a second opinion - zen in art

[tantric]

i'm trying to learn bonsai. i have a BA in japanese and asian lit, focus in classical japanese poetry, and some gradschool in ecology. i've been a zen buddhist for 20yrs and i've adopted classical japanese aesthetics as my own. i started a thread on a bonsai forum asking about non-traditional bonsai, in particular my interest in creating a roots-on-rock:

showing a tree growing on a broken brick, showing nature's power over human constructs. wow - massive threadcrapping, personal insults, over the top stuff. i asked a question, which is zen, the pot on the left, from ebay, or the one on the right, from home despot+several years of use:

pots

i thought the answer was obvious - and it was.

Dude, for a Buddhist, you are pretty aggressive and confrontational. Not to mention pretty clueless about bonsai. We don't care if you're using crappy dirty pots from Home Depot. We REALLY don't. FWIW, dirt and algae accumulated from neglect is not wabi sabi. Patina accumulated on an old pot that is well cared for and used--IS. Until you know the difference and how they are achieved in bonsai, (not to mention the difference between a tokoname production pot and a higher quality one-off from a skilled potter who doesn't "ape" old styles as much as keeps making what works visually) your "explanations" for us are kind of tin-eared and ego-centric. What's Buddhism have to say about pride and self-regard?

And yeah, you CAN buy rustic simplicity, economy, modesty, sincerity and authenticity on ebay. You just have to know who to contact and what to look for, not to mention have a stack of cash--which most of us don't. Bonsai is "zen," but if you stick around, you will find that it's also a living breathing BUSINESS in Japan and elsewhere. What you think is sacred and sacrosanct, is pretty much commercial in Japanese (and western) bonsai circles.

okay, i *know* i'm an asshole, that's not in question. but my favorite zen artist is Marcel Duchamp.

this is my stance:

it seems obvious to me that any art form based on a zen aesthetic cannot simply imitate the past. in doing so the principles of wabi-sabi are lost. what was simple, base and without pretense in Heian japan isn't so in the modern world. beyond which, 脱俗 - datsu=remove, escape, be rid of + zoku=vulgar, customary, worldly and mundane, cannot be accomplished by following custom. that doesn't mean abandoning custom, just not being bound by it. thus after i've learned the basic techniques, i intend to work from my heart. i find wabi-sabi in the world around me, living, breathing zen, not Zen(TM). i know i won't win any awards, nor will my advanced projects make money, which is fine as my art isn't for sale. i might give it away, but the point isn't profit, it's personal expression. i want to explore the art of Hitomaro, Dōgen Zenji, Noguchi Isamu and Marcel Duchamp.

okay, opinions, am i nuts?