Chicago Spring '08 Bonsai Show Critique
The Bonsai Collection at the National Arboretum, and the Pacific Rim collection in Seattle Washington are the best bonsai collections and permanent exhibits in the USA. I believe the bonsai collection at the Chicago Botanic Garden is a close 3rd and may soon catch up or surpass the Pacific Rim collection. The quality of the main trees at the CBG is phenomenal, and really is the best collection made up almost entirely of masterpieces that originated with US materials. Very few trees of the CBG collection are imported. So this collection represents the American Bonsai Art at its finest. The National collection in DC has as its foundation a collection of famous trees from the Imperial Collection of Japan, gifted to the USA for the Bicentenial in 1976. So the National Collection represents some of the best of Bonsai, but especially the Japanese style.
The Chicago Botanic Garden collection is currently under the care of Ivan Waters, who is an excellent artist and caretaker for this collection. A visit to the CBG is in order if you have any interest in bonsai.
The spring bonsai show at CBG I found somewhat disappointing. Don't tell any of the MBS members, but I thought the trees brought in by the membership were mediocre at best. If it were not for the CBG trees, the show would not be worth the cost of the gasoline to get there. (and I live only 30 miles away). The MBS has a couple really good artists, like Matt Ouwinga, but they did not bring in any of their trees. There were a bunch of trees owned by one person (who shall remain nameless), this person does checkbook bonsai, and it was clear he had not hired in anyone lately to detail his trees for him, and his gardener wasn't up to the task. His junipers all looked like monuments to Hiroshima, a trunk with a mushroom cloud shaped mass of foliage on top. No movement, just smooth static blob of foliage, more geometric topiary than bonsai. Its a shame because these trees looked like the were good trees before the current owner bought them. I know I'm being a bit too harsh, as not one of my trees was up to my standards - so I am also guilty of not exhibiting - even though I am not a member of the Chicago group, I am a member of the Milwaukee group and would have been welcome if I had broguht a tree in to exhibit.
There were some good attempts by a number of novices, but all the talent of the Chicago based Midwest Bonsai Society seemed to have stayed home. One of the better trees was a maple by Jack Douthitt, but he hails from Milwaukee, so he doesn't represent the Chicago based group.
The Spring show was set up to showcase the spring blooming bonsai, it was a shame that they had so few blooming trees. There were 4 or 5 Satsuki Azaleas, 2 of which had enough age and size to have good visual impact. The CBG permanent collection was at its best, Ivan and the volunteers that help him have done a great job. A magnificent Wisteria belonging to the CBG had just finished blooming, the spent flowers gave a sense of how it was a few days earlier. (timing is everything)
To bring it back to orchids, if your local society has a show, contribute a plant or two of your best. Take the time. Don't leave it to 'the regulars' to take care of. If everyone sits out their local shows, then that 'one' and every society has one, will drag out anything and everything regardless of quality because there is a need to fill out the space. For a quality show you need everyone to participate.
My 2 cents
Leo
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