If bonsai is art, what does it mean? (semiotics of bonsai)

[Lorax7]

Personally, I happen to think that whether or not any particular bonsai tree is art is something to be determined individually, much like some writing is art but your grocery list isn't. Setting that aside, I think we can all agree that at least some bonsai are art. I confess ignorance about how exactly the topic of meaning in bonsai is addressed in Japanese culture (if it's considered at all), so please pardon the Eurocentric approach here. Viewing bonsai as art through the lens of my own Western cultural background, I am drawn to the question of its meaning in the same way that I would consider the meaning of a painting by Velázquez or the lyrics of a Simon and Garfunkel song.

Of course, an individual bonsai will have unique features unlike other bonsai and those features may be evocative of certain ideas, emotional content, etc. that gives the piece its own vibe for viewers to pick up on. One could do a "read" of an individual bonsai and try to get really deep into what makes it tick and what meanings are constructed when we engage with it as viewers, but that's not really what I'm aiming for with this discussion thread. I'm interested in the more general topic of the common signs and symbols that are shared among bonsai when considered as objets d'art. What are the shared meanings associated with bonsai as an artistic medium?

I'll start with an example of what I'm talking about. As we train trees to be bonsai, pruning is a key technique that we employ over and over again. Because this technique is ubiquitous in bonsai praxis, it inevitably contributes to the meaning of the final displayed work of bonsai art. Thus, I think that themes of injury and recovery are inherently part of the symbolism when a knowledgeable viewer engages with bonsai as art (and something that a good docent would mention to guide the understanding and appreciation of a group of viewers not familiar with the art).

What do you consider to be the shared meanings inherent in bonsai as an art medium and why?

 

[Paradox]

I don't know. I have too many trees to work on right now and other things I need to do (go fishing, play with my dogs, sleep, house chores, work, etc etc) to contemplate this.

 

[StarJasmine]

In my limited experience, the struggle for survival, and triumph, seems to be a common theme. Seeing the way a tree sends its roots precariously over a rock to the soil below, a healthy green tree growing around its deadwood, or the branches of a cascade reaching toward the light despite being bowed down, speaks to me about being a survivor and a conqueror.

Also, I am always struck by movement in a tree, particularly in neagari. Some trees look like they are moving even though they are still. Some have parts of them that look human. I often get the feeling that a tree looks like it is trying to say something, but it's hard to pinpoint what it is.

To achieve these kinds of things with a living tree is quite special, because we can't control everything about the tree. We can direct its growth and nurture it so that it reaches its God-given potential, but many features that mean the difference between good and spectacular bonsai are actually not up to us.

 

[cmeg1]

Oddy enough it was about 20 years ago that Wolfgang Putz demonstrated on his website the practice of a bonsai Tokanoma.
He stated the bonsai tree was ‘for’Man as perhaps a way of expression ,peace or simple device for utilization….as it can be leaned towards the viewer of the tokanoma.
The scroll was to depict HEAVEN !!
And the accent plant was a kind of simple demonstration for Earth.
I thought that was very inspirational and I have been having great experiances in nature ever since………….Strolling and contemplating days ——-years and all the seasons at places like the park or forest areas or what have you.


Oddly enough I have never enjoyed a tokanoma…….but perhaps maybe I have in ways…….seeing nature in the way he actually explained.

 

[Lorax7]

Oddy enough it was about 20 years ago that Wolfgang Putz demonstrated on his website the practice of a bonsai Tokanoma.
He stated the bonsai tree was ‘for’Man as perhaps a way of expression ,peace or simple device for utilization….as it can be leaned towards the viewer of the tokanoma.

Interesting. I’ve often thought that, despite seemingly being all about trees on the surface level, that bonsai is fundamentally really about the human condition at its core. We are weathered by adversity and we carry the markings of our individual history, but maybe we’ll end up with a unique, interesting story and ultimately be appreciated for what we have become through those transformative experiences.

 

[RoadManDenDron]

Thus, I think that themes of injury and recovery are inherently part of the symbolism

Similarly I like this and symbolism of struggle to live, 'wabi sabi' and often beauty from a tough existence particularly flowering species where the flowers contrast gnarled and scarred trunks and branches

Also that even nature, which is often seen as determined and fixed can be moulded by a person, a tree that would be large and 'regular tree like' can be tamed and even transported but kept alive and even thriving

 

[Michael P]

Unlike "Is bonsai art?" this question is not futile. An important aspect of bonsai is the rich and various meanings assigned to bonsai by Asian cultures. When naive Westerners look at a bonsai, we still attach meaning to it without this cultural background. The first bonsai exhibited in the West were almost universally thought to be ugly, deformed, and grotesque by the Western audience. Those are negative meanings, but real none the less. And many Westerners still feel this way.

Mostly after WW2, some returning Westerners attached new, positive meanings to the bonsai they saw in Japan. Enough so that they wanted to bring the trees and their techniques home. Exactly what those meanings were and are seem to be varied and highly personal.

When I was younger I was very interested in what a work of art meant. If it did not have an explicit or covert meaning, I tended to discount it. "What is the artist trying to tell us?" I still find that part interesting. But now I am mostly engaged by the sensory and emotional response art stimulates. I want art (bonsai) to act on the primary process, non-verbal functions of my brain. I don't necessarily want art to "mean" anything, but rather to move me in ways that are not easily analyzed or described.

 

[john blanch]

I agree with the man, heaven, earth structure of tokonoma. To add, I learnt Chinese bonsai are more animal like. Whilst Japanese bonsai reflect more human traits.

 

[Lorax7]

When I was younger I was very interested in what a work of art meant. If it did not have an explicit or covert meaning, I tended to discount it. "What is the artist trying to tell us?" I still find that part interesting. But now I am mostly engaged by the sensory and emotional response art stimulates. I want art (bonsai) to act on the primary process, non-verbal functions of my brain. I don't necessarily want art to "mean" anything, but rather to move me in ways that are not easily analyzed or described.

I think there’s room for both symbolic meaning and more nebulous can’t-put-my-finger-on-it content that you feel in your bones but can’t put into words in bonsai, even multiple levels of meaning within the same tree.

 

[Michael P]

I agree completely. Meaning and emotion on many levels at the same time is a characteristic of "high art" if you can pardon the term, LOL.

 

[Lorax7]

One thing I have often wondered about, regarding the way bonsai is shown here in the U.S. (or at least my neck of the woods, pun intended) is:
Why are trees displayed with tags that name the species and sometimes name the artist but rarely give the bonsai a title?

We would never hang a painting in a gallery and just label it “oil painting by Titian”. In other arts, often the title is the most important thing because you can’t even begin to appreciate the work without being given that starting vantage point. For example, Duchamp’s “Fountain” wouldn’t make any sense at all without knowing the title.

 

[john blanch]

What are the shared meanings associated with bonsai as an artistic medium?
Struggle, survive and flourish.

 

[Lorax7]

What are the shared meanings associated with bonsai as an artistic medium?
Struggle, survive and flourish.

Also, there are elements of nurture and devotion as well as conflict between intense (maybe even oppressive) control and the drive to break free of constraints and grow. I think there are many, many shared meanings attached to bonsai as a medium.

 

[Michael P]

I think some bonsai should have titles. I once had a juniper with a contorted branch structure and a long jin at the top that I always thought of as "the lightning-struck tower".

 

[Lorax7]

I think some bonsai should have titles. I once had a juniper with a contorted branch structure and a long jin at the top that I always thought of as "the lightning-struck tower".

I know that some bonsai in Japan are named, but I’m not sure how prevalent the practice is. I saw Shinji Suzuki and his team of apprentices work on a tree named Garyu, which translates as something like “crouching dragon”, for their demo at the World Bonsai Convention last year.

 

[Dogestoevsky]

@Lorax7 , in terms of unpacking bonsai-as-art, the use of semiotics might be misguided. Cultural narratives of bonsai aside (which is silly to exclude, but I’m not educated on them) you might have a better shot at this if you avoided the question “what does bonsai mean” and instead asked “what does effective bonsai do?”

In more contemporary philosophy of art, scholars tend to point to art as that which evokes a response (art as machine), rather than ascribing art objects a denotative meaning (like an image in a newspaper or a stop sign / semiotics). That doesn’t preclude a reading of particular signs / signifiers in a cultural context, but as a popular worldwide art, an aesthetic approach to bonsai would be more effective. More handy to make arguments about material and choice (aged bark, weathered jin, broad canopy, spindly foliage, etc) in this conversation, no?

 

[Gabler]

Bonsai trees are a way to capture the symbolism of trees more broadly, in a miniature, portable scene. Trees are a major part of the cosmology of most cultures, perhaps more densely packed with meaning than any other symbol humans use. From the tree of knowledge of good and evil to the world tree,Yggdrasil, you frequently see, for example, the symbol of the tree and the serpent. By way of further example, here's an interesting discussion of the symbolism of the tree from the perspective of an Orthodox Christian icon carver.

 

[Dogestoevsky]

I don’t know, I’m not buying that trees-as-symbols take primacy over trees-as-trees. It’s like saying a portrait must mean something…

 

[Michael P]

". . .you might have a better shot at this if you avoided the question “what does bonsai mean” and instead asked “what does effective bonsai do?”

This is exactly what I am thinking, what does a bonsai do to me? What response does it provoke? Not "what does it mean?"

 

[Lorax7]

@Lorax7 , in terms of unpacking bonsai-as-art, the use of semiotics might be misguided. Cultural narratives of bonsai aside (which is silly to exclude, but I’m not educated on them) you might have a better shot at this if you avoided the question “what does bonsai mean” and instead asked “what does effective bonsai do?”

In more contemporary philosophy of art, scholars tend to point to art as that which evokes a response (art as machine), rather than ascribing art objects a denotative meaning (like an image in a newspaper or a stop sign / semiotics). That doesn’t preclude a reading of particular signs / signifiers in a cultural context, but as a popular worldwide art, an aesthetic approach to bonsai would be more effective. More handy to make arguments about material and choice (aged bark, weathered jin, broad canopy, spindly foliage, etc) in this conversation, no?

I don’t think looking through the lens of semiotics is a mistake. I think there are plenty of symbols innately present in miniature cultivated trees in pots and that there is value in contemplating this. Thinking about it can only add to your intentionality as an artist making these creations. Is it traditional? Is it even still bonsai if you go far enough down this path or are you then doing sculpture in the medium of miniaturized living woody plants? I don’t know. I just know it’s an avenue of thought I find worthy of consideration. I think it offers, at a minimum, some understanding of why it is that we do bonsai.