Book Review: “Vision of My Soul” by Robert Steven

Vision of My Soul, 2nd Edition
By Robert Steven
Edited by Andy Rutledge
Suprindo Offset Printing, Indonesia, 2007 166pp

I’ve been spending some time with Robert Steven’s first excellent work lately. I’m not a big fan of collecting beautifully bound or first-edition books. Some people live for this, others enjoy it, and that’s fine for them. For my money, though, the only value of a book as such is the information and message conveyed therein. That’s what stands the test of time.

I’ve read other reviews of this book from the adorers (Will Heath and Rick Moquin) to those with a less idealistic view (unnamed). These were all reviews of the limited first edition with the special silver-leaf binding, and as such, a portion of their reviews were about the book itself as a work of art. The second edition is softback, and while still a handsome book, much of the distraction of the “coffee-table book” nature of the first edition has been done away with. This suits my temperament perfectly. Let’s look at the content without all the distraction.

The first section of the book deals with the artistic principles seen in so many books for aspiring artists with a couple of very helpful, if brief, additions:

• Line
• Form
• Texture
• Color
• Dimension
• Composition
• Perspective
• Anatomical balance
• Optical balance
• Objective/subjective
• Value of interest

I would wish that more effort had been spent on this portion of the book. Obviously, line, form, texture and the like have been treated ad infinitum in art student’s textbooks over the years. But I would have thought that “anatomical balance,” “objective v. subjective,” and “value of interest” should have added at least eight pages to the overall work, if not sixteen. Nevertheless they are helpful and recommended.

This book would be worth the price of purchase for the gallery section alone. Robert Steven’s trees are beautifully presented, designed with a great deal of artistic sensitivity, and all seem to present an image beyond “bonsai tree.” In each tree’s presentation, we see the image, a short description of the tree and how it uses his design principles, and a small image of the foliage of the tree, over a background which includes what appears to be a life sized representation of that foliage. I would have liked to see a layout with less white space on the page, but artistic and layout considerations vary by the author’s and editor’s preferences.

“Studio” is definitely the heart of this book, building on “Aesthetic Elements of Bonsai Art.” Of course, a fuller treatment of that subject would be in the offing in Mr. Steven’s second book, “Mission of Transformation.” I will be reviewing that book in a follow-up review. In this section, the artist shows works in progress and how they will be trained in the future. I especially appreciated his discussion of windswept as a style.

Windswept style is not well represented simply by a slanting tree with all branches growing in one direction. Rather, it should suggest that the wind is blowing;…Windswept is one of the most impressive styles in bonsai, requiring the highest level of technical skill plus a strong understanding of nature. It is very difficult to achieve a convincing windswept style bonsai without first having mastered sufficient technique.Basic bonsai styling convention alone is not enough to portray the physical character and drama of a windswept bonsai.

This kind of discussion is absolutely essential in any book discussing the art of bonsai. How else will those who are on the cusp of moving from hobbyist and copyist expand their horizons into the realm of producing art?

Robert Steven is an artist of the first order. Once one has gotten past the hype of the limited first edition, his book proves that he can be a teacher of the first order, too.