pots by Mateusz Grobelny

Here a European spruce, collected by WP in 1995 in a pot by Mateusz.

Boston Ivy, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, pot by Mateusz.

Will one watch the pot or the tree, they both seem to be competing for attention?
Khaimraj

Traditional bonsai rules don't necessarily apply to modern bonsai.

It is not really helpful to argue with traditional rules when you have a modern bonsai in front of you. When in traditional style it is "less is more" in modern style it is "show off s much as you can get away with". Modern style is not modest at all and also dos not the least try to be well behaving. it is the antithesis to traditional bonsai values in many respects.

It is not surprising that traditionalists don't like it or even hate it. Well, they could at least try to understand it.

What beautiful trees the European spruce and the Boston Ivy are and what a spectacularly natural statement they make in their wonderful hand made pots by Mateusz!
It takes a lot of talent and creativity to think out of the long established parameters.
Thank you for posting such inspiring images!
Viky

Walter,

there are some simple basic rules of design that even contemporary stuff has to follow.

Plus, you may not have noticed, the massive resurgence of Realist Fine Art as opposed to the old Modernism, which you older folk might still be living in and quite a number of the younger posters on this list.

Amusingly you guys are now the Traditionalists.

I have always been considered a rebel, with my simple realist work, so I know Fine Art has moved past Modernism.

Check the images from 1900 to say 1960 for the type of pottery you guys are appreciating. It is only the older heads and young old heads that are into that type of Picasso/Jasper John / Marc Franz work.

I offer the above with open hands and a smile, but I am serious. Not arguing.
Time and tide have moved on.
Have a sit on the rocking chair and I will get you a warm glass of soy milk.
Later.
Khaimraj [one day I too will be considered old .............. and like fine wine ]

Love the Boston Ivy Walter, not sure about the spruce. Great tree and pot seperately, but I feel the pot overpowers the tree a bit. That lovely base is lost in the heaviness of the pot.

Cheers,

Andrew

I think, that most people are too much accustomed to traditional pots. Don't forget what exactly bonsai is, bon=pot and sai=plant. Maybe pots by Mateusz are too much "literal" and shows too much details, but if we put tree and such pot together, we can create really interesting part of landscape. It's not going about breaking the rules. Japanese people break the rules from many years. Bonsai is an art and it will evolve, if you want it or not.

Might I suggest the word - hobby.

For the many this is just a hobby, and it makes more sense to use the time limited to a hobby to focus on the trees and not the multitude of decorations also possible in Bonsai / Penjing etc.

What is happening, is for the very few that are professionals [ Japan and possibly China,] and have 9 to 5 jobs as Bonsai professions, they have to keep the customers' attention. Hence the novelty and notorious.
Later.
Khaimraj

Pawel P wrote:I think, that most people are too much accustomed to traditional pots. Don't forget what exactly bonsai is, bon=pot and sai=plant. Maybe pots by Mateusz are too much "literal" and shows too much details, but if we put tree and such pot together, we can create really interesting part of landscape. It's not going about breaking the rules. Japanese people break the rules from many years. Bonsai is an art and it will evolve, if you want it or not.

Hi Pawel,

It think there are two aspects to this discussion. First is that traditional pots are shaped and chosen in the way that they are for a reason. That reason (as I understand it) is that they visually compliment the tree they hold. The selection of a pot is to pick up on parts of the tree, possibly in different seasons and to try to generate a picture who's sum is visually more pleasing than the individual components on their own. I have seen some very cheap and ordinary pots that just work well with a beautiful old tree, as I have seen some very expensive pots that work well with young marginal trees.

I hold no issue with the pots on display in this thread. I think they are great. At the end of the day though the pot and tree must compliment each other to be visually pleasing and the majority of these pots are very strong visually. I find that if I look at Walter's spruce in isolation from the pot, it has a fantastic base. I find the pot overpowers the base and it is lost in the overall composition (at least in the photo presented here - perhaps it is different in reality). I find the heavy angular lip at the top of the pot too visually distracting. Some may say that it picks up on the angular nature of the tree's trunk, but for me it is just too strong. So in this specific example, in my opinion, the pot is not complimenting the tree, but rather competing with it. At the end of the day, the focus in bonsai must still be the tree.

You are correct that bonsai will evolve, but it will evolve in a direction that the majority of folk find visually pleasing. That's not something we can force. That said, and more importantly to me, bonsai is a personal journey, and we must each do what we enjoy, and what works for us. In this regard, I have a tree that grows in a Croc shoe. Would I claim it to be the future of bonsai? Nope. Do I like it? Yes. Is it mainstream? No. All I'm saying is don't confuse your personal tastes with the next great thing in bonsai. They may be the same, but they are probably more likely not to be. Look at Nick Lentz. Fantastic trees with some modern/funky/freaky designs. Will they ever be mainstream? Probably not, but they are really cool trees. Same could easily be said for some of these pots.

Cheers,

Andrew

Walter Pall wrote:Here a European spruce, collected by WP in 1995 in a pot by Mateusz.

Just perfect!

Walter Pall wrote:Here an olive actually planted into one of these pots.

I decided to read this post from the beginning and so far I'm on Page 11. I feel like my head is about to explode and like I'm going to need to take some leave and just go and hug kittens for a week. This is the first tree/pot combo that I actually find pleasing. I'd be very interested to see others in the flesh, but this one is the first that works for me. Why? I think possibly because the texture in the pot is more toned down and not so much in my face.

Cheers,

Andrew

European spruce, Picea abies

Mugo pine, Pinus mugo, collected in Switzerland.