The Art of Bonsai Project

I am with you, I think judges should talk to each other. But you know how people are, not always rational.

They also may not see their differences as "mistakes", but rather an expression of their personal preferences. For instance, one judge that prefers dramatic expressions, may see a certain design as "boring", and give a lower score in this area. The next judge may see it as "peaceful and serene", and give it a higher score.

When asked about the difference, they may stick to their original score and may not want to do any compromise, sticking to their own personal preference.

Sometimes the person's ego can get in the way...I've seen it a lot in the bonsai community.

Dear Attila,
I see that this is a topic discussed long ago, but new for me, new subscriber to AoB, and new, enthusiastic, bonsai scholar.
I found your topic very interesting, besides the point of view of how an official judging of an exhibit works, from the view point of a starter: your article gives me what I would have liked to find, i.e. a subjective system for the evaluation of a bonsai, with explanations. Now I know where to start in my own examination, what to consider, and how to weight each of the most relevant characteristics. The first reaction is always instinctive, such as "I like" or "I do not like" (which will in any case be the first reaction in front of an artistic work, our internal driver), but an instrument for it's rationale rethinking is more than appropriate. It also means to have a learning instrument available, and the possibility to compare with other's judgment. The same as judging a picture, a photo, or a sport (as examples, ice-skating, or diving, where artistic and technical factors are taken into consideration for the final judgment and classification).
Regards,
Sergio

It always brought my attention about judging a bonsai as I always find personally deep subjective point although certainly there is patron which we can say it as Basic Rules, but generally, the idea is good. Thanks

B.Rgds,
Farid