Is bonsai more about making a small shrub look like a mini version of a large tree or making a large tree look like a mini version of itself?

[treepee123]

Asking this since I always thought that it was more making an old tree look like a small version of itself, but then the most popular species for bonsai (nana and shimpaku) are just shrubs made to look like larger older trees.

 

[rockm]

Asking this since I always thought that it was more making an old tree look like a small version of itself, but then the most popular species for bonsai (nana and shimpaku) are just shrubs made to look like larger older trees.

It's both. Bonsai can start with a seedling, sapling, old collected shrub or tree. The end product of using bonsai techniques is what matters. And BTW, the object may NOT be to create an ancient or even old looking tree. There are many variants of bonsai images, from young to ancient and everywhere in between

 

[Woocash]

If you look at the Kokufu entries, for example, you'll find that very few actually look like old trees you would see anywhere. I think bonsai uses the aesthetic of features you would find in most old trees to trick the mind into seeing a familiar shape with familiar features. It's kind of a nuanced view, but by following certain 'rules' you find in nature you end up with a believable image. If you aim to make a miniature old tree you are less likely to do so than if you follow steps to create a series of characteristics that an old tree would have, in my opinion.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

As an art form, it is a representation of nature in a small form. It can be a literal representation, or more figurative. I have seen trees that look like small versions of an old member of the species, and I have seen the same tree species styled to look like something completely different. Elms that look like elms, or elms that look like oaks. Redwood trees that look like redwood trees in miniature, and redwood trees that look like a tree on a cliff face. There isn't really any single rule except for how it impacts the viewer.

 

[penumbra]

It is both. Historically it was the former, but today it has expanded into anything that completes the illusion.