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Artist rolls out his long scroll of street people’s smiles

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SOOPSIP

The Nation March 29, 2016 1:00 am
Thai artist Pairoj Pichetmetakul rolls out his long scroll of street people's smiles. Photo courtesy of Thai Activist i

Thai artist Pairoj Pichetmetakul rolls out his long scroll of street people’s smiles. Photo courtesy of Thai Activist i

Pairoj Pichetmetakul, a Thai transplanted to New York City, long ago discovered that his art could alter public perceptions and thus help improve society.

And last week he was back, visiting the Big Mango from the Big Apple, to show creative types here how it’s done.

Pairoj earned fame in America with his long scroll paintings, done right there on the mean streets, of homeless people, many of them disabled and all of them disadvantaged in some way, yet not a pessimist in the bunch. They’d found their ways to cope. His 2014 exhibition at New York’s New Museum, “Positive Scroll”, was a meaningful success.

“My artwork can’t change the world, but I hope, by example, to uncover the positive side within individuals through the mechanisms of art and unwavering positive engagement,” he said at the time.

Pairoj obtained a bachelor’s in fine art from Silpakorn University in 2007 and four years later moved to New York and joined a group called the Thai Artist Alliance. He did a residency there in 2013 before enrolling at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in pursuit of a master’s degree.

Now 33, he was back in Bangkok last Sunday for “Art Changes the World”, a project in which he and others worked their magic on the skywalk in front of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. He led a new artist collective called Thai Activist in painting portraits of homeless people. Their work quickly found buyers and the money raised was given to the SOS Children’s Village, which provides homes for youngsters who don’t have one.

A lot of the kids were on hand and passers-by paused to gawk as Pairoj and the others rendered marvellous pictures in a few skilful strokes. It took him just minutes to produce an endearing portrait of an elderly man. Nearby, Naphat Kositpipat, whose father is the celebrated artist Chalermchai, seemed able to mimic his technique effortlessly. Silpakorn art students wielded brushes as well, showing admirable dedication.

“I’m so glad to see many people come to support our project,” Pairoj said. “Thank you, brothers and sisters, for helping us reach our goal of helping the children. I’d always hoped to host an event like this and finally my dream’s come true. This powerful project will inspire other artists to help society too.”

Counting five paintings Pairoj had finished previously, in all there were 10 artworks put up for auction. Established artist Somsak Raksuwan, another Silpakorn alumnus, brought the gavel down on a handsome Bt505,000.

“I’d like to see people in society helping each other move,” Pairoj said. “All you have to do is donate a few baht or some food to needy people, or just spend a little free time talking to them, and they’ll be happy – and our society will be happier too.”

Naphat gave Pairoj full credit for prodding others to do something positive. “People might not believe that art can change the world, but it can reflect society’s ills,” he said. “People have cars and enough money to eat, but unprivileged people have nothing. Phi Pok [Pairoj] is different from most Thai artists because his determination to raise social issues comes from Western culture. Today, though, he’s inspired us to care more about what needs to be done.”

Putting on the best show

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PERSONALITY

KUPLUTHAI PUNGKANON
THE NATION March 29, 2016 1:00 am

Event organiser Sombatsara “Tue” Teerasaroch releases a photo book that he hopes will inspire youngsters to follow in his footsteps

ONE OF THE best-known event organisers in Thailand, Sombatsara “Tue” Teerasaroch can always be found behind the scenes of glamorous fashion shows, beauty events, product launches and more than a few of the social extravaganzas Thais are so fond of hosting.

A small man with plenty of character, Tue is always clad in a black suit, cool accessories and sunglasses and inevitably wears a serious look on his face. Quick to anger when things don’t go quite as he has planned, he is nonetheless kind and his wit is legendary.

Now he has moved from the shadows into the spotlight with the launch of a photo book that showcases his work in the event-organisation business, his passion for his career, and his philosophy “Impossible or I’m possible”.

“That is how I define and drive my energy,” says Tue.

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At 54, he feels a need to give back to society, and indeed the country, for giving him the chance to live a happy life and be at the top of his profession. The 265-page book, simply titled “Tue” brings together photographs, sketches, ideas, and the nuggets of wisdom he writes as reminders to himself, among them, “Be mindful, live like today is the last day of your life”, “The best day is today” and “Accept, but never succumb”.

The book, though, is not for sale with 2,000 free copies earmarked for students and libraries across the country. He handed out more than 500 copies to young people during the recent launch event and will be travelling to other parts of Thailand to distribute the rest.

He sat down with XP after the launch.

WHAT DOES THIS PHOTO BOOK MEANS TO YOU?

I want to record all my work through photo books and for this one I’ve have selected experiences that I believe can inspire young people to pursue a career in the industry. If one page gives them inspiration, then it’s worth it.

CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND?

Well, I was raised in rural Lampang and I attended Rajamongkol Lanna University where I studied architecture. I’ve been in the event organising business for some 30 years and worked for many leading companies in the fields of design, fashion, advertising management and marketing before I decided to start up my own company 18 years ago. My jobs have paid me not just in terms of money but in knowledge and in long-term relationship with customers. ‘Tue’ is my nickname and since I am known to so many people by that name, I called my company Tue too.

ARE THERE ANY RULES AN EVENT ORGANISER HAS TO FOLLOW?

There are no fixed rules. We always do everything we can to make our customers happy. When we have problems, I’ve always told my team, ‘It’ll be finished soon’. As our work inevitably involves a set period, and usually a short one at that, when the last day of the event begins, we know it will soon be over. I remind myself all the time that I am happy doing what I love. I don’t feel I am working. But a client is happy perhaps once a year from the job he or she hires me to do, so I have to give it my all. We are all happy to do a good job.

TUE COMPANY IS KNOWN FOR ITS PRIDE IN PERFECTION. WHAT CAN WE TAKE HOME FROM THAT?

Don’t betray yourself. Ever. I consider being honest with clients, with yourself and towards your career is vital. In fact all jobs demand this integrity. My company is a small one but I am very proud of the quality of my team. Everybody is capable of assuming all the tasks and they can easily stand in for each other. My team is the asset of my investment. They must have a good quality life. I usually take them to good places. We stay, eat, and travel together. They have to learn about and experience the lifestyles of our clients. We speak the same language because we see, we eat and live the same things. In the past, I used to rely on my left hand and my right hand for assistance. Now I prefer to use all ten fingers. Everybody is like a cog in the wheel. My staff do not need to be well-educated but must be willing to learn. If they are, then I believe I can train them. My working style can be compared to raising a mango tree. I don’t care whether it comes from the seed or the sapling. I feed it soil, water, fertiliser and at the end we get delicious mangoes. To me that is the right way of working.

WHAT ARE THE SKILLS NEEDED FOR THIS CAREER?

I think everybody has his or her own talent; it all depends on how we use it. I have proved that everybody can be trained. It is a collective learning experience. My driver is a great example; he is a very good producer. I have people on my team who trained as nurses and lawyers and they have become strong production designers. I have another who didn’t finish fourth grade at school, who is also excellent.

HOW DO YOU COPE WITH THE HIGH EXPECTATIONS FROM EACH EVENT?

Through being happy at work. You must feel you want to go to work and you will have a good day. Never think negatively. When you have problem, you fix it. What has to be done, you do. What makes client happy, you do that do. But whether they will hire you for the next project or not, you should never feel the pressure. If one out of 30 or 500 attendees at the event becomes my client, then it’s worth it. That’s why you have to keep on being happy, making others happy and doing good work but when you go home at the end of the day, you do not hold on to anything. And if I feel apologetic about something, I will say ‘I’m sorry’ without hesitation.

I’m very normal person. I often revise what happens each day, and then pray for forgiveness.

As I say in this book, ‘I’m possible’. This book offers great pictures and ideas, but from time to time it touches on humour, rebellion, seriousness, dharma and just simply being human. Once the readers finish going through the book, I would say it is not the end but the beginning. We live for tomorrow.

people on my team who trained as nurses and lawyers and they have become strong production designers. I

have another who didn’t finish fourth grade at school, who is also excellent.

HOW DO YOU COPE WITH THE HIGH EXPECTATIONS FROM EACH EVENT?

Through being happy at work. You must feel you want to go to work and you will have a good day. Never think

negatively. When you have problem, you fix it. What has to be done, you do. What makes client happy, you do

that do. But whether they will hire you for the next project or not, you should never feel the pressure. If one out

of 30 or 500 attendees at the event becomes my client, then it’s worth it. That’s why you have to keep on being

happy, making others happy and doing good work but when you go home at the end of the day, you do not hold

on to anything. And if I feel apologetic about something, I will say ‘I’m sorry’ without hesitation.

I’m very normal person. I often revise what happens each day, and then pray for forgiveness.

As I say in this book, ‘I’m possible’. This book offers great pictures and ideas, but from time to time it touches on

humour, rebellion, seriousness, dharma and just simply being human. Once the readers finish going through the

book, I would say it is not the end but the beginning. We live for tomorrow.

 

Battle of the screens

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ENTERTAINMENT

Frankie Taggart
Agence France-Presse
LOS ANGELES March 29, 2016 1:00 am
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The rise of on-demand viewing divides Hollywood

Hollywood’s traditional media players are facing an unprecedented challenge to their business model as

“cord-cutters” opt to cancel their expensive cable subscriptions in favour of on-demand streaming services.

While pay-TV providers continue to charge well in excess of $50 (Bt1,750) a month for the top packages, Netflix, Hulu and Amazon are serving up an ever-grow

ing menu of acclaimed original content for the price of a cheap bottle of wine.

Cable may still be king when it comes to the breadth of choice, but streaming on-demand video (SVOD) hits like “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black,” with 49 Emmy nominations between them, are competing on quality.

Earlier this month California-based payment service provider Vindicia published the results of a survey of 1,000 American adults who had at least one paid subscription service.

Some 45 per cent of respondents cited “over-the-top” (OTT) video services such as HBO Now, Netflix and Hulu as most important to them.

Crucially, more than half of the key “millennial” generation – those in their 20s and 30s ardently courted by the advertisers – said they used SVOD.

Research by global media consultancy LEK published in January showed a similar pattern in Britain, where the majority of millennials expecting to get OTT in the next year were planning to cancel or reduce their pay-TV spending.

“In this increasingly on-demand world, the quality of content will be more important than ever before,” says Martin Pilkington, head of LEK’s European Media, Entertainment and Technology division.

“The race is already on, a good illustration of the new dynamic being the very high level of investment in original content by Netflix and Amazon.”

While Netflix remains the largest SVOD service, Amazon is staking its own claim, with “Transparent” and “Mozart in the Jungle” picking up multiple Emmys and Golden Globes.

Hulu has been slower to roll out original content, but recently premiered “11.22.63,” a time-travel series produced by JJ Abrams, with religious cult drama “The Path” due tomorrow.

“I could tell on the page there was no way we could do this on one of the networks,” says Jessica Goldberg, creator of “The Path,” which stars Aaron Paul of “Breaking Bad” fame.

“Hulu came to the table in such a passionate way. They saw what we wanted to make, they let us push the envelope, they let us take time and breathe with stories. So it has been an amazing marriage.”

Goldberg, who co-produced the Emmy-nominated “Parenthood” drama series, says she’s noticed a big shift to SVOD among friends, and not just with original content like “The Path.”

“It seems like that’s what people are doing now –

even watching shows from other cable stations but waiting until they are on Netflix or Hulu because they’d rather watch them like that,” she says.

The revolution isn’t confined to television, with the shift towards an on-demand world redefining the way we access services in many other aspects of our lives.

In the 2015 edition of its influential “Internet Trends” report, venture capitalist firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers noted the increasing popularity among millennials of apps like Uber, Airbnb and Instacart.

Streaming has emerged as a threat to cinemas, too, in the guise of the controversial start-up “Screening Room,” which is planning to offer movies in people’s homes on the date of their theatrical release.

At $50 per rental plus $150 for a set-top box, it remains to be seen whether the idea, led by social media impresario Sean Parker, will be of interest to anyone who isn’t a film buff, or rich.

But it already lists among its shareholders such Tinseltown royalty as Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, who said in a statement to Variety magazine he was satisfied the service was “very carefully designed to capture an audience that does not currently go to the cinema.”

According to the proposal, theatre owners and studios would collect as much as $20 each of the $50 fee for a new movie.

Every innovation in home entertainment – from the introduction of video and then DVDs to high-speed 4G broadband – has been accompanied by shrill predictions of the death of cinema.

Yet US audiences have been roughly stable over 50 years, while North American box office takings have remained between $10 billion and $11 billion since 2009.

The cinemas have closed ranks, however. The National Association of Theatre Owners says innovations should come from within the industry and the smaller Art House Convergence group of speciality theatres warns of a possible “wildfire spread of pirated content”,

Cleaning up for prose

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FEATURE

SONIA AVALOS
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE March 29, 2016 1:00 am
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An Argentine cleaner leads a double life as a prize- winning writer

WHEN THE Buenos Aires subway closes at night, Enrique Ferrari goes underground to mop the platforms – and to polish his next thriller. The Argentine station cleaner, 44, with bags under his eyes, is also a prize-winning crime novelist.

He has been published in several countries, but it is the night-time cleaning job which puts food on the table for his three children.

“Live off writing? The money isn’t good enough,” he says.

A representative for cleaning and other unskilled staff in the subway workers’ union, he is seen as a curiosity: a decorated writer who has never been to university.

The author – and his gritty, succinct prose – has caught the media’s eye, appearing on television, radio and in news reports where he has been dubbed the “subway writer”.

But he is fed up with the sobriquet.

“I understand that people find it surprising, but I am not a strange creature. There are lots of we labourers who write, paint or play music,” says Ferrari, an easygoing man who himself laughs about his disparate vocations.

“It is a peculiarity of capitalists and the bourgeoisie to think that we workers have no culture,” adds the novelist, whose many tattoos include one of Karl Marx on his left arm.

Ferrari, known as Kike, has published five novels and two collections of short stories.

His murder mystery “Que de lejos parecen moscas” (“They Look Like Flies From A Distance”) won a prize at the prestigious Gijon crime writing festival in Spain in 2012. That got him published in France, Mexico and Italy.

Previously he won a prize in Cuba for “Lo Que No Fue” (“What Was Not”), a political thriller set in Barcelona during the Spanish civil war.

In the subway, he clears up commuters’ rubbish in an environment that reflects the dark settings of his crime fiction.

“I work in an abandoned city. In a universe which is always overpopulated, I come along after the party.”

In the brief breaks during his cleaning shift, he switches on an old laptop and polishes his manuscripts.

“I write whenever I can, wherever I can,” he says. “Although during the day I’m most interested in finding time to sleep.”

His other work space is a little table piled with books in a corner of his apartment in the Once district of Buenos Aires.

He has worked as a baker, driver and street vendor.

He spent three years living illegally in the United States before being deported, but came back home with his first novel under his belt: “Operation Bukowski”, published in Buenos Aires in 2004.

A fan of River Plate football club and rock ‘n’ roll music, Kike grew up in a modest home.

When he was eight, his father gave him a book of “Sandokan”, from a series of classic pirate adventure novels by the early 20th-century Italian writer Emilio Salgari.

“Instead of dreaming of being a pirate, I dreamed of writing without stopping, like Salgari.”

But he doesn’t want to go the same way as his literary hero.

“Salgari ended up committing suicide. He was tired of the publishers sucking his blood,” he says.

“He wrote them a letter saying: ‘I bid you farewell as I break my pen.’ I’m going to tattoo that on myself,” he says with a cackle.

Despite the prizes he has won, Kike is on the margins of the literary scene, shunned by major publishers.

“I do not think of literature as a career,” he says.

“But at quarter to eleven, 15 minutes before I go to mop the floors, I dream of winning an international prize or of Steven Spielberg wanting to film one of my books.”

Seeing history as it fades

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ANCIENT COMMUNITY

Pratch Rujivanarom
The Nation March 28, 2016 1:00 am
A bird's-eye view of Mahakan Fort shows the part of the old city wall.The fort’s community is hidden behind the trees at centre right. Nation/Adisorn Chabsungnuen

A bird’s-eye view of Mahakan Fort shows the part of the old city wall.The fort’s community is hidden behind the trees at centre right. Nation/Adisorn Chabsungnuen

Birdcages are still built and decorated by hand. One local family, the Nilbais, has been making them for a century. Nation/Thanis Sudto

Birdcages are still built and decorated by hand. One local family, the Nilbais, has been making them for a century. Nation/Thanis Sudto

The Kajitsuwan family lives in a Siamese wooden house of the sort that is disppearing rapidly. It's a former residence of the statesman Puey Ungpakorn. Nation/Thanis Sudto

The Kajitsuwan family lives in a Siamese wooden house of the sort that is disppearing rapidly. It’s a former residence of the statesman Puey Ungpakorn. Nation/Thanis Sudto

The Mahakan Fort community is a draw for strolling tourists, thanks to a recommendation in the Lonely Planet travel guide. Nation/Thanis Sudto

The Mahakan Fort community is a draw for strolling tourists, thanks to a recommendation in the Lonely Planet travel guide. Nation/Thanis Sudto

The large Mahakan Fort community, more than a century old, is about to disappear

Behind one of Bangkok’s old fortress walls lies an equally historic community that city authorities are about to move elsewhere – forcibly if necessary – and replace with a tourist attraction.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has plans to turn Mahakan Fort – which 200 years ago protected the capital from threats across the river – into a canal-side historical park. The community nestled alongside the walls is about to be dispersed forever.

Outsiders might see the community as a crowded, dilapidated slum, another eyesore on the city map. That’s what the BMA sees as well. Looking deeper, though, there’s a lively heart amid the cracked wood of the classic Siamese houses erected a century ago. History is already much in evidence without the need for refurbishing and preservation.

Community leader Thawatchai Voramahakun says it’s far more than just home to the residents. It’s a link connecting brash, modern Bangkok to its quieter, more sociable past.

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“People nowadays know nothing about their roots, but here we are, standing on the firm roots of history, and we’re well aware of who we are,” he says, showing off a cigarette box that once belonged his grandfather, who made traditional musical instruments.

“My family made instruments for many generations, and my grandfather was the last inheritor of the family business. He and his wife had only daughters, and women were forbidden from making these kinds of instruments.”

Old photos of the family home offer a fascinating glimpse of the past. Celebrated music teachers came for worshipful ceremonies. One corner of the house was where his grandfather always relaxed after work with a cigarette.

“All the people of this community have their own stories to share,” Thawatchai says. “They’re stories about how the people lived their lives throughout the history of this city.”

As for the BMA plans to relocate the community (two other areas in the city have been earmarked), he says, “We don’t have anyplace to go. Our homes and history are here. If we’re evicted, our roots will be destroyed.”

Thawatchai says the community dates back almost 200 years and spans the area from the fortress walls to the canal that encircled Bangkok at the dawn of the Rattanakosin Era, when attack from downriver and from the east was still a frequent possibility.

Once that threat subsided, the nobility occupied the area, an idyllic location on the surrounding canal, Rop Krung, and near the entrance to Klong Saen Saep. “Many people in the community today are descendants of the servants and slaves of the nobility,” Thawatchai says.

“After King Rama V abolished slavery, a lot of those who were freed had no place to go, so they set up homes close to their former masters. This is how the community grew.”

Evidence of aristocratic settlers can still be seen in the area today. Some of the houses stand out – a far cry from the “eyesore” label attached to the community. Lampin Kajitsuwan, a relative of one of the most important figures of modern Thai history, Puey Ungpakorn, lives in an old traditional house.

“This house belonged to Professor Puey’s family and he lived here for many years before giving it to a sibling,” she says. “I’m the third generation living here, with my daughter and grandson.”

She doesn’t remember exactly how old the building is, but it’s certainly showing signs of age and requires regular maintenance. The window frames are damaged, but Lampin can’t find a carpenter able to repair this sort of woodwork.

Regardless, the house appears sound in structure and is kept clean and tidy. Lampin’s even had a film crew in recently, shooting scenes for a period soap opera, she says proudly.

The community is also sanctuary for folk arts that are rarely seen in the capital now. It’s famous for its handmade birdcages, traditionally used to hold birds as they sang in competition.

Ratchanee Nilbai’s family has been making the cages for three generations. Her family moved to Bangkok from the South about 100 years ago.

“There aren’t many makers of handmade birdcages left anywhere,” she says. “Future generations might not even know how to make them.

“I know the BMA wants to redevelop the land as an historical park so tourists can learn about the city,” Ratchanee says. “But I have to wonder why they don’t just keep the community – it’s already a living museum, and the tourists could learn the history directly from the mouths of the descendants!”

Deputy Bangkok governor Police General Asawin Kwanmuang, though, insists the community must go, pointing out that the residents are now living illegally on municipal land.

“They were compensated for being evicted in 1992, and anyway, most of them already have places to go,” he says.

“We will definitely reclaim the land next month, after the Songkran Festival. The governor, MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, is urging on this operation, which is aimed at making Rop Krung Canal beautiful again and creating a new tourist attraction.”

Asawin speaks with assurance, and yet uncertainty lingers in the community and, for now at least, the lives of the residents go on.

PAST MEETS THE PRESENT

– 1783: Mahakan Fort established. During the reign of King Rama III (1824-51), people begin settling between the fort walls and Rop Krung Canal.

– 1897: A likay theatre is erected.

– 1949: The government’s Fine Arts Department has Mahakan Fort registered as a national historic site.

– 1959: Government initiates plans to revamp the area.

– 1985: The community is registered as a legal settlement.

– 1992: The city reclaims land deeds and pays the residents compensation for eviction.

– 1994: Residents are officially ordered to move out.

– 1996: The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration arranges for the residents to move to Lat Krabang.

– 2000: Land is also offered in Phasi Charoen.

– 2002: The community sues the BMA in Administrative Court.

– 2003: Initial eviction efforts fail.

– 2005: Bangkok governor and the community sign an agreement on a conservation project.

– 2006: The BMA wins the right to evict the residents in the Supreme Administrative Court

– 2016: The BMA threatens force if necessary in evicting the residents.

– THENATION

 

Farang fiance gets full immersion treatment

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SOOPSIP

The Nation
ntsoopsip@gmail.com March 28, 2016 1:00 am
Christian and Coco prepare for a rustic life in the Thai countryside. Photo courtesy of Narakorn Prewedding Studio

Christian and Coco prepare for a rustic life in the Thai countryside. Photo courtesy of Narakorn Prewedding Studio

Coco feigns shyness as her fiance begs a cuddle. Photo courtesy of Narakorn Prewedding Studio

Coco feigns shyness as her fiance begs a cuddle. Photo courtesy of Narakorn Prewedding Studio

Of all the things the bride- and groom-to-be have to cope with in planning History’s Most Excellent Wedding, the pre-wedding shoot has emerged in recent years as the most testing.

Easing the situation – or complicating it, depending on your point of view – is the fact that, most of the time, it’s the bride who calls the shots on how the shots are handled.

She’ll drag her soon-to-be-husband off to spend a day or two at the photographer’s studio. The man with the camera, a trained professional, will tell them over and over to gaze endearingly into one another’s eyes and please ignore his assistant’s occasional snigger.

The betrothed do their awkward best to look like the model couples in the mail-order catalogues. They’re aware the pictures aren’t going to come out quite right, but they’ll obey every clich้ command and strike every obvious assembly-line pose just so they can end the agony sooner.

And then there’s Coco and Christian. They wanted to do the pre-nup publicity differently and, boy, did they succeed. Their photographer, from the very deliberately named Narakorn Prewedding Studio, shared the pictures on Facebook last week and everyone was agog – in a nice way. Evidently many damsels in event-planning distress are keen to get the same treatment ahead of their weddings.

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The photographer reveals only that Christian is a Danish businessman who’s found his true love in Coco, a native of Sisaket in the Northeast. “When we asked them where they wanted to do the shoot, they said they wanted to do it at home. I thought they meant Denmark!”

Hah hah. No, they meant Sisaket, but they did have a different surprise for the cameraman — no wedding gown or tuxedo, no Barbie and Ken. They wanted to be photographed in costume and settings as Kwan and Riam, the doomed lovers in the classic Thai romantic tragedy “Plae Kao” (“The Scar”).

So Coco put on two pieces of cloth as a chong kraben and popped a flower in her hair. Christian is even more frugal in his attire, clad just in farmer’s short pants and a cotton scarf. His ample tummy is on ample display.

Coco’s family had a rice paddy handy and the day was sunny and hot enough to melt hearts. An albino water buffalo joined them. The pictures seem to come from one of the many movie adaptations of “Plae Kao”. Coco and Christian dip their toes in a pond and cuddle behind a pile of hay. And, yes, they do gaze into each other’s eyes in several frames. But the best shot features Christian “asking for Coco’s hand” in front of a crackling fire as the night turns cool.

Sweet nostalgia! The photos are beautiful to look at and earned rave reviews. “The most darling pre-wedding shoot I’ve ever seen,” one woman gushed.

It’s clear enough that Coco wanted to show Christian a good old-fashioned slice of Isaan rural life. We have to wonder, though, if she wasn’t also giving him a hint about all the hard work that lies ahead once he says his “I do”.

 

‘Gentlemen’ on top

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THEATRE AWARDS

Pawit Mahasarinand
Special to The Nation March 28, 2016 1:00 am
For WhaT theatre's 'Three Days in May' won Best Play. Photo coutesy of Peerawat Navicharern

For WhaT theatre’s ‘Three Days in May’ won Best Play. Photo coutesy of Peerawat Navicharern

The Thai-language adaptation of 'The Sound of Music' won best musical. Photo coutesy of Peerawat Navicharern

The Thai-language adaptation of ‘The Sound of Music’ won best musical. Photo coutesy of Peerawat Navicharern

Pichet Klunchun Dance Company's 'The Gentlemen' won two awards. Photo coutesy of Peerawat Navicharern

Pichet Klunchun Dance Company’s ‘The Gentlemen’ won two awards. Photo coutesy of Peerawat Navicharern

Winners and members of IATC Thailand. Photo coutesy of Peerawat Navicharern

Winners and members of IATC Thailand. Photo coutesy of Peerawat Navicharern

Thailand’s only awards for dance and theatre face an unpredictable future

The only one of its kind in the entire Asian Economic Community (AEC), the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) Thailand, with support from Arrow, the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) and Should Be, organised the fourth IATC Thailand Dance and Theatre Review last Tuesday at the BACC.

In addition to handing out IATC Thailand awards in 12 categories, including a lifetime achievement award to Thailand’s most prolific playwright Daraka Wongsiri, critics took the stage to share their overview of contemporary dance and theatre in 2015 and how they would further develop this year, as well as the reasons why they decided to give each award to a certain work and individual.

A booklet of 2015 dance and theatre reviews, in Thai and English, was also handed out, and is now available online. In addition to promoting freedom of speech, the event aimed to express thanks to the artists who have been working hard all year.

IATC Thailand’s honorary president Kittisak Suwanaphokin took note of the profusion of musicals – a trend he thinks will continue this year.

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“In the first month of this year alone, I’ve watched three very good musicals – Dreambox’s ‘Mom’, Thonglor Art Space’s ‘Cocktail’ and Bangkok Studio 41’s ‘The Wife’,” he told the assembled audience.

“So anyone who’s planning a musical production this year, stop that and postpone to next year. We already have three best musical nominees for 2016,” I added to laughter from the crowd.

Vice president Amitha Amranand added her notes on the rise of English-speaking professional theatre companies as well as international collaborations, supported by foreign cultural organisations, which went further than the surface level and really allowed time for artists to create work together. She also made mention of the official opening of two venues, namely Siam Pic-Ganesha Centre of Performing Arts and Thonglor Art Space.

I voiced my complaint on how our tax money was spent by the Ministry of Culture in staging a one-evening performance of khon at the Royal Albert Hall, pointing out that the money would have been better spent on supporting several contemporary dance and theatre projects.

Then came the rollout of awards. Worth noting is that this year there was no runaway winner, and the biggest winner picked up only two major awards – Pichet Klunchun Dance Company’s “The Gentlemen”. Inspired by a research project on men-in-waiting in the reign of King Rama VI, it was nominated in two categories and won both: best movement-based performance and best performance by an ensemble.

The other two major awards, best play and best musical, went to For WhaT theatre’s “Three Days in May” and Guts Entertainment’s “The Sound of Music”. The “Three Days” recognition made it two in a row for director Wichaya Artamat, who last year won for “In Ther’s View”, and he thanked his two actors for their collaboration in their dialogues from their collaboration.

Presenting the latter award to television director Yuthana Lorphanpaibul, Kittisak said it was the best production of the Broadway classic he’s watched. Yuthana was obviously surprised that a commercial theatre production was being recognised by the critics but recovered quickly to thank his cast and crew, especially the translator Narin Prasoppakdee, who shares his love of musicals, which was evident from his ability to choose the Thai words that fit the tunes and thus make this work truly “Monrak Phleng Sawan” for Thai audiences.

In a year that has seen them at their most prolific, physical theatre company B-Floor was praised for best direction, best original script and best art direction. The winners were respectively Silpathorn artist Jarunun Phantachat who tested the audience’s and her performers’, herself included, physical and mental endurance with a strong commentary on political and cultural policies in “The Test of Endurance”; former winner of Sodsai Award Pattareeya Puapongsakorn who penned a political allegory from Jarunun’s idea which was then deconstructed by Jarunun in “Ceci n’est pas la politique”, and Dujdao Vadhanapakorn who transformed BACC’s fourth floor studio into a well in “The Secret Keeper.”

Another repeat winner in the same category as last year was Ninart Boonpothong for “Fallen Memory”, his adaptation of Murakami’s “Norwegian Wood”. Silpathorn artist Pradit Prasartthong was recognised for his musical book for Puey Ungpakorn biographical drama “Mangkon Salat Klet”.

New faces on this stage of honour included Thongchai Pimarnsri from his tour-de-force performance in “Whaam!: A Brief History of Unknown Astronaut”; and singer Pijika Jittaputta for her performance in the otherwise critically panned “Phaendin Khong Rao: The Musical”.

It should be noted that while the Culture Ministry supports national film awards, they are providing no funding towards the IATC Thailand Awards, the country’s only formal recognition of dance and theatre. That lack of allocation might well mean the end of the IATC Thailand Awards.

On the Web:

http://www.facebook.com/IATC.Thailand

 

Caravaggio recreated

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Caravaggio-recreated-30282541.html

ART EXHIBITION

Laure Brumont
Agence Prance-Presse
Rome March 28, 2016 1:00 am
The video installation, 'Caravaggio Experience', showing at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, is a multi-projection system on a massive scale. Photo/AFP

The video installation, ‘Caravaggio Experience’, showing at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, is a multi-projection system on a massive scale. Photo/AFP

The video installation, 'Caravaggio Experience', showing at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, is a multi-projection system on a massive scale. Photo/AFP

The video installation, ‘Caravaggio Experience’, showing at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, is a multi-projection system on a massive scale. Photo/AFP

The video installation, 'Caravaggio Experience', showing at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, is a multi-projection system on a massive scale. Photo/AFP

The video installation, ‘Caravaggio Experience’, showing at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome, is a multi-projection system on a massive scale. Photo/AFP

The Italian artist’s violent triumphs go high-tech in a Rome exhibition

His depiction of Judith slitting Holofernes’s throat, blood gushing from the wound, has enthralled art lovers for centuries: now Caravaggio’s portrayal of seduction and betrayal can be “relived” at a high-tech exhibition in Rome.

Fifty-seven paintings by the 16th-century artist are magnified and projected onto walls inside the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, where 3D images explore their composition and the dramatic use of chiaroscuro, the contrast between light and dark.

From the “Martyrdom of St Matthew” to the depiction of the youthful wine god “Bacchus”, the exhibition is intended as a “full sensory experience”, according to the Fake Factory, the video design company behind the project.

Visitors to the show can watch each painting broken down into the smallest detail, the performance accompanied by a especially composed soundtrack and smells from Florence’s historic Santa Maria Novella perfumery.

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Studies of works like “Judith Beheading Holofernes” have revealed Caravaggio’s painstaking adjustments – in this case slightly moving the partly-severed head from the body – and the exhibition uses outline sketches to explore form.

“It’s a theatrical staging of his work”, says the installation’s designer and the founder of the Florentine outfit Stefano Fomasi, adding that the goal was to involve people “in a sort of collective rite by immersion in the art”.

The hope is tourists will feel as if they are present at the scenes depicted in the paintings, “becoming protagonists of the works”, and notice elements they would not have spotted by visiting a traditional exhibition.

Thanks to 33 high-definition projectors, the snakes in the artist’s “Medusa” appear to slither across the floor as the painting moves, the mythological monster’s horrified gaze amplified, her blood splattered widely across the walls.

As well as playing on the main themes in the Milan-born painter’s works – light, theatricality, naturalism and violence – the exhibition, which runs through July 3, is “an almost-scientific experience”, says Claudio Strinati, art historian and consultant on the project.

Fomasi said the huge projections “are to help people discover Caravaggio, understand how he used characters, the way he used light, the way he painted.”

“You get to see details that you could not see with the naked eye, thanks to this technology.”

The show revels in rebellious Caravaggio – famous for having angered patrons with “vulgar” depictions of religious scenes, from painting saints with dirty legs to using prostitutes as muses – but celebrates his grace as well.

The aim had been to transform the neoclassical exhibition space in the Italian capital’s historic centre into a enormous, stark white canvas which would represent the light to the artist’s darkness, Fomasi says.

“We wanted to replicate the elegance that Caravaggio has, the elegance of his painting, in the elegance of the space, which is very white, very bright,” he says.

After Rome, the “Caravaggio Experience” will travel to Naples, before heading to foreign exhibition halls next year.

 

Cinema comes to the Saudis

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ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

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FILM FESITIVAL

Ian Timberlake
Agence FrancePresse
Dammam, Saudi Arabia March 28, 2016 1:00 am
Saudi Film Festival director Ahmed al Mulla opens the third edition of the festival at the Saudi Cultural Centre in Dammam. Photo/AFP

Saudi Film Festival director Ahmed al Mulla opens the third edition of the festival at the Saudi Cultural Centre in Dammam. Photo/AFP

Film festival rolls out the “green carpet” in the desert kingdom

The “red carpet” was made of green artificial turf and women wore traditional black robes instead of plunging necklines when the third Saudi Film Festival opened last week.

About 400 enthusiastic film fans filled a hall for the opening ceremony at a cultural centre in Damman, some 400km north of the capital Riyadh. Although public cinemas are banned in the conservative kingdom, which practises an austere version of Islam, there is a growing interest in cinema and filmmaking.

Saudis are voracious viewers of online videos and rank among the world’s top viewers of YouTube.

Private film screenings are also held in Saudi Arabia, although the festival’s English programme says it takes place “under the supervision” of its organiser, the Saudi Arabian Society for Culture and Arts, and the information ministry.

Yellow and purple lights swirled on the ceiling before the hall darkened. A six-metre screen showed trailers from among the 70 Saudi productions competing at the five-day festival, while six speakers mounted high on the walls blared cinema-strength sound.

Women sat at the back, in keeping with the official policy of separation of the sexes, but almost none covered their faces, as many in Riyadh normally would. Some even went without the traditional hair covering.

Men were in front on red chairs, not plush theatre seats but the kind commonly used in banquet halls.

They hooted and loudly applauded the opening remarks of festival director Ahmed al-Mulla before watching a tribute to the late Saad al-Fruraih, a pioneering television director.

Opening night last Thursday gave a world premiere to three entries. Rakan al-Harbi’s fantasy “Their Stained Hearts” tells the story of a museum for “terrorists” and the conversation a visitor has with a wounded bomber lying bloodied among his victims. “Hope” is a thought-provoking drama by Hajar Alnaim about mercy killing, and Mohammed Salman’s delightful documentary “Yellow” features taxi drivers in Qatif.

Film fans crowded onto the “green carpet” in a courtyard, posing for photographs not by paparazzi but by the festival’s photo team with “media” emblazoned on their shirts.

Al-Mulla said the red carpet he had planned did not arrive in time, but the green one did just fine.

It became a crowded platform for some young men who dispensed with their traditional white Saudi thobes and checkered shemagh headdress. Instead, they wore pork pie hats, bow ties, permed hair and twisted moustaches.

Organisers hope the event will help develop the country’s nascent film industry.

“We try to raise the standards, to make it better,” al-Mulla says.

This is the second consecutive annual festival after the event resumed last year following an absence of seven years.

The festival wraps up tonight with the awarding of Golden Palm Tree trophies in the drama, documentary and student categories. Scripts not yet in production are also judged.

Mai Alshaibani, 21, is hoping for a win with her first-ever screenplay “S.A.D.”, the story of Ahmed and his girlfriend Sara whom he leaves to marry Dina.

“We have a lot of support from the youth,” al-Mulla says. “Nobody can stop them.”

A filmmaker from Jeddah about a month ago organised the first Youth Film Fest. “I think this momentum is going to continue to build,” says Bentley Brown, an American who teaches at Jeddah’s Effat University for women, which offers the kingdom’s only filmmaking programme.

Latest denial confirms Nadech and Yaya more than “siblings”

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SOOPSIP

The Nation March 25, 2016 1:00 am
Yaya and Nadech

Yaya and Nadech

As nosy people know, it’s never easy getting straight answers from unattached celebrities about their love lives.

But the case of Nadech Kugimiya and Urassaya “Yaya” Sperbund remains a particularly hard one to crack even after they’ve been so obviously close for year – intimately so, in fact.

The two stars continue to insist their feelings for one another are akin to those of a “brother and sister”. Yeah, right.

Yes, they’ve been the hottest onscreen couple in show business ever since their mutual breakthrough in the 2010 TV soap “Duang Jai Akkanee”. A riot would probably break out if they ever decided to appear in separate series.

They’re always seen together. They always sit together at awards shows. They do fashion shoots together. They hang out together in their free time. And they never miss each other’s birthdays. They’re awfully close for a brother and sister.

Now there’s an Instagram photo kicking around that’s caused uproar. It was taken at Yaya’s 23rd-birthday party and shows her and Nadech holding hand under the table.

No it doesn’t, Yaya tells Sanook.com. “We weren’t actually holding hands. He was just placing his hand over mine – you know, to show support and good wishes.”

Yeah, right. And the ring on her ring finger? “It’s just an old ring that fits that finger best, so that’s where I wear it. I know people see a ring on that finger as symbol of engagement, but where I come from [referring to her family background] it doesn’t mean anything.”

Nadech was next to be grilled. How, he was coyly asked, has his relationship with Yaya developed over the years? “Oh, we’re doing great, like we always have. We’ve always been there for each other, supporting each other and taking care of each other, and I think it’s great that way.”

Time to take off the gloves: Is she your girlfriend? Are you dating? “Well, that’s up to you what to think.”

It’s a yes, then. Case closed.

Bird and his buffalo

There is nothing that superstar Thongchai “Bird” McIntyre hasn’t done in his marvellous career – except toiling in a farmer’s field. But he’s done that too now, sort of. He swaps his microphone for a hoe in the short film “Rak Kham Diew”, airing on One Channel 31 on Sunday night.

Inspired by Bird’s latest single of the same name, the producer invited him to “play himself in an alternate reality” – as a farmer labouring far, far from the big city. Bird has to deal with cruel nature’s whims to survive – and it’s all because of love.

“When I sing the song, it means something particular to me, so it’s interesting that the same song can be interpreted differently and translated into film,” he tells Siam Dara.

“If the power of love can make you do absolutely anything, why can’t it make me a farmer?” Actually the thought never occurred to us, but carry on.

“I won’t give too much away, but the film is about me working as a farmer for a few days. You’ll also see how people really live with nature, how we connect with each other through nature.

“For me it was a great experience, and I’m sure you’ll find it entertaining and educational at the same time.”