Owen Reich wrote:
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.
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.
Owen Reich wrote:
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.
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.
Owen Reich wrote:
I really respect this site for an emphasis for the Art side.
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