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I am just starting to learn about formal display of bonsai. Let me share some things I’ve learned.

My display at the 2022 PBA Festival

I should probably start by qualifying two parts of the opening sentence.

  1. In truth I’ve known SOME about formal display for years, but I’ve never really attempted to put it into practice until now. There’s a big difference between understanding some ideas conceptually and applying them effectively.
  2. Experienced bonsai folks might question my use of the term “formal” relative to the example I shared above, but in this context “formal” is just meant to refer to a three or more part display in a tokanoma setting. I know the choices I made are neither formal nor traditional.

Getting into displaying bonsai takes some effort. It requires a variety of stands and accents, not to mention bonsai that are ready to show. I am starting to accumulate a few items that move me in the right direction, but the challenge of display is having just the right combination of items to arrange together. Having the right stand for an individual tree is challenge enough without compounding the challenge with additional elements.

This is no doubt why one local study group installs formal displays in a collaborative, all-in-this-together method where everyone in the group brings bonsai, accents, stands, stones, figures, scrolls and so much more, and then they mix and match items until they assemble several nice displays. When you are just working with what you’ve got as an individual, there will be many more limitations.

An attempted combination that was not used.

To prepare for the display I pulled out various pieces at home to try to find a good combination. I tried several combinations, like the one above, to figure out what I felt good about showing together. I think my first hang up (pun?) was feeling like I had to have an element hanging on the wall. I am not really trying to align with a Japanese style (I’m not Japanese and have limited understanding of the culture) so rather than traditional scrolls I was playing with artworks that could stand in that role. Examples like the one above just seemed like a random mix. I was interested in having the elements relate to one another thematically and visually. This is the mindset that brought me to the display shown at top with stone blocks serving as the stand.

During installation I was sincerely grateful to get a critique from Alex Voorhies who has far more experience putting together such displays. Here are some key take aways.

  • The display is redundant. The three-dimensional elements (stone blocks and accent) each repeat something in the painting.
  • Mine is a winter display (for a summer show, oops!). The mood and subject of the painting is dark, morbid, and decaying, and these winter themes are repeated in the display redundantly as noted above.
  • The arrangement and the artwork are both too busy. Traditional Japanese displays use much more negative space, and scrolls are subtle and simple.

Alex was kind enough to play around with using my tree in a more traditional display. We tried some different stands and accents, and combining the boxwood with other bonsai rather than using a wall hanging. The process was very informative, but I decided to present my display as planned rather than switch it up. I attempted to spread the elements out to give a bit more space, but at one point felt everything was too separated and moved it closer again. I guess I was held up by my own aesthetic sensibilities, and I was also feeling like the density of the painting didn’t sit well with the openness of greater negative space.

In the end, I felt most comfortable displaying this arrangement that was of my own making rather than presenting something with borrowed elements. This way it felt like my own, even with its faults. I learned a lot from the experience and hope to do better next time.

It also didn’t hurt that more than one person asked if my display was an ode to the late, great Nick Lenz. I took this as a high compliment!

Thanks to all who provided feedback! I look forward to presenting a different display next year.