Rosemary landscape planting

[irene_b]

Something just struck me as I was looking at this wonderful representation. Great artistry, Behr, and the tree shows exactly the image you are aiming at!

What really struck me is that, speaking strictly off the cuff, someone please correct me if I am wrong, but Japanese saikei don't use mudmen or buildings strictly speaking. Chinese penjing plantings use very small figures to give a wider perspective in the tray. And although this as well as Nick Lenz' plantings use a much closer perspective (point A), the dominant theme is ruins rather than whole buildings.

An argument might be made that the Japanese attempt to emphasize untrammelled nature, and the Chinese the ascendancy of nature with man playing a small part. Along that way of thinking, what would these plantings as well as the gargoyle planting among others, be trying to say?

It could be something as simple as "a snapshot in close perspective" or something as profound (or profane depending on your political or philosophical leanings) as the victory of nature over the works of man.

Does anyone have thoughts along this line?

I do not see it as either of them (Japanese/Chinese), what I see is a Created Masterpiece!
And I don't see the need to put it in a catagory.
I prefer to just sit back and admire how he created this Masterpiece!
Irene

 

[Chris Johnston]

Sorry, ladies, I wasn't trying to cubbyhole this one, just trying to discuss it as a work of art. As such, I think it is more believable than the Nick Lenz piece.

 

[Rick Moquin]

As such, I think it is more believable than the Nick Lenz piece.

I'm with you 100% on that.

 

[Attila Soos]

"a snapshot in close perspective" or something as profound (or profane depending on your political or philosophical leanings) as the victory of nature over the works of man.

Does anyone have thoughts along this line?

I would rather go with the "snapshot in close perspective" in this case. I don't think that the building in this landscape represents a ruin. Rather, Behr re-created a small part of the mission, in order to suggest the whole building.

The impermanence of man-made objects is always an implied theme when creating the wabi-sabi feel, and that manifests through the aged look and patina of these objects.

The victory of nature over the works of man would be, in my opinion, and extreme interpretation. In the lanscapes of the Western cultures, the victory if man over nature is a common theme. In the Eastern representations, man doesn't want to dominate nature, but rather live in harmony with it, and that's what I see in many Eastern landscapes. That's what I see in Behr's representation as well, as the mission and surrounding nature blend with each-other in perfect harmony.

A natural progression would be the following: when a brand new mission is built, it would tend to dominate it's surrounding. As the mission ages though centuries, it will slowly blend into the landscape. If the mission is neglected then it will crumble, and nature will take over. But representing this last phase would be the artist's choice, and not a general view of Eastern landscape art.

A typical image of nature's victory over man would be one that we see in the jungles of Mexico, where ancient pyramids have trees and vines growing over them, their roots slowly penetrating and breaking them apart. Same images I've seen in landscapes from India.

 

[Rick Moquin]

A natural progression would be the following: when a brand new mission is built, it would tend to dominate it's surrounding.

I agree with your entire post with the exception of the caption. If so... the tree would no longer be there. This is a snap shot in time in which Behr has done a tremendous job. Somethignto be proud of.

Is this bonsai, or is this art?

Does it matter.,....

 

[irene_b]

Sorry, ladies, I wasn't trying to cubbyhole this one, just trying to discuss it as a work of art. As such, I think it is more believable than the Nick Lenz piece.


We know this Chris.
Living Art is hard to cubbyhole.
Irene

 

[Behr]

Mr. Will, I do look forward to your comments and questions...

Mr. Greg, thank you so much for the statement "good job at conveying the feeling of standing right there"...realism or at least perceived realism is one thing I did strive for in this composition...One of the more novice members of our club upon first viewing this stated "the wall does so much to represent scale and perspective", but as you said the tree gets help from the setting...To receive these thoughts from an artist I greatly admire for his innovative work is quite an honor...I still aspire to someday 'one up' you on the planting on the rusty shovel, but that one will be difficult...

Mr. Wes, for me to even be compared with the works of Mr. Nick is such an honor, since you well know my feelings for his artistry...While the coyote skull is an interesting thought, this will never be displayed with any accent as long as I have it...I am of the opinion that any tree or landscape that is strong enough, does not need the paraphernalia of display to be properly shown...It is only those trees which do not have enough character or 'wow factor' to stand alone that are best served by placing them among other objects to create a feeling...

Mr. BD, I truly can't say I have ever been called a pig and appreciated it more...Thank you for the laugh and the compliment...At least I am taking it as such...

Mr. Chris, I do appreciate your comments and analogy here, and thank you for the starting of the ensuing discussion...I am thankful for your compliments, and will attempt to answer your questions from my own viewpoint in a later post...Concerning the 'more believable' comment in reference to the work of Mr. Nick, that is most likely a bit unfair since in introducing my composition I 'set the stage' so to speak as to my inspiration...You did not have that 'set-up' with the Lenz work, or indeed most works we view...This was a wee bit intentional due to not expecting such overwhelming approval...

Regards
Behr

 

[Chris Johnston]

Mr. Chris, I do appreciate your comments and analogy here, and thank you for the starting of the ensuing discussion...I am thankful for your compliments, and will attempt to answer your questions from my own viewpoint in a later post...Concerning the 'more believable' comment in reference to the work of Mr. Nick, that is most likely a bit unfair since in introducing my composition I 'set the stage' so to speak as to my inspiration...You did not have that 'set-up' with the Lenz work, or indeed most works we view...This was a wee bit intentional due to not expecting such overwhelming approval...

Regards
Behr

Behr, my comparison of your work to Nick's in this particular instance had nothing to do with the setup or back story you related. I have a different take than some on Nick Lenz' work than some. Some of it I like, some I don't. His gargoyle I thought was thought-provoking and the first intimation I had had of that kind of departure of the art.

However, my comparison in this case was based solely on the skilled technique involved. I find the bricks and stone window in the Lenz piece to be a little artificial. It's as if the scale is off just enough to scream "model." I also find the extant walls of his ruin to be a bit too perfect right up until they end in disaster.

Perhaps my interpretation of your piece as a ruin is my own predilection for the remnants of human habitation. I see the remains of an old stone wall where a highway bypass has come through, and can't resist the urge to stop and tramp. I see an abandoned farmhouse slowly collapsing on itself and wonder about the family that built it, and the lives and loves it has seen.

All that being said, what are the dimensions of this one, and can one person move it alone?

 

[Behr]

That is indeed interesting Mr. Chris...I view the Lenz work more as a work of 'fantasy' rather than a representation of 'realism'...It is almost as if he were creating a scene from a Disney cartoon to me, and I believe he did a super job of it...I think the building is a ceramic creation he fashioned, but may be mistaken on that...Perhaps Ms. Candy can shed more light on this...My work on the other hand is, I believe, based more on a 'realistic' approach, more like a Disney historical movie...This may explain why you find my landscape 'more believable'...Regardless, I do appreciate your thoughts...

As to size, yes I can move it quite well but wouldn't want to carry it too far...It probably weighs about 40 pounds...I did give the dimensions in my second post in answering Mr. Tom, but will also say that, "If I made a good pork roast, or a healthy batch of 'rosemary potatoes', it would be a shohin", which is a definite plus for the species...

Regards
Behr

 

[candyjshirey]

I think the building is a ceramic creation he fashioned, but may be mistaken on that...Perhaps Ms. Candy can shed more light on this...

Your thinking is confirmed, Mr. Behr.

 

[Anonymous User]

Nice artistic creation Behr, the image as presented works and works well, well done.

Now for the composition and the method...


If you would, could you tell me what material the slab is made of and am I correct in my assumption that some of the foliage used in the scenery is artificial?


Will

 

[Behr]

Mr. Will,

Thank you for your words of approval...

Although I am becoming somewhat well known for using what are considered to be 'fake' or 'cheating' techniques by some, there is nothing used in this planting that is artificial other than a few of the stones...The window sill plates, and the rear [not visible] foundation stones, are actually a 'light weight cement'...The slab is a 'real' piece of sandstone, which is what makes the composition so heavy for the size, and all but three of the stones in the 'front border' are also 'real' stones...All stones in the walls other than the sill plates are 'unaltered', 'real', rocks [or as we say in Texas rawks] collected on the property where I live...

Regards
Behr

 

[Anonymous User]

If the bonsai is real, there is no cheating, it's all about the illusion and the image presented, which is done well here.

I worked on the photograph a bit in the first attachment.

In the interest of learning more about this piece, I hope you don't mind me asking a few questions and stating an opinion or two. The second attachment is marked up for my questions below.

A) This branch seems overly large for the tree, my eye keeps landing on it and sticking to it. It seems so large that it may pull over the tree someday. Did you consider removing it and if so what was the deciding factor in leaving it as is? The third attachment below is without the branch.

B) What type of plants are these growing in the background?

C) What is this plant? It looks like a creeping juniper.


Thanks Behr,


Will

 

[Smoke]

The last virtual just made the tree symetrical, destroying all the character in the tree. Now it just looks ordinary. I heard that way too many times in the contest. That large character branch is what sets the mood for this piece.

I might like to imagine the ruins are inhabited by ghosts that keep the cattle away and keep the tree intact to grow as it pleases.

Thanks Behr for an inlighting piece.

Al Keppler

 

[irene_b]

Will, that is how the mesquite trees grow down here.
I have seen them touch the ground and the branches can be quite large.
Our Oaks do this as well.
Irene

 

[Tachigi]

Will, that branch IMO is key to the composition. I believe that it is the focal point by design. It adds credibility (maybe realism is a better word). That this is indeed a ruin. That large branch has been allowed to grow unchecked across the doorway to mission. Something that if inhabited we humans would never let happen. Your third virt shows a neat and tidy tree, which would be out of character for this scene.

 

[candyjshirey]

...that branch IMO is key to the composition. I believe that it is the focal point by design. It adds credibility (maybe realism is a better word).

Tom -

I agree. However, in addition, the original foliage outline echoes the outline of the ruin.

That long flowing branch is needed not just for character but also for repetition of that long lazy line.

-Candy

 

[Chris Johnston]

Tom -

I agree. However, in addition, the original foliage outline echoes the outline of the ruin.

That long flowing branch is needed not just for character but also for repetition of that long lazy line.

-Candy

Candy, you are absolutely correct! I hadn't yet stepped back and looked at why the piece worked so well compositionally. I'm not a big fan of the "Golden Mean" theories, but this one seems to fit with the placement of the trunk, and the lines of the foliage mass do echo quite well the arc of the ruin. The eye is drawn to the character of the trunk, then follows the main branch (the branch in question is the "sashi-no-eda" or main branch for this tree), then the creeping ground cover.

I don't know what the ground cover is, but it would seem impossible at this scale that it could be juniper.

Behr, if Disneyesque is what he was going for, I will give him that. It doesn't have to be my cup of tea.

I'd like to revisit my original post in this thread, however. I am certain this is a ruin, partly from the look of it, and partly because of Behr's setup story. Critics are always fond of finding things in works of art that the artist may never have intended (why else would Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris still be produced?), so my point in this discussion was to draw out some meaning in a work that is obviously saying something. Art stirs the intellect and emotion through the skilled application of technique and composition. I would like to delve further into that.

Wabi and Sabi are a favorite term of many bonsai enthusiasts (Candy, I am not saying this is you!) who cannot define it without quoting someone else's definition of it. The one you presented is better than any I have seen. My point is that I am not comfortable using the term if I cannot internalize it and express it in my own words. Wabi-sabi is almost too subtle an idea for Americans raised in the television age. And in the spirit of the Colbert Report, could I possibly coin the term, "antiqueyness?" I get the impression that the term (wabi-sabi) implies solitude with overtones of sweet loneliness, as well a the imperfection that makes more beautiful. I hope some day to have a grasp of it.

With the limited understanding I have of the term, wabi-sabi is sometimes enough, all that is needed to be able to truly understand and appreciate an object or scene. This is especially true with great bonsai, tea rooms, furniture, and old farmhouses/stone walls that draw me in. (I didn't intend to add that, but perhaps a realization just made a connection for me as I type!) I don't know that it's enough in a purposeful representation of a scene. To portray wabi-sabi is a completely different thing than to have or be wabi-sabi. To set out to attempt to protray wabi-sabi seems to me to be self-defeating, which of course could not have been the case with this extremely successful rendering.

Food for thought for those with ears to listen...

 

[Attila Soos]

To me, this composition is as perfect as it can be. I wouldn't change a thing.
The tree is slightly imbalanced and awkward, and that's why I like it. "Improving it" would take away from it's charm and would be much less endearing to me.

This tree, as it is, couldn't stand alone as an individual bonsai without some changes. But in the context of a landscape, realism is more effective than immaculate conception...I mean perfection.

(very nice discussion going on here, fun to read all the opinions)

 

[irene_b]

As a child I grew up playing in the ruins of San Jose and Capistrano and played in the aquaduct waters. I climbed the mesquites and the walls of the old missions were there for us to try and climb as well. This Masterpiece correctly captures my childhood playing ground to the point of bringing tears to my eyes of remembering my playmates who played here with me and are no longer among the living. I can see Frankie in the top of the tree hiding as we play Hide and Seek.
Should Behr ever put this Masterpiece up for sale I would be very hard pressed to be outbid.
Irene