Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [48]
The works of Thaweesak Srithongdee are pure pop. He paints flamboyantly cartoonish human figures woven with elements of traditional Thai handicrafts or imagery. In a similar vein, Jirapat Tasanasomboon pits traditional Thai figures in comic book–style fights or in sensual embraces with Western icons. In Hanuman is Upset!, the monkey king chews up the geometric lines of Mondrian’s famous grid-like painting.
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THAI-ED UP IN DESIGN
Thailand has a long history of handicrafts, from woven bamboo baskets used to carry tools and freshly caught fish to ornate lacquerware and celadon pottery that was used to serve the royal court. Although a great deal of the ‘traditional’ crafts are now mass-produced for tourist markets, the artistic sensibilities remain and have been channelled into a wave of modern industrial design, mainly centred in Bangkok. Many of this movement’s designers studied overseas during the boom times of the 1990s and returned to Thailand during the Asian financial crisis to infuse the country with a shot of creative energy. The result is an engaging fusion of such styles as Scandinavian minimalism with tropical materials such as rattan and water hyacinth.
There are now a number of well-known companies and creative individuals working in this new wave today. The design firm Yothaka was one of the first to pioneer the use of water hyacinth, an invasive plant that has long clogged the country’s waterways. Planet 2001 has developed some of Thailand’s most iconic haute-design rattan chairs, while Jitrin Jintaprecha’s award-winning i-Kon Revolving Lounge Chair turns water hyacinth into an artistic version of a beanbag seat. Crafactor is a leading design firm that claims such talent as Eggarat Wongcharit, Thailand’s Frank Gehry of furniture design, who creates non-linear moulded plastic pieces; and Paiwate Wangbon, who prefers contorting natural materials into curvaceous shapes.
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Kritsana Chaikitwattana works in moody paint-and-collage abstracts, including a series of self-portraits inspired by his years as a Buddhist monk. In contrast, Jaruwat Boonwaedlom explores modern realism, a genre not well populated by Thai artists, with her prism-like paintings of Bangkok street scenes.
Although lacking in commercial attention, Thai sculpture is often considered to be the strongest of the contemporary arts, not surprising considering the country’s relationship with Buddha figures. Moving into nonreligious arenas, Khien Yimsiri is the modern master creating elegant human and mythical forms out of bronze. Sakarin Krue-On is often applauded for adapting sculpture and installation. His work Phawang Si Leuang (Yellow Simple) fashioned a huge, hollow Buddha head from a mixture of clay, mud, papier-mâché and turmeric. Manop Suwanpinta similarly moulds the human anatomy into fantastic shapes that often intersect with technological features, such as hinged faces that open to reveal inanimate content. Kamin Lertchaiprasert explores the subject of spirituality and daily life in his sculptural installations, which often include a small army of papier-mâché figures. One of his most recent exhibitions, ‘Ngern Nang’ (Sitting Money), included a series of figures made of discarded paper bills from the national bank embellished with poetic instructions on life and love.
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‘Classical pleng tai deum (central-Thai music) features a dazzling array of textures and subtleties, hair-raising tempos and pastoral melodies’
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MUSIC
Throughout Thailand you’ll find a diversity of musical genres and styles, from the serene court music that accompanies classical dance-drama to the chest-thumping house music played at dance clubs.
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Traditional Music
Classical pleng tai deum (central-Thai music) features a dazzling array of textures and subtleties, hair-raising tempos and pastoral melodies. The classical orchestra