Japanese Maple #17

My favorite thing about @Walter Pall trees, is that they all look like Walter Pall trees. The same can be said for only a handful of artists - those who impart their own touch to trees.

Some of this can be attributed to the consistency in the photography, which is part of the artistic practice I think.
 
Walter Pall said:
I yam very careful about choosing material for my collection. It must meet my highest aesthetic rules in the potential it has. Only it is my personal artistic rules and not what a gardener who comes from another culture tell s me is aesthetically pleasing or not.

We were led to believe that aesthetic rules are universal. They are not, they are cultural. The bonsai taste is an acquired taste. Just look at many Chinese penjing. A lot of them seem to be not aesthetically pleasing to our eye. So over one billion people all have bad tast? Or is it just different, or cultural and we have acquired the Japanese taste.

Let's assume we discuss with people who have deep artistic training and speak about the ugliness of bar branches in bonsai. I have don that. And what happened? They broke into laughter abut how silly bonsai people are.
Click to expand...
For me, for example, the association bonsai/pot you made would be OK for Japanese expositions. I mean IMO you don't have so many ways to express your difference, do you ?.. your tree is well balanced, good proportions width/hight, good placed 1rst branche, good balanced nebari, good conicity, lots of branches all around the trunk. For me these qualities are universal easthetics qualities.
IMO the things that make difference is your own "naturalistic" style (like other European/American/Japanese "artists" have their own style) and the particularities of this tree (for example the conicity inversion in the middle of the trunk)...
 
Walter Pall said:
We were led to believe that aesthetic rules are universal. They are not, they are cultural. The bonsai taste is an acquired taste.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's totally true.

Yet, it's difficult to get rid of our formatted vision of the world : in some countries, white is the colour widows wear, not black, and so on.

I find no "fault" in this tree of yours, it just looks natural to me. Too much of a "first branch, second branch, backbranch, etc" often leads to boring bonsai.

Yours are not boring, they make people talk about them, even if they don't like one - like the European Spruce #39 I'm not so fond of.... :( But I love this one :cool:
 
Walter Pall said:
I yam very careful about choosing material for my collection. It must meet my highest aesthetic rules in the potential it has. Only it is my personal artistic rules and not what a gardener who comes from another culture tell s me is aesthetically pleasing or not.

We were led to believe that aesthetic rules are universal. They are not, they are cultural. The bonsai taste is an acquired taste. Just look at many Chinese penjing. A lot of them seem to be not aesthetically pleasing to our eye. So over one billion people all have bad tast? Or is it just different, or cultural and we have acquired the Japanese taste.

Let's assume we discuss with people who have deep artistic training and speak about the ugliness of bar branches in bonsai. I have don that. And what happened? They broke into laughter abut how silly bonsai people are.
Click to expand...
I never said anything about ugliness, fyi.
I only asked a question.
Dont take offense.
 
"Just because some Japanese gardener came up with that rule it does not mean that it should apply to all artists." Walter Pall.
Amen. Best bonsai quote ever!
 
Mr. Pall,

Can you describe how you winterize your maples? I am in the same zone as you (other side of the world) and getting ready for my first winter.
 
dbonsaiw said:
Mr. Pall,

Can you describe how you winterize your maples? I am in the same zone as you (other side of the world) and getting ready for my first winter.
Click to expand...
Japanese maples can stand quite cold temperatures, - way under freezing point as free growing trees in garden and landscape. As bonsai they need good protection. It is the roots which are not so ready to get fully frozen. And it is the branches which can break like glass in winter when they are frozen. You definitely do not want heavy snow on them. So I put all my precious maples in a cold greenhouse. The temperatures can go a bit below freezing - no problem. But there must be heating available. Very important is to watch late frosts.. When trees overwinter in a greenhouse they usually wake up four weeks earlier than outside. This is March to beginning of April in my area. If you then put a maple which already has foliage onto the shelves watch the weather forecast. They must not get frost!!! The same trees that happily survived during freezing nights in January and February will get serious damage around 32F in April.! You must bring them in again when it is freezing.
 
I love the movement of the trunk.

The rest is for you to care for as you wish. Great tree.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Japanese Maple air layer in-process
Replies
2
Views
143
JerArt
J
M
Japanese Maple cuttings
Replies
2
Views
128
Darth Masiah
Darth Masiah
shirleytheviola
Japanese Maple Droopy Leaves after Air Layer
Replies
9
Views
257
shirleytheviola
shirleytheviola
penumbra
Unusual Dissectum Japanese Maple Niwaki Start
Replies
10
Views
336
Cadillactaste
Cadillactaste
Nera
Japanese Maple pre-bonsai - Wiring Help?
Replies
12
Views
305
leatherback
leatherback
Back
Top Bottom