Hi my friends,
I need to express my thoughts and motivations regarding the relatively new "Garden Style" of aquascaping. As you all know, it's a style that we are trying to help popularize and celebrate with the Garden Style Aquascaping Contest. It's been called by other names, "Dutch-inspired", "fruit stand", "farm tank", etc.
Unfortunately, not everyone seems happy that a new aquascaping style is evolving and making its way through the aquascaping community. Criticisms lodged against it are that it's only for lazy people that don't want to devote the time needed to create a Dutch aquascape. Or, it's nothing more than collectoris run amuck. Among other comments that are too easy to lob into social media without much thought or care. To me, this is a shame.
Let me draw your attention to some history in the art world. Many of you would recognize these paintings:
They are two famous painting from some pretty famous painters, Van Gogh and Monet. Today, known as Impressionist and Post Impressionist painters.
Did you now that they couldn't get their initial works into mainstream galleries when they started painting this way? You see, realism was the style of the day and this "new" style was very different.
I love how this is described by this website on the Impressionist movement:
"Confronted with numerous refusals by art gallery representatives and by cutting remarks in the press and from the public about the group’s works during its first exhibition “Non-admitted works,” in the 1860s, the Impressionists decided to create their own exhibitions, the first of which was organized with the help of the photographer Nadar. Despite this initiative, the group could not claim success. The public had a hard time accepting this new painting style that was so far from classical references. Disconcerted, the public felt that the Impressionist paintings were vulgar and shapeless rough sketches and thus took to making fun of the movement and its works."
Sound familiar with what is being said today?
In fact, the name Impressionism was coined by a harsh critic of the movement as a way to put it down. "It was Louis Leroy, an art critic, who would use the word “impression” found in Monet’s painting to give a pejorative nomenclature to the group. He considered their work to be incomplete, a simple impression far from reality. It is widely accepted that the group then jumped at the occasion to use this name, Impressionists, following Leroy’s virulent critiques."
I see some of what happened in the 1850s with what seems to be happening today in our tiny aquascaping community. By no means to I imply comparing garden style aquascapers to Van Gogh or Monet (but one never knows. Let's see in 100 years). But few would say this aquascape below is not art:
My point is, the Garden Style aquascape is new and doesn't follow the rules associated with other older styles. So what? It has its own rules. It is not haphazard placement of plants. It takes great skill to grow the variety of plants. And, yes, it has color. Again, so what?
It has every right to exist and be celebrated for the beauty it inspires in the viewer just like any other style. Let's not devolve into name calling and putting down new styles of artistic expression simply because it isn't your preferred version. We are better than that. Inclusiveness is what makes the aquascaping community special.
Let's celebrate each style as special for what it brings to our lives and let's encourage participation in each.
I need to express my thoughts and motivations regarding the relatively new "Garden Style" of aquascaping. As you all know, it's a style that we are trying to help popularize and celebrate with the Garden Style Aquascaping Contest. It's been called by other names, "Dutch-inspired", "fruit stand", "farm tank", etc.
Unfortunately, not everyone seems happy that a new aquascaping style is evolving and making its way through the aquascaping community. Criticisms lodged against it are that it's only for lazy people that don't want to devote the time needed to create a Dutch aquascape. Or, it's nothing more than collectoris run amuck. Among other comments that are too easy to lob into social media without much thought or care. To me, this is a shame.
Let me draw your attention to some history in the art world. Many of you would recognize these paintings:
They are two famous painting from some pretty famous painters, Van Gogh and Monet. Today, known as Impressionist and Post Impressionist painters.
Did you now that they couldn't get their initial works into mainstream galleries when they started painting this way? You see, realism was the style of the day and this "new" style was very different.
I love how this is described by this website on the Impressionist movement:
"Confronted with numerous refusals by art gallery representatives and by cutting remarks in the press and from the public about the group’s works during its first exhibition “Non-admitted works,” in the 1860s, the Impressionists decided to create their own exhibitions, the first of which was organized with the help of the photographer Nadar. Despite this initiative, the group could not claim success. The public had a hard time accepting this new painting style that was so far from classical references. Disconcerted, the public felt that the Impressionist paintings were vulgar and shapeless rough sketches and thus took to making fun of the movement and its works."
Sound familiar with what is being said today?
In fact, the name Impressionism was coined by a harsh critic of the movement as a way to put it down. "It was Louis Leroy, an art critic, who would use the word “impression” found in Monet’s painting to give a pejorative nomenclature to the group. He considered their work to be incomplete, a simple impression far from reality. It is widely accepted that the group then jumped at the occasion to use this name, Impressionists, following Leroy’s virulent critiques."
I see some of what happened in the 1850s with what seems to be happening today in our tiny aquascaping community. By no means to I imply comparing garden style aquascapers to Van Gogh or Monet (but one never knows. Let's see in 100 years). But few would say this aquascape below is not art:
My point is, the Garden Style aquascape is new and doesn't follow the rules associated with other older styles. So what? It has its own rules. It is not haphazard placement of plants. It takes great skill to grow the variety of plants. And, yes, it has color. Again, so what?
It has every right to exist and be celebrated for the beauty it inspires in the viewer just like any other style. Let's not devolve into name calling and putting down new styles of artistic expression simply because it isn't your preferred version. We are better than that. Inclusiveness is what makes the aquascaping community special.
Let's celebrate each style as special for what it brings to our lives and let's encourage participation in each.
Last edited:
