Thoughts on the Art of Bonsai
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Recent articles suggest that Japanese bonsai originated around 200 years ago, and that Western ideas influenced its development.
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The Bonsai Vision of Aarin Packard “A thousand years from now, what will Bonsai be? I guess I would say if it looked the same as it does today, I’ll be very disappointed.”- Aarin Packard I spoke with Aarin Packard at the inaugural Pacific Bonsai Exhibition held at the Bridgeyard in Oakland, California October 2022.…
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It is this cycle, this rhythm of stress and then recovery and the tree’s “memory” of these events, as embodied by its form, that leads to the creation of great, old bonsai… Walter Scott The changing of the seasons signals to bonsai practitioners that it is time to perform a certain set of actions on…
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“Ethics – moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity” – Encyclopedia Britannica, online edition, September, 2023 Introduction The main area of ethical concern that comes to mind when I think about bonsai art is that of harming living things. I examine this here in order to invite other’s comments…
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Bonsai are complex aesthetic objects, how do we appreciate them?
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Does the Biophilia Hypothesis explain why bonsai are so awesome?
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Is there a Tao of Bonsai? The recent article in the New Yorker about Ryan Neil prompted a closer look at the origins of bonsai, “practical magic” and the current relationship of Taoism to both art and bonsai.
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Review of the 2022 Pacific Bonsai Expo The inaugural Pacific Bonsai Expo was held at the Bridgeyard, an industrial site adjacent to the Port of Oakland, on a strip of land within view of the ships, giant cranes, containers stacked five levels high, and other machinery of the global economy. Billed as a regional bonsai…
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Pacific Bonsai Expo 2022 Special exhibit There were two special exhibits included in this show that underscore the exchange of ideas and perhaps the creative tensions regarding the future of bonsai between East and West. The central area of the exhibit space featured an original art installation by Eric Shrader and Linda Mahara, an origami…
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An awareness of not just the size of a bonsai but also of the relationship of bonsai size to the viewer significantly enhances our appreciation of bonsai art.