Reiner Goebel wrote:
Colin Lewis wrote:
The changes that take place in a bonsai over time are, unlike other sculptures, ...And is there another art where the artist willingly and intentionally collects his own work and rarely lets it go?
Many artists never sell their art - they keep it themselves. Some gets sold only after the artist's death. (My Sister-in-laws' grandfather-in-law fits this mold. He painted his whole life and never sold one. After he died, his estate sold his paintings for very large amounts - the cheapest was about $20,000.) Many artists that sell their art, also keep some for themselves. Andrew Wyeth made hundreds of paintings for display winning worldwide recognition, yet over a 15 year period he painted and sketched his neighbor Helga Testorf and never sold of even displayed the work. Not even his wife knew about them.... There are many other examples. The same situations apply to bonsai. For example, every one of Guy Guidry's trees is for sale, while none of mine are (at least not right now. After I'm gone it might be a differnet story). However, the point has no bearing on whether bonsai is an art like a sculpture.
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Would it be fair to say that if bonsai is to be acknowledged as an art, it should not be necessary (or even possible) to compare it well to another art?
EXACTLY!
Does painting compare itself to music, sculpture to poetry? Of course not! Convoluted attempts at 'legitimizing' bonsai as an art form in my view denigrade it. None of the recognized art forms would stoop so low as to seek justification by comparing itself to some other form of art.
It is common in appreciation of art to compare the various art forms. Virtually every American liberal arts college offers a comparative art class. Hundreds of books have been written about it and it is fertile ground for informed and educated discussion. Here are just a few of the related titles.
"Music and Literature: A Comparison of the Arts " by Calvin Smith Brown
"A comparison of the philosophy of education with the philosophies of art, history and science" by Charles A Tesconi
"A comparison of three methodologies as affectors of aesthetic sensitivity and judgment: Discovery of concept and principle, art history, and studio activity" by Robert Richard Anderson
"Varieties of Visual Experience" Edited by Burke Feldman (compares all forms of art)
"Art and Life In America" by Oliver Larkin
And on and on.
Even beyond comparing art forms, it is common for learned people to compare art forms to science and culture. As a great example, read "Godel, Escher, Bach : An Eternal Golden Braid," by Douglas Hofstadter. An amazing work that relates the work of mathematics of Godel, the graphic art of Escher, and the musical art of composer Bach.
So why should bonsai be included and compared in discussion of art? Because it is an art (and very similar to sculpture.) This gets to the crux of Colin's question.
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Would it be fair to say that if bonsai is to be acknowledged as an art, it should not be necessary (or even possible) to compare it well to another art?
I believe it is necessary because without critical comparison, it is not a full art form. Bonsai's link to horticulture has unfortunately linked it to gardening. Until the general public and more specifically the art cognizant public recognize and appreciate bonsai as an art it will languish as a hobby or pastime.
Bonsai doesn't need to ride on the coattails of the other arts, but it needs to stand up and be compared and contrasted and eventually critically evaluated in terms of these other arts. When that happens there will be great benefits to bonsai.
Mark wrote:
And so it is....Bonsai IS the highest art form and nothing can come close or compare! Our art can not be hoarded by a rich collector without an artistic eye and the the ability to nuture living things, like they can with common sculpture or paintings. Tell me, what art has all the elements and complexities as Bonsai? What art demands of the artist to continue to refine and redesign? What art is studied daily for years during care until something is revealed to allow it to go to the next level? Please, ALL other art pales in comparision to Bonsai!
How would you be able to make this statement if you are not comparing the arts? Also, this sentiment is fine within the bonsai community, but ask an American nonbonsai art critic if he or she feels this way and they will likely laugh at you.
Finally bonsai in Japan are collected by rich collectors that themsleves can't maintain the trees. So rich, they pay the bonsai artists to maintain the trees at the artist's nurseries. As a result, bonsai trees have significant value, exhibitions appear at national art museums and the community, though small thrives. (Some of the benefits I alluded to earlier.)
There is no reason to feel that comparing bonsai to other art or referring to it as living sculpture demeans it. Rather comparing bonsai to other art forms can elevate and promote the art to even greater levels.