Western Display Concepts

[Walter Pall]

And these.

These are trees in the German National Convention 2005 against paintings by Udo Claassen.

 

[cbobgo]

Walter was each painting done specifically for the tree it was being shown with, or was there just a bunch of trees and a bunch of paintings that got paired up?

I like the 4th one on the first post with the bunjin tree and the sort of abstract mountain painting. Except that it looks like the tree is flying in the air above the mountain. Maybe if the painting had been hung higher it would not have appeared that way?

- bob

 

[Walter Pall]

Bob,

the paintings were done just for themselves. The painter is a keen bonsai person. He paints these to evoke feelings of a landscape.
They then invited a dozen or so top trees and took great care to combine the trees with a painting the fits. or the other way round. One needs a huge space with very good lighting and it costs to move and hang these big paintings. The 'backdrops' cost a magnitude more than the trees in front of them. For the painters the trees are there to enhance the paintings. For the bonsai crowd it's the other way round.

Here some more of another exhibit.

 

[Ashbarns]

Ha! it is captured beautifully here Walter and an alternative to the traditional way. Both ways have merit so now we have an open window to enjoy. Many thanks for this.

Ash

 

[John Ruger]

It's a really fascinating concept of pairing bonsai with abstract or non-representatioanl works of art, but I find it distracting. In observing the examples presented by Mr. Pall, I found myself focusing more on the canvas work than the bonsai. For me, it was having the same effect of placing, for example, a work from the Hudson Valley School butted next to one by Jackson Pollack. This is probably because I can't incorporate the abstractive quality of both types (bonsai and work on canvas). For me anyhow, it has always been the attraction of a bonsai presented in starkness, alone where the power of the specimen absorbes the contemplation of the individual viewer.

 

[DaveG]

And these.

These are trees in the German National Convention 2005 against paintings by Udo Claassen.

Bob,

the paintings were done just for themselves. The painter is a keen bonsai person. He paints these to evoke feelings of a landscape.
They then invited a dozen or so top trees and took great care to combine the trees with a painting the fits. or the other way round. One needs a huge space with very good lighting and it costs to move and hang these big paintings. The 'backdrops' cost a magnitude more than the trees in front of them. For the painters the trees are there to enhance the paintings. For the bonsai crowd it's the other way round.

Here some more of another exhibit.

I like these displays, but I'd really like to know how the effect would be different if the paintings were very slightly offset from the trees so they could be taken in as separate elements of the display. I think this would put the sense of the setting and the tree together in the viewer's head, instead of trying to put it together for their eyes. Displaying other elements with it might also bring the point home, but this is again getting close to Japanese methods.

My wife completely disagrees with me about offsetting them though.

 

[ghues]

I've seen them before, liked them then and still like them now....... I find that some of the paintings too "busy" and distractive, but some really work well.
However looking back at what was stated earlier, wouldn't these be trees fall into the "exhibiton" category rather than the "display".
Cheers Graham

 

[bonsai barry]

I think its a great display. You can focus on either the tree or the painting and then step back and consider them together. If there isn't care if the pairing then the two subjects comptete for the viewers' attention. In the best matches, the two pieces of art -- painting and tree -- play off of each other and emphasize the strengths of both. It's a lot of bang for the buck.

 

[bonsai barry]

OK folks, here we go. The tree is a stunted California coast redwood. The rock is from the Southwest USA. The shotgun is an antique.

Okay Mike, I know that you're a thoughtful guy and I don't get the pairing of these objects. Is it possible to explain? Other than being iconic kinds of objects, it seems random.

 

[Mike Page]

War and Peace.

 

[John Ruger]

I've been trying to find someone who constructs bonsai pots in more abstract ways. For example, out of volcanic rock with the soil cavity cut right out of it, also ones constructed from a sedimentary rock cut into flat slabs with each layer juxtaposed. I always had the idea of utilizing these more radical pot types and incorporating ferns and/or grasses that are traditionally used as accent arrangements, into the same composition with the tree.

 

[Walter Pall]

John,

how about these?

 

[John Ruger]

Yes, beautiful, and also those that have the effect of tiles, for example, stacked one on top of the other in a staggered fashion in a "modern" fashion. I imagine a different approach would be required...construct the pot and then determine the composition of tree (style and material) and possibly accent plants. If one would utilize something that splits along the lines of, for example, shale and then arrange those layers. It would be very interesting to say the least using that type type of pot structure from material organic to specific locations and then use tree and plant accents of species from the same locale in one composition.

Thank you for the pictures...truely inspirational!

John

 

[Walter Pall]

Is this what you mean?

 

[Victrinia Ensor]

Is this what you mean?

Gods above that is beautiful.

V

 

[Victrinia Ensor]

I love the painting displays... but I can also understand John's perspective - concern for detracting from the magnificence of the trees. However I think they are fascinating and would be extremely interesting to the casual viewer - upping the level of artistic identity for bonsai by pairing it with a more mainstream art form.

Very cool... very avant garde. Loved it greatly... Thank you so much for sharing that Walter.

Kindest regards,

Victrinia

 

[John Ruger]

Yes Sir, it is, and we could go even further. Thank you for the pictures...truly inspirational.

 

[Attila Soos]

I love the bonsai/painting exhibits. With most of them, the bonsai is the accent to the painting. I have no problem with that. Also, I think this kind of exibit is much more evocative when viewed live. I imagine standing right next to the bonsai and looking at the painting.The bonsai is there to add to the experience, but I may only see the tree in my periperal vision, depending on where I stand. The viewer can move around and see the painting/tree combination from different angles.
Again, I don't see the painting distracting because it is the main focus of attention, and the bonsai is secondary to it.

 

[Yamadori]

Walter,
The last picture with the painting is my favorite. The movement in the deadwood and the movement on the canvas really flow together. It is more evocative and dynamic.

I think the other trees of yours are fabulous.

 

[mholt]

I think that bonsai display should be treated like a work of art in a gallery. The tree is the artwork, the container as the frame. Trying to over-emphasize the trees attributes by pairing it with a distracting background is like having a gallery of artwork with paintings hung on wallpapered walls. A tree in a pot is already out of it's context and no longer in the wild. To me, attempting to place it back into this context via a "nature background" simply takes away from the tree and gives it a whimsical kitschy kinkade-bob ross look. I enjoy the BMW display of Walter's because of the stark white podiums and 360 and aerial views of the trees. They make more of a statement. If a background is really necessary, perhaps subtle textures should be played with like a stone slab or polished concrete. I just think our society tries too hard to create individual identities in an attempt only to make statements with no regard to beauty, while to me, subtleties seem to have more of a lasting impression. If you really must re-invent art history of decades ago and attempt to call it new and modern then you might as well stick your tree in a Duchamp urinal.