Open to members of the public, the contest is calling for design products created from vetiver and offering prizes worth more than Bt400,000 to the winners as well as the opportunity to develop a product for distribution through Patpat Shop and Siam Discovery. The aim is to increase value-added and design development, as well as promote sustainable careers for Thai farmers.

Contestants must form a team of up to three people and can choose between one of two categories in which to submit a design: Home decoration (Vetiver Home Decor) and Fashion (Vetiver Fashion) in which the product must contain not less than 70 per cent of vetiver components. Three illustrated sketches of the product should be submitted. Five teams in each category will get a chance to join a workshop about design development and receive Bt10,000 in support and vetiver for producing their final products.

Winners in each category will receive a prize of Bt80,000 Baht and a trophy plus thechance to develop a product for distribution through Patpat shop and Siam Discovery. The first runner-up gets Bt50,000 and the second runner-up Bt30,000. Bt10,000 will be given to two contestants whose works are considered deserving of a commendation.

Interested participants can submit their works from today to September 26. The awards will be announced on November 1 at 2pm at Living Room 2, Siam Discovery.

Find out more at (02) 610 8497 and download application form at http://www.SiamDiscovery.co.th and Facebook: Siam discovery.

“OKMD is an organisation under the Prime Minister’s Office, established with a mission to promote public knowledge development. Now in its second decade, OKMD is determined to be the leader in developing lifelong learning among the Thai people through a new way of learning activities and intellectual infrastructure. A gateway to intellectual society, OKMD prepares the Thai people for what is coming next,” noted OKMD’s president Dr Athipat Bamroong

“The contest is OKMD’s first Book Cover competition on a national level. We invited book publishers across the country to submit their books with exceptional covers to compete for the prestigious winning titles, which will be publicised to the general public and encourage more and more publishers to create outstanding book covers. We realise that book covers are the very front doors to the world of reading. Therefore, OKMD Book Cover Award 2017 has been conceived to be the stage for publishers to showcase their works to a wide audience. New ideas and techniques will encourage the society to appreciate the art of book cover designing. The contest saw 59 book publishers submitting a total of 405 works to compete.”

The “Very Thai” award was presented to Namsai Supavong, designer of the Book Cover “Thai Thai Nai Lok Luan Anijjang” from Salmon Books.

Kanjana Phonprasit was winner of the “Cute Cute” category for her cover of “Ma Ja Therapy” from Banlue Books while Santi Lawrachawee took home the “Striking Stumble” award for “Musashi” from Open Books.

Wachira Ruthirakanok was the winner of the “One of a Kind” for “Little Chiang Mai” from Rabbithood Studio, Tourism Authority of Thailand and Handiworks.

The experimental vanguardist was sometimes accused of writing poems that were at times less than accessible to a wider audience.

“Well, I’m told that they’re not,” he said in a 2005 interview with NPR. “What they are is about the privacy of all of us, and the difficulty of our own thinking,” he said. Yet “they are, I think, accessible if anyone cares to access them.”

His twists in register or tone routinely were so swift as to leave heads spinning. Yet they left many pleasantly disconcerted.

Ashbery, who said he felt influenced by John Yeats, studied at Columbia University. The Rochester, New York native loved to mix everyday language and thoughts with elevated language.

His 1975 collection “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror” made history when he became the lone writer to earn three major accolades the same year for the same work: the Pulitzer in addition to a National Book Award and a National Book Critics Circle Award.

In 2012, Ashbery received the National Humanities Medal from then-president Barack Obama.

The famous acoustics of the Sydney Opera House did full justice to the mesmerising sound of a Thai phipat orchestra last Monday night as a 56-strong troupe of visiting khon performers dazzled an appreciative near-capacity audience in the great hall.

It was the much-anticipated debut in Australia for Thailand’s classical masked dance, and local teacher Keith Vickers, who’s married to a Thai, was thrilled.

“I love khon,” he said, “and I love the way you keep your traditional culture alive.” It was Vickers’ first time seeing a “grand khon performance” and this full-scale production was intended to impress.

Harald Arands, another Sydney resident, called the show “very exciting”.

“I’ve been to Bangkok and I love Thai culture, but I’d never seen khon before. Bringing a performance to Sydney was extraordinary. It was an amazing show and the costumes and dancing were fantastic.”

Vickers and Arands were among 1,900 guests invited to see the one-night-only performance and an accompanying exhibition about khon and Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, who has done so much to keep the art form alive.

In the audience were Thai expatriates, businessmen and diplomats.

The show was part of a weeklong cultural venture organised by the Culture and Foreign Affairs ministries to mark Her Majesty’s 84th birthday and celebrate 65 years of diplomatic amity between Thailand and Australia.

The week also furthered the Culture Ministry’s mission to promote khon internationally. Culture is being wielded as “soft power” to promote the country overseas.

“By presenting our rich culture, we hope to strengthen relations with Australia in the fields of politics, economics and investment,” said Deputy Prime Minister Tanasak Patimaprakorn, who was welcomed by Robert Kok on behalf of Sydney Mayor Clover Moore.

The khon show was adjusted for a foreign audience. After a preliminary dance in honour of Her Majesty, an onstage, English-speaking narrator explained the rather complex plot of the epic Ramayana, from which the drama derives, with dancers illustrating the different characters and components.

Then the two-act, five-episode show began with “The Abduction of Sita”.

The first half, ending with “Encounter with Sadayu”, ran 45 minutes and evidently proved to be less than gripping for some audience members, who were seen dozing.

After an intermission, though, the final act had a far more exciting opening with “Gathering the Troops” and hit its crescendo with “At the Battlefield”, the grandest scene of all, with Lakshman, Thotsakan and Rama waging stylised combat.

No one in the crowd was feeling sleepy anymore as the dancers performed breathtaking acrobatics, skilfully balancing on thighs and shoulders. They earned loud applause for their efforts.

The show closed on a high note with “Joyous Celebration”, and the phipat treated the audience to a rendition of “Waltzing Matilda”, again to appreciative applause.

Dramatic lighting mounted by Ovation Studio added to the viewers’ interest, though some scenes were too brightly lit, distracting from the stage action. Ovation is the same production house that handles the annual Royal Khon Performance in Bangkok and did the lighting for the 2015 khon presentation in London.

The use of a narrator to explain the scenes beforehand – as opposed to running surtitles above the stage as is common in Western theatre – was in keeping with khon tradition. But it didn’t quite work, since the narration tended to spoil what should have been surprises to come.

If, while watching the show, the meticulous detailing in the costumes was difficult to see, the exhibition afforded close-up views. The masks could be seen in all their ornate painted glory and the jewellery in all its extravagance.

Visitors also got to learn more about Queen Sirikit and her role in keeping khon in the public eye. It was she who once pointed out that even Thais have few chances to see a performance, since the preparations are so difficult and costly.

In 2003 she arranged a meeting of khon scholars and experts in other arts and crafts under the auspices of her Support Foundation. She asked them to find a way to restore the nearly forgotten tradition of the “royal khon performance”.

The first production came in 2007 with a performance of the episode titled “Prommas” presented for the 80th birthday of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej and her 75th birthday. It was such a success that she asked for performances to be staged annually.

Vickers, the Sydney teacher, praised Thailand for being so dedicated to keeping traditional culture alive for future generations.

“I’ve been to Thailand a few times and it’s wonderful – it’s so unusual,” he said. “Thailand is famous for its warm, friendly people and hospitality. But visitors also love to see the traditional culture, and you keep those traditions going.

“One of the problems in Australia and England is that young children aren’t encouraged that much to look at the old traditions. Thailand, to me, is leading the way. It’s very impressive.”

The show at Sydney’s Opera House follows a similarly well-received khon performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall two years ago. Thailand has been promoting the dance form internationally for a decade, in fact.

In 2006 there was a presentation at the Versailles Palace outside Paris as part of a “Tout a Fait Thai” festival of art, film and food. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn also performed traditional Thai music at the Guimet Museum in the French capital.

The Royal Albert Hall show came 130 years after a Siamese orchestra played for the English, during King Rama V’s visit with Queen Victoria. The 2015 khon performance was part of the government-sponsored “Totally Thai” festival marking Princess Sirindhorn’s 60th birthday and 160 years of friendship with Britain.

After Sydney, the troupe travelled to the Powerhouse Arts Centre in Casula, New South Wales, to offer a sampling and demonstrate the wai khru – the ritual dance in tribute to teachers.

Nathapol Khantahiran, consul-general at the Thai Embassy in Sydney, said bringing the khon troupe to Australia as cultural ambassadors was mainly aimed at “strengthening our 65-year relationship, especially between people and people”.

Their Majesties the Queen and late King first visited Australia in August 1962. The Crown Prince, now His Majesty King Vajiralongkorn, underwent five weeks of military training in Sydney in August 1970 and two years later enrolled at Royal Military College Duntroon in Canberra.

Training with the Australian army, combined with bachelor’s studies under the auspices of the University of New South Wales, led to his graduation in 1976 as a lieutenant with a liberal-arts degree.

SEEN FROM THE highway out of Lebanon’s capital Beirut, the Ouzai neighbourhood is a jumble of haphazard construction, but venture inside and its low-slung buildings transform into street art canvases.

Artists taking part in the “Ouzville” project have painted walls in brilliant blues, reds, yellows and greens, adorning others with enormous murals, doodles, and cartoon characters.

The project is a breath of fresh air for Ouzai, a rundown and largely informal neighbourhood on the Mediterranean coast south of Beirut.

It was once a sleepy seaside village, with long stretches of beach that attracted sunbathers from miles away.

But during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war, civilians displaced from elsewhere built slapdash housing in the area, often without permits, to accommodate their needs.

For decades, the neighbourhood’s chaos of jumbled buildings and the web of electrical wires hanging overhead have been among the first things visible from planes landing at Beirut airport.

Ayad Nasser, the property developer behind the Ouzville project, was born in Ouzai in 1970 but moved overseas during the civil war.

He says each landing at the nearby airport was a painful reminder of the neighbourhood’s decline.

“Every time, I was sad landing here. I said, ‘I’m going to take care of Ouzai,’“ he recalls.

Nasser launched his project 18 months ago, inviting Lebanese and international street artists to beautify parts of Beirut – Ouzai in particular.

“I felt that the most abandoned area in Lebanon is Ouzai,” Nasser says in English.

“It’s been 40 years that nobody is taking care of it: not the government, not the local parties, not even the local peoples.”

He worked with Ouzai residents to identify streets and buildings to be brightened up with bursts of colour.

Around 140 buildings have now been painted, with a handful done by the residents themselves. From the street below her first-storey home, Jumana Yunis can be seen preparing green beans for lunch, framed by a large window in the bright yellow outer wall of her building. Below the window is a large mural of a girl’s face, rendered in serene shades of turquoise and royal blue.

At 38, Yunis has spent her whole life in Ouzai and is raising her four children in the home where she was born.

For her, the Ouzville project has “brought joy” to a neighbourhood she loves.

“You’re happy when you go outside and see the colours, even if sometimes it’s strange. You feel that this is a new neighbourhood,” she says, smiling.

“Lots of new people came to the neighbourhood, and we got to meet strangers. It’s really lovely, the neighbourhood has flourished with the colours.”

Nasser said part of the project’s goal is to “break the stereotype” of Ouzai, which many in Lebanon see as a slum to be avoided.

Much of the $140,000 (Bt4.6 million) he has spent on the project has gone on hosting people elsewhere in Lebanon and abroad at a local fish restaurant to encourage them to engage with Ouzai’s residents.

Rania al-Halabi, an amateur artist participating in the project, admits that Ouzai is “an area that we usually only enter with a car, in the best of circumstances”.

But she says the project inspired her from the minute she heard about it.

“Colour can make everything in life beautiful, and this is something that will certainly change everyone’s lives,” she said, as she daubs green paint around a stark face several metres high.

While residents welcome Nasser’s initiative, they note it underlines the relative absence of local services – although municipal workers were digging up a street when reporters visited recently.

“It should be the municipality that does this kind of work, not just here in our area,” says Zakaria Kobrosly, a 57-year-old fisherman, whose home is metres from the shore.

And the project’s future will depend on residents’ willingness to continue the work.

Nasser plans to bow out after he launches a crowd-funding campaign later this month to raise $35,000 towards continuing the project.

Laila Slim, 51, preparing parsley for a salad next to the salmon-coloured outer wall of her home, gestures to an area where the paint was peeling.

“The project is very lovely, but with the humidity, it is damaged already. I hope they will come back again,” she says.

Kobrosly says the project had improved the neighbourhood’s social fabric.

“People used to socialise in their houses, now you find them out in the street below together,” he says.

“It has calmed people’s nerves… they’ve started to get to know each other.”

The best view of Ouzai, he said, is from his fishing boat out in the Mediterranean.

“You can see it all together, with all the colours. It’s like Disneyland or something!”

CERAMICS, carpentry, calligraphy and gem cutting: centuries of Afghan craftsmanship honed on the ancient Silk Road are being preserved in Kabul, a rare success story for an aid project in the war-torn country that organisers are now hoping to replicate with refugees from Syria.

In the 16 years since the fall of the Taleban, the Turquoise Mountain foundation has found some of Afghanistan’s best artisans and assisted them in preserving and passing on their skills, as well helping them showcase their work in international markets.

A painstakingly restored caravanserai – a roadside inn – in Kabul’s oldest district is once again a hub for exquisite woodwork carvers, potters making traditionally-glazed ceramics, Islamic calligraphers, and goldsmiths.

“When we started, there were very few artisans living in Kabul. Most of them were out of the country,” says Abdul Wahid Khalili, the non-profit’s director.

“We had to start with the few old artisans we had so it was very difficult.”

Kabul, a key stop on the silk road, was once renowned for its craftwork, but when Turquoise Mountain began work in 2006 in Kabul’s oldest district Mourad Khani, they had to excavate the caravanserai from tonnes of rubbish.

“For more than 50 years the rubbish had piled up in the yard,” he says, adding that they also immediately began training students.

“The idea was to restore the (caravanserai) and train the new generation,” he says.

Slowly more and more Afghan artisans joined the collective, preserving priceless skills that many feared would disappear altogether due to decades of war – a problem that many Syrian craftsmen, who are fleeing their country in droves, now face.

First started by British diplomat Rory Stewart, the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, which is supported by Britain’s Prince Charles, the British Council, and USAID, says it has now worked with some 5,000 artisans.

Their efforts have breathed new life into Murad Khani’s ancient silver bazaar, with hundreds travelling every day to the restored cedar panelled courtyard to learn and teach woodwork, calligraphy, ceramics, jewellery and miniature painting.

Staff at Turquoise Mountain began by combing Kabul’s streets and knocking on doors in the villages trying to find artisans and students to enrol.

The foundation now employs 30 Afghan masters, who are given retraining and support from the organisation, and then help teach new apprentices in their craft.

Wakil Abdul Aqi Ahmani, 64, is one of the institute’s founding fathers.

“It’s my heritage, it’s important because we have to preserve the culture of our country,” he says, as he leans over his student’s cedarwood panels and explains the art of Jali carving.

Turquoise Mountain’s selection process is now more rigorous: more than 500 candidates apply each year, Khalili says, with just 50 taken on, both girls and boys.

“They show what they learned with their family, in the shops, at the bazaar, with the elders,” says Abasin Bahand, who is in charge of the entry exams.

“They are all trained, but they are not professional – anyone can apply.”

The three years of their training are free, the students are fed and housed if they come from the provinces. They are also given a small monthly stipend to cover transport costs. They leave with double certification – Afghan and British.

“Eighty per cent of our graduates have moved to their own business or are working for other business in the craft they chose,” says Nathan Stroupe, the director of the Turquoise Mountain foundation in Afghanistan.

Some of their carpentry students have decorated palaces in London and the Emirates, and jewellers have received commissions for New York Fashion Week.

“We have a business incubation process to support our students for three years,” Stroupe says.

“Some of the craftsmen had worked for the King,” he said, referring to Mohammed Zaher Shah, who was deposed in 1973.

But the process is still a race against time.

“For Jali and Nuristani carving, we had teachers who were the last in Afghanistan, they passed away. If we were not able to preserve these arts, they would have been lost,” Khalili says.

“Already there are specific areas we lost – there are no copper makers left, no bronze makers.”

“Now we are documenting all those areas, we want to spread (knowledge) all over the country, the idea is to transfer it to the community… if not it will be lost again,” he says.

After its successes in Afghanistan, the foundation is looking at war-torn Syria, which is also seeing ancient traditions threatened by an exodus of artisans.

“We have already met Syrian artisans in Jordan,” says Scott Riddle, a project director who will start work this month.

“Some people in Amman have already managed to set up small ateliers. We’re researching in the refugee camp in Azraq, in the desert in the country’s northeast.”

After Jordan, Turquoise Mountain is looking to work with refugee artisans from Libya.

WITH THE ROYAL cremation of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej less than two months away, the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre is once again paying tribute to the late monarch and his genius in art with a series of exhibitions under the umbrella of its “In Remembrance of HM King Bhumibol: The Supreme Artist” programme.

The entire eighth floor of the centre has been given over to portraits of the late monarch created by leading artists of various generations in different genres as well as precious collectibles under the overall title “Remembrance of the Great King”

More than 1,000 rare photographs of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej and royal family members are on display together with related collectibles.

The seventh floor meanwhile is home to “Earth Water Forest Air: The Royal Inspiration”, an exhibition of 90 artworks by 45 artists who were inspired by the late King’s 4,000-plus Royal projects. Running through November 12, the paintings, sculptures, mixed media, photographs and installations on show focus on the sustainability practices and environmental projects he initiated to bring a better life of his people.

For its part, “Remembrance of the Great King”, which is co-curated by Prof Dr Apinan Poshyananda, Tawatchai Somkong and Sakchai Guy, features more than 160 artworks created during his reign and after his passing by about 100 artists, plus some 1,000 rare photographs – all bearing portraits of His Majesty.

The artworks come in various styles from realistic, abstract, super-realistic, pop art, to childlike, comic and traditional Thai. His Majesty is seen in various poses, from childhood to old age, on the throne, in the field with camera and map, and with his beloved pet dog Khun Thongdaeng.

Watchara Prayoonkum’s bronze sculpture with two of Sakwut Wisesmanee’s charcoals in the background

“Art can heal sorrow, I believe,” says co-curator Apinan. “We combine artworks in different styles by several artists, many of whom have been painting the monarch for years and others who have created new works to express their deepest gratitude and loyalty. One of rare paintings is a portrait of HM King Bhumibol and HM Queen Sirikit by the great Indonesian painter Raden Basoeki Abdullah.”

The portraits of their Majesties King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit by celebrated Indonesian painter Raden Basoeki Abdullah 

Basoeki’s undated 1.5-by1.2-metre oil on canvas features their Majesties in full regalia. The King admired the works of Basoeki so much that he invited him to Thailand to paint the portraits of the royal family. That was the beginning of a friendship that would last for decades, with the monarch referring to Basoeki as a cultural envoy for Indonesia.

Celebrated artist Preecha Thaothong contributes his large bronze sculpture of the late monarch sitting on the throne with his favourite pet dog Khun Thongdaeng at his feet as well as a sculpture of his book “Mahajanaka”. This is the first of nine limited-edition works and the artist has said he will demolish his mould once the series is complete. The two pieces, Preecha adds, will go to a charity auction to raise funds for foundations initiated by the late monarch while the remaining seven will be donated to museums.

Preecha Thaothong’s bronze sculpture and paintings

This portrait of His Majesty is divided into two parts – young and old. He is seen wearing traditional Thai jongkraben – a lower-body wrap – on the right side of his body while on the left he is wearing Western-style trousers.

“He was both the greatest monarch and a down-to-earth being,” says Preecha. “I sculpted the book ‘Mahajanaka’, which the late King penned about perseverance, to underline that for much of his 70 years on the throne, King Bhumibol travelled to the poorest and most remote corners of his Kingdom, sitting on the ground with farmers and villagers, listening to their problems and responding with more than 4,000 sustainable development projects to better their lives.”

His Majesty brought a modern twist to his “Mahajanaka”, which is based on the story from the Tripitaka. It recounts the last incarnation of the Buddha as King Mahajanaka, who ruled the kingdom of Mithila, before being born again as Siddhartha. As King Mahajanaka, he valiantly faces challenges and trouble of every kind – from sinking ships to bloody succession feuds – and survives them all through his remarkable perseverance.

“As his name Bhumibol means ‘Strength of the Land’, I also coated the sculpture with slip – potter’s clay that is thinned and used for coating or decorating ceramics,” adds Preecha.

“After the passing of His Majesty, I created 109 works in different |styles to illustrate his great devotion to the country and all of them |will be displayed at my gallery |in Chiang Rai in October.”

The late King’s innovative solutions to soil problems earned him the first Humanitarian Soil Scientist award from the International Union of Soil Science in 2012. In 2014, the United Nations designated His Majesty’s birthday on December 5 as the annual World Soil Day and the year 2015 as the International Year of Soils.

A hand-engraved portrait of the late monarch by Pinit Phantaprawat

Pinit Phantaprawat, who used to work for the Bank of Thailand and was responsible for engraving King Bhumibol’s portraits for banknote production, displays nine engraved portraits of the late King in both monochrome and colour.

“A hand-made engraving is a series of lines, dashes and dots, combined together to form a complete picture. It’s a complex and intricate form and each picture took me about five months to complete. This process is usually used for banknote production because it nearly impossible for one person to duplicate all the engraving on a particular banknote,” says Pinit, whose engraving appears on the exhibition poster.

Witsanupong Noonan’s bronze sculpture of royal family members

Celebrated photographer Nitikorn Kraivixien turns his talents to painting for the show with an oil on canvas title “Magic Reign” featuring the King’s portrait in the rain.

“I play with the words ‘rain’ and ‘reign’,” says Nitikorn, “King Bhumibol was an amazing person who brought fertility to his land like a magic rain.”

Also on display are bronze and plaster sculptures by noted sculptors Khien Yimsiri, Kaimook Chuto, Sanan Silakorn, and Watchara Prayoonkum as well as acrylic and gold leaf on canvas by Thongchai Srisukprasert, digital print on canvas by Thavorn Ko-Udomvit and oils by Panya Vinjinthanasarn and Rearngsak Boonyavanish.

More than 1,000 rarely seen photographs of King Bhumibol and his family members are on show in an adjacent gallery. Ranging in size from one inch to 1.6 metres, many are from the private collections of Narat Napawan, Thanatit Chinkrittikul, Somchai Cheewasuthanon and Chak Kanchanakad. Joining them are portraits captured by nine talented lensmen such as Taywin Chanyawong and Thaweechai Jaowattana.

“Virtually every Thai home has a portrait of the monarch. We chose an enclosed library-like space to display this collection of photographs so that visitors can fully concentrate on the works. The curved wall is covered with his portraits, which allow for a panoramic view and adds emotional clout. The room is also designed in an oval shape to represent the King’s eye, as if he were still keeping watch over his people. As his subjects, we should know how to continue our lives by following his footsteps,” says co-curator Sakchai Guy.

The room has glass cases arranged in the form of the Thai number 9 displaying small photographs, their provenance as well as the photographer often unknown, along with precious collectibles related to King Bhumibol such as old books, cameras, spectacles, a saxophone and a violin.

A rare autographed picture of the late monarch and his late elder brother King Ananda Mahidol and late elder sister HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana as children. 

“Among the highlights is a rare autographed picture of the late monarch and his late elder brother King Ananda Mahidol and late elder sister HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana as children. Though this picture is worth around Bt20 million, it’s a priceless treasure for the collector,” adds Sakchai. “Another photograph is a portrait of the late King and Queen Sirikit captured by Chamnong Bhirombhakdi and signed by their Majesties, which were normally given as a gift to the diplomats.”

An example of the signed photos of their Majesties King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit traditionally presented to the diplomats

The last and the highlight of the series is the exhibition “Through the Lens of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej”, which opened to the public yesterday. Continuing until January 7 on the ninth floor, it features some 200 photographs captured by the late King during his 70-year reign, many of which have never before been shown to the public.

“The exhibition is divided into three sections. During the early of his reign, the monarch mostly photographed his family. The next section displays the photographs he took during his journeys through the country to improve the lives of the people and put them on the path to self-sufficiency and independence. The last part is a series of photos he took towards the end of his reign when his health was poor and he mostly stayed at Klai Kangwon Palace in Hua Hin. He loved to capture his pet dogs and his surroundings,” says Nitikorn.

GREAT ART PAYS HOMAGE

“Remembrance of the Great King” continues until November 26 on the eighth floor of Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

The centre opens daily (except Monday) from 10am to 9pm. It’s at Pathumwan intersection, opposite MBK mall (BTS: National Stadium station).

Call (02) 214 6630-8 or visit http://www.BACC.or.th.

The exhibition, which presents artworks by these three different generations, was officially opened by Chamaiporn Bangkombang, Thailand’s national artist in literature of 2014, Linda Cheng, River City Bangkok managing director, Payom Valaiphatchra, executive vice president of Syllable and fellow artists TeeraparbLohitkhun, PaiwarinKhaoNgam, Rewat Panpipat, Niwat Kongpien and Hongjorn Sanehngamjaroen.

Saksiri graduated in art from Pohchang Academy of Arts and Phra Nakhon Teachers’ College but then switched to music composition, poetry and literature. He has been recognised with many national honours including the Silpathorn Artist award from the Ministry of Culture, the Outstanding Thai Language User Award by the Royal Institute of Thailand; as well as a SeaWrite Award and the Mekong River Literature Prize.

For the exhibition, Saksiri has contributed a range of artworks and these are displayed alongside the unpolluted naive artstyled of his mother Chumsai, and Rincom’s debut collection.

Chumsai, a former primary school teacher from Chai Nat province first took up painting when she was 70 years old. Self-taught artist, she has created a body of work of more than 300 paintings, some of which have been shown in exhibitions.

She is also the author of “It’s Late, Darling”, which went on to win a special mention at the National Book Fair and the Bangkok International Book Fair 2005. She has been recognised with the Narathip Award.

“8 88 60” is open daily from 10am to 8pm and runs through September 10. Find out more by calling Natthi of RCB Galleria at (085) 1519363 or Napat of Syllable at (088) 9596369.

MORE THAN 300 volunteer artists have almost completed the majestic murals that will adorn the Phra Thinang Songtham – the Royal Merit-making Pavilion at the crematorium being readied for the funeral in October of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The Office of Ten Divisions of Traditional Thai Crafts said this week the huge murals for the pavilion where members of the royal family will assemble were about 90-per-cent complete. The work is being done at the agency’s premises in Nakhon Pathom.

The cremation rites are scheduled for October 26 at Sanam Luang in Bangkok.

The main structure among the ceremonial pavilions adjoining the crematorium will be adorned with painted depictions of projects initiated by the beloved late monarch for the benefit of the country and its people.

There are 46 key events depicted in all, showing King Rama IX directing and revisiting the projects. The individual scenes forming the large composite murals are based on sketches by renowned artist Montien Chuseuhung.

For this most solemn of occasions, the Phra Thinang Songtham has been conceived as a contemporary structure with a unique design. About 200 metres in length, it has the rectangular shape of a formal assembly hall.

Its primary function will be to shelter His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn as he presides over the funeral ceremony. Joining him there will be other members of the royal family, visiting heads of state, Cabinet ministers, senior officials, foreign ambassadors and other honoured guests. The hall is equipped with 2,500 seats.

The magnificent murals on canvas will occupy three walls of the Phra Thinang Songtham. The first wall is the largest, covering 93 square metres. For this, artisans of the Office of Ten Divisions of Traditional Thai Crafts have painted scenes from 19 royally initiated projects in and around Bangkok.

They include the agricultural testing grounds at Chitralada Palace, the use of the Chaipattana aerator that the late King invented, and the “monkey cheek” scheme for retaining water he devised for times of flood and drought. The Rama XIII Bridge over the Chao Phraya River is shown, as is the Khlong Lat Pho Floodgate on its eastern bank.

The second wall, 71 metres square, is being prepared by artisans of the Office of Traditional Arts and art students from Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin. It features 13 more royal projects, these found in the North and Northeast.

The third wall, also 71 square metres, is under the purview of Bunditpatanasilpa, the College of Fine Arts, whose artists have shown 14 royal projects in the South and elsewhere in the Central region.

Artist-lecturer Sanan Rattana noted that painting for a royal cremation is by necessity time-constrained. “We have no time to waste,” he said. “Everything must be done perfectly and on time, and we have less than two weeks to go.”

That was during a visit to the Nakhon Pathom studio early this month. The mural panels are to be completed within the next week or so, so they can be transported to Sanam Luang and fitted in ample time to ensure there are no problems.

“For the artists,” Sanan said, “this is like taking a final exam, but we’ve passed this type of ‘exam’ three times before – painting panels for the funerals of Their Royal Highnesses the Princess Mother in 1996, Princess Galyani Vadhana in 2008, and Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda in 2011. The Gaew Galaya – the floral embellishment we designed – is now instated in the study of traditional Thai art.”

The work requires great effort and an intense unity of spirit, Sanan said.

“The artists are all volunteering their time, and many of them are quite famous. They’ve come together whole-heartedly, eat and sleep here on the premises, sine sometimes they prefer to work at night. We all want to do this for our beloved King.”

What distinguish the work, he said, is that a lot of research is required. They tracked down the exact times and places of each event depicted and studied photographs to see who was there and what they looked like, where they stood and what they were wearing, even their insignia of office.

“For example, during His Majesty’s visit to the flood-prevention project in Chumpon, we used as reference a photo showing him, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and then-Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, who is a College of Fine Arts graduate and even helped with the painting,” Sanan said.

Chumpon also happens to be Sanan’s hometown, so he’s been able to depict the trees there exactly as they look.

Saknarin Koonsawat, who’s responsible for the likenesses of the late King, said he’s truly honoured to be involved in the funeral preparations. He showed an old photograph of His Majesty visiting the Hup Krapong Royal Project.

“It’s important to convey the correct facial expression, the walk and the movement,” he said. “His Majesty is our greatest role model in life. Even if he’s no longer among us, his virtues remain in our hearts.”

Other well-known artists participating include Rattanachai Chairat, Pichit Paidan, Wathana Kreethong, Karn Rattanajul, Jeerapong Khunpaew, Boonpan Wongpakdee and Booncherd Khemngan.

ANGELS READY TO TAKE WING

Also nearly finished are paintings of celestial beings intended for the royal crematorium itself, the Chak Bang Phloeng. These too have been the responsibility of the Office of Ten Divisions of Traditional Thai Crafts.

Artist Kiattisak Suwannaphong said this week the panels were on schedule to be framed early in the coming month ready for transporting to the site in Sanam Luang.

The remarkable west panel has had something of a royal blessing: Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn decorated the central jewels on the god Narayana’s headdress with the nine auspicious colours.

The artists have finished the multihued dresses of the goddesses and angels, filling in their jewellery with gold leaf.

What visitors will see are eight scenes from the lives of the Vedic deity Narayana, pointing to the late monarch’s divine status. The cremation is viewed as his return to the realm of the gods, and these murals employ what’s been termed the “King Rama IX style of art” with, for example, a distinctive way of depicting musculature.

“The facial expressions are calm and tranquil, as if they’re deep in meditation,” Kiattisak says. “According to ancient belief, they come to attend the royal cremation and will escort His Majesty to Heaven.”

The murals are double-sided. On the reverse side are gorgeous lotuses in bloom, montha thip flowers arranged in the feunguba pattern, and the late King’s monogram. The scenes are brought to life with depictions of creatures living in the lotus pond, such Nile fish, dragonflies, grasshoppers and butterflies.

Former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai, a talented artist, has spent months painting panels for the staircases leading up to the main crematorium.

In a tribute to Her Majesty the Queen, patron of traditional craftspeople, he has costumed his angels in garments of classic woven materials, bearing famous patterns from all four regions of Thailand.

Composer Somtow Sucharitkul is this coming weekend staging another episode of his sprawling work in progress, “The Ten Lives of the Buddha”.

It will be at the Thailand Culture Centre Saturday through Monday.

“Suwana Sama – The Faithful Son” is the third entry in a cycle of DasJati stories that will be familiar to all Buddhists.

Somtow has for 10 years been working on the cycle of “music dramas” (he shuns the word “opera”), each episode pertaining to a different incarnation of the Lord Buddha.

“Suwana Sama – The Faithful Son”, Episode 3 in Somtow Sucharitkul’s planned 10-part opera “The Ten Lives of the Buddha”, is at the Thailand Culture Centre next weekend. Photo/Siam Opera

When completed, says London-based magazine Opera Now, it will be “the largest integrated work in the history of classical music”.

This is the Bangkok debut for “Suwana Sama”, whose premiere two years ago at Rangsit University’s Suryadhep Auditorium in Pathum Thani garnered rave reviews as far away as London and Warsaw.

Saturday’s performance in Bangkok is dedicated to Her Majesty the Queen, whose birthday follows a week later.

Somtow describes “Suwana Sama” as a simple story of miracles and of the love of a mother that can reach even beyond death.

The Opera Now reviewer said it “proved both thoroughly enjoyable and deeply moving, with a stunning and magical ending”.

An international cast has been assembled, spearheaded by Thailand’s Jak Cholvijarn as Bodhisattava, the incarnation of the Buddha. Chicago’s Stacey Tappan, Australian bass Damian Whiteley and dramatic soprano Cassandra Black from Houston, Texas, as a statue that comes to life round out the main cast.

“Suwana Sama – The Faithful Son”, Episode 3 in Somtow Sucharitkul’s planned 10-part opera “The Ten Lives of the Buddha”, is at the Thailand Culture Centre next weekend. Photo/Siam Opera

Award-winning conductor Trisdee na Patalung will conduct the Siam Philharmonic Orchestra. The opera will be sung in English with Thai subtitles.

Each work in the DasJati cycle has different musical innovations. This one is scored for two chamber orchestras, positioned on either side of the conductor.

They represent the dualities of the story – two villages, an urbane court and a magical forest, natural and supernatural, gods and humans.

The noble gods of the Tavatimsa Heaven also perform earthly roles as very venal humans.

“This is not ‘opera’ in the traditional sense, which is why I use the word ‘music drama’,” says Somtow. “In the DasJati music dramas, dance propels the story as much as singing, and modern narrative modes derived from cinema underscore the presentation.”

It is also a new way to present the Buddhist message in an accessible format, reaching more and more people both in Thailand and overseas.

As the Indian ambassador tweeted recently, speaking of the Buddhist link between India and Thailand, “I can’t think any other contemporary work that brings out the civilisational connections so beautifully.”

“Suwana Sama – The Faithful Son”, Episode 3 in Somtow Sucharitkul’s planned 10-part opera “The Ten Lives of the Buddha”, is at the Thailand Culture Centre next weekend. Photo/Siam Opera

Four of Somtow’s DasJati works have already had Bangkok premieres – “The Silent Prince”, “Mahajanaka”, “Bhuridat – The Dragon Lord” and “Nemiraj – Chariot of Heaven”.

The first in the series, “The Silent Prince”, travelled in Europe last year. The Munich newspaper Nordbayerischer Kurier offered “a massive round of applause for an opera that is scenically otherworldly, yet musically accessible, whose music soars high even as its ethics plumb depths of profundity.”

THE STORY CONTINUES

– “Suwana Sama – The Faithful Son” will be presented at the Thailand Cultural Centre from Saturday through Monday at 8pm except Sunday, when the curtain rises at 4pm.

– Seats cost Bt500 to Bt5,000 at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

-To arrange bookings for large groups, schools, clubs and DasJati Pledge Supporters, call Khun Ratana at (089) 136 9981 or (02) 231 5273.