Literati form and a Chojubai White Cascade

To me, the literati form of bonsai is intimately tied to calligraphy. In ancient times, scholars, poets and artists extended their art to bonsai, but with an interest in writing or calligraphy. To do this successfully with trees, minimal structure is required, to accent line. This is why, at least to me, red pines are preferred, but not to the exclusion of other species.

Here is my chojubai white cascade. This particular tree harkens back to an earlier style of flowering quince styling, in which curving contorted lines are traced through the form. The tree is in flower, but not in full bloom. Leaves have just begun to pop out. The florescence of late spring and early summer is a long way off. This is the most interesting kind of writing.

About the QR code: I have seen so many of my photographs on sites without permission, I decided I had to do something. I was initially attracted to QR codes because they look like the ownership seals Japanese and Chinese collectors of paintings and prints used. Then I found out you could imbed text in them. Will this stop theft? No, but it may at least slow it down a bit. On a picture like this, with almost no background, it won’t stop anything, but on a photo of a building or something else, it will be more effective. Some may find it distracting, but I am trying to protect my property.

but I am trying to protect my property.

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From what? Are you writing a book and need exclusive use? What does it matter if someone "borrows" a picture.

On the tree, that form is very calligraphic and I like it, but as a bonsai -- even a literati -- it doesn't work much for me because the plant is SO young.

But you picked the right deciduous plant for a literati cascade. Here is my attempt at a mature quince literati:

You have a nice tree. Your criticisms of mine are mostly on the mark, but the delicacy of line cannot be done with a mature tree such as yours. So I made the choice I did.

I'm not writing a book on bonsai, but I do have interests in making money from photography and other work that is copyrighted or could be patented. If you want to follow up on that, check out my website at http://www.fredtruck.com. Otherwise, this isn't a good place to discuss what I do.

Hi fred,
Thanks for Sharing. Always look forward to your threads with the word chojubai.

Love to see you write a book on quince.

I could see the pictured quince with a scroll that echoed it's movement in kanji

maybe something for spring....

With every falling petal,
the quince branches
grow older

with apologies to Buson for exchanging the word plum for quince.

I'm working on two red chojubai with literati movement.

Have you ever been on the internet?

berobinson82 said:

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Have you ever been on the internet?

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im just kidding. but seriously you have to put a watermark over the center of an image. it would be extremely easy to shop out the symbol you have placed in the corner or even easier just crop it out. i feel bad for photographers these days. it's about impossible to protect ownership of anything on the internet anymore.

about the tree: i like it. true it looks young and i almost wish there were a little more movement but it does look very elegant in a way. where do you go from here to preserve the delicate "calligraphy" aspect of it? any other examples of trees that do this?

First, Dick Benbow, thanks for your comments.

>>but seriously you have to put a watermark over the center of an image.

You're right, Catfish Chapstick. This idea works a lot better with regular photographs with lots of stuff in them. Here, it works mostly as a mood enhancer. QR codes were invented by a subsidiary of Toyota, and have an Asian feel to them. I know it won't stop appropriation. To see how I use them ordinarily, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/32652998@N04/8649781918/in/photostream

Well, where I go from here with this tree is try to keep foliage to a minimum, to keep the trunk slim. Eventually, this is probably a losing battle, but I have to try.

About movement--there is more movement than appears, especially at the bottom. It shoots out to the side. I have a 3-D version of this that shows the movement better. I'll be posting it on Flickr in a month or so.

Hi Fred ..Nice young tree. Have you thought about putting some subtle bends and movement? Not a lot, just a little bit for a more flowing look.

Rob

jkl said:

From what? Are you writing a book and need exclusive use? What does it matter if someone "borrows" a picture.

On the tree, that form is very calligraphic and I like it, but as a bonsai -- even a literati -- it doesn't work much for me because the plant is SO young.

But you picked the right deciduous plant for a literati cascade. Here is my attempt at a mature quince literati:

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That is a very nice tree jkl. Not too happy with the pot though. However, that's just me, I tend to shy away from pots that are too ornate. However, your tree is somewhat like penjing, so it is definitely workable in that aspect.

Rob

October, I'll definitely consider it. The bottom part of the cascade has been difficult to keep the way I want it. Thanks.

Fredtruck,I know I am a tad late to this conversation but when I look at the tree it does not do much for me as it looks little and scrawny. Then when I look at the above picture with the whitespace, the code symbol and the plant I have to say that is a very artistic image. It blends so well while allowing each part to compliment the other. I think that would make a beautiful print for a wall.

ed

Thanks for your input. The tree is just beginning, but I felt that being relatively young and scrawny wasn't that big a problem. The idea was to create a calligraphic image using a tree. A single brush stroke. This is what I think the literati form is about. The young scrawny tree is ideal for creating a very thin line. Of course criticism will follow, but sometimes to achieve your aim, risk is necessary.

The tree will, if all goes well, get older and be more substantial as a tree, but because it's a quince, I'm hoping to retain that fine line element.

I like this tree a lot. It breaks some rules, but in my opinion does so gracefully, and with the measured irreverence of good art. Just enough to polarize people and make us think. I would be happy to have this on my bench. Well done.

I feel that based on the tree in this post and the explanations you have given this is more about an exercise in photography and less about an exercise in bonsai. Without the white background and preface it is merely a stick in a pot. With that said I do appreciate the photo

I loooove Chojubai, and I love your tree, but I must say that I agree with nathanbs, as a bonsai, this is a stick in a pot (which is not bad, its just young), as image quality, I can see your crop lines and the image is somewhat blurry, but as calligraphy, I think it looks good, strong sharp lines, however I see no curvy contrasting lines.

Not that it needs to have curviness to contrast the sharp, some characters are all sharp with no curve, but in my experience with literati, which is extremely limited btw, this is the style that evokes the most emotion out of me.

I tend to see most literati trees like you said, like calligraphy, with both subtle soft curves and slight taper like the slow upstroke of a brush, and with strong sharp curves marking an abrupt change in direction. in bonsai, this is akin to lightning perhaps striking an apex of a slightly curving slowly tapering tree, so that, CRACKKKKKKKK!!! a new leader is born moving downwards, and a white scarred craggy sharp line is all that is left of the old movement.

(sorry chojubai and literati bring the ancient poet out of me!)

jkl said:

From what? Are you writing a book and need exclusive use? What does it matter if someone "borrows" a picture.

On the tree, that form is very calligraphic and I like it, but as a bonsai -- even a literati -- it doesn't work much for me because the plant is SO young.

But you picked the right deciduous plant for a literati cascade. Here is my attempt at a mature quince literati:

Click to expand...

jkl said:

From what? Are you writing a book and need exclusive use? What does it matter if someone "borrows" a picture.

On the tree, that form is very calligraphic and I like it, but as a bonsai -- even a literati -- it doesn't work much for me because the plant is SO young.

But you picked the right deciduous plant for a literati cascade. Here is my attempt at a mature quince literati:

Click to expand...

While it is certainly a spectacular cascade quince, don't you think it should display with much less along its trunk to qualify as a literati?
Isn't literati about the simplicity of line and exaggerated movement along its trunk to highlight what little foliage is showcased? In every literati workshop I have attended, the emphasis has always been "make less more".

LeonardB said:

While it is certainly a spectacular cascade quince, don't you think it should display with much less along its trunk to qualify as a literati?
Isn't literati about the simplicity of line and exaggerated movement along its trunk to highlight what little foliage is showcased? In every literati workshop I have attended, the emphasis has always been "make less more".

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Sorry Leonard,but Jim is no longer with us.