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New book on display

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dick benbow
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Post  JimLewis Sun May 19, 2013 9:59 pm

Those of you who are into very traditional Japanese bonsai display might want to take a look at The Beauty of Bonsai, A Guide to Displaying and Viewing Nature's Exquisite Sculpture, by Junsun Yamamoto, Kodansha International Pub.

It's a very pretty and informative 96-page book for $30.00. There are several pages of some gorgeous antique shohin pots at the back of the book.

I ran across it for sale at the NC Arboretum store this afternoon. I did NOT buy it. The per-page cost was absurd. <g>

More info here: http://www.kodanshausa.com/books/9784770031266/
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Post  GašperG Sun May 19, 2013 10:37 pm

Preface by Masahiko Kimura and with some of his ishizuki creations step by step...

Pages with pots are very interesting since i will probably not get see them ....

My favorite chapter - A first-hand Experience of Keido Hospitality.

Great book. Smile
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Post  stonener Mon May 20, 2013 3:46 pm

Hey Jim!
Thanks for the link! bought it!
good info is hard to find!
There was talk of a second book?... Basketball
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Post  dick benbow Mon May 20, 2013 6:21 pm

I received the book when it first came out. I read the title as something that would be focused on display. Because of that I was sorely disappointed. If you read the title as the beauty of bonsai, then the fluff on display and focus on kimura's skills and beautiful pots will be very satisfying. Unfortunately i saw the subtitle, " a guide to displaying and viewing nature's exquisite sculpture" as something solely dedicated to display.

Hopefully, Stoner's right and maybe there would be a second book, one, in my hopes, that would be dedicated to the finer points on display. But if that is to happen, I would quess people would have to buy the first book to be an encouragement to show that interest is out there.
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Post  JimLewis Mon May 20, 2013 9:19 pm

Hmm. . . thumbing through it, I saw lots of info on stands, arrangements, tokonoma, where and when to display, etc. I thought it was a pretty rigid approach to display -- 2000% Japanese style, and not at all geared to western ideas. Dunno what you were wanting.
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Post  dick benbow Mon May 20, 2013 9:27 pm

quess we have a disagreement of sorts Smile I'm sticking to my comments and know you will too. Quess each will ultimately have to decide for themselves. I do agree with your initial assssment about the cost of each page
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Post  stonener Tue May 21, 2013 6:30 am

I my friends will be the tie breaker!
Jim sounds like what I've been hunting down!
but Dick says bonsai fluff, not good!
got to peek at a couple of pages,
as a teaser, drawings on display placement.
ordered it on Amazon.com
Keeping my fingers crossed I'm not disappointed... Basketball
I will for sure post one way or another

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Post  stonener Mon May 27, 2013 2:04 am

BOOK REVIEW
Here's what I see in this new book!
IMHO there is a little bit of almost everything bonsai,
except wiring, maintenance, pest or growing infomation.
Mainly best viewing methods, locations and sites,
some Keido Tokonoma display and formal practices explained.
Mostly Shohin bonsai styles, Okimono and excellent pots shown.
closing with some flow/balance charts for display,
and a touch of Kimura design.
Over all a nice picture coffee table book,
with some practical and useful information... Basketball
stonener
*split the baby guy's* 50/50

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Post  fiona Mon May 27, 2013 10:01 am

I've just ordered it - was going for £17 on Amazon UK which to me represents decent value. Will give a verdict when it arrives.
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Post  JimLewis Mon May 27, 2013 12:24 pm

For those who are interested, Amazon in the USA has it under the "used" category for $18.68. In my experience, these are virtually like new.

I still think I'm gonna hold off.
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Post  stonener Tue May 28, 2013 6:19 pm

Well ya Jim!
But don't you have to agree to sell it back?
For a gift certificate, I'll be keeping my for good!
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Post  kora Sun Jun 02, 2013 12:08 am

Reading this thread, I immediately ordered the book from Amazon-and found the per page information VERY worthwhile. I have studied the art of display for a number of years, and everyone always asks me, is there a book that teaches the art of display in English-until now it was only Willy Benz' very cogent book, which I also heartily recommend, with the caveat, that his approach to display is not purely Japanese-so if you wish to learn basic principles of Japanese display, this beautiful book is a great basic approach. Is there more to the art of display-yes there is still a lot more to be said on the subject-but this is at least a start. and finally lets not forget that the art of bonsai AND its display is evolving, what was IN 20 years ago, is not necessarily desirable today.

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Post  bonsaisr Tue Jun 18, 2013 3:06 am

I'm waiting for a book, at least a pamphlet, on displaying bonsai in a Western house.
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Post  kora Tue Jun 18, 2013 3:27 am

Iris:
I think, if you want to display your bonsai in a Western house, you can do whatever strikes your fancy. You can call whatever you do"art" and this is not a facescious statement on my part. Western art, especially since the 2nf half of the 20th century  is pretty much geared that way. What I personally object to is a "pseudo" Japanese way to display and call it traditional Japanese display- in Western display you can dispense without stand,scroll and or companion plant, let your phantasy guide you-put the display on a cats paw-as seen on another thread on the IBC, put it on your head etc. I think you know what I mean. Finally is it good art or bad art-the viewer is the critic-if you post it on Facebook, you can count the number of likes-but does that validate, what you are conveying? how many people looked at it? The ? can of on and on. I think you can even put a Western display into a traditional tokonoma, just as long as you don't call it a traditional Japanese display. Enough said,kora

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Post  JimLewis Mon Jun 24, 2013 8:40 pm

Well, I broke down and bought it -- at a bit of a discount.  It arrived today.  I read every word in it in 20 minutes -- mind you that's not to say I truly understood every word and concept.  That'll take a bit longer.

But the per page, and per unit of useful information ratio is still rather poor, IMO. 

I'm a bit of a Japanophile; my living room is wall-to-wall Ukiyoe (Japanese woodblock prints) from my and Jackie's parents' collections (and our own), but I do not have a tokenoma in the house, nor do I have space for a typical 3-point display (especially with a scroll).  I use a Japanese chest in front of several smaller prints for my display, but I'm with Iris in that I'd like to see some suggestions for a tasteful display in a Western setting.  

New book on display 3_sma010

New book on display 3-12_a10
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Post  Kakejiku Thu Jun 27, 2013 7:18 pm

JimLewis wrote:nor do I have space for a typical 3-point display (especially with a scroll).

Why do you feel the scroll has to be so large? A tansaku kake would be slightly longer, but not wider than your current print hanging...
My problem with your current setups is how many things you are trying to display...Use one tree and one stand. I know most block prints can be about people, but there are also landscape scenes. A Mt. Fuji/Tokaido/Mountain/Village scene with your windswept ?pine? (sorry not so good with trees), would make me feel in the scene than everything bunched together...

If you want to try it out and snap a pic, and let us see what changes.

One display I really liked was a suiban on a chest like yours with a fisherman and koi...Every piece was really small, but it was really beautiful and simple...made me feel like I was on the lakeshore watching the fisherman.

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Post  dick benbow Thu Jun 27, 2013 10:01 pm

if Jim's home is anything like my visitors, people's impressions would be favorable because they don't know.
His display hits a lot of "I like" buttons.
for example in the second photo. I find the block print and brass figurine a duplication of the people topic. I might suggest the block print and bonsais be kept in it's original position and the metal object removed.
In the first photo, we need to remove one of the three bonsai as they compete too much for one's attention.
I would suggest to move the center bonsai to the far right where the semi cascade is, and then remove the bonsai on the far left and replace it with the smaller companion of the semi cascade. Face the companion into the picture (opposite direction from where it is now.)

I can't see what the folks in the woodblock are doing so it's hard to comment or suggest something else. I do agree with Jonathon that a scroll in it's place with different subject may contribute more.

I'm into so many japanese hobbies that you'd think it'd make one's head spin. But I find a common thread thruout most of them. Most westerners look at show Koi with a demerit mentality that would rather point out the faults then concentrate on the positives. I've learned to just do the opposite. this weekend I purchased a
Bonsai stand from someone who had labeled it rustic. I found it very wabi-sabi. Olde with the patina of age, chipped and scratched and repaired with nails where the joinery was failing. With the right tree, it could really be expressive.Thinking a tree with strong shari and jin to feature the ability to survive and extend it's life like the display table was. To a viewer visiting my home they may not pick up on the sensitivity, they just know they are attracted to it. I think as we press toward finding where the western applies to this eastern application, we should focus more on the positives as we perceive it and less on the Negatives. Who doesn't like the flowering tree in the second photo, it spands the gap between east and west Smile
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Post  JimLewis Thu Jun 27, 2013 10:22 pm

This all assumes that I have discretion to move and switch the pictures that hang in my wall -- or that I want to. The decor of a living room is much less amenable to changing the content than that of a spare, almost sterile, tokonoma.

I think I'm lucky that I can incorporate some kind of a Japanese theme into any display.
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Post  dick benbow Thu Jun 27, 2013 11:34 pm

sounds like a positive to me Smile
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