Page 28 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2018Q1

Figure 4
Picea Abies “Pumila”/Norway
Spruce
In training since 2002.

Facing page;
Figure 5 and 6
Conocarpus erectus/
Buttonwood
In training since 1975

“There’s an the sacred with gratitude and openness, with curiosity In formally commenting upon In Training, Ryan
and awe. He intended a quiet, relaxing experience. remarked, “There’s an intimacy to bonsai that is largely
intimacy to He is shown in Figure 2, photographing in the invisible. It exists in those sacred moments between
bonsai that is museum. He describes waiting for the light to be artist and tree in partnership. Stephen’s photographs
diffuse so that he might focus more on the trees shed a quiet, respectful light on these wonderful
largely invisible. themselves rather than their interplay with light and moments.” The title, In Training, is suggestive of the
shadow. Figure 3 epitomizes Stephen’s approach. It interactive process between artist and biology that
It exists in those depicts much of a Norway Spruce that has been in may result in a masterpiece. The captions for each
training since 2002. It is noteworthy that Stephen does photograph simply note the species and the years in
sacred moments not depict the tree and its container in their entirety. training. That practice is being followed in the present
between artist The tree is in no way posed. It is photographed in situ article. Figure 4 presents another image of the same
against the mottled wall where it is displayed. The wall Norway Spruce depicted in Figure 3. While Figure
and tree in itself may also become an object of meditation and 3 may draw attention to a state, the wiring visible in
imaginative inquiry for the viewer. For me, it evoked Figure 4 draws the viewer to the creative interaction
partnership. images of the fog-shrouded mountains of Huangshan, between the artist and the growth habit of the tree. The
China. It might just as easily evoke ink painting or dropped needles also have something interesting to
Stephen’s the natural soiling of a wall exposed to the elements. say. Showing dramatically different views of particular
photographs The point is that the connotative quality of the images trees demonstrates how each view connotes different
invites an interpretive dialog. When first viewing nuances of meaning. This occurs frequently within the
shed a quiet, In Training, I found myself stuck on this image. I book with very interesting results.
wasn’t caught up in paging through the work to see The book contains a section, following the pho-
respectful what else was there as would be my usual practice. tographs, that presents drawn sketches and a brief
This single image was quite enough to occupy my but highly apt commentary on each of the trees. In
light on these attention fully, in a way that was filled with wonder Training contains an eloquently and elegantly written

wonderful much more than with analysis. This, I might add, afterword by Michael Hagedorn that is an important
is not a typical experience for a neuroscientist who document in the bonsai literature in and of itself.
moments.” analyzes brain images for a living. My mind seemed Interestingly, I found myself lingering over and
to be asking “what could I absorb from this image? returning to Michael’s words in much the same way
Ryan Neal what resonances are arising?” rather than “what could that I have lingered over and returned to Stephen’s
I learn from it?” The experience was much more images. There is a wonderful synergy between the two.
emotive than cognitive. I don’t think that this is idio- The afterword does not simply follow the images, it
syncratic. It is very much akin to the experience of magnifies them.
Ryan Neil who, in conversation, described a kind of So, we have a brilliant photographer—not a
contemplative intensity he brought to Stephen’s work, bonsai artist, but definitely an artist whose spirit has
an intensity that allowed the spirit of the tree to emerge. been deeply touched by bonsai—and a unique and

26 | BCI | January/February/March 2018