NOT EVEN PINEAPPLES

Compact Knowledge

2010-01-27T10:48:00.006+07:00

http://bit.ly/atmFJy

Everything needs to be tiny in this era (even it's very difficult to remember). This is an article that "Not Even Pineapples" is included, about cats, fish pillows, salads, pineapples and Thasnai Sethaseree's works by Angkrit Ajchariyasophon.

It's very advantageous for everyone who can read Thai.

Salad Is Not a Thing

2009-11-16T11:40:00.011+07:00

Thasnai Sethaseree's latest exhibition
Salad Is Not a Thing สลัดไม่ใช่อะไรอื่น
November 28 - December 22, 2009
Angkrit Gallery, Nanglae, ChiangRai, Thailand
angkritgallery.com

สลัด v. (ชื่อยำชนิดหนึ่งตามแบบชาวตะวันตก ซึ่งมีน้ำมันสลัดประสม) salad v. (ซัด ผละ หรือสะบัด โดยทำให้สั่นหรือกระพือให้แรงเพื่อให้สิ่งอื่นที่ติดอยู่หลุดไป) shake off, throw off, fling, toss away v. (โจรสลัด) pirate, buccaneer, corsair related. ดีด, สะบัด

“Salad” does not come out of one specific culture, but was a core food item dating back to ancient times. The contents of the salad would be dependent on what was available, seasonality, and trade routes of the day. What is all mixed together in a bowl of salad, a mixture of vegetable, fruits and some meats, signifies a concept of the integration of many different things and cultures.

“Salad” in Thai pronunciation has a couple of different phonemic meaning , 1) สะ-หลัด / salad {salad v.}; to shake off, throw off, fling, toss away, 2) โจรสลัด /jone-salad {pirate, buccaneer, bandit n.} To jumble “salad” in both English and Thai phoneme in one bowl without uniting their segmental units, it should imply ideas of flexibility, possibility, contingency, mixture, flux and flow, diversity, fusion, separation, juxtaposition, absurdity, absorbing, refusing, corrupting, outrage, illegal copying, scattering, struggling, revenge, freedom, crime, negation etc.

Moreover, it happens that this bowl of mixed languages’ phoneme reveals also ideas of political structure and its power relations embedded deeply in the opposite site – stiffness, impossibility, certainty, singularity, stillness, uniformity, disassociation, validity, reason, distracting, accepting, happiness, trustworthy, originality, monopoly, surrendering, sympathy, suppression, good deed, institution, etc.

If “salad” making can be considered as a culture of practices in some sort, these practices do not merge together into a single homogeneous culture. Rather, it connotes multiple juxtaposed layers of articles, and somehow of an idea of cultural pluralism. Within this space of practices, the physical entity of power over resources control becomes loose, and it allows the flow of heterogeneous sources of diversity of experiences in a new environment; as yet it consents to conflicts politically. Then choices of anything can be conceived of endless alternative. In this sense, “salad” is not a thing, but a simple survival tactic, serving cold people who are driven away from the center of power.

When objective properties of what so ever we call “a thing” do not really exist, it has no sense for a question to be asked about the “what” – it is better to seek for the “why” and “how”……of course you can go on asking what this show is all about.

Picasa photo album "Salad Is Not a Thing" Opening

Is Color A Nationality?

2009-04-29T13:25:00.016+07:00

Are you RED?

Are you YELLOW?

Are you BLUE?

Thailand's national flag is RED WHITE BLUE
(traditionally mean nationality, religion and monarch).

Where is WHITE?

It's the question from a monk who is represented as white in the flag. He chucked it into the discussants and then the direction of discussion had jumped to the conclusion of nothingness.

Buddhism seems to be the way out of every problem, but why Thailand, which has 90% of population admire in Buddism cannot cease the political conflictions in nowadays?

Or religion is fading away from the mind of Thai people? That is the monk's final question.

Makeshift Slideshow

2009-04-23T14:32:00.014+07:00

We're sorry, N.E.P. crews are in troubles. So, no story for now. Let's see photos of the discussion day at the press conference room of BACC. And I'll tell you later what happened in that day.

go to source ALBUM IN PICASA

Cultural Nationalism Discussion

and more photos of all mocked-up masterpieces in Imagined Museum.

go to source ALBUM IN PICASA

Mock-terpieces

A Night We Lost in a Museum

2009-04-03T19:11:00.006+07:00

A man in a black t-shirt who's holding a walky talky is a BACC officer who led us move all art objects to an enormous elevator up to the second floor, but... he had just realized that the building he worked for months has no connection from elevators to the exhibition area.

Finally, someone found a door to the hall. We had to take all art objects through a narrow passage again.

Art Assaulting

2009-04-03T18:11:00.006+07:00

Midnight, we, N.E.P. crews & Gallery VER, attacked BACC with our all mocked up art masterpieces and was co-operated by security guards.

Exclusive Truck

2009-04-03T17:26:00.009+07:00

Gallery Ver is on the second floor of Klongsarn Plaza Building where the stairs is very narrow. We cut the Rodchenko's goat horn out.

Downstairs is Klongsarn Market. Every night, after it closed, it's filled with garbages. Tonight's special is rainwater in chuckholes as our obstruction to move all 38 art masterpieces to our exclusive truck.

Somewhere over the flyover, Thongyhod, Baitong, Ton & Thasnai stood in the tray of the truck to take care all expensive works (mock-up).

Not many time that we could stand in an unusual place like this. Thanks to Not Even Pineapples project and ART! that allow us to do what we cannot do in usual legal spaces.

The Last Mock-up

2009-04-03T12:34:00.004+07:00

The last few nights, we got a warm intervention from the superior Lamphun artist, Mit Jai-in. Many helps reached to our studio every night with brilliant conversations and activities. Last night, he left us the last masterpiece mock-up for the Not Even Pineapples project, Carl Andre's Magnesium-Zinc Plain (1969) in colorful version.

And this is complete list of masterpieces you'll see in our IMAGINED MUSEUM [HARD COPY] at BACC, tomorrow.

Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (La Gioconda), 1503–1506
Claude Monet, Impression, Sun Rise (soleil levant), 1872
Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night (De sterrennacht), 1889
Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893-1910
Pablo Picasso, Man with a Hat, 1912
Marcel Duchamp, Bicycle Wheel, 1913
David Bomberg, The Mud Bath, 1914
Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, 1917
Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Yellow, Blue and Black, 1921
Max Ernst, The Elephant Celebes, 1921
René Magritte, The Treachery of Images, 1928–29
Victor Vasarely, Outdoor artwork at the church of Pálos in Pécs, unknown
Salvador Dalí, The Persistence of Memory, 1931
Pin Malakul, The Democracy Monument (อนุสาวรีย์ประชาธิปไตย), 1939
Poom Malakul, Victory Monument (อนุสาวรีย์ชัยสมรภูมิ), 1941
Khien Yimsiri, Land of the Smile (ดินแดนแห่งความยิ้มแย้ม), 1950
Jackson Pollock, Autumn Rhythm No. 30, 1950
Robert Rauschenberg, Monogram, 1955
Prasong Patamanuj, Chedi Wat Pho (เจดีย์วัดโพธิ์), 1958
David Smith, CUBI VI, 1963
Joseph Kosuth, One and Three Chairs, 1965
Chumraung Vichienket, Group (กลุ่ม), 1965
Andy Warhol, The Velvet Underground and Nico Album cover, 1967
Pablo Picasso, Untitled sculpture (The Chicago Picasso), 1967
Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup I, 1968
Carl Andre, Magnesium-Zinc Plain, 1969
Chamruang Vichienket, Family (ครอบครัว), 1971
Chang Saetang, 14 October 1973 (14 ตุลา 2516), 1973
Cheewa Komolmalai, Struggle Face (ใบหน้าสู้ชีวิต), 1974
Robert Indiana, LOVE sculpture, 1976
Barbara Kruger, Untitled (I shop therefore I am), 1987
Philippe Patrick Starck, Juicy Salif, 1990
Jeff Koons, Puppy, 1992
Louise Bourgeois, Spider, 1996
Roy Lichtenstein, House I, 1996/1998
Banksy, Pulp Fiction Bananas, unknown
Yoshitomo Nara, Your Dog, 2001
Yoshitomo Nara, Yellow in Blue, 2005

If all these works are the real pieces, they'll cost many TRILLIONS BAHT! Isn't it a nice chance for art admirers in Thailand to see many masterpieces from around the world? Not only an incredible exhibition, but you'll also meet a very interesting discussion in the topic of "Cultural Nationalism" by many fascinating Thai intellectuals. See you there ;)

April Full's Day

2009-04-02T13:55:00.012+07:00

Our studio is full with art masterpieces, ideas, crews & spectators.

But there is no masterpiece here anymore. Everything will be moved to Bangkok Art & Culture Center tonight. Here's only us... We're still living and working inside Ver Gallery.

This Is Not Even Pineapples

2009-04-02T03:33:00.000+07:00

ANANAS
[ french word: pineapple ]

BANANA
[ english mot: banane ]

หลั่น ลัล~ล้า
[ thai word: la la la ♫ ]

As Yet Untold

2009-04-01T01:34:00.004+07:00

Thasnai came back to the studio last night with a news about closing party of As Yet Unnamed project at About Cafe'. I was a little bit curious with this news because I thought that About Cafe has closed for years. I often walked around that place, looked inside to see its emptiness. This art space was founded by Misiem Yipinsoi, one of the important Thai contemporary artists, standing opposite to the former Thai Wattana Panich Publishing, one of the important Thai education book publishers, located in the area full of hookers.

We went there to see many strangers who are familiar with Thasnai. Their party is fun with talking, eating & karaoke-ing. I'm just a guy standing on the edge of artistic circumstances. I knew no one. So, I stood outside of the gallery and watched through its windows to watch a slideshow of the project documentation. They occupied this dead art space with their exhibitions. Some exhibitions are interesting, some are not. However, why didn't we receive any information about this one year project before? And why the spectators of each exhibitions look same same?

Process of the As Yet Unnamed project looked alike 24 Hrs. Art Gallery we saw in the Brandnew 2008 exhibition at BUG. Perhaps, many Thai artists are facing with the problems of art space.

Furthermore, there were an exhibition of photographic slideshow on the second floor. It's very poetic but... I might be too sleepy to see it until the end. Our exhaustion dragged us home... gallery... studio... or something you wanna named it. Thasnai followed us few hours later. Before he went to bed, he tried to make a souvenir for this Saturday discussants with bananas and resin.

It failed, eventually... Good night.

We're Blogged

2009-03-31T18:52:00.013+07:00

Right here; artscenetv.net where is an interesting site to update movement of Thai contemporary art.

But we have something more update than the information in that site. We have a party... actually, a lunch for opening the exhibition and discussion in the last day of this project at noon, April 4th.

See you at the press conference room on the first floor of BACC.

Bangkok Art Trip #4: Million Baht Babies

2009-03-30T14:57:00.017+07:00

The last weekend art trip, narrated by Thongyhod (again).
This is the forth journey for Thai art scenes for each weekend with Not Even Pineapple crews. Let's see where we've been to.

The first round; we went to Conference of Birds Gallery. We stunned and enjoyed with 2 projects. "WAFAA BILAL'S VIRTUAL JIHADI", Shoot An Iraqi: computer game / photographs / drawings / video about painful and suffering from Iraq war by USA that artist experienced.

And "The Last Supper" by Bigert & Bergstrom, focusing on this discrepancy between historical "meaning" and contemporary use of a tradition that has lost its connection with the past. The film mixes documentary material with live sculptures and animated graphics. That was a cool starting of the day.

The second round; we went to Kathmundu Photo Gallery. We faced the "Silent Mode", lots Japanese people were in silent and emptiness mode on the train, which is portraits shot one by one. Feelless till super suffer.

They left something and went to something, but there's "nothing" in between. I wonder how about Thai scene, isn't it the same?

The third round; at 100 Tonson Gallery, "What a place tell us", 2 Japanese artists, photography and site-specific exhibition.

The fourth round; "Distinguished Encounters" at Sombat Permpoon Gallery. Various Thai contemporary artists' exhibition. They have paintings, videos and sculptures.

Here we met 2 crazy dogs in gallery! That was amazing. A brown one has special ability he can "Wai" so fast and so many times with a good body balance, which is different from ordinary dogs' "Wai". The other dog has some problems with his nerve system. When he walks, he looks like a drunken dog.

The final round; we went to TCDC (Thailand Creative & Design Center), which is Thaksin's heritage, trying to organize and start to focus (or just do something) on design things and make money from Thainess as a meeting point and knowledge center, blah blah blah...

They have exibition areas and a library. It's quite difficult to appoach for people who have no money like me.

Red corner win! (not political meaning).

Hail Digital Technology

2009-03-28T18:39:00.006+07:00

Say Hi to Our New Painter. Her name is PSC2410. She painted Barbara Kruger's famous piece very quickly.

List of today new works;
Chamruang Vichienket, Family (ครอบครัว), 1971
Barbara Kruger, Untitled (I shop therefore I am), 1987

Syndromes and Fluorescences

2009-03-28T00:33:00.016+07:00

Bar 23 in the middle of Soi Sukhumvit 23 (Soi Prasarnmit). It's a mini art venue + bar, which belongs to Freeform Magazine team who've tried to be a mouthpiece for Thai art scene for the past few years (with a dozen of issues). Luckily, tonight, the place was crowded with Japanese! We lost in translation and there were no space for us to keep in touch with this art scene. We're real otherness for them. Nobody cared about us even when we tried to get close to the bar or go to see the deserted upstairs with a small art magazine bookcase. So, we get out of there quickly.

Then we walked to Soi Cowboy nearby. It's a very wonderful eye-popping place and good space to take us away from art for a while.

Perhaps, this century, we might need more pink scenes to stay away from some boredom.

Art Fatigue Syndrome

2009-03-27T17:55:00.019+07:00

We've talked about art scenes too much. We're starting to cloyed with them. Today, we lost Ton again. He gotta go back to wrap up his artworks in a thesis exhibition in Chiang Mai. And Fon, our great participant, did not come to help us.

No painters, no paintings.

Why most of Thai modern art masterpieces are paintings? However, Thongyhod finished his new sculpture mock-up, Baitong started some design master pieces, Kom tried to finish some unfinished works and Nong-Ar started to paint courageously.

Let's update the list of works;
David Bomberg, The Mud Bath, 1914
Prasong Patamanuj, Chedi Wat Pho (เจดีย์วัดโพธิ์), 1958
Chumraung Vichienket, Group (กลุ่ม), 1965
Philippe Patrick Starck, Juicy Salif, 1990

2 days ago, the German artist from Japan, Sebastian Loewe, became our spectator. He suggested us to visit an art bar on Sukhumvit Road. Tonight, we're gonna check it out. Hopefully, we're not gonna throw up as any art topics in the taxi on our way back to the gallery.

Bangkok Art Trip #3: Red & Yellow

2009-03-27T16:21:00.030+07:00

Yesterday immediate trip, narrated by Ton - Pratompong Namjaidee.
We put down art equipments at 3 pm,
ready to get on a cross-river boat.
Then we got in a taxi to Bangkok University Gallery,
our first destination.

It was very crowded in the cab due to our five fully-developed figures. On our way to the gallery, the cab's radio was turn on loudly. The radio-listener who called was increasing more heat to the program by saying something about "Our Democracy". We looked outside the cab, saw a red pick-up car with our former prime minister's smile. It is actually a fan. "Red...Yellow...Red...Yellow" -- that's what we hear from that call.

Finally, we arrive. We walked through one of the university's gate, passed some buildings, saw some students, and walked along to the other side. This art gallery looks like it should.........

Brandnew 2009 is exhibited from March to April with two artists Olan Netrangsi and Kritsada Dussadeewanich and Gridthiya Gaweewong as a curator. The first room is on the second floor. "Dice" by Olan Netrangsi is an installation art that let the spectator to participate with it. A table game that we have to see the projected shaking dice-in-a-bottle video on the wall, which connected to a timer for a dice-roller that assigned us how many grids we can walk in one turn. If a player stops at the special grid, and participant has to do what the grid says. It's like a snakes and ladders game that we used to play since we were kids.

On the Fourth floor of the building. Kritsada Dussadeewanich, who is the owner of 24 hrs. Art Project that allow his artist friends to join. He presented the thinking process for artworking that is basically based on "space" more than the word "24 hrs.", which was presented in the title. It is "the new space", but it still lies in the meaning of "art space". This thinking process show us that the artist want to let formal "art spaces" such as art centers or galleries to rethink and see the importance of artists' thoughts, which are the main force that drive arts forward...

Visiting galleries is very exhausting. We all agree that we should eat something by the main cafeteria of the university. Smoothies and oily rice with fried mince pork were laid on the table. We spent half and hour eating and discussing what we've seen. Then we an underground train for 15 minutes from Klong Toei to Sam Yan to our next destination, BACC. We arrived there in the beginning of the night, which is a normal time for opening an exhibition. We walked to the second floor, looked down and saw art activities that was going on. It was very crowded and chaos with reporters holding cameras and video cameras.

Walking from the third floor to the venue of "Gondola al Paradiso Co., Ltd.", we saw the exhibition's text on a display window that tells us briefly about these art projects are going to move to show in the 53rd International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia in Italy. We spread out and took some pictures, some of us met their friends unexpectedly. Someone in the event looks very familliar, but we're not sure who they are. Perhaps they might be people who work in many art scenes we went to. "Art scene is very narrow." That's the first thing that comes to my mind. "It might be true." and that's the answer...

The art center served us the foamy, smooth drinks. We talked for a while and moved to the first floor to look at the room that will use for "Not Even Pineapples" exhibition on April 4th.

It's getting dark, and many official places had closed, so we decided to go to some place "unofficial". That unofficial place located near Hua Chang Bridge. We walked from the last official place of the day, along the footpath, across the bridge, to that unofficial place to do our official routine work.

Oh, we still heard the whisper "Red..Yellow..Red..Yellow" in our ears.

Bangkok Art Trip #2: Gallery Always Close on Monday

2009-03-26T22:10:00.025+07:00

Weekly art trip, narrated by Thongyhod - Taviphut Praengoen
It's about 3 days ago. This week, there were only two of us that took a tour to art exhibition and gallery, Ton (a guy in picture) and me. And let's see what we did.

As in general sense of art, people know that gallery always close on Monday. So, we didn't have many choices, but some interesting places and art exhibitions are still open. First we went to the Silom Galleria, the art stuff shopping center. We saw a lot of shops (especially gems and ornaments shop) and showcases, and we visited some of the galleries in there.

Nothing special, nothing surprise,
just a place for home-furnished lover. It's ordinary.

Maybe art label has printed and came from the sky,
that's why it's so expensive and holy.

Next destination, we go to GOETHE Institute for photo exhibition "City Scene". I did not have any feelings with the scene they try promoting. It's just a general photo exhibition, considering both content and presentation. Those things made me reconsidered (in my mind) with 2 topics.

1. Cultural reproduction in Thailand today. What are we trying to do? And what are they trying to search and why are they trying to understand Thai?

2. Art in the meaning of technology of power. What is the agenda beneath? What have concealed under representation of art scene? (in general case)

3. 4. 5. 6... >>>

enough

It was a hot day.
We decided to have a break by drinking Coca-cola here.

Ahhhh....

Then we got on MRT and walk through Chulalongkorn Art Center for "Brandnew 2008", which was curated for Thai young artists, and also exhibit at Bangkok University gallery, but we will go there next time because it closed on Monday like most of gallery. That's alright..

First floor we got a "very warm" welcome from library staff at the gate, ha ha ha. The exhibition runs on seventh floor so we had to use the elevator.

Then what?

Like in the pictures, here we saw three projects from three artists of Brandnew 2008.

Photos, Drawings and Video Arts.......................???
_)(@$%&*(_)*%^&#!$@^%)(_+*)*(&)#@&*)&*_)(&*^*()*&##!@#!@$%*

So that's all i remember. Nothing left for Monday.

P.S. A gal at registration desk of art thesis exhibition at Jamjuree Gallery is so cute and beautiful. It was a shot of that hot day. Sorry, I cannot post docu-photo here, this blog reserved for ART ART ART content only. Seriously.

see u.

tourISM

2009-03-26T10:45:00.010+07:00

Let's take a look around our studio, Ver Gallery, with Taviphat. We can't make subtitles for you because of pirate video editing program problems. Sorry to foreigners.

N.E.P. Crews

2009-03-25T22:06:00.029+07:00

It might be impolite to talk about 5 of us in every blog without introducing ourselves of the Not Even Pineapples exhibition to you.

Pratompong Namjaidee or Ton
He graduated from Chiang Mai University, Faculty of Fine Arts, majored in Painting. While studying painting, he expressed the idea about identity representation at that moment. The way of overlapping between space and time affects the identity expression. Besides, finding out reasons and factors also interfere the identity expression which is relate to "Mindset Reserch", in order to understand and reconsider in identity showing. This issue is presented through various kinds of art work such as paintings, mixed medium and videos.

Atikom Mukdaprakorn or Kom
The oblivist who use many memory recording tools without proficiency to create some art form that he always forget what he thinks in the beginning by the time he finished. Many many doubts in his head about uncertain identities and relations of people in the information era bring his artworks to the role of interactive and participative art. Sometimes, he forgets where the boundary of art is. So, forgive him when you notice that his art is not ART!, please.
http://sosharp.multiply.com/

Thanaphong Phromdee or Num

Nara Sirayanon or Baitong
Man who was born to be a "Duck"...or we can say that he can do everything but there's nothing he's good at. However, there's something that makes him become a "Super Duck" which is when he loves someone, he can do everything for her. If you wish to get something good from him, just be his beloved. N' it's not hard tho..cuz Baitong loves everyone!
http://202.28.25.135/~nara

Patipat Boonmungmee or Nong Ar
Our newcomer, the Chiang Mai-born musician and sound artist who had never came to Bangkok by himself. This is the first time he lives in Bangkok more than 2 days and he's having a great time living in the gallery. So, we have to take him visiting many places around Bangkok to make the trip worth his life.
http://aressic.hi5.com/

Taviphut Praengoen or Thongyhod
..."66 8 6658 4200" FYI.

We are art students in many classes of Thasnai Sethaseree, the artist who projected Not Even Pineapples, from the Faculty of Fine Arts & the Media Arts and Design, Chiang Mai University. Though we're art students but we're not really sure we'll be an artist in future. After this project, we might get some answers about our artistic lives.

Week of Confusion

2009-03-25T14:05:00.019+07:00

We're sorry that we haven't updated our blog for a week. We are still staying at the gallery and mocking up more art masterpieces. Last week, we lost 3 of 5 crews including me (Atikom, the blogger) due to our own business about academic assignments in Chiang Mai. This biz made me feel uncertain about Arts. In my perspective, the boundary of art is expandable unlimitedly as long as it is processed to lead people to spaces in the land of ideas and imaginations by any means. There's no refusal but can be dicussed. As Jean Baudrillard said, "No matter how marginal, or banal, or even obscene it may be, everything is subject to aestheticization, culturalization, museumification", but after this assignment presentation, I feel like I crashed into the hardest wall that imprisoned me inside the art territory, I cannot go exploring the land of unknown outside. Even art has its own limitation.

I don't want to bother you with my complaints, just leave it there. It will pass us by, eventually. However, 2 of our guys, Taviphut and Nara was left here to continue the project. But while Thanaphong, Pratomphong and me go to Chiang Mai, Taviphat had a cold! Bangkok air pollution hurts him. So, Nara, the only one fine crew had to work alone.

5 days later, everything is better, Pratompong and me came back to Ver Gallery but Thanaphong had to work on his assignments in Chiang Mai until the end of this month. Luckily, we got a newcomer, Patipat Boonmungmee. During 5 days of confusion, we got some participants who work better than us, ha ha. Shortly afterwards, Taviphut recovered from his cold, and these are the list of our new works;

Leonardo da Vinci, Mona Lisa (La Gioconda), 1503–1506
Claude Monet, Impression, Sun Rise (soleil levant), 1872
Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night (De sterrennacht), 1889
Marcel Duchamp, Bicycle Wheel, 1913
Max Ernst, The Elephant Celebes, 1921
Victor Vasarely, Outdoor artwork at the church of Pálos in Pécs, unknown
Salvador Dalí, The Persistence of Memory, 1931
Poom Malakul, Victory Monument (อนุสาวรีย์ชัยสมรภูมิ), 1941
Jackson Pollock, Autumn Rhythm No. 30, 1950
David Smith, CUBI VI, 1963
Pablo Picasso, Untitled sculpture (The Chicago Picasso), 1967
Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup I, 1968
Chang Saetang, 14 October 1973 (14 ตุลา 2516), 1973
Cheewa Komolmalai, Struggle Face (ใบหน้าสู้ชีวิต), 1974
Yoshitomo Nara, Yellow in Blue, 2005

And these are helpful participants. Thank you all very much ;)

Paintings of the 20th Century

2009-03-17T19:00:00.007+07:00

We've started our second week with 2 masterpieces;
Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893-1910
Pablo Picasso, Man with a Hat, 1912

Bangkok Art Trip #1

2009-03-16T00:21:00.011+07:00

Ver Gallery is closed on Sunday and Monday. So, we spend every Sunday for a little trip to check art scene around Bangkok. In This week, our targets are the permanent exhibition at The National Gallery, photography exhibition at People Space Gallery, "Silpakorn University Art Thesis" at Queen's Gallery, Xawery Wolski's "Into an Empty Sky" at Jim Thompson House Gallery, "The Campaign for Art" at Bangkok Art & Culture Center (where we accidentally met "Anonymous" art thesis of the department of visual art of Chulalongkorn University), H.H. Capor's "Aging" at White Space and "Yum-Sam-Sa-Hai" at Art Gorillas Art Gallery.

We met a messy hair artist with his smoke-painted works about sex and nature, a mini art market without shopper, a mini gallery which was closed without any notifications, a painting by one of the royal family contain her favourite things, an exhibition by graduates in art university which had only one new media art for thesis, a foreigner's art exhibition in a contemporary thai house, a painful history of the art center of the city, a free style art thesis exhibition in many glass window rooms and path walls, a one room gallery with mini souvenir shop and 3 artists exhibited in the same room unrelatedly.

These aren't the whole of thai art scene but just some pieces of them, we can see thai future artists' thought in their work. We'll go check out for wider scene of bangkok art next week.

The Seven Days Of Creation

2009-03-14T23:18:00.017+07:00

now, we have 13 mock-ups of art masterpieces in 7 days!

Marcel Duchamp, Fountain, 1917

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Yellow, Blue and Black, 1921

René Magritte, The Treachery of Images, 1928–29

Pin Malakul, The Democracy Monument (อนุสาวรีย์ประชาธิปไตย), 1939

Khien Yimsiri, Land of the Smile (ดินแดนแห่งความยิ้มแย้ม), 1950

Robert Rauschenberg, Monogram, 1955

Joseph Kosuth, One and Three Chairs, 1965

Andy Warhol, The Velvet Underground and Nico Album cover, 1967

Robert Indiana, LOVE sculpture, 1976

Jeff Koons, Puppy, 1992

Roy Lichtenstein, House I, 1996/1998

Banksy, Pulp Fiction Bananas, unknown

Yoshitomo Nara, Your Dog, 2001

and none of them is perfect.

DAY 5 | LOVE

2009-03-13T00:41:00.005+07:00

Puppy / Love / Goat / Thai Dancer / Banana

Playtime

2009-03-12T22:49:00.010+07:00

Some masterpieces we tried to reproduce while we're taking a break. These are Thai art in the history that were shown in foreign countries.

Rirkrit Tiravanija, Untitled (Pad Thai), 1991-'96

and

Kosit Juntaratip, The Arrival, 1999

performed in front of Robert Indiana's LOVE sculpture.

Participant #1

2009-03-11T23:29:00.007+07:00

Today, we got our first participant, a magazine columnist, joining the reproduction of Rauschenberg's masterpiece.

Our main crew, Pratompong, is reproducing Yoshitomo Nara's sculpture "Your Dog" with newspapers and adhesive tapes. The making process is easy. You can come and help us produce it at this production house. We need more and more.

And today's new project is "The Democracy Monument", a public monument in the centre of Bangkok, capital of Thailand.

Masterpiece #1

2009-03-10T23:21:00.012+07:00

Robert Rauschenberg , Monogram, 1955

Freestanding combine: oil, paper, fabric, printed paper, printed reproductions, metal, wood, rubber shoe heel, and tennis ball on canvas, with oil on Angora goat and rubber tire, on wood platform mounted on four casters; 42 x 63 1/4 x 64 1/2 in.

ไม่เป็นสับปะรด

2009-03-10T14:36:00.015+07:00

ไม่เป็นสับปะรด

Not Even Pineapples

Thasnai Sethaseree

สับปะรดทำหน้าที่เป็นทั้งผลไม้และถูกใช้เชิงสัญลักษณ์ในประวัติศาสตร์ของมนุษยชาติมาโดยตลอด ในซีกโลกตะวันตกมันเป็นที่โปรดปรานของชาวทะเลแคริเบียนในเวลาที่พวกเขาทำอาหาร การมีอยู่ของสับปะรดในหมู่เกาะแคริเบียนนั้นไม่ใช่เรื่องที่เกิดขึ้นโดยธรรมชาติ แต่หมายความถึงการอพยพย้ายถิ่นและการค้าขายแลกเปลี่ยนของผู้คน พืชสมุนไพรที่พวกเขาเรียกว่า “anana” หรือ “ผลไม้ที่เยี่ยมยอด” ถูกพัฒนาขึ้นในส่วนของพื้นที่ที่ปัจจุบันนี้หมายถึงบราซิลและปารักวัยและมันก็ได้รับการเพาะปลูกขยายพันธุ์อย่างแพร่หลาย ชาวยุโรปได้ค้นพบสับปะรดโดยบังเอิญช่วงพฤศจิกายนของปี 1493 ในการเดินทางสำรวจครั้งที่สองของคริสโตเฟอร์ โคลัมบัส (Christopher Columbus) ที่ไปค้นพบเกาะกัวดาลูเป (Guadaloupe) และขึ้นไปสำรวจตรวจตราเกาะนั้นอย่างละเอียด แล้วชาวยุโรปในสมัยเรอเนสซองซ์ก็รู้จักสับปะรดในยุคนั้นเป็นต้นมา ในเวลาต่อมาสับปะรดได้กลายเป็นสัญลักษณ์ของของขวัญ ความมีไมตรี ความเมตตากรุณา ความทรงจำเกี่ยวกับครอบครัว เพื่อน รวมถึงช่วงเวลาที่ดี ๆ นอกจากนี้สัปปะรดเป็นผลไม้ที่มีความหมายถึงการสร้างอาณานิคมและการตั้งรกรากอีกด้วย ในเมืองไทยรู้จักสับปะรดกันตั้งแต่มีการเพาะปลูกขึ้นก่อนในฟิลิปปินส์และอินโดนีเชีย แล้วเมืองไทยได้กลายมาเป็นแหล่งเพาะปลูกสับปะรดที่ใหญ่ที่สุดในโลกในเวลาต่อมา
สับปะรดมักจะถูกใช้ในสำนวนไทยที่ว่า “ไม่เป็นสับปะรด” เป็นสำนวนที่ใช้พูดเมื่อการทำงานไม่ประสบความสำเร็จ ในรูปประโยคแบบเดียวกันนี้เราไม่ได้หมายถึงสับปะรดโดยตรง แต่จะหมายถึงรสชาติของอาหารที่เราเรียกว่า “สรรพรส” ดังนั้นเมื่อคนไทยพูดว่า “ไม่เป็นสรรพรส” หมายถึงอาหารที่มีรสชาติแปลก ๆ หรือรสอาหารนั้นจืดจางไปจนแทบไม่เหลืออะไรแล้ว ปัจจุบันนี้เมื่อเราได้ยินใครพูดว่า “ไม่เป็นสับปะรด” จะมีหมายความว่า “ไม่มีอะไรได้เรื่องเลยสักอย่าง”
ตลอดระยะเวลา 1 เดือนของการแสดงงานในครั้งนี้ แกลเลอรี่เวอร์จะถูกเปลี่ยนให้เป็นพื้นที่ที่ทีมงานเข้ามาพำนักอาศัยอยู่และทำงานจำลองขนาดเท่าจริง (Mock Up) กันในทุก ๆ วัน พื้นที่สำนักงานในแกลเลอรี่จะถูกเคลียร์ให้ว่างเพื่อใช้เป็นที่พำนักของทีมงาน อุปกรณ์และเครื่องมือที่จำเป็นต่อการทำงานจะถูกตระเตรียมไว้ในพื้นที่ส่วนการจัดแสดง รูปแบบที่หลากหลายของศิลปะสมัยใหม่จากตะวันตกจะเป็นต้นแบบสำคัญสำหรับการทำงานจำลองขนาดนี้ ในขณะที่ผลงานเหล่านั้นเป็นแรงจูงใจให้มีการพัฒนาศิลปะสมัยใหม่ในเมืองไทย ดังนั้นผลงานศิลปะสมัยใหม่ชิ้นสำคัญของเมืองไทยจะถูกเลือกเพื่องานจำลองแบบอีกด้วย โดยรูปภาพต้นแบบของงานเหล่านั้นสามารถถูกเลือกมาจากหนังสือ แคตตาล็อก นิตยสาร แหล่งข้อมูลทางอินเตอร์เน็ต โปสการ์ดหรือที่ใดๆ ก็ได้ ไม่ว่าจะเป็นงานจิตรกรรม งานพิมพ์ งานประติมากรรม สถาปัตยกรรม อนุสาวรีย์ ฯลฯ
ทีมงานจะทำการรวบรวมจัดการวัสดุที่ใช้ในการผลิตงานครั้งนี้ด้วยสิ่งที่ไม่มีค่าราคาแพงอะไรและสามารถหาได้ง่ายๆ อย่างเช่นไม้ กระดาษแข็ง โฟม ไม้ไผ่ หรือกระดาษหนังสือพิมพ์ที่สามารถหาได้ตามพื้นที่ก่อสร้าง ที่ทิ้งขยะหรือในตลาดก็ตาม ในขณะที่งานในแกลเลอรี่ดำเนินไปอย่างต่อเนื่อง ชิ้นงานที่ถูกสร้างเสร็จแล้วจะถูกนำไปเก็บเข้าที่ เพื่อให้มีพื้นที่ว่างสำหรับการผลิตชิ้นงานใหม่ในวันถัดไป ทีมงานจะจัดให้มีการพบปะพูดคุยโต้แย้งรวมถึงวิพากษ์วิจารณ์ทั้งในตัวงานและเรื่องของศิลปะ ตลอดระยะเวลาหนึ่งเดือนของการแสดงงาน ผู้ชมสามารถเข้ามาชมขั้นตอนการทำงาน ช่วยศิลปินสร้างงาน รวมถึงเสนอไอเดียต่างๆ ในทุกวันของการพบปะสังสรรค์ด้วย
หลังจากระยะเวลาการจัดนิทรรศการที่แกลเลอรี่เวอร์สิ้นสุดลง ชิ้นงานทั้งหมดจะถูกนำไปจัดแสดงในพื้นที่ที่เปิดกว้างสำหรับสาธารณชนรวมถึงจัดให้มีการวิพากษ์วิจารณ์จากบุคคลในแวดวงต่างๆ ไม่ว่าจะเป็นศิลปะ สังคมวิทยา มานุษยวิทยา รวมถึงวงการทางการเมืองด้วยเช่นกัน

The pineapple has served as both a food and a symbol throughout the human history. Originally unique to the Western Hemisphere, the fruit was a culinary favorite of the fierce Carib Indians who lived on islands in the sea that still bears their name. The presence of pineapples on Caribbean islands was not a natural event, but rather the result of centuries of Indian migration and commerce. Accomplished dugout canoe navigators, the maritime tribes explored, raided and traded across a vast expanse of tropical oceans, seas and river systems. The herbaceous plant they called "anana," or "excellent fruit," originally evolved in the inland areas of what is now Brazil and Paraguay and was widely transplanted and cultivated. The first encounter between a European and a pineapple occurred in November, 1493, when Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage to the Caribbean region, lowered anchor in a cove off the lush, volcanic island of Guadaloupe and went ashore to inspect a deserted Carib village. And, the Renaissance Europe had known pineapples since his return. Later on in courtly culture pineapples had become a glorious symbol of gift, and hospitality, and a sign of artistic motif embedded as a central element of the society's daily emotional life and its fondest memories of families, friends and good times. Pineapples are studied as a kind of fruit signifying symbolic meaning related to ideas of colonization. Thailand had known pineapples since they are introduced and farmed first in Philippines and Indonesia. Now Thailand has become the biggest pineapple farming industry in the world.
However, pineapples are also often quoted in the Thai idiom. “mai pen sapparod” (ไม่เป็นสับปะรด) is a kind of Thai idiom said when things do not work out. Originally, the phase has nothing to refer directly to pineapples, but it signifies an idea about multiple tastes of food, “สรรพรส”. Therefore, when Thai people say “mai pen sapparos” (ไม่เป็นสรรพรส), it means the food that does not have significant taste, or the taste becomes blurring. Today, when we hear somebody says “mai pen sapparod” (ไม่เป็นสับปะรด), the idiom means “nothing really works”.
For this show, through out the period of one month, the exhibition space at Gallery ver will be transformed to be a production house like space where the project crews come to stay and perform daily works on mock-ups. The office space at the gallery will be emptied out and used as a living space of the crews, and some necessary tools and equipment are prepared. The work station will be planted, and images of masterpieces of modern art from the western art history in various styles, school of thoughts, and isms will be selected as prototypes for the mock-up work. Those images are expected to be influential in development of modern art of Thailand. In this sense, images of masterpieces of modern Thai art will be also picked for the mock-up works. Essentially, those images can be chosen freely from book, catalogues, magazines, Internet archives, postcards, and etc appearing in many forms of visual culture – ranging from painting, printmaking, sculpture, architecture, monument, and etc.
The project crews will organize and manage material structures used to produce the mock-up, which are expected inexpensive – wood, cardboard, Styrofoam, bamboo, newspaper, for instance – and simply able to find them, at ease, left over in some recycling place, construction site, dumpster, or in a market. As the daily mock-up work in the gallery space continues, and some works are kind of complete, the project crews will put everything away that gives enough space to work comfortably and produce more mock-ups in the next days. In this situation, because the mock-up, and even the show itself is “mai pen sapparod” (ไม่เป็นสับปะรด), or “nothing really works”, the complete mock-ups are not necessary to be displayed, but are kept in place. Everyday, the project crews arrange a casual meeting where selection process of images of the mock-ups takes place. From this circumstance, a discussion about art and its politics and politics in art is situated. Throughout the exhibition period of one month, audiences are welcome to view the production process, help the crews, and contribute ideas at the daily meeting.
After the exhibition period at Gallery ver ends, all of the complete mock-ups will be delivered to display at a conventional gallery/museum space where a critical discussion about art and politics is arranged. Some scholars and critics from various disciplines – sociology, anthropology, art, and political science, for instance – are invited to the discussion. The duration of mock-up display, and the discussion are depended.

with support from:

“This project is supported by the ANA - Arts Network Asia (www.artsnetworkasia.org), an enabling grant body, set up by a group of independent artists, cultural workers and arts activists from Asia, that encourages collaboration, initiated and sited in Asia and carried out by Asian artists.”

mediaethnography.org

mediaartsdesign.org

The First Day

2009-03-08T15:20:00.010+07:00

to be continued