First, my apologies for the fuzziness. The photo (original below) is cropped and expanded because I wanted to show these delightful little trees up close. Looks like a juniper above, Pyracantha on the left and Trident maple on the right.
All the photos in this post are from Shunga-ten and the Japanese Shohin-bonsai Association. They appear on Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai Europe blog in a recent post titled, ‘Say NO to RULES‘ that I think is worth a read. BTW: Morten is the author of our Shohin Bonsai, Majesty in Miniature (see below).
A part of a larger display. Could this be a crabapple variety?
Another part of another display. Such bright yellow pots are not all that common. The tree looks like a Trident maple.
Here’s two pieces from above put together into an entire shohin display. Four bonsai, one companion.
Two shohin bonsai, one companion and one suiseki (viewing stone). Enhanced by the graceful stand.
Odd that these photos would accompany an article entitled, “Just Say No to Rules” when both the specimen/pot pairs and the various display so clearly adhere to rules of artistry. They said yes, not no.
If I remember correctly, Water Pall once said, paraphrased, that the “rules” were established to codify artistic expressions for the benefit of non-artistic apprentices who had to produce plants by the dozen or by the hundreds. These work instructions then were translated from Japanese into English and became Gospel.
Andy is right when he says that the displays “adhere to the rules of artistry”. Morten points out that the rules of artistry should always override the rigid bonsai rules (=work instructions); e.g. no odd numbers. I agree – go ahead and ignore the bonsai rules if the display looks better by breaking them.
Personally, I much prefer “guidelines” rather than the term “rules” because it eliminates the unnecessary taking and defending of rigid positions in something that is inherently personal anyway.
Cheers,
Michael
Hi Andy,
Yes. Strange choices given Morten’s grievance concerning even numbers. Maybe he’ll chime in with an explanation.
Hi Michael,
Yeah, I’ve always felt guidelines is more useful term.
It may be helpful to understand that there are no rules of bonsai separate from the rules of artistry. The rules are artistry are all anyone uses in (successful) bonsai design and display and they’re the same rules that successful painters, poets, cinematographers, and composers use. Best not to imply or perceive disparity where none exists.
Kind regards,
Andy
Hi Andy,
My best guess is that if there are rules of artistry they are there to be broken.
Here are some non rules that I like:
no thought, no reflection, no analysis, no cultivation, no intention… let it settle itself (Tilopa)
This is why we can’t have nice things.
There’s always that risk.