Display and Scrolls

kakejiku

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I sent a request from Isao Oomachi (功・大町) if I could use a picture of one of his Toko no Ma displays and he said yes. He said Ok to me through Facebook, so I thank him for his cooperation to outline what makes a good scroll and bonsai display pairing. Here is the picture.1508008_761522763964824_310031808675882586_n.jpg
So this is a flowering cherry that looks to be in a weeping styling. In the Gaddou display style, the tree is deciduous /flowering so it would be Semi-formal. The styling would be informal. This is accentuated by the pot, which is a glazed (Semi Formal) round (informal) pot which would also be a Semi-formal, informal ranking. This is contrasted with the formal styling of the scroll. (Yamato Hyougu is a Gyou no Shin)

The painting depicts two swallows, which in most parts of North America are symbols of springtime arrival.
What are some of the other characteristics in the painting that you recognize? I will await some of your observations before going on to other points.
 

markyscott

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Hi kakejiku - do you have a better picture? It's hard to see much on this one - the swallows look like a couple of blobs. Love the cherry tree though - weeping trees look really beautiful in flower.

Scott
 

markyscott

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As an old sailor and a bit of a navy buff, I will say that swallows have historically had a great deal of meaning for sailors as they were often the first sign that land was near. Swallow tattoos were quite popular among tall ship sailors - something about the hope of a safe return home. Probably not the meaning the artist meant by the pairing, but swallows have a lot of different meanings in different cultures.

Scott
 

kakejiku

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Hi kakejiku - do you have a better picture? It's hard to see much on this one - the swallows look like a couple of blobs. Love the cherry tree though - weeping trees look really beautiful in flower.

Scott

Thank you for the reply, and yes this is a very beautiful bonsai.

Actually this is a very good picture and would be very represresntative of how you would view the display if you were sitting in the room with this Toko no Ma. Several points to consider.

1. When you are displaying for bonsai what is the purpose of the display?

It is to tell a story with the bonsai as the centerpiece. The other pieces are accents that support your story. So if I had a detailed painting would it compete with the tree? Think about that for a good 10 minutes, and rethink your viewpoint.

Are there any other observations you can make about the painting and scroll that makes the bonsai the centerpiece of the display?
 

markyscott

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Ok - I'll give it a go. With the bonsai in floral display, it speaks to me of springtime - the flowers setting the season. The swallows could be a mating pair. Together, the bonsai in spring display and the mating pair of swallows could be a message of rebirth, renewal - themes both associated with spring.

Scott
 

GrimLore

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The natural tone of scroll coupled with the simple yet elegant birds representing Spring adds a nice visual but in no way distracts from the tree. The pot color helps as well and as pictured looks like a sky blue color bringing warmth to the display.

Grimmy
 

barrosinc

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Its way to small to give an opinion. But the overall display looks nice.
 

kakejiku

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The natural tone of scroll coupled with the simple yet elegant birds representing Spring adds a nice visual but in no way distracts from the tree. The pot color helps as well and as pictured looks like a sky blue color bringing warmth to the display.

Grimmy

Ok...I see you are getting there. What is a technique used in art. Perspective. Here is a definition.
According to the book Practice of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture, Lisa Cartwright and Marita Sturken state, "Perspective refers to a set of systems or mechanisms used to produce representations of objects in space as if seen by an observer through a window or frame. In perspective, the size and detail of objects depicted corresponds to their relative distance from the imagined position of the observer" (page 151).

So our bonsai is close to us and is very large and very easy to see the details of the cherry blossoms. The birds on the other hand are not detailed and very small.

Near/far is a very important concept to master when visualizing a display.

What other characteristics do you notice about the painting that help to reinforce the near far perspective?
 

sorce

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The scroll is very large, making the birds further.

Seems missing a companion plant.

Sorce
 
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The photo is too small to evaluate the scroll painting. But it "looks" like the two birds are flying away from the cherry bonsai. Although OK, the display table looks a bit too formal for the bonsai which is a cherry in blossom. Since its a deciduous species a less formal display table would be more appropriate in my taste. Perhaps Mr. Omachi did not have a more appropriate display table? I doubt that.

But a beautiful spring bonsai display and we should simply enjoy its beauty rather than trying to dissect the composition, even for educational purposes.

Bill
 

GrimLore

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What other characteristics do you notice about the painting that help to reinforce the near far perspective?

The way the bottom of the scroll is on an angle coming away at the base makes the scroll look like it is even further back then the wall itself. Almost a window effect from what I can see.

Grimmy
 

kakejiku

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The scroll is very large, making the birds further.

Seems missing a companion plant.

Sorce

Sorce, thank you for your input.

When you say the scroll is very large, what is it you mean by that? Do you mean the size of the paper in the painting, or the entire dimensions of the scroll?

If you are talking about the entire dimensions of the scroll, it is a pretty standard size with good proportions. I could guesstimate about 4.5 to 5 feet long by 1.5 foot wide.

If you are talking about the size of the paper, this is a pretty standard paper. But do you notice how much whitespace there is. This is another tool to use to reinforce the concept of near/far perspective. In western art during the renaissance, one technique used is called aerial perspective, which was to paint objects farther away in more blue tones. Maybe in Japanese art this is done by employing the use of lots of white space....
 

kakejiku

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The photo is too small to evaluate the scroll painting. But it "looks" like the two birds are flying away from the cherry bonsai. Although OK, the display table looks a bit too formal for the bonsai which is a cherry in blossom. Since its a deciduous species a less formal display table would be more appropriate in my taste. Perhaps Mr. Omachi did not have a more appropriate display table? I doubt that.

But a beautiful spring bonsai display and we should simply enjoy its beauty rather than trying to dissect the composition, even for educational purposes.

Bill

The photo is fine, and I have about 30 examples of photos in a display book that even though larger, provide no more detail on the painting...because there is no detail in the painting...

From what I have been taught, the 卓 (Shoku) looks to be a Gyou no Shin object to me... (Semi-Formal/Formal) which would harmonize with the species and styling of the tree.

I am trying to help bonsai artists learn concepts about scrolls so they can use them in their displays confidently, and I appreciate the fact that Mr. Omachi gave me permission to do such.
 

kakejiku

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The way the bottom of the scroll is on an angle coming away at the base makes the scroll look like it is even further back then the wall itself. Almost a window effect from what I can see.

Grimmy

I am not sure I am seeing the same thing. Is it an angle from the base of the display table? If you look at where the wall and the tatami intersect, then the scroll hangs perfectly even.
 

GrimLore

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I am not sure I am seeing the same thing.

I think it is the shadow at the base of the scroll that makes it appear "to me" similar to a windowsill. From my perspective it is a good feature making the scroll itself seem even more distant.

Grimmy
 

Brian Van Fleet

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I am trying to help bonsai artists learn concepts about scrolls so they can use them in their displays confidently...
May I suggest developing this in the format of a "Resource" instead? The approaches you typically use; the "slow reveal", or "guess what Jonathon sees here" seems to be frustrating to many who try, or consider participating...including you. I think you can educate many of us who want to display on a formal level, but when you post like this, it's usually:

Photo
Complaint of no comment
A guess
It's wrong
You throw a bone
Someone throws a punch
We roll eyes and move on

Time to change up the format. I'll be eagerly awaiting. Try another photo, and give us a few bullet points about each element...what, where, why, how. Then, we'll start to get it.
 

kakejiku

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I think it is the shadow at the base of the scroll that makes it appear "to me" similar to a windowsill. From my perspective it is a good feature making the scroll itself seem even more distant.

Grimmy

Ok, now I understand what you are saying. That is a product of the lighting. Now, it looks to me that there are several Toko no Ma. But if it was a Hon Katte toko no ma by itself this shadow effect may be minimized by the natural light coming in from the left.
 

kakejiku

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May I suggest developing this in the format of a "Resource" instead? The approaches you typically use; the "slow reveal", or "guess what Jonathon sees here" seems to be frustrating to many who try, or consider participating...including you. I think you can educate many of us who want to display on a formal level, but when you post like this, it's usually:

Time to change up the format. I'll be eagerly awaiting. Try another photo, and give us a few bullet points about each element...what, where, why, how. Then, we'll start to get it.

Ok I will post in my thread about the eagle and try to do it in a different way.
 
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