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The exhibit in the Imperial Palace

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Post  Walter Pall Fri Apr 18, 2014 3:55 pm

From April 12 to April 20 an important bonsai exhibit took place in the Diocletian's palace in Split, Croatia. It was presented as art exhibit in a place where objects of art are shown on a regular basis. Many hundred thousand visitors see the palace over the year and tens of thousand will see the bonsai exhibit over the Easter holidays. The article aims at well educated folks who have no or only rudimentary knowledge of bonsai but are well versed in arts.


Exhibition of living tree sculptures in Split 2014

Is bonsai art?

The art of living tree sculptures is called bonsai in general. It is remarkable that bonsai is accepted as being an art form here in Split. In many places around the world this is not so. It has to do with how bonsai in general is presented and practiced. The truth is that by and large bonsai is practiced as craft for the production of commercial products. Most such products resemble stereotypes which the market wants. And then for some it is questionable whether a living thing can be art at all. Bonsai is living tree sculptures changing all the time and this cannot be art for some. In people's mind bonsai is connected with garden, with garden centers and horticulture much more than with art. Even in Japan most would consider bonsai NOT an art form.
Well, if you ask me, bonsai is widely practiced as craft but it can well be art. For me personally a tree is art if it is man made and speaks to me loud and clearly. The trees in this exhibit definitely speak loud to me.

What is bonsai and where does it come from?

A general definition says the 'bonsai'' is a little tree in a pot. But this is probably not sufficient as a definition. The tree must have some quality to qualify as bonsai. Most would say that the tree must look like a bonsai  to be a bonsai.  But a famous saying in bonsai is "don't make your little tree look like a bonsai, rather make your bonsai look like a tree". One could also say that what looks like a stereotype may well be a bonsai but not art. My definition is: 'a bonsai is a little tree in a container that makes move my heart, that touches me. The more it touches me the more it is art'. The overwhelming majority of bonsai enthusiasts in the world think that the aim is  for a bonsai to be beautiful. Whoever is somehow in arts knows that beauty has little to do with art, often it is frowned upon. We are not that far in the art of bonsai but I think a bonsai can be very ugly as long as it speaks to me strongly. Most commercial bonsai are beautiful, but sterile. They are made to please the masses with stereotype tricks to make trees 'nice'. It is called kitsch. I dare to say that the majority of bonsai in the world are kitsch according to this definition.

Most people think that bonsai is a Japanese art form. Well, it comes from China as most things Japanese. The Chinese had and have mostly a poetic view about bonsai. It should look like a wild old tree, sometimes anthropomorphic, sometimes even grotesque. The Japanese have an idealistic view in general, bonsai for them must look ideal and conform to rules. The tree sculptures in this exhibit tend more towards the naturalistic taste and less towards the Japanese taste.

Since about fifty years the art of bonsai is spreading all over the world. By now it has become very strong in Europe and ares in Asia outside of Japan, like Indonesia, and, of course also in the USA. There is a tendency for the regions to form their own version of bonsai, but most follow the Japanese model more or less and only develop a local dialect of Japanese styling.

Bonsai as the art of living tree sculptures has one most important peculiarity: the process of creation of art is spread over many years, even decades and sometimes even over centuries. While normal pieces of art take some time to process they are finished after some while and that's it then. A new tree as a piece of material that is going to become a tree sculpture will usually not be much after fist styling. It takes several years and constant styling and re-styling until this can be called 'bonsai'. And then it probably is not even art  - yet. One can say that usually five years of work on a tree are the minimum before it is acceptable - show able. Well, really even showing after five years is too early. The same tree will be much better in twenty years if in the right hands. And even better again after fifty years. The trees that we see in this exhibit are on average worked on since five years. So this is very early. The best thing would be to postpone this exhibit and we all see each other and the trees in twenty years. This is , of course, only rhetorical. But it is true that in the art of bonsai the time is always too early to show a tree. Knowing about this problem of time this exhibit is even more remarkable as the quality is approaching world class standard according to my opinion.

Many people think that bonsai is a species, a special form of tree. Really any woody plant can be turned into a living sculpture. Most people use trees from nurseries for this. A few use trees from nature. The bonsai which are made out of collected material usually are much more interesting. But is it difficult to style them in a reasonable way. Natural bonsai don't conform to Japanese styling rules, they have a strong character and strange behavior. Too strange for most. But the results, if done well, are much more impressive. It has to do with the inherent natural character of collected trees. If the aim is to produce a living tree sculpture which is supposed to look like an old tree with lots of character then it is a good idea to start with an old tree with lots of character. This sounds so obvious! But fact is that 98 % of all bonsai in the world are mad from simple nursery material. Another fact is that 80 % of the very best trees are made from collected old natural material. So why don't more people use the 'better' material? It is because it is not easily available and too difficult for most. First the horticultural skill, we almost can call it 'art' to first of all find and then to collect a very old tree form nature and keep it alive. While this sounds simple it is a very difficult task, too difficult for the majority of trained gardeners. And then the task to style this raw material so that it looks like what the artist wants it to look like. This takes artistic skill and imagination and a vision from the outset that is beyond most who ever try it. In this exhibit we see very successful creations out of very difficult material.

What is the situation with the art of bonsai in Croatia?

Bonsai is not very common in Croatia yet as active art. Passively, as an art form for viewers it is probably quite popular. There is only a couple dozen of what can be called serious bonsaiists in this country. And only few of them can be called artists. The majority of bonsaiists here follow the Japanese model more or less, aiming at idealistic trees which look like bonsai. Another way would be to make a bonsai look like a real tree - which is what a couple are doing in Croatia.

One can say that in terms of the art of bonsai Croatia is a developing country. But it has a hand full of people who work on a European class level and even on a world class level. Having personally seen what happed here in the past years, seeing the show able results and especially the work in progress I see a great future for the art of bonsai in Croatia. The availability of some of the best material in the world will help this, of course.

Where do Marija and Andrija stand in the overall picture?

Marija Hajdić and Andrija Zokić are working closely as a team and refuse to appoint a certain tree to either one of them. they are definitely artists in my opinion, belonging to a European elite of bonsai artists already. They are specializing in broadleaved trees which they collected themselves for  nature in Croatia. This is something special, as 98% of all bonsai artists in the world are specializing in conifers.

Marija and Andrija are collecting the trees themselves from the area around Split. It is not a given that a bonsai artist is also an expert in collecting trees - which is a difficult task by itself to do it successfully. Mariaj and Andrija are trying to make their trees look like real trees in nature. This is called Naturalistic Bonsai Style. While this may sound obvious to most it is not obvious - the overwhelming majority of bonsaiists in the world are trying to make their tree look like a bonsai.

I have been closely working together with the couple since 2007. They started from an amateurish medium level and now are in an international league already. They have received awards and invitations in Europe and are featured in international bonsai magazines around the world. To develop a convincing and very good bonsai from collected raw material takes many years. Therefore it is remarkable that after seven years of serious work with bonsai they have already achieved this  level. Knowing what they have in their collection I can foresee that they will become some of the world leading bonsai artist in regard to broadleaved species within the next few years. I am very proud to have been their teacher.

Walter Pall
www.walter-pall.de

Diocletian's Palace

Diocletian built the massive palace in preparation for his retirement on 1 May 305 AD. It lies in a bay on the south side of a short peninsula running out from the Dalmatian coast, four miles from Salona, the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia Roman province of Dalamtia. ges running east to west with marl in the clefts between them.
After the Romans abandoned the site, the Palace remained empty for several centuries. In the 7th century, nearby residents fled to the walled palace in an effort to escape invading Slaves. Since then the palace has been occupied, with residents making their homes and businesses within the palace basement and directly in its walls.[Today many restaurants and shops, and some homes, can still be found within the walls.
This palace is today, with all the most important historical buildings, in the center of the city of Split. Diocletian's Palace far transcends local importance because of its degree of preservation. The Palace is one of the most famous and complete architectural and cultural features on the Croatian Adriatic coast. As the world's most complete remains of a Roman palace, it holds an outstanding place in  European and world heritage.

here the trees:

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Walter Pall
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Post  JimLewis Fri Apr 18, 2014 4:41 pm

History and Art together. Very, very effective. Some grand old trees!

Thanks, Walter
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Post  dorothy7774 Fri Apr 18, 2014 6:11 pm

Congratulations to Marija and Andrija on an excellent exhibit! What a great location too, lots of history. Congratulations also to Walter for establishing and expanding the art of bonsai in Croatia.
You have not only succeeded in teaching how to collect and create bonsai in Croatia, Walter, but you have also taught them one of the most striking styles. All of their trees display age and dignity - they are old of course. However, in addition, they are "honest" trees ( in German I would call it "unschuldig"). To me, this is one of the highest levels in bonsai. To create a bonsai that looks like a tree without traces of manipulation or forced design.

7 years is indeed a very short time to develop material like this. Once these trees mature, they will be the highlight of any bonsai show in Europe and abroad.

Two cosmetic things, the soil level could be lower when exhibiting and the pots look older without the shine. I am sure you noticed.. Wink 

Best,
Dorothy
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Post  John Quinn Fri Apr 18, 2014 8:37 pm

Thanks for posting. The palace is a beautiful venue. I had the opportunity to visit it a couple of years ago.
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Post  brett2013 Sat Apr 19, 2014 5:08 pm

Beautiful works ... definitely emphasis on the trunks, IMHO

Somehow, I get the feeling I am looking at a Walter Pall exhibit, maybe I've been looking too much at your works Smile


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Post  Walter Pall Sun Apr 20, 2014 7:19 am

before the big rush

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Walter Pall
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Post  bontailo Sun Apr 20, 2014 10:53 am

Great! One of the best Exhibition ever seen!
Bravo! Walter!
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Post  Walter Pall Sun Apr 20, 2014 11:55 am

bontailo wrote:Great! One of the best Exhibition ever seen!
Bravo! Walter!

Says Min Hsuan Lo whom Marija and Andruja admire so much. You often do very unsymmetrical designs and they sometimes copy that . I do too, I have to admit
Walter Pall
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Post  jamesregin Sun Apr 20, 2014 5:12 pm

Those trees do not look out of place in that castle. Wickid.

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Post  Todd Ellis Mon Apr 21, 2014 3:59 pm

True Art in the finest sense! Thank you for posting this wonderful treatise and photos!
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Post  Lee Brindley Mon Apr 21, 2014 6:27 pm

Walter, thank you very much for taking the time to write this post. Your words are inspirational and the trees look amazing. Marija and Andruja are very fortunate to have you as their teacher.
Lee Brindley
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Post  Craig Cowing Tue Apr 22, 2014 1:18 am

An incredible setting for a magnificent exhibit. Thanks for posting the pictures.
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Post  Seth Ellwood Tue Apr 22, 2014 4:40 am

Looks to be the perfect place to show such specimens bravo!!

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Post  Walter Pall Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:08 am

Here some more images. Many are from the opening evening. The response in Croatia was overwhelming: TV-stations, also national TV, newspapers, radio.

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Post  GerhardGerber Tue Apr 22, 2014 2:29 pm

Hi Walter

Stunning, thanks for posting!

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Post  moshe emergui Fri Apr 25, 2014 11:57 am

walter,Looks great, this is an amazing exhibition ThumbsUp 
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Post  Guest Fri Apr 25, 2014 2:16 pm

Congratulations to Marija and Andrija

What a great way to exhibit all those wonderful trees...Many thanks for sharing.

kind regards Yvonne

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Post  dick benbow Sat Apr 26, 2014 2:00 am

I think the most impressive thing for the sponsors of the show is that they WERE ABLE to present Bonsai as ART. If I had to pick one failing that the public "doesn't get"...that's it. Bonsai as Art. So glad you were a part of it Walter and you shared with us all. My hope is it inspires us all to make that same statement. I Know RYan Neil is also attempting to do something similar in 2015.
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