What does "Movement" Mean in Context of Bonsai?

[hitsware]

I have seen the term ' movement ' used
in terms of one of the attributes of a Bonsai
in several posts here.
Would someone elaborate on the meaning
of ' movement ' in the context of Bonsai ?

Best of all with illustrated examples
Thank You .........

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

I am babysitting at the moment but later on I will post examples beyond whatever anyone else says now..... V

[manofthetrees]

howdy,
"movement "refers to the direction of the tree's trunkline... staight, curved slanted cascadeing ex... which directly relates to the trees "style"
upright , windswept, cascade, twin trunk ex...
check out the link if i did it right if not just search it its a perfect explanation

http://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basics_StylingForms.htm

[Gnome]

hitsware,

As manofthetrees points out, movement is the alternating direction that the trunk-line of a bonsai takes. Left to right, front to back. But not all bonsai need exhibit the same amount of movement. For instance a formal upright has no movement whatsoever, while most other styles would, broom style being the obvious exception.

Generally branches emerge from the outside of the curves that are created by movement. A branch that grows from the inside of a bend is called a pocket branch and is often avoided, or pruned away.

I look forward to reading Victrinia's comments, I'm sure she will be much more eloquent than I.

Norm

[bonsaiboy]

Movement refers to the shape and style of the tree, from what I gather. But like most words, its meaning can differ from user to user. It may also refer to the curvature properties of the tree. Some trees will have jerky, hard movement (like those trained using clip-and-grow), and others have smooth, organic movement (like those that have been wired). If you want to think about it mathematically, it's like the geometric properties of the tree.

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Ok... movement is everything that has been described. But the role of movement in bonsai is a little more complex than it's simple definition.

All bonsai should be comprised of elements which give it character and visual interest. We have the various "styles" of bonsai which have been developed and defined over time as artists tried to figure out what to make of what they found, or they got more artistic - even abstract - in their visions.

The elements all play a part in bringing together the image the artist is trying to convey. Things like age and masculine/feminine attributes are defined by these elements. While not an exclusive list they include movement, the presence or lack thereof of deadwood, bark texture, foliage density and placement, the presence of basal flare and rootage, trunk thickness, ramification of branches etc. (We won't even get into the critical importance of marrying the tree to the right pot at the moment since that's not the question.)

Bonsai starts from the ground up quite literally... without the presence of rootage and basal flare you don't have anything to "anchor" the tree visually to the pot. The movement of the trunk as you progress up the tree will lead the eye on a visual journey of discovery and be that which sets the stage for much of the work that will come as you develop the finer points of your trees. Movement should not only exist in the trunk but also in the sub-trunks and in the branches. Because well planned movement also includes the branches, foliage will often end up being the feature which balances out the structural movement of the tree. Movement in branches should never contradict the movement in the trunk.





This first tree is an American Larch by Nick Lenz. The movement in this tree is strongly right, then does a strong left movement. In this tree the movement put into the branches and foliage creates an image of fantasic elegance. But it is the deadwood, jin, and bark texture which gives it the sense of venerable age and dignity. This tree is collected material, so it does not have what one would call classical nebari, but the base is sufficent with the other elements to negate that one lack. With collected material it is not unusual to lack traditional rootage.





This tree is a Hemlock at the Pacific Rim. As a twin trunk (it is not a mother/daughter since the second trunk is equal to the size of the main trunk) with gentle movement and relatively uniform taper the tree would be rightly described as a mature feminine form.




This Ponderosa pine by Dan Robinson is a similar form to the first, but it's thick muscely trunk, and strong deadwood give this tree a masculine aesthetic.





This is a Chinese Hackberry by Ben Oki. The trunk itself has very little movement... and the sub-trunks and ramification reflect that restrained and venerable image. It's a marvelously subtle work which I am exceedingly fond of. The heavy rootage, hollow, and the strenght of the sub-trunks mark it as masculine.




This is a Bald Cypress by Guy Guidry. It personifies masculine power in it's lack of movement, and it's shear proportions. Again, the lack of movement is echoed into the branches. This thing is as sublte as a mack truck, terribly impressive.


I actually have a ton of other examples... so let me know if you'd like to see more. But I hope this has helped you have a better understanding of the relationship movement plays to the aesthetic of the tree's character.

Kindest regards,

Victrinia

[bonsaiboy]

Okay, now I'm a tad confused. I know I've been bonsaiing for about four or so years now, but I guess I'd still be in the newbie category...

Anywhozers, my question is this: Why do formal uprights have no movement? As much as I hate mentioning math, when dealing with tensors and vectors, they are assigned both direction and magnitude, which seems to correspond to what you call 'movement' if they were representative of the tree's trunk. In other words, it seems as though it shouldn't matter which way the trunk goes; the tree should still exhibit movement in the direction of trunk. Unless movement is the tree trunk moving out of the 'perpendicular line' with respect to the pot.

You guys have got me hooked. It's kind of like defining the word 'the'; it seems like one knows what it means until one thinks about it and they realize they haven't a clue.

[TomM]

I think that in the most basic terms the traditional formal upright style shows no movement in the trunk line - no left or right, front or back curvature. Of course it 'moves' upward with dramatic taper from the base to the apex. All branches radiate outward from the straight trunk, first branch left (or right), then the opposite one, then a back branch, repeating the pattern working upwards to the top. Good example here is the bald cypress.

Nice explanations Vic.

[JTred]

Can I just throw in my vote for this thread to be moved, once finished, to the learning forum? It has been very informative for me and I'd hate to see it eventually sink to the 3rd or 4th page.

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

From a mathetmatical sense I'm sure it is in fact movement as Tom responded... from a bonsai context, to have movement would disqualify it from the style.

There is indeed a lot of math in bonsai... the "rule" of thirds being a very useful one infact... However I would suggest that even more important is movement and visual mass. Otherwise bonsai would be formulaic rather than inspired.

There is a lot of gender assigning that happens in bonsai... a really well designed bonsai (right down to it's pot) will tell you not only its gender, but also it's age, and the story of it's life.

I have to run... let me know if that helps or not.

With respect,

V

[bonsaiboy]

Hmmmmm.... So in other words, movement is the trunk moving out of the line perpendicular to the pot. Or, perhaps it refers to the oscillation/fluctuation of the trunk? Or is it just another one of those words that can change from user to user? The way I see it, there is a lot of movement in the bald cypress, the way the trunk curves and tapers upward. But maybe, just like any art form, there is no 'solid' use of a word.

[froggy]

the way i understand it, trunk movement would be any divergence from a straight line, no matter which way it is tilted.

But I see what you mean with the bald cypress, the texture does seem to create movement...

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Hmmmmm.... So in other words, movement is the trunk moving out of the line perpendicular to the pot. Or is it just another one of those words that can change from user to user? The way I see it, there is a lot of movement in the bald cypress, the way the trunk curves and tapers upward. But maybe, just like any art form, there is no 'solid' use of a word.

Or, perhaps it refers to the oscillation/fluctuation of the trunk?

Yes... it is the trunk moving out of the center line of the trunk perpendicular to the pot in it's strictest sense. There is no movement in that trunk. It's not a word that changes from artist to artist.... it either moves in some direction other than upwards or it doesn't.

Movement is just one aspect of that which gives character to a tree. Taper is a distinctly different aspect of character. You are interchanging taper and movement as being the same thing when they are not.

Make sense?

V

[manofthetrees]

movement has a very solid meaning in bonsai it is the basis of the traditional Bonsai styles... as with the bald cypress if you were to draw the trunk devoid of branches and detail you would have 2 points from the center of the trunk base to the trunk tip creating a straight line.
now the ponderosa pine has alot of movement with many points and hard(acute) angles along the trunkline
and the hemlock has gentle movement, still alot of points along the trunkline but the angles are much softer (obtuse) angles. holpfully this will help out

[bonsaiboy]

Yes, it most certainly does. So in summary, movement is the presence of changes in the direction/ange of the trunk and/or an angular shift in the trunk moving it out of that perpendicular line.