Wednesday, January 12, 2011

GreenBkk Scoop | Home, sweet home

Home, sweet home

BANGKOK TAKES CENTRE STAGE IN A NEW ART CHARITY EXHIBITION THAT HIGHLIGHTS EVERYTHING WE LOVE ABOUT THE CITY

Thaitanium's latest hit, Mahanakorn, has many people rapping along to the words: "I represent my city, I'm proud of my city, I put it down for my city." It's followed by a chorus with Da Endorphine proclaiming: "Announce to the world ... oooh ... this is Bangkok City."

‘Life along the Chao Phraya River’, by Preecha Thaothong.

Just as Jay-Z's Empire State of Mind pays tribute to New York, this upbeat song rouses a "we love Krung Thep" spirit. While the hip hop band salutes the city with a catchy anthem, Louis Vuitton Thailand is celebrating the beauty of Bangkok with an art exhibition at Gaysorn shopping centre from Friday until the end of the month.

Titled "The Journey Through the City of Angels", the exhibition showcases paintings by nine of the Kingdom's eminent artists: Chai Ratchawat, Preecha Thaothong, Pishnu Supanimit, Thavorn Ko-Udomvit, Krirkbura Yomnage, Teerawat Ngarmchuachit, Netikorn Chinyo, Jintana Piamsiri and Pongsiri Kiddee.

Portraying Bangkok's historical landmarks, these 18 one-of-a-kind paintings will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to the Chaipattana Foundation.

Writer, critic and artist Pishnu Supanimit said the exhibition will inspire Thais to take a fresh look at Bangkok and rekindle their love for this great metropolis.

"I often hear Bangkokians complaining about their hometown, about the traffic and so on. Perhaps living here for such a long time, they overlook its beauty and value," he said. "But if they had the opportunity, I bet that they wouldn't move anywhere else because Bangkok is still home, sweet home."

A native of Samut Songkhram, Pishnu has lived in the capital for so long that he counts himself a Bangkokian. Wherever he lives, it's always along a waterway and his present house is near a khlong. That attachment to water led him to paint the Chao Phraya River and Rama VIII Bridge for the charity project.

Among Thailand’s top artists: (from left) Krirkbura Yomnage, Chai Ratchawat, Pishnu Supanimit, Preecha Thaothong and Thavorn Ko-Udomvit.

The first piece offers a wide view of the Chao Phraya River from a high angle. He put a rainbow in the painting as a symbol of goodness and happiness.

The impressive second painting presents a reflection of the lights of the bridge on the Chao Phraya, forming the red, white and blue stripes of the Thai national flag. Dancing light across the water represents the energy and vitality of a city that never sleeps.

''I may be the first person to portray the Rama VIII bridge in a watercolour painting. After this project, I might do paintings of other beautiful bridges in Bangkok,'' said the artist, who's also an instructor at Silpakorn University.

Prof Preecha Thaothong, who teaches at the same university, captured on canvas Wat Benchamabophit, or the Marble Temple. His sepia painting Life Along the Chao Phraya River takes you back in time to King Rama V era when Thais lived on houseboats along the majestic river.

The national artist is acclaimed for his depictions of the play of light and shadow on Buddhist temple architecture, and he chose to paint Wat Benchamabophit because it was built during the reign of Rama V, a great monarch whom he highly venerates.

''The Wat Benchamabophit painting carries my trademark while people will say that Life Along the Chao Phraya River, which is like an illustration, is not my style,'' he said.

‘Ratchadamnoen’ by Krirkbura Yomnage.

''But it isn't a matter of style, it's about spirit and how people feel when they look at the paintings. Also, it's not about a simple or complicated painting. Both have their own value, just like music played solo by a flute or a symphony orchestra can be equally melodious.''

He's a true Bangkokian but jokes that people often mistake him for a southerner.

''This charity project allows me to reflect my feelings for the city, but I would love to have done bigger paintings to fully show my appreciation,'' he said.

Celebrated illustrator Krirkbura Yomnage is very happy about his longest work of art, Ratchadamnoen, which took two weeks to create. The watercolour painting depicts, from a high vantage point at the Queen's Gallery, a panoramic view of the historic avenue and landmarks including Wat Ratchanatda and its Loha Prasat (The Metal Castle), Mahakan Fortress and Phu Khao Thong (The Golden Mount).

''It's a painting that reminds me of happy times, when my father took me to see the resplendent lights along Ratchadamnoen Avenue during the celebrations of His Majesty the King's birthday,'' he said. ''My father is an architect; he inspired me to love architecture and I like to express that in my works.''

The remarkable European-style architecture of the Phaya Thai Palace, near where he was born and raised, inspired him to paint the second piece. Before working on the painting, he walked around the palace again and again to find an angle and to appreciate more and more the building's structure and design.

‘Rama VIII Bridge’ by Pishnu Supanimit.

Thai Rath newspaper's editorial cartoonist, Chai Ratchawat, walked a lot more than Krirkbura on his exploration of Chinatown and the Phu Khao Thong area for his two watercolour paintings.

''I spent two days at Chinatown and that wasn't enough. I had to go there at night twice before working on the painting, which ultimately portrayed a night scene of the bustling Yaowarat Road,'' he said.

''Similarly, strolling the Phu Khao Thong area made me burn lots of calories. All the walking paid off since it allowed me to discover the details and hidden beauty of these fascinating places.''

The charismatic cartoonist immediately accepted the invitation to be a part of the Louis Vuitton project because painting with watercolours is a nice change from drawing cartoons, which he has been doing for 30 years.

''I'm an amateur painter, though,'' he said. ''Beforehand, I only thought of places outside the city, such as the sea and the mountains, for painting scenery. This project has given me a new viewpoint: that Bangkok offers a wide range of interesting sites to create meaningful cityscapes.''

He was also motivated by the fact that art can help raise people's aesthetic appreciation of their surroundings and motivate them to realise the true value of Bangkok.

‘Chinatown’ by Chai Ratchawat.

Sometimes, though, it takes a bit of distance to appreciate the value of home.

Asst Prof Thavorn Ko-Udomvit said that when he went on holiday in Venice, he told a local that it must be great to live in a world-famous city. The Venetian responded: ''Would you be happy with visitors coming to your home every day?'' instead of taking pride in the City of Water. The Venice of the East, as Bangkok is sometimes known, may sometimes be regarded similarly by its denizens. However, the exhibition's 18 paintings are derived from the positive impressions, feelings and memories of each artist towards Bangkok.

Thavorn pointed out that he's the most rebellious artist in this project.

''The other artists did realistic pieces, but my Sao Chingcha and Wat Arun Ratchawararam (Temple of Dawn) are surrealistic paintings. My works tend to be very simple but they get you thinking and interpreting the meaning,'' said Thavorn, a versatile artist in painting, sculpture and graphic arts.

Depictions of religious belief, symbolic ceremonies and reverence for sacred objects are reflected in his works, which combine objective shapes rendered realistically with ephemeral images.

With Sao Chingcha or the Giant Swing as a background, the acrylic painting features three wooden sticks, floating little white flowers and pouring water, which may refer to watering a tree to grow and become wood for the red sacred swing _ or watering people's hearts to grow good feelings.

‘Sao Chingcha’ by Thavorn Ko-Udomvit

The exhibition certainly aims to imbue good feelings of Bangkok. And seeing the paintings may just inspire you to revisit Sao Chingcha, the Temple of Dawn, Phaya Thai Palace and other heritage landmarks to rediscover their unquestionable beauty for yourself.

Credit: Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com)


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