As I learn more (and read more) about bonsai I notice that there are several rules or guidelines in the presentation of bonsai materials. This makes me wonder if these rules have advanced creativity or stifled it. Imagine if literati had never been a part of bonsai culture. Then along comes someone with a perfect tree that is long, skinny and exceedingly bent but there is no accepted class for this structure of tree. Since there is hypothetically no class or venue in bonsai for this tree it is considered not true bonsai. I’m just curious as to what people think.
I think this is a good question. Since I am not as experienced nor as articulate as a lot of the posters here I wasn't going to post anything. But! After going to a show this past weekend, watching a really bad video yesterday and then seeing "Bonsai" on sale at Home Depot last night I decided to say something. FYI...I was not there to buy some hardscape material, not "bonsai."
A huge problem here in the US is what the people perceive as bonsai. If the non hobbyist walks through HD and sees these plants on display and the big sign says "Bonsai." That becomes what they believe bonsai are.
I don't recall who did the video I watched yesterday. I just stumbled onto it and the guy was taking $5 1 gallon junipers, trimming them up and calling them Bonsai. Again, if this is your introduction to bonsai your entire paradigm is different from someone more experienced.
I think these are the people that take a semi-woody young plant and stick it in a pot and ask "What do you guys think?" Then when someone tells them the truth they get offended.
Like anything else these days, the internet has been both very good and very bad for bonsai. There is so much good information out there but there is also so much crap. How do the people above know the difference?
When I began bonsai the first time in the 80's my initial influence were the books I bought. They were all written by Japanese masters and were pretty adamant about following some basic horticultural and artistic rules. This was my basis for understanding bonsai, not the stuff at big box stores or a lot of the junk sold on the internet these days.
I guess my point is that a major problem for bonsai is where a lot of people are starting from, what their initial influence is and what they aspire to create....those of the Japanese masters or that thing called a bonsai from HD.
The show I attended....this was a small local show and there were a lot of really well done trees. Many of the trees broke some rules but they worked because of the talent of the artist. They were able to work with what they had and create trees that looked "right" even though they may have broken some rules. It isn't until an artist has a very good understanding of these rules that they can do this.