Joy of Bonsai Innovations

One of the highlights of the Joy of Bonsai event this weekend was the Innovations section masterminded by Simon Temblett. As expected these exhibits proved to be talking points and the majority of the snippets of conversations I heard were in favour. There were of course the usual comments along the lines of "they're very interesting but they're not bonsai".

Here are three of them. See what you think - are they innovations or whims? (pic quality not the best. If anyone has better, please do post them)

First off - a statement about the environment, lamenting the extinction of Yangtse River dolphins as a result of pollution. The obvious question here is does a "bonsai" display have to contain a living tree?




Second: This one has a "proper" tree, but what about the display? Who's going to be first to say "the Japanese wouldn't do that"?






Last: The Blackthorn Juggling on a Unicycle exhibit. A real tree undoubtedly, but what about the styling and the "pot"?






Over to you guys now.

Magnificent, this must be somewhere in time.......... when the cradle of life hits the earth!

Realy realy and yes loads more of that awesome!

Who are the artists?

Unfortunately I have left my list at the venue, and rather than upset someone by wrongly accrediting them, I'll post the answer to your question tomorrow.

I actually like all of these exhibits but I can see why the traditionalists might be throwing up their hands in horror.

Fiona, isnt it just another way of thinking and a step in evolution in little bonsai land?
If every one was thinking alike we would all drive a toyota prius and life would turn into a similar grey area for a better couse!

Discussion is,....is it bonsai i would say yes and at the moment also no.

The extravaganza it has,........this is art....(hmmm morea!) bonsai is poetry...........
Sorry for not completing this,..... discussion is needed!

here this evening we where waiting for this, morea and me

Have a good time in bath u all!

littleart-fx wrote:...If every one was thinking alike we would all drive a toyota prius...

I'd sooner eat my own spleen

I agree completely that every so often someone has to shake the tree of complacency and conformity for the overall good of things. As I have said many times, in Art if this had not happened over the millennia, we would all still be painting bison on cave walls.

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fiona wrote:

littleart-fx wrote:...If every one was thinking alike we would all drive a toyota prius...

I'd sooner eat my own spleen

I agree completely that every so often someone has to shake the tree of complacency and conformity for the overall good of things. As I have said many times, in Art if this had not happened over the millennia, we would all still be painting bison on cave walls.

It's funny you say that Fiona. There were some caves explored in either France or Spain, and they discovered a vast area covered with ancient cave art. Many people visited at the time, including Picasso. He studied the pictures and said "we have learned nothing".

Which rather begs the question how much of having "learned nothing" has come about because of other people imposing "rules" on art which they cailm will bestow meaning but which end up stifling and restricting creativity.

And, while it may be glib to say so, Nature doesn't make trees all the same shape and form.

I'd like to see this thread taking off with some discussion here today as there's certainly an entire banquet of food for thought.

I loved the jugglers tree. it is a great piece of art. its not a bonsai in the traditional sense but i found it very pleasing to the eye and would love it in my garden. It is going to be interesting where it goes from here as there are no pads to form by clipping it back .

Here is another few photos of them.




This i gather was the one made of resin. It fooled me to start with.

I find the displays to be wonderful. To me they are so much more expressive than the traditional tokonoma.

The execution is also very well done. The juggler is my favorite.
Both pots used show true innovation. My complements to the artists and to Simon.

And to me they are bonsai - harking to some Chinese trees I have seen but still innovative.

Smithy wrote:This i gather was the one made of resin. It fooled me to start with.

Was they whole tree fake? Or was resin foliage added to the real driftwood?
How big?
Impressive piece of modeling and low maintenance requirements.

The whole tree was fake. the deadwood was made and it was amazing up close. It was the biggest item on display. It must have been about 2 ft high.
I hope i'm not wrong with this info,i'm sure when they start coming back from the show there will be more info about it.

Just back so I will post a few more pics when I get a chance to dump them off the camera. Light in the hall was much better today so hopefully I'll have some better ones than yesterday.

Smithy is right though. The "wood" of the tree (a replica of a real tree styled by Kevin Willson) was modelling clay and the "foliage" was plastic. Even up close it was difficult to tell that this was not a real tree.

The artist by the way was Paul Finch.

interesting works!!!!

Thanks for posting more exploratory versions of bonsai and/or display formats. I have to look at them for awhile longer before I comment, but my general initial impression is very favorable.

Another picture of the Blackthorn.
I thought it was a good piece of "Art" but not Bonsai.

Paul Finch's "The Lightning Through the Clouds"




At this close, you could still be fooled




Bit clearer further in, but there were some people who still had to look closer.

Great photos Fiona, they really capture it . I was one who had to look really close. Eye sight not the best.

i would love to see the last one with leaves on, please keep us posted...

Plastic, bonsai cannot wil not deal with that witch is alive.(in artistic way wow )
The world has showed us what a man can do read achieve with dead material,...numerous

just an opinion.

grtzz m

I like the tree in the 'moon pot' a lot, and the way in which it was displayed. If anything, the uppermost jin could be reduced a bit as I think it detracts from the flow of the tree.
The dead trunk and juggler don't do anything for me, apart from being a curiosity.
The fake tree looks fantastic...now, if you told me the pot was made of chocolate I'd like it even more!

So did I get it right? You want to tell me the juniper's foilage is made out of plastic???

The moon display was by john Pitt, it looked as if it was floating, very impressive. The juggler blackthorn was by Simon Temblett, he made the pot himself. I also thought the juniper was real when i walked past it on the first occassion, the workmanship in it was phenomenal, the foliage was plastic and the wood was modelling clay

What I found astonishing was that once people were told that it was a model, they started handling it, completely ignoring the notices and requests not to touch, to the extent that small pieces of "jin" were broken off. This was obviously annoying to its masterful sculptor.

I was completely taken in by Paul's creation and admire him hugely for his talented representation of a bonsai, that he can now proudly display inside, for as long as he likes.

The modelling clay he used was the Das, air drying type and the colouring was done with acrylic paints. The foliage was a surprisingly accurate representation of well pinched Juniper, from a florists. Both Das and foliage cost a considerable amount. I think he said it took him over a year to create, working from many photo's and measurements of Kev Willson's tree.

John Quinn wrote:The fake tree looks fantastic...now, if you told me the pot was made of chocolate I'd like it even more!

Do you really think it'd still be there if I'd found out it was made of chocolate?


Close up of the moon pot by John Pitt.




Now for the next question: the previous photos were of "trees" from the Innovations section, but how does this offering created by Tony Tickle compare? A real tree undoubtedly (hawthorn) and in a pot (William Vlaanderen), but what about the display? Innovation?


I'm interested to find out if the answers given are as I expect them to be.

Just realised I haven't fully accredited the dead/driftwood exhibit about the Yangtse River Dolphins. It was by Nick Duncan and was entitled "The Age of Stupidity". An interesting concept and a very dramatic statement. But is it bonsai?