Containers.pdf

(412 KB) Pobierz
BONSAI CONTAINERS AS CERAMIC ART
by
Fred Aufschläger
The Concept of Bonsai as Art
While it is not the intent here to attempt to explain the full history and philosophy of the art of
bonsai, it is likely that without some background this paper on bonsai containers may be intellectually
unsatisfactory. An essay by the much respected Japanese bonsai master, Kyuzo Murata, differentiates
between bonsai and
Hachiuye,
or potted plant:
"Bonsai is a living plant transferred to a pot or tray or rock or stone so that it can continue to live semi-
permanently. It has not only a natural beauty of the particular plant but the appearance reminds people of
something other than the plant itself. It could be a scene, a forest or part of a forest, a lone tree in the field, a
seascape, a lake, a river, or a stream or a pond. It is also possible that a certain appearance reminds a
person of the wind blowing through the branches.
In Japan, the meaning of bonsai is to create a natural scene on a tray, using plants as the main materials.
When you take a
Hachiuye,
or potted plant, you can only see "prettiness of the plant or flower". It does not
remind you of anything else...
Bonsai should not be a mere sketch of a scene, or a three dimensional exhibit from a photograph of a scene.
It is perfectly all right to use nature as the subject, but the goal should be a sketch which has been refined and
trimmed in your mind before you start creating. Only then can you call it art...
Bonsai is a strange art wherein one can produce a feeling of the reality of nature by manipulation, over a long
period of time, of trees, stones, rocks, trays or pots. And every bonsai is original. It goes on for ever and
1
ever."
As will be described later, it is important to note that the bonsai container, be it ceramic or stone is
an integral part of bonsai. The tree cannot be called bonsai by itself. Nor can the container alone be bonsai.
The History of Bonsai
The precise origins of bonsai are unknown but it is very probable that ancient cultures in Egypt,
India, Assyria, Greece, Rome, and notably, China, as long ago as 3000 B.C., practiced potted plant culture
for food and medicinal purposes.
2
Other ideas regarding bonsai development propose that it was an
extension of the garden planning practiced in the Hsia, Shang and Chou Dynasties (2205 -255 B.C.), and/or
the rock landscapes in containers developed in the Tang (618 -907) and Sung (960 -1280) Dynasties.
3
The names used to describe the culture of miniature trees and landscapes in the various Chinese
dynasties has undergone many changes, and are the roots of the modern practices of
pen jing
(China),
bun
je
(Korea) and bonsai (Japan) container culture. Undoubtedly, these containers were transported to Japan
from China by way of Korea by Buddhist monks, merchants, ministers and students. The same written
Characters in all three cultures refer to a tree or trees planted in a pot.
4
The earliest documentation of
artistic art trees was 1195 in Japan, and of artistic pot plants in China in 1280. (see Appendix A). The art
form has developed inexorably to the current Chinese
linguan
(or clip and grow) method of training
pen
jing,
and the Japanese method incorporating the philosophical principles of
sabi
and
wabi.
5
While this
paper primarily is concerned with bonsai, it is evident from the literature that the development of the
ceramic bonsai pot has paralleled and been an integral part of the development of ceramics in general.
6
The Tradition of the Bonsai Container
As indicated above, the Japanese term "bonsai" means literally "pot" (bon) and "living tree" (sai),
or "tree in a pot". Thus by definition, the container, whatever its form or composition, absolutely is
necessary to complete the bonsai whole. In modern bonsai, and in
pen jing
as well, the container or pot is
almost always ceramic. The few exceptions are when certain bonsai styles call for use of stone slabs or
trees clinging to rocks.
Unlike most ceramic containers, designed to create an "internal space"
7
, the ceramic pot is rather
designed to clasp its partner, the tree. The pot is always secondary to the tree, the former selected to
complement and enhance the latter. The relationship is likened to that of a frame to a painting or clothing to
people.
8,9
In bonsai, however, the relationship is much more symbiotic, as "the pot for the tree in naturally
an integral part of a bonsai...
10
The choice of container...is very much an aesthetic matter, inevitably
governed to a large extent by taste and fashion."
11
According to Stowell:
“Although the form and color of the container are important, neither should detract from the expressiveness of
a bonsai. The container should harmonize with the bonsai - complement color and mood --and be in pleasing
12
proportion to the tree.”
So what we have with bonsai pots is the possibility of great variation in shape, size and color, all
the while complementing similar variations of bonsai trees. But unlike ceramic art in general where the
medium is the artist's only limitation of expression, the bonsai potter's expressiveness is limited somewhat
by the traditions of bonsai art. A sampling of these traditions follows (See Appendices B-F for detailed
descriptions):
1. Colors acceptable for the majority of trees are brown, gray or terra cotta.
13
2. Dull unglazed pots in subdued colors are best for most evergreens, but always may be used for
deciduous bonsai.
14,15
3. Glazed pots are used mostly for deciduous or flowering trees, the color dependent upon the
color of leaves, fruits, flowers, berries, seed pods, etc.
16,17
Glazes may be whitish beige, chestnut,
willow green, cobalt blue or even black,
18
but there is great leeway here for the bonsai potter.
Containers with bright glazes will complement brightly colored trees, while smoothness or
roughness of bark point toward a corresponding pot surface.
19
Tomlinson Writes:
“Very bright or pale colored pots are usually inappropriate, but sometimes a well chosen color creates
a striking complement to a tree with distinctive coloring. Glazes can produce very subtle color
combinations ...and there are some discreet but lustrous effects in more subdued hues that
correspond well to the colors of nature. There are interesting effects of color and texture such as
20
speckling and crackle glaze.”
4. Shapes of trees (styles of bonsai) determine height,width, depth, length and overall proportions
of pots.
21,22
5. The value of pots ranges as follows:
•
poured - least expensive
•
press molded and thrown - medium to high priced
•
hand formed- high priced
•
antique- most expensive and difficult to identify. May be of Chinese, Korean or Japanese
origin.
23
(See Appendix G)
It is worthwhile to mention here that there is a budding movement among some U.S. and
European bonsai potters to open up the traditional concepts mentioned above. To the traditional observer
these pots, if not the entire bonsai created with them, can seem truly bizarre and uninviting. Some,
however,seem to have a creative spark worthy of further explopation (See Appendix H).
Practical Considerations
Because bonsai containers, whatever their composition, must be able to support the living tree
within, some critical practical considerations must be taken into account by the bonsai artist, and, by
inference, the ceramic artist who makes the pot. The following recommendations are taken from an
excellent article on bonsai pots selection by Banting:
24
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
The pot must have at least one drainage hole, usually more.
The pot should have at least three feet, providing for drainage, air circulation and stability. Footed pots are
preferred over arched cuts in the base.
There should be minimum warpage of the clay body, although some warpage is desirable for uniqueness or for
complementing a particular tree.
The bottom of the pot should be level without raised dams around the drainage holes, so as to facilitate rapid
drainage and prevent water from accumulating in the pot.
The pot should be made of stoneware because of its durability. Earthenware is susceptible to breakage by
spalling due to ice in the clay body, and porcelain is too fragile and usually too ornate.
The pot should not have a chipped or cracked clay body so as to avoid distraction from the tree and the
destruction of the roots of the tree growing into the cracks.
If the pot is glazed, it should be only on the outside and just inside and below the rim, not down the inside of
the pot or the bottom of the pot. This provides porosity for water retention and some air circulation.
The thickness of the walls of the pot should be in proportion to the overall dimensions of the pot.
In summary, there is much to consider by the artist who is creating a bonsai container. This esoteric
branch of ceramic art has deep roots in ancient cultures as does the ceramic vessel in general. However, in
addition to deep roots, the total bonsai, tree and pot, is enveloped in the two fundamental Chinese and
Japanese zen concepts of art -
sabi
and
wabi.
The potter who would pursue the creation of bonsai
containers would do well by becoming familiar with these concepts and their characteristics.
25
Once
ingrained in the potter, these concepts, when applied and recognized in the completed bonsai pot,
undoubtedly will add a significantly enhanced appreciation of the bonsai. Successfully accomplished, the
pot will communicate to the viewer in its own right, but never at the expense of the tree.
REFERENCES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
Murata, Kyuzo, article written for Brooklyn Botanical Garden, New York, reproduced in Giorgi,
Gianfranco, Simon and Schuster's Guide to Bonsai (New York: Fireside, 1997), pp. 15-17.
Koreshoff, Deborah R., Bonsai, its art, science, history and philosophy (Brisbane, Australia:
Boolarong Publications 1984), pp.1-4.
Koreshoff, pp. 1- 4. ;
Choi, Stephen, from lecture notes in course entitled Introduction to Bonsai, Anne Arundel
community college, Arnold, MD, September, 1989.
Giorgi, pp. 12-13.
Koreshoff, pp. 40-2.
Illian, Clary, A Potter's Workshop (Iowa City: Univ.of Iowa Press, 1999), pp. 8, 13.
Hull, George, Bonsai for Americans (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company,
Inc.,1964), pp. 92-3.
Chan, Peter, Bonsai The Art of Growing and Keeping Miniature Trees (Edison, New Jersey:
Chartwell Books, 1985), pp. 121,155.
Chan, Bonsai, p. 121.
Chan, Bonsai, p. 155.
Stowell, Jerald P., The Beginner's Guide to American Bonsai (New York: Harper & Row,
Publishers, Inc., 1978), p. 30.
Naka, John, Bonsai Techniques I (Los Angeles: Bonsai Institute of California, 1987) pp. 82-5
Naka, pp. 82-5.
Banting, Donna, "Selecting Bonsai Containers", article written for New Orleans Bonsai Society,
1983, reproduced in Potomac Bonsai Association Clippings, 29.1, Feb/Mar 1999.
Naka, pp.82-5.
Owen, Gordon, Bonsai Identifier (London: Quantum Books Ltd,1990),p 14
Samson, Isabelle and Rémy, The Creative Art of Bonsai (London: Ward Lock Ltd, 1986), pp. 25-4
Gustafson, Herb L., The Bonsai Workshop (New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.; 1994), p. 89
Tomlinson, Harry, The Complete Book of Bonsai (New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1990),
p. 52.
Naka, pp., 82-5.
Samson, pp. 23-4.
Tacktill, Phil, "Guide to Ceramic Bonsai containers",in Potomac Bonsai Association Clippings,
29.1, Feb/Mar 1999.
Banting.
Chan, Peter, Bonsai Masterclass (New York: Sterling Publishing co.,Inc., 1995), pp. 12-17
APPENDIX A
CHRONOLOGY OF CONTAINER TREE DEVELOPMENT by Dan Chiplis
9000 B.C. Some communities at threshold of ability to produce their own food.
6000 B.C. In area of fertile crescent, domestication of plants and animals begin. Slightly later,
corresponding development occurs in southem Mexico and China.
4000 B.C. Egypt supports complex urban civilization with productive agriculture.
3000 B.C. Chinese growing pine, apricot, plum and bamboo as potted omamentals.
2500 B.C. India develops
Vaamanfanu Vrikshaadi Vidya,
"the science of dwarfing trees" to enable Hindu
physicians transportability of trees.
2000 B.C. Egyptians grow large trees in "containers" cut into rock.
1400 B.C. Egypt, Assyria, Greece, and Rome practice pot culture to a high degree of sophistication.
50 B.C. Mica panes used on structures by Romans to protect the prized potted citron and orange from cold
injury.
25 A.D. Chinese legend exists describing Fei Jiang-feng, a "magician" who collected mountains, trees, and
living creatures in planters.
265 A.D. Chinese artistic pot plants, called
punsai,
well established in China.
600 A.D. Artistic pot plants believed to enter Japanese culture from Korea and China with Buddhism.
618 A.D. Chinese artistic pot plants called
pun-wan.
1180 A.D. Ibn al-'Awwan of Muslim Spain writes horticultural treatise which includes information on
container plant culture and soil mixes.
1195 A.D. Earliest Japanese documentation depicting artistic pot trees.
1280 A.D. Chinese artistic pot plants called
Shea tzu ching.
1368 A.D. Modem Chinese term punjing first used for artistic pot plants.
1400 A.D. Roman orangeries, called
stanzone peri cedri,
are artificially heated.
1500 A.D. In ancient Mexico City, the Aztec
chinampas,
the so-called "floating gardens," are highly
developed. "Chapines" similar to modem peat pots are used to start seed.
1500 A.D. Cypress and orange trees grown in large containers by Italians become integral part of French,
English, and Danish gardens as Italian Renaissance influence spreads.
1775 A.D. Oldest American flower pot company, A.H. Hews and Company, selling hand thrown clay pots.
1865 A.D. William Linton of Baltimore invents machinery to manufacture clay pots in molds.
1880 A.D. Elegant naturalistic style of Japanese bonsai developed.
1900 A.D. Chinese develop linguan, or "clip and grow" method of training
punjing.
Literati style thus
begins. ,
1910 A.D. Bonsai first exhibited in westem country at the Japan-Britain Exposition.
1946 A.D.
Saikei,
"living landscapes" using stones and very young trees, developed in Japan. Bonsai
popularized to all Japanese classes. Bonsai first goes to America via occupation forces.
1960 A.D. "Green Revolution" in nursery industry. Trees and shrubs produced in containers reduce
shipping/handling costs and extend planting season to entire year.
1965 A.D. Interior Plantscape industry begins, creating an improved business and working environment.
From Chiplis, Daniel, "Chronology...", in Potomac Bonsai Association Clippings, 29.1, Feb./Mar. 1999.

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin