Page 39 - BSAM 2016 Q3

Six shapes or forms have been described as Afri- can styles. ey vary considerably as far as individual characteristics are concerned and actually only de- scribe the typical growth habit of some African trees.
e Pierneef style is possibly the only exception as this bonsai style re ects the way the artist, JH Pierneef painted and sketched trees, especially the camel thorn, Acacia erioloba, in various locations in Africa.
Di erent tree species in other parts of the world nat- urally grow into similar shapes and forms as some Af- rican trees. ese trees can certainly not be described as "African" just because they look similar.
A bonsai that is trained to represent a form or shape that commonly occurs in Africa can have enough dis- tinctive characteristics to be classi ed into the African style, but a tree with a at top does not necessarily represent the African style.
Characteristics of the African Style
With other art forms i.e. painting, architecture, etc. it is o en di cult to describe a speci c style. Most of the time we rely on instinctive pattern recognition to identify the speci c style of the painting or building.
Salvador Dali, the surrealist painter, had a very spe- ci c style of painting that made his work unique and instantly recognizable, but still very di cult to de- scribe. Words like funky, weird, way-out, dream like, fantastic, brilliant and more, will not bring a Dali im- age to mind. Once we have seen a couple of his paint- ings, we will be able to identify other paintings as his work by instinctive pattern recognition.
It is even easier to identify everyday objects by pat- tern recognition. Once we have seen an apple, you will just know that the object in front of you is an apple, not an orange, although it might be laborious to describe their characteristics in words.
A description of the African Style poses similar challenges, but there are a number of elements that collectively make this style recognizable.
Tree forms and other notable characteristics
e Acacia's are probably the most representative tree shape in Africa. eir natural growth habit as well as Africa's inherent climatic conditions produced some typical forms. ey o en grow into a broom form with single or multiple trunks. e trunks are slender with slight movement.
Primary, secondary and tertiary branches grow pre- dominantly upwards and outwards. e canopies are very informal with a rounded, umbrella or even at silhouette. It is not unusual for the canopy of a tree to be wider than the total height of the tree. is growth habit provides shade to keep the roots cool during the very hot summer months. e wider canopy will also maximize the tree's ability to collect dew during the night or early morning mist.
ey lack the pyramidal or scalene triangle form seen in cold climate or high altitude trees. e canopies have an open, rather informal, loosely arranged struc- ture. Branching and rami cation only start at half the tree's height and not at the traditional one third or one quarter mark. e total foliage mass o en comprises
Top row, left; Flat top form in Yangzhou style.
Top row, right; Umbrella form tree at an old temple in China.
Second row, left; Brazilian Rain Tree by Erik Wigert, USA - African style.
Second row, right; Tree with Umbrella shaped foliage pads at an exhibition in China.
no more than a third of the total height of the tree. Most trunks have a lack of taper with a width to height ratio greater than 12:1 or even as much as 20:1.
J H Pierneef (1886- 1957) was a well-known South African artist. He painted and sketched many typi- cal African landscapes and trees and it is interesting to note how he depicted the slender trunks, branch height, canopy shape and canopy size in relation to tree height. ese relationships and ratios appear con- sistently in his work. He also portrayed the trees with a typical open, well re ned and clearly visible branch structure.
Third row; The surrealistic style of Salvador Dali is so unique that we identify his work by “instinctive pattern recognition.”
Bottom row; JH Pierneef also had such a unique style that we recognise his work by “instinctive pattern recognition.”
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