They are not “how-to-do-bonsai” pieces, rather they consider bonsai art within a broad context. Did Western ideas about art influence the development of Japanese bonsai? How does bonsai art relate to the larger art world? To nature? Art objects communicate, they elicit responses from the viewer. What does a bonsai “say” to us? What do they say about us? Is bonsai ethical? Where does bonsai fit within our world today, a world of ongoing conflicts, increased urbanization, a world with a too rapidly changing climate? Through these essays I am seeking to connect subjects in new ways, to examine ideas and beliefs from different perspectives, and to explore not just the past and present of bonsai, but also the future of the bonsai art form and of ourselves.
About Bonsai
Translated literally from the Japanese, bonsai (盆裁, pronounced “bone-sigh”) means “tray planting”. Bonsai are trees or shrubs chosen for their capacity to thrive in a container or on a stone or slab, and for their suitability to be trained to resemble full size trees. Bonsai is derived from a Chinese horticultural practice (Penjing) that was introduced to Japan sometime during the Kamakura period (1185-1333). Toward the end of the Edo period (1603-1868), a style distinct from Chinese norms emerged with the term “bonsai” first appearing in Japan in written form in the early 1800s.
What differentiates a bonsai from any other potted plant, lovingly cared for? Potted plants are grown for their beautiful foliage, colorful flowers and fruit, even their fragrances, features that offer much for sensory appreciation, but these characteristics belong strongly to the particular plant. While potted plants may bring to mind a natural scene to many who view them, that was generally not the purpose for which they were grown.
How does bonsai differ from topiary? Topiary involves growing trees or shrubs to achieve a certain desired shape, and may include maintaining those shapes with wires, ropes and stakes, trimming and pruning, techniques that are similar to bonsai cultural techniques. Topiary are classified as either abstract (a sphere, a spiral, a square, a cone shape suggesting a pine tree) or representational (a bird, a squirrel, an elephant). Trees with these shapes are not found growing outside of a garden or other man-made environment. In topiary practice, the novelty of seeing a living plant shaped as a railroad locomotive or a chicken, or trained into a spiral shape, is the main attraction. While bonsai artists also manipulate the shapes of trees, they do so to achieve an entirely different goal, that is to provide the viewer with an intensified experience of the natural world.
Bonsai has much in common with other types of art. Bonsai shares a vocabulary of terms and design elements with both painting and sculpture. As with music or other performance art, time is an important element of bonsai. However, bonsai art has unique features. Bonsai are alive. They react to their environment. They are always changing. They are capable of outliving the people who nurtured and shaped them, needing then to be handed over to another bonsai artist if they are to survive. Today, people throughout the world practice and appreciate the art form known as bonsai for its unique combination of nature, art, culture, and history.