Saturday, May 28, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Mutation
Quotations from Joseph Brodsky:
Poetry is the only insurance against the vulgarity of the human heart. Therefore it should be available to everyone in this country, and at a low cost.
I who write these lines will cease to be; so will you who read them. But the language in which they are written and in which you read them will remain not merely because language is more lasting than man, but because it is more capable of mutation.
Poetry is the only insurance against the vulgarity of the human heart. Therefore it should be available to everyone in this country, and at a low cost.
I who write these lines will cease to be; so will you who read them. But the language in which they are written and in which you read them will remain not merely because language is more lasting than man, but because it is more capable of mutation.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Bonsai
This is an email from my brother Don in St. Louis.
During our recent trip to Portland we visited the Chinese Garden. One of the exhibits was this mature bonsai tree.
At the suggestion of our guide I took an image at ground level.
This looks very much like a mossy Oregon hiking trail surrounded by lichen covered rocks and trees.
Bonsai is a Japanese word for planting in a tray. The purposes of the style are for "contemplation" for the viewer and the "pleasant exercises of effort and ingenuity" for the grower. Bonsai techniques include pruning,root reduction, potting, defoliation,and grafting to produce small trees that mimic the shape and appearance of a full size tree.
Bonsai is a Japanese word for planting in a tray. The purposes of the style are for "contemplation" for the viewer and the "pleasant exercises of effort and ingenuity" for the grower. Bonsai techniques include pruning,root reduction, potting, defoliation,and grafting to produce small trees that mimic the shape and appearance of a full size tree.
Addendum from Wikipedia:
Penjing (Chinese: 盆景; pinyin: pén jǐng; literally "tray scenery"), also known as penzai (Chinese: 盆栽; pinyin: pén zāi; literally "tray plant"), tray landscape, potted scenery, potted landscape, and miniature trees and rockery is the ancient Chinese art of growing trees and plants, kept small by skilled pruning and formed to create an aesthetic shape and the complex illusion of age. Penjing generally fall into one of three categories classified by subject matter: Tree Penjing, Landscape Penjing, and Water and Land Penjing. Japan's bonsai tradition (bonsai being the Japanese pronunciation of penzai) is derived from penjing.
Generally speaking, the primary visual differences between the two forms is that bonsai traditionally tend to be more simplified in shape (more "refined" in appearance) with larger-in-proportion trunks and planted in containers whose lines are basic with muted, earth-tone colors. In contrast, penjing tend to be designed in a wider range of shapes (more "wild-looking") and can be planted in brighter colored and more creatively-shaped pots. Distinctions between the two forms have been blurred by some practitioners of these arts outside of Asia as the enthusiasts explore the local potentials of both plant and pot materials with less strict adherence to traditional styling and display guidelines.
Generally speaking, the primary visual differences between the two forms is that bonsai traditionally tend to be more simplified in shape (more "refined" in appearance) with larger-in-proportion trunks and planted in containers whose lines are basic with muted, earth-tone colors. In contrast, penjing tend to be designed in a wider range of shapes (more "wild-looking") and can be planted in brighter colored and more creatively-shaped pots. Distinctions between the two forms have been blurred by some practitioners of these arts outside of Asia as the enthusiasts explore the local potentials of both plant and pot materials with less strict adherence to traditional styling and display guidelines.
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