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Some of Lisa's POPBONSAI creations |
bonsaiTALK: Lisa, your ideas at first may seem very non-traditional, but bonsai is usually seen as a very traditional art. Did you see a lot of resistance to your ideas? The colors, zebra stripes and walking feet must have been a shock to some. Wow!
Lisa Tajima: I think traditional bonsai is great. I really respect it and like it very much. I was very excited about traditional bonsai at the beginning, but soon I began thinking, "Why do they all look so similar? - Isn't it difficult to identify which one is whose? "
I really wanted to make my bonsai easier to recognize and believed pot could do that. I went to so many shops but there were no pots I loved. They were not uniquely shaped and not very colorful.
bT: People in the west often have misconceptions about Japan. Sometimes it's viewed as a conformist society, with uniformed schoolchildren studying for cram schools, crowded trains and cities, and few ways for individual expression. How true are those stereotypes?
LT: Yes, it is still true, and of course there are some people who choose one's own way of life... I don't feel that [cultural pressure] very much for myself, but some of my friends say they do. On the other hand, my parents always said to me, "Lisa, do whatever you want to do!" and supported me a lot. Because our family had its own business, we believed being different from others is very important and tried to be unique. But not all families in Japan are like this, I am sure!
I have been working as music journalist for more than 10 years now. I was VJ (video music host) on the Japanese music video channel, like MTV, too. It was great experience! However, after I started my POPBONSAI project, my job as music journalist is getting less and less. I need more time for POPBONSAI than before.Now, I live in Tokyo. My apartment is placed very near Harajuku and Shibuya area, These are like SoHo in New York or around Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles - very, very metropolitan and fashionable areas. I like it here very much.
bT: Did your travels help you better understand Japan and yourself? When you moved to England, what unusual items did you take with you? What did you bring back to Japan?
LT: Yes! Absolutely. When I moved to England, I took some karaoke tapes with me. I liked singing then so I sang along to the tape, holding a hairbrush in my hand everytime my host family had a home party. When I came back to Japan, I brought back an electronic toy called "Speak and Spell." That's the same one E.T the Extraterrestrial was using in the movie when he communicates to his home planet.
bT: Can you tell us about the clothing used in your movie, it seems very non-traditional!
The clothing was a particular fashion that was very popular among teenagers in Tokyo (especially at Shibuya) a few years ago. I really wanted to dress and makeup like them as a once-in-my-life experience. One day, my make-up artist friend and my photographer friend got together in my apartment. After I was ready we went to Shibuya with my POPBONSAI and did photo shoot. It was so funny!
bT: How about the golden staircase in your video that the POPBONSAI are climbing? Does this have a special meaning?
LT: My dad was on his way to heaven then, and I remembered the melody of a song called "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin, so that idea inspired the display.
bT: Recently on the bonsaiTALK forum we had a discussion about "The Rules" of bonsai, and about learning conventional ways of doing things before setting off in one's own direction. Do you have any comment on that? Do you need to "know the rules" to be an effective rule breaker?
LT: I think it depends on what you want to do with the tree and what you are expecting from bonsai-making. One may find it interesting to copy the shapes perfectly and another may find it interesting to make his own designs. As long as you can enjoy making bonsai, and can keep the tree healthy, it really doesn't matter which you prefer, I guess.
How about having two different switches in your mind? One is traditional-style and the other is freestyle. When you feel like making very traditional style bonsai, you switch your mind toward it and look at the tree. When you feel like making freestyle bonsai (like POPBONSAI), switch your mind toward it and look at the tree. In this way we can have more variety in our bonsai designs.
"Knowing the rules" is very important I think. If you know the rules you have wider range of choice for your bonsai work. And, of course, it helps you when you break the rules!
Lisa Tajima won the Encouragement Award at the 27th Gafu-ten 2001. Her website http://www.popbonsai.com has more information about her creation of POPBONSAI, including a gallery, video and links to recent publications. Ms. Tajima's book, "Pop Bonsai ~ Fun with Arranging Small Trees and Plants," was published by Kodansha International in March, 2004, and is a testament to her creativity and strength in overcoming adversity.
Content ©2004 bonsaiTALK All rights reserved.
Photos provided courtesy Lisa Tajima, used with permission.
Thanks from bonsaiTALK to Lisa Tajima and Kodansha International for their assistance.
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