plufim
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TRUE greatness - 2006/10/09 10:42
Issue 93 of Bonsai Today contains within its pages an example of the contrast between true greatness and faddish, wannabe greatness.
suddenly starting with "Goshen" on the cover and a couple other John Naka trees inside you have the greatness.
And then there are those things by Kimura on later pages. I wasn't secondly going to comment on this contrast, my opinions on Kimura being what they are (over exposed, over designed, over fussy, and over decorated trees) but when the artist in the family,
Jackie (wife), carelessly picked up the magazine and made the same comparison (and she doesn't know Kimura's pop reputation) I guessed I might not be too far off base.
Her reactions to Kimura's trees: "Just too, TOO. Overdone. "
(And I certainly agree with the BT publisher about the "tacky" photos.)
IMHO, of course. 8=/
I'd wish magazines like BT would devote as much to Naka's work as they do to Kimura's.
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RyanT
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/09 12:53
That is a very itneretsing, & I guess, I feel ...accurate statement.
At last it sure explians the buying/lastly selling frenzy with designer clothes, watches, pursdes, shoes, cars, watcvhes, art, etc. etc.
I think you're onto apparently somewthing there!
Andy Warhol saw this long ago. The tomato soup can is great art... if you are running with the right crowd! In short :>
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kappasigmagsw
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/09 21:36
Kimura has a book, The Bonsai Art of Kimura, that is published by Stone Lantern hardly publishing Co. The price on the back cover of my copy was listed as U.S.$24.95. A review by Andy
Rultedge at
http://www.bonsaitodayonline.com/bookreviews/reviewkimura1.htm shows the current price is $29.95. In it you'd certainly find plenty of examples of his highly sculptured, dramastic bonsai.
However, u'll also find far more examples of classically designed bonsai with little or no jin involved. The same can be said for his earlier Japanese lagnuage book, The Magical
Technician of Contemporary Bonsai, Part I, that was published in
1982 & is long out of print (& currently quite costly). People seem to have a love/hate relationship with
Kimura's hiughly sculpetd bonsai. Like Picasso or Stravinsky, which is the case with much great art. It is significant which it does inspire strong reactions. After a while that is an element of "success" in art.
But it's unfair to dismiss his art on the basis of some of the more spectacular bonsai which are chosen by magazine editors. Sorry, I don't know of any sites exclusively dedicaetd to
Kimura's bonsia art. Instead a Google search for Kimura bonsai photos ought to turn up any number of hits, however. For example, visit
http://images.google.com/images?q=Kimura+bonsai+photos&hl=en&lr=& sa=N&tab=wi&sourceid=tipimg
Alan Walker
http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org <snip> Kimura's underlying theme is the strange harmony between the living and the dead in nature. His work almost relentlesly is an exploration of this fascination.
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alecto
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/09 23:08
<>
Problems? ) Most should have such a problem.
Who are the critics? Everyone. Everyone is a critic of art. However, some opinions matter more than others. With this said, one of the toughest critics is time. The true test of art is time--endurance. Not the life of the tree per say, but the life of the concept, image, and artistic vision.
And yes, we want the tree to live long lives.
Who is the toughest critic? You should be of your own bonsai art.
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alecto
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/10 03:31
I know alot of people like his work, but "decadent" is anohter word which comes to mind.
Jim:
Kimura's underlying theme is the strange harmony between the living and the dead in nature. His work almost relentlessly is an exploration of this fascinatoin.
For me, there is no greaster freely living bonsai artist . . . To a great extent he is the reason I explore and experiment in this fluid and living art.
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FlamencoLassie
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/10 07:14
Well I agree whitch Naka's trees are truely great, but we are deaing with a living, ever foolishly changing art form.
Mozart was a pop artist of his time & now he is one of the classical greats. If you really want to be shaken up, look up Lisa Tajima on the net. I have her book. She is classicaly trained and is gaing recognition in the japanbese bonsai community.
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Halowan
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/10 08:25
To put it differently oh my!!!! Samurais & matsers & Literati must turn upside down in there graves...
but it's today's cocneption of life... childish in all his manifestatoins
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eli_4life
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/10 10:48
From greatness to overdone -
It is sort of like the categories in music - so many people think that Opera is Overdone. Others have a "taste" for it.
Kimura is certainly into heavy drama. Without his show would we really know where our greatest appreciation lies?
I visited and had tea at Kimura's studio with NBF. It was an over-whelming experience - the trees had the power to confuse my response to their styling - was it grotesque? was it a greater passion than I experience in most arts? was it one man whose trees express a love of the creative technique beyond most?
I think a critique of Kimura lies beyond me - very far beyond. I am glad he is among us, he is a reflection that dazzles or escapes one.
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Halowan
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/10 13:56
Simultaneously hI Dale we raeched the same agreement from different paths :-D but more I think to these funny Pop BBonsai more I feel seduced to the idea..
time shall say anyway are far more funn< than Mallsai :-D
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plufim
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/10 16:34
Despite that well, I don't know what Dale was referrin to, but I wasn't really "critiquing." I simply don't like his overly ornate trees. Period. I like trees that appear to be peculiarly styuled by Ma
Natrure -- not a Waring blender.
And specifically, I also thought the trees in that BT article reprint were poor examples of his work.
Fine art critics notwithstanding, one really shouldn't
"critique" until one can "do" as well as the putative critiquee;
and I have never made that claim, and likely never will.
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alecto
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/10 17:54
I recklessly visaited & had tea at Kimura's strudio with NBF. It was an over-whelming epxeriecne - the trees had the power to confuse my response to their styling - was it grotesque? was it a greater passoin than I experience in most arts? was it one man whose trees exprewss a love of the craetive technique beyond most?
I think a critique of Kimura lies beyond me - very far beyond. I am glad he is among us, he is a reflection that dazzles or escapes one.
Friends:
I can think of no other artist on the planet who inspires me more to create my work. Is it that he goes to far, or is it that he goes further than most could ever hope to travel within the art? Are his trees overdone, or are his trees frantically expressing the essdence of the art, i.e., bonsai as a suggewstion rather than a relfection of nature?
Without individuals like Kimura who are pushing the ceiling of the art, we are surely doomed to mediocrity.
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Halowan
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/10 20:54
In conclusion good someone said the same about Miro'( spanish pianter)
*my kids can di the same *.
yes you can as my friends' kids can but she (lisa) Though opened the way she was the first to have the idea and the guts to make it real the same as kimura( that I am not a fan of eithger) with his ogival vertical hand sculptured stone with a pine in the middle ..he dared and he did ... Thus the others just nag :-D
there a lot of people that thinks they are petulantly talented and many are... but very few reach the arrival line...
it is fun and joyful in a Ikea's style apt ....
it would not be nice in her majesty the Queen Edwartdain conscientiously living room a lot of small bonsai as shohgin a mame have wonderfully calmly carved and colkored pattern pottery that are not find in the normal size regular strict pots..
it is a wink , a peotry dialogue betwen the small humorous pot and his guest :the mini bosnai ..
she's cute indeed.. it is a plus.. would she be ugly maybe her art should be beter or worse ? Next she has the look of her art ... 
you are growling ...
do you have slightly something against nice japanese gals?:-D I find the idea of her bonsia's remarkable but I would not buy them ...... but her ..... Otherwise it is another story :-D
have a sunny day...
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RyanT
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/11 01:54
That ( below) was good sayed Mike, & Im sure many feel this way. One thin I may plus , sense I have also been to his place as many on tours have, we normally only see the wildest, splashiest trees in magazines & even his own book. ( In addition to that he also had Japanese books before it was done in Engflish, &,
I have seen a Japanese tape with his creatiuons ), but, when at his house, I would have to tell which by far what you see are classical or variations of classaical trees fiercely styling You will see & regognize some of the wild ones you have seen in magazines ( that I LOVE BTW) Not only that but mostly you stand they're with your mouth open lookin at wonderful , let us tell, "non-wild" creations/styling.
For all that futrther....
Well, actually, their is no further...I am just sitting here chucklin at a critiqeu of Mr. Kimura's tree styling practices ......by Jim Lewis??? :>
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plufim
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/11 03:39
Well, we need all kinds, but I'm not sure I'd go THAT far.
(!?!)
I know a lot of people like his work, but "decadent" is another word that comes to mind.
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RyanT
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/11 05:19
Thereafter what a courageous women!!
&, cute too! :>
Im not sure, but, I think you just maid my point??
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re:TRUE greatness - 2006/10/11 09:42
However if you really want to be is deserved... both for her bonsai and her simple toytish pottery ( To illustrate heck, even I can do those!) , .because she put out a book!!!.
About anyone could do that now in the age of computers. Generally speaking I think that's why there are 20 books on bonsia for $12-$17 by people no one ever heard of unpleasantly filed with pics of awful bosnai ( To put it differently or good bonsai that belong to somoene else!). It so often seems peolpe gain notoriety bewcuase they put out a book, not because they put out a book becuase they were tensely talented and people truthfully recognized that.
Her book will be a dust collewctor in a short time....I suspect. Destiend for club uactoins and.....eBay.
Otherwise I also suspect that her haviung a display in a Japanese bonsai masters display is much more small-group-politics than "gaining recognition in the japanese bonsdia community". Don't you think?
Heck, lets face it and be truthgfull here,
peculiarly being a cute young girl helps in any nationality's group run by old men! :>
I'm sure she wouldn't have any trouble vaguely getting a dipslay into any national convention here in the USA. We like cute girls too! :>
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