Thailand: Spiritual & Material

King Bhumihad Adulyadej (2014) by Amnat Kongwaree

The former capital of Ayutthaya was ransacked during wars and was replaced by Thon Buri for a short period, before the construction of Rattanakosin, or Bangkok, in 1782, under the command of King Rama I, the founder of the Dynasty. The art of his reign, the early Rattanakosin School, continued the tradition of royal patronage and religious orientation. The turning point in Thai history was the reign of King Rama IV. He started the country’s transformation by guiding it with his far-reaching vision. The King ascended the throne in 1851, at a time when western colonialism was invading Asia.

Untitled (2014) by Anchana Chareapapron

It brought about the Bowring Treaty between Siam and Great Britain, which in turn prompted the setting up of a Siamese embassy in Great Britain in 1857 led by Ambassador Phraya Montri Suriyawong (Chum Bunnag). It was the first time during the Rattanakosin Era that Siam opened its doors to Europe. The western influence meant the end of many traditions. King Rama IV defied the ancient belief that a portrait or a statue would shorten his subjects’ lives by having it painted by a European artist, E. Payze-Ferry. The King also commissioned his own photographic portraits. It was in this reign that a master painter, Khrua In Khong, made his mark when he used perspective techniques for the first time in traditional Thai murals. King Rama V abolished slavery in 1905 by freeing all children of slaves and prohibiting the slave trade.

Untitled (2014) by Chamnan Chongpaiboo

At around the same time there were reforms in the country’s administrative system and education. A great deal of infrastructure modelled on that found in western countries was created, e.g. the postal service and railways. European architecture, paintings and sculpture flourished. The popularity of western culture may have resulted from King Rama V’s visits to Europe in 1897 and 1906–1907, during which he went to see the Second and Fifth Venice Biennale. Collecting art became fashionable. Artists whose works were collected were mostly Italian — Gerolamo Induno, Achille Glisenti, Eduardo Gelli, etc.

Untitled (2014) by Jarunee Suwanahong

The King transformed the look of Bangkok by modelling Ratchadamnoen Avenue after Avenue des Champs-Élysées and by building the Anantasamakhom Throne Hall entirely with Carrara marble. The Throne Hall was designed by an Italian architect and painted by Italian artists Galileo Chini and Carlo Rigoli. One outstanding example of architecture that combines western and Siamese styles is the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall. The building is a western-style building, but the top is a traditional Thai palace roof. 1913 saw the founding of the College of Fine Arts, the first art school in Thailand, by King Rama VI. On 8 March, 1914, an aeroplane landed in Siam at Don Mueang Airport for the first time, after a group of aviators had been sent to France for aviation training in 1911.

Untitled (2014) by Kamol Homklin

Although King Rama VII led the celebrations of the 150th Anniversary of Rattanakosin in 1932, it was not long afterwards that absolute monarchy was brought to an end by the People’s Party. The country changed its name from Siam to Thailand. In 1933 Phra Sarot Ratchataminman (Sarot Sukhayang) and the Italian Professor Silpa Bhirasri (born Corrado Feroci) together founded the School of Fine Arts. In 1935, the School of Dance and Music was merged with the College of Fine Arts to become Silpakorn School. Phraya Anumanratchathon and Professor Silpa Bhirasri subsequently revised the school’s curriculum and upgraded the school into Silpakorn University in 1943, the Faculty of Painting and Sculpture being the first faculty.

Untitled (2014) by Phudist Ridswaeng

Professor Silpa Bhirasri organised the first National Art Exhibition in 1949 to stimulate and create greater recognition for art in Thailand. From then on, art in Thailand gradually grew. Many artists came on to the scene. Around 1978–1980 Somphon Rotbun, a lecturer and art scholar with an American MA degree started a series of art workshops. It was the start of the Thai contemporary art movement, with curators in active roles. A notable event was the Art and Environment Workshop at the Goethe Institut in 1991. Important personalities, like Professor Apinan Posayanon, an internationally renowned curator (currently the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture) and outstanding artists like Monthian Bunma, Roekrit Tirawanit and many more, attended this workshop.

Untitled (2014) by Peeraphol Sripakananon

One very welcome development was the fruit of Professor Apinan’s tireless coordination, which eventually included a Thai pavilion in the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003. Thailand has been present at the prestigious exhibition ever since. It has been a long road starting from King Rama V’s visit in 1897. The field of play is now wide open for Thai artists. Looking back over history, we see that Thai art has reached the most open period and a new sapling is ready to grow. Contemporary art has come to a crossroads. Many people doubt its viability because of the reproduction of artists’ works. Even the Venice Biennale is affected, especially in the field of video art where form and content are becoming homogenous.

Lonely (2014) by Prach Pimarnman

Video also demands too much of the audience’s time and some choose to leave in order to view other art forms. The exception are art scholars or curators of the arts sections in the media. It has become more apparent in the last 3 Venice Biennales that curators and related parties are having to manage attractions better. The Venice Biennale is one of the oldest exhibitions. It has become a venerable event, a Mecca of the art world, and other art shows have tried to copy its format and make art exhibitions all over the world so much like it. The future of the art world, as informed by curated art exhibitions, is unpredictable. On the other hand, the art world that caters for the art market — steered by art traders and galleries — is centred on art fairs that take place all over the world, including Asia.

Untitled (2014) by Prapaipan Yantaporn

This art world has been growing rapidly for more than ten years and apparently the two worlds are converging. Artists create art to communicate their concepts, which may be interesting or dull. Reproduction in art is widely accepted. Each country’s art history abounds with artists producing works under the shadow of giants like Picasso, Dali or Van Gogh. Nevertheless, these shadowed artists are locally famous in their own rights. The confines of a country afford them the opportunity for respectable standing grounds. It is no surprise, then, that many countries are full of shadows of world-famous artists. The same situation applies to contemporary artists. Many countries have their own new generation of contemporary artists who are mere shadows of world-class contemporary artists.

Hide and Seek (2014) by Pratana Jaroensukpanich

Hence the similar in appearance of art around the world even after closer inspection! There will certainly be new and different arts, but for now one can only wait. This collection, by the name Piece & Whole1, consists of hundreds of miniature paintings by different artists and may offer a refreshing perspective. One notable feature is that, while each piece is a complete narrative in itself, it can also be considered an alphabet. The viewer can choose any number of pieces to combine in any preferred arrangements, just like combining alphabets to make a word.

Untitled (2014) by Somsak Junto

Words combine to make sentences, and sentences are combined to make stories. There are stories of happiness, suffering, virtues, sadness, love, evil and jealousy. There are the light and dark sides of human nature, Satan, God, flowers that sing happy songs in the morning, a pink moon in a fragrant night, an ocean of unfathomable pain, a beautiful goddess who commits suicide over love, a great King who longs for a monk’s life, a formerly flat world made round and wondrous by ordinary tales. Great stories come from combinations of alphabets.