Many good thoughts, points, observations, and opinions, have been expressed, and will no doubt continue to be expressed for many years to come on this subject...I too will expound my thoughts and opinions...
Unfortunately the line we usually draw between ‘style’ and ‘form’, is a very thin and not easily distinguished one...The word ‘style’ is often used when in fact we are referring to a tree ‘form, we often hear; “formal upright style”, “literati style”, “clump style”, etc., when we are actually discussing tree ‘forms’...’Style’ is a way to describe the characteristics of an individual artist’s work, such as a “Walter Pall style”, a “Nick Lenz style”, or a “Kimura style”, but in reality it is not the correct means to communicate the ‘form’ a cascade tree has...However as some have stated ‘styles’ may indeed have a ‘regional’ connotation...This is usually based on the culture of a region, the growing conditions and climate, the influential artists and teachers of a particular region, and/or the trees that grow in nature in a region...Most all ‘artistic potted trees’, which we usually refer to as bonsai, have influences from regions other than the area where the artist resides...
The ‘Americas’ is very young when compared to many other areas where bonsai is practiced, and therefore may not indeed have developed a distinguishable culture as some older nations and countries have...There are possibly a few cultural things that tend to influence our tree designs here in the United States...One that comes to mind is other forms of art, although this is a thread that is also common with other ‘Western’ countries...In many ‘Asian’ arts the things not expressed or shown are often more important to the overall image than those which are expressed, whereas in the ‘Western’ arts, ‘over emphasis’, over exaggeration, and extravagance, are the norm...Especially here in the United States our arts have been much influenced in more recent years by the ‘movie and TV’ industry...Very little is left to the imagination, most things are taken to the extreme, and even in most of our paintings every inch of a canvas is covered with design...This is one thing I see as a probable characteristic of an ‘American style’ if there is such a thing...I would be more inclined to think this is a possible contribution our country will make in the future of bonsai design...
Our nation and indeed the continent has a wider variety of climate and growing conditions than possibly any other nation, therefore this will probably have less impact on a recognizable ‘style’ throughout the area, but certainly on a more regional basis it will be a very important factor...Just as some species seem to be more popular in Japan than they are in China and vice versa, there are also species popular in European, African, and Australian, bonsai that are not common in other regions of the world...Here in the southern United States, there are some species that are very popular as bonsai in Japan that we have much difficulty maintaining healthy trees...Likewise many of the tree species we work with are difficult for bonsaists even in the northern portions of the nation...
Certainly one of, if not the most influential person for bonsai in the Americas was and remains even after his passing, Mr. John Naka...While his background in the art was Asian based he encouraged people to use the ‘inspiration of their surroundings’ in his teachings, writings, and presentations...Many followed his example and their influence is seen quite heavily in smaller regions of our nation...A couple artist/teachers that come to mind in this aspect are Mr. Jim Smith in the Southeastern area, and Mr. Vaughn Banting in the southern Gulf Coast areas...While the work of all these artist demonstrate an ‘Asian’ influence, there are distinguishable characteristics of each, and their influence on others can readily be seen especially in those regions of the country...
While the cultural influence is evident in the work of the Chinese ‘potted trees’ one can often see a resemblance also to the trees of the mountain areas of the nation, and it is possible to tell their inspiration comes from the trees they are used to seeing in their surroundings…Likewise with Japan it is evident that the Chinese artists served as inspiration, but again the trees they are used to seeing ‘in the wild’ play an important role in their art…With the European bonsai the Asian influence is very present, but many artist are distinguishably inspired by the art and the trees in nature…The ‘timberline’ trees of the Alps can be seen in much of the work by European Artists…So it is also with Australia and Africa…The shape of the ‘Savanna Acacia’ is probably one of the most recognizable tree shapes in the world, the baobab and the pierneef forms are tree shapes that are also usually associated with Africa, and it would be a shame if these forms were not available to bonsai artist to use in their art…If an artist in Europe uses one of these commonly recognized forms that does not make it an African bonsai but it is apparent that the form is African influenced…Here in the United States we have several recognizable tree forms, and I hope in the future more of these will be used as inspiration for our trees…This does not make the tree an “American style” tree, but if a recognizable “American Style” is ever accepted I would think the tree forms in our surroundings would play an important role in establishing that ‘style’…
As stated when I began this lengthy dissertation, these are my thoughts and opinions…The Asian influence is quite predominant throughout the world in our art, and probably always will be…Perhaps even should be…But it will only be as more and more artists began to break away from the past, and use their own surroundings, their own influences, and the art native to their own region as inspiration, that we will began to see the emergence of a recognizable “American Style” in the art of bonsai…
Regards
Behr
