photographs in displays

[dick benbow]

My brother has turned out to be an incredible wildlife photographer. I have access to all his stuff....whisler swans, eagles, herons, snowey owls, humpback wales, salmon fishing bears,
BUT.....

I've not see any articles on their use. Is there such a thing? Does anyone have some input on how best to display them?

Today after 3 months I got my tokonoma back after a living room remodel. I'm ready to get involved again, and I'd like to use his photos. The whale photo would be perfect with my shore pine. The fishing bears perfect for a fall display as salmon return. can I mount them with frame and glass, mount them on a shikishi board?

Input appreciated!

 

[dick benbow]

here's an example of his stuff

 

[Si Nguyen]

That's a really cool picture of the bald eagles. I am sure there is a way to use photos in your displays. I don't know how. But there was an article in one of the the old Bonsai Today magazines that had Kimura using large landscape photos for a backdrop. Check it out. Where there is a will there is a way.

 

[Brian Underwood]

You can get frame "matting" cut to the right size of the picture to make a shikishi board, then mount into an appropriate scroll; http://www.blankwallscrolls.com/blank-japanese-scrolls-c-43.html?osCsid=sghji0nsd575vfrd4nt09smu31

 

[johng]

my own experience

I can only speak from my own experience and taste, but I think you have to be very careful using actual photos in bonsai display... First let me say that I create displays to tell a story where the tree(s) is the main character and the accessories accent the story.

I have used my own photos a number of times and since I started there have been several others that have used photos of their choosing in the shows that I display in. Here is my take...it all comes down to the detail of the photos. Lots of detail...very distracting and takes away from the tree...personally I think the Eagle pic is too detailed....it will be the center of attention in your display instead of a part to the whole story. Now, pics of a foggy morning, or a misty sunset, or anything where the photo is more suggestive and less realistic, is much better and will work to tell a whole story in your display..

perhaps this might be an example...

Here is another example...you decide which works

I also think it is important to not be redundant in your efforts..

I do love the idea of using photos with Bonsai...I have just found that it is difficult to pull off well!
John

 

[Poink88]

John,

I would think a muted picture/background would work best but Wow, this one added so much drama and effect. I love it!

 

[dick benbow]

Thanks John for sharing the photos of where photographs were actually used. I could see immediately with where the tree was used in the photo that it was too repetitious and worked against the bonsai. next door with the waterfall that was very nice with the tree. But there i could see that it's volumn or mass did tend to dominate the tree it was suppose to enhance.

I did love the rising sun/setting photograph as it set the mood nicely. Shots of weather and mood seem a natural to be used.

So because you took the time to respond and post it has helped me to put together some ideas i can use. I woud not have had such a clarity that i have now without your pictures.

 

[dick benbow]

LOL! in way of explaination I tried repatedly to post the picture of the whale and it wouldn't take so I gave up...and wha-lal...there it is. I was gonna say I had a shore pine that I could see this whale photo with and a kusamono of some beach grass

 

[johng]

Dick, I like the whale and hope you will share your display with us! The really funny thing is the tanuki with the picture of the old juniper, if I am not mistaken, won the "people's" choice award in the particular show. Of course there is no accounting for the taste of the general public

Dario, Thanks...I put that together for garden show a couple years ago...although it garnered a lot of attention..."The People" picked another display!

Here is one more display with a more muted photo.

 

[dick benbow]

thanks John, I just emailed my brother to request no special effort but if he's out and about and gets a chance to shoot a moon or sunrise sunset to please do so. They, like artwork, are so practicle for display. I like the verticle orientation of your moon and the size seems to jibe with the tree.

 

[dick benbow]

one thing I am noticing ( gratefully because of all the shared photos) is that I really like the photos without framing they seem more a part then a separation/independant piece. Anyone else feel the same?

 

[GrimLore]

Knowing the concept I like unframed better and also the first piece the best. It is most similar with what you expect without being so "clear" that your eyes drag you to the image rather then the subject. It is all opinion of course but that is mine

 

[kakejiku]

one thing I am noticing ( gratefully because of all the shared photos) is that I really like the photos without framing they seem more a part then a separation/independant piece. Anyone else feel the same?

More than the frame, the spacing between pieces seems critical to me. Compare previous with everything sitting 4 to 6 inches from each other... versus this

 

[GrimLore]

More than the frame, the spacing between pieces seems critical to me. Compare previous with everything sitting 4 to 6 inches from each other... versus this
View attachment 30907

You Sir are an Artist

 

[Vance Wood]

I think the idea of photographs is a good one but I would consider some parameters. Any time you start messing with the idea of how people have always viewed bonsai you are instantly up against the inherent conservatism that comes with any art form. In the end what you display should harmonize with the original ideas of the traditional bonsai display.

The photos should not be subjective in that they display something that might compete with the tree for the viewer's attention like a Whale or an Eagle, where these items are the focus of the photo and not just an element of a larger idea. Personally; I also think they should be in portrait format, not landscape, mainly because the photo is supposed to replace the standard scroll which I have never seen in landscape format.

IMHO anything that departs from the traditional in a display should look plausible, as an evolution of concept, in that it looks like it belongs and doesn't scream "Screw the Rules". If you do that, then the controversy over what you have done becomes the focus of the discussion and not the artistry you needed to make it work.

 

[Poink88]

Personally; I also think they should be in portrait format, not landscape, mainly because the photo is supposed to replace the standard scroll which I have never seen in landscape format.

IMHO anything that departs from the traditional in a display should look plausible, as an evolution of concept, in that it looks like it belongs and doesn't scream "Screw the Rules".

Is it possible though that the reason they were in portrait form is because of lack of space? Japan is known for space conservation...making everything as compact as possible and possibly the reason why bonsai was practiced there prevalently to begin with.

I believe someone can pull it off in landscape format...but as you said, it must compliment and not compete.

 

[Vance Wood]

Is it possible though that the reason they were in portrait form is because of lack of space? Japan is known for space conservation...making everything as compact as possible and possibly the reason why bonsai was practiced there prevalently to begin with.

I believe someone can pull it off in landscape format...but as you said, it must compliment and not compete.

You are corret the argument has been made for the existence of bonsai being based on lack of space. Why something is the way it is does not change it's reality. If you are going to make a display trying to parody the classic Tokonome what you accomplish must look something like a Tokonome not the top of Granny's Pie Table.

 

[Poink88]

But it also leaves some flexibility to make it (or change to) evolve to our own version. Just as we use other materials that Japanese never did (just bec they don't have them)...doesn't mean we are challenging the established practice...we are just using what is available and being practical.

 

[rockm]

"Is it possible though that the reason they were in portrait form is because of lack of space? Japan is known for space conservation...making everything as compact as possible and possibly the reason why bonsai was practiced there prevalently to begin with."

I think this is a faulty assumption and only a bit true. Bonsai didn't really arise from lack of space, but from an esthetic desire. There was A LOT of room in Japan in the Renaissance era when bonsai first arose in that country. It was begun with a desire to hold a bit of nature in one's hands, to possess something beautiful that was part of nature. Only in more recent times has space become a premium in Japan. Their culture since it emphasizes efficiency of use is more amendable to an environment that is increasingly cramped. "Less is more"

Bonsai has more to do with Japanese cultural efficiency (miniaturization in electronics is another part of that cultural phenomena, I think). It's simply more efficient to be able to have a tree in a pot than one in the ground to appreciate.

All this means that display should incorporate both beauty and efficiency. Photos can complicate that visual efficiency by being overly distracting. They also are a bit "too real" for use alongside what is an artistic interpretation of someone's vision of nature. They can contrast too deeply with the imagination, not allowing it to roam as freely as other art. Photos are actual representations, rather than interpreted representations. This is a sliding scale however, and there is room, IMO, to use them, but not a lot.

 

[johng]

Interesting conversations here... I personally have move beyond the need to mimic "Japanese Bonsai Display"...that said, there are certainly many artistic principles used that would translate to any type of display...

Here are a few pics that I would be interested in hearing your feedback on...