Definitely not Japanese. From Echo of My Heart, a series of photos of the bonsai art of Robert Steven.
Tokonomas
Not too long ago we featured a tokonoma by Bill Valavanis. To me, Bill’s tokonoma stands clearly in the Japanese tradition, with maybe a touch of Bill to distinguish it. In this case, we’ve got something a little different. It’s a tokonoma by Robert Steven, and though I’d say there’s a nod to the Japanese tradition, there’s clearly something quite different going on. A little Indonesia? A little something else? And, as is often the case with Robert Steven, more than a little daring.
Alive
Though it might be easy to lose track (miss the tree for the forest, so to speak), the bonsai that graces this unusual scene is a real show stopper. Elegant, flowing, dynamic, alive, robust, wild and just plain beautiful.
More art by Robert from Echo of My Heart. Though not a tokonoma, the planting and the background create a powerful scene.
A question and an opinion
Does the man on the ledge distract from the tree and the rest of the planting? Or is it just me? I’ve noticed how often I seem object to strong figures in plantings. Especially human figures.
Another opinion and another question
Usually I don’t care for dramatic scenes as backdrops for bonsai. Somehow though, this one works. Maybe it’s because it’s not overdone. There are some sun rays (often an overly dramatic statement), but they are subdued and contrasted with the clouds and fog in a way that seems natural. Anyone else?
Robert Steven’s books
Robert Steven is a highly acclaimed bonsai artist, teacher, author and frequent contributor to Bonsai Bark. His books are Vision of My Soul, and Mission of Transformation; with more in the works.
Wayne..”Echo of My Heart” is one of the albums in my Facebook. It is more about my poems or phrases rather than my bonsai as you can find photographs from my travelling as well.
Re. The Tokonoma. I just want to tell people that bonsai art is not exclusively belong to Chinese or Japanese, but it belong to all nations with full interaction to any culture.
Bonsai art can also be expressed in “Far East” (Islamic) nuance…why not ?
The tittle on the top says ” Lord..in front of you, I knee down to confess…” Every element in there represents certain sysbol.
The poem is about the human’s greediness destroying our planet. It’s a relevant issue of global warming..hehe…
Re. The second picture. The original picture of this bonsai has no this background. I did it to enhance my poem and the figurine is part of the romance….
Thanks Robert,
As always your explanations are helpful. I enjoy seeing things that are not so mainstream. I think it’s good that people have established traditions to learn from and work with. It’s also good when people choose to break with those traditions, especially after having established a good foundation in the basics.
I didn’t even notice the figure in the composition until I went back to see what you were talking about. Now maybe that was due to the backdrop which made it hard for me to distinguish the tree. You wouldn’t think that something that healthy a green would disappear against that, but I had trouble for some reason.
Zack, please see my above comment…the “Echo of My Heart” album is about my poems and not about the pictures.
The figure seems to be a little on the large side compared to the rest of the scene. Everything else works beautifully, I just want to sit and watch the sunset, while falling into a meditated state.
I understand the scene combines with the poem, but I would have liked to seen a smaller figure sitting on the ledge, in saying that the ledge would be a little too large. So begins the circle.
The art of Bonsai seems to be steeped in relentless tradition. And yet trees grow all over the world. Indeed there is value in tradition. With worldwide cultural differences in mind, to limit the creative efforts of lands other than the traditonal origins of Bonsai would be very stifling. Roberts efforts in the Tokonoma scene art quite respectfull to art as well as tradition. Keep up the excellent vision and continue to help pave the way for openess and passion for trees.
Thanks Evan,
I agree. No one owns bonsai. The combination of respect for tradition and daring innovation creates a dynamic play that we all can enjoy.