back
6 comments
The bonsai is beautiful, I like this guy and the stuff he makes is cool.

It's quintessentially Brooklyn. It's a thing you can buy in a store that can join a pantheon of conspicuously bourgeoise stuff you own and do, like read about places to visit, drinking and music events to attend and things you can purchase at Atlas Obscura.

Think about what your grandmother decorates her house with. It's pictures of her late husband, her parents, her children and grand children. These aren't things that she bought for more than the frames. It's a house full of heirlooms, each with a special story. Why do I have so many Olly Moss art prints and maybe one dim photograph of my parents? What stories do my things have, besides the ones native-advertised on blogs and Facebook videos about their manufacture?

I think the thing that makes the craft art taste such utter bullshit is that it's really about buying expensive shit. Yada yada, the economy and buying stuff and all is good because it's local and whatever. I'm speaking from a critical point of view. The average yuppie shopper/blog reader/amateur interior decorator/amateur art enthusiast isn't looking for something that looks good, let alone something emotionally moving or timeless or whatever. He just wants something expensive and decorative, because I guess it is recognizable in a shallow pop culture way. You know, like Ralph Lauren (fashion, another utterly bullshit thing).

The Brooklyn aesthetic is rich in money but bankrupt in every other sense. The blog-native advertisement-craftmaker complex has convinced a whole lot of people that they're engaging with something that isn't really just a bunch of overpriced meaningless junk. People with lots of money who work in fashion startups and have young kids and think they're enriching the world by buying shit, when they're really robbing the world of meaning. And I'm not saying you should be ascetic—your grandmother isn't. Just take a step back when you're reading something on the Internet that's about a guy making stuff that he sells, and think about whether you're really reading something meaningful to you.

I enjoyed reading and entertaining your point of view. But sometimes a plant is just a nice looking plant.
Personally I never really liked bonsai as it reminds me of a sort of disability. Tbh, I would be much more impressed with a bonsai at least the size of a man. Not that I'd ever own one. I prefer plants au natural, especially flowering or the edible type.

This is just another perfect example of making oneself happy using ones hands, similar to many things the japanese are known for. My favorite example personally is Scott A. Roush, a true artist: http://www.bigrockforge.com/

Id say the knives are more pretentious than bonsai. I see no reason to buy a forged blade for a grand when a milled knife for 50 bucks will work just as good if not better.
The difference, which seems to have went over your head, is that it was done using the personal attention of someones handywork. Anybody can make a knife, just as anybody can create bonsai trees. The point is it was done by hand and was not manufactured. Just as the first poster talked about aesthetics. Similar to an original painting, or is it just a print?
Bonsai are similar though. We are talking about years of careful pruning and restriction. Most bonsais aren't sold before at least 3-5 years. That's a lot of work for $50-100.