galleries/lenz.php ) is one example that is often used to show that creating bonsai outside of the traditional box does not automatically mean creating trivial bonsai that can not be taken seriously. Our Halloween gallery ( http://artofbonsai.org/galleries/halloween06.php ) shows many other examples from various artists that reinforces the idea that bonsai need not be only about serious adherence to traditional rules and styles.

America's book stores rightfully place books on how to paint or how to create sculpture in the craft sections while placing books on actual paintings and sculptures in the art section. The problem is that, with very few exceptions, such as Robert Steven's "Vision of My Soul" ( http://www.artofbonsai.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=362 ) there are no books dealing exclusively with the ART of bonsai, most are how to books and as such, are rightfully placed in the craft or gardening sections. With luck, more people will stop talking and start writing articles and books on the subject.



Yes, AoB was the first and still is the only web presence that focuses exclusively on the artistic aspects of bonsai. We feel this was an area overlooked for far too long on the web and in the print media and which received little discussion anywhere else without huge art vs craft debates following. The Art of Bonsai project holds one belief above all others and that is that bonsai is an art form and should be treated as such.
Since it's inception, AoB has made great headway and received praise from many of the greatest names in bonsai. We have worked side by side with print media and will continue to bring quality world class galleries, profiles of the leaders in the community, and articles focusing on the artistic aspects of bonsai.

We planned the site from the beginning not to be a busy, million post per month forum, but instead to focus on quality not quantity. The editorial staff and the members of AoB have made this site what it is today, rest assured that we have much more in the planning stages.

Will Heath

A recent discussion over at IBC (which the management closed) about grafting deadwood on a bonsai brought this piece to mind.
Is there a place to draw the line?


Will

Mgt or Jim? It seems that we can no longer have an intelligent discussion over there anymore. It has become a site where you post a picture, sit back and await pats on the back.

Although it depends on who is patting one on the back..;)

-dorothy

Pat,pat..

-dorothy

Will stated: "A recent discussion over at IBC (which the management closed) about grafting deadwood on a bonsai brought this piece to mind..."

That statement is curious.
The thread to which apparently you refer
is here
continued for three pages of discussion involving posts by many participants, including some here. It was viewed 1528 times and elicited 44 replies.
The thread has never been 'closed' as suggested.

John, I just checked the thread again, and as Will noted, the thread is locked, no more discussion is permitted. Presumably it was locked by Jim Lewis for some unknown reason. I was rather enjoying the discussion, and can't figure out why the thread was locked.[/url]

John,

The thread is indeed closed, no one is allowed to reply or comment on the subject matter at all. I think this qualifies quite well as being closed, for all intents and purposes, wouldn't you agree?

Please note that I did not post my personal opinion on the thread closing, I simply stated a fact and continued the conversation here.


Will

Will, you were correct. The reply button always remained enabled for me due to my moderator privileges making it appear that all was well.
I do not know why the thread was locked in the first place. I have 'unlocked' it and would welcome further discussion if interest remains.

Thanks John for the clarification as well as the unlocking of the section.



Will

Thank you John.

-dorothy