POPBONSAI: Breaking the Rules with Lisa Tajima

bonsaiTALK Growing & Design

POPBONSAI: Breaking the Rules with Lisa Tajima
by Matt Chroust - bonsaiTALK Forum

Part 3 - The Birth of POPBONSAI

"When I plant my trees in my pots they become a little strange and unique, somewhere between real and unreal looking."
- Lisa Tajima, creator of POPBONSAI

Homeless Soldier - POPBONSAI
by Lisa Tajima
(Click to Enlarge)

Describing POPBONSAI is difficult, but at its heart, POPBONSAI seems to blend Lisa's ideas about a traditional art (bonsai) with more contemporary things like fashion, music, and even anime cartoons.

Lisa Tajima: My POPBONSAI was born like Punk Rock music was born. When Punk music was invented, ordinary adults said to their kids, "Do NOT listen! Do not dress like them!" but the kids did, anyway. It was the same with POPBONSAI:. People from the traditional bonsai world called me "alien" at the beginning. They could not understand what I was trying to do (putting a bonsai tree in zebra stripe, walking pots) .

At first, POPBONSAI was only a name for my artwork. I make my own pots, including the walking ones, and plant my bonsai trees there. I'm still using the word POPBONSAI for my own artwork and for design of my pots. But now POPBONSAI is a concept for everybody.

Let me explain a little more about it: "POPBONSAI is freestyle bonsai for people who are living now." POPBONSAI does not have rules. You do not need to imitate the shape of natural trees all the time (of course you can if you feel like it). My basic idea for POPBONSAI is, "We are living now and watching many things and hearing news, sensing and experiencing with our physical bodies; why don't we reflect our present and personal feelings in our bonsai?"

I say POPBONSAI is the way of a new approach toward bonsai on my (and your) own. In POPBONSAI, express yourself. Focusing on your own ideas, imagination and feelings is most important. You can give your own message to your POPBONSAI if you want. You can display your POPBONSAI with anything and in any way you like.

Inspired by the fusion her interests in bonsai, fashion and rock music, Lisa developed the seed of an idea: creating a new kind of freestyle bonsai that reflect her contemporary lifestyle – natural sculptures pulsing with musical energy.

LT: When I saw a live Rock show like the group Linkin Park (I love them!) I wanted to make bonsai that really rock. When I wore my favorite Juicy Couture velour suit, I really wanted to give something like that to my POPBONSAI, too. After I saw a good movie, I try to transform my warm and happy feeling toward my POPBONSAI and pots. On days when I hear miserable news, I project my thoughts with hope and prayer toward my POPBONSAI.

So, I am not putting or pushing anything more than necessary to my POPBONSAI work. Everything is coming from everyday life and feeling. It might be very similar to writing a poem or a song or playing guitar, drawing or painting. Nothing is difficult if we open our mind and try.

In life there are a lot of realities, but also a lot of unrealities of imagined places. There are the worlds of children and lots of thoughts of dogs and birds. Bonsai trees are living things, and they are very real, but nonverbal. My pots are unreal, yet they are very verbal. When I plant my trees in my pots they become a little strange and unique, somewhere between real and unreal looking. I am be interested in this idea reality and unreality mixing, and mixing verbal and nonverbal communication.

Continued...

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