Thaivisa Gallery Upgraded

[george]

We're pleased to announce that Thaivisa Gallery 1.3.0 has been installed on the Thaivisa forum server. Check it out!

New Features

* New E-Card System

* Albums within Categories

* User Multi Upload

* Photostrip

* New Stats ( Top 10 Rated, Top 10 Viewed, Last 10 Comments )

* Interface Cleanup

* Improved Sub Category Listings

* Improved Thumbnail Generation

* Improved Comment View

* Improved Media Posting

* Various Performance Enhancements

Go here to create your own photo album:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?ac...lbums&op=addnew

Access your photo album:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?ac...lery&cmd=albums

[MekhongKurt]

Since I want to write about an oil painting exhibition running this month at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand on the penthouse floor of the Maneeya Building (next door to the Sogo Department Store), I guess this is the place to put an announcement.

Let me say right away the exhibition is open and entirely free, and that I have no commercial ties with the artist.

I attended the opening night February 4th; here's a review I wrote:

Richard K. Diran's opening night of a month-long exhibition of 8 of his paintings, collectively called "The Week of Seduction," at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand last Friday was a huge success, I'm happy to report.

Since the exhibition is free, there isn't any way to know the precise number of people attending, but I was there from 8:15-10:15 P.M. -- the show started at 7:30, but I was late -- but based on what people told me about the first 45 minutes and what I myself observed during the 2 hours I was present, I estimate the number of people attending was at least 300 people. And if someone were to tell me the actual number was closer to 500, I wouldn't have any trouble believing it -- the food and free drinks Richard put up 20,000 baht towards certainly got used up quickly -- and the FCCT is noted for its very moderate prices on drinks and food.

As a friend of Richard's, I was ecstatic on his behalf. He later told me that he received one single negative comment, a heartening experience for any artist.

The local media came through, both major English-language dailies affording Richard substantial coverage, especially The Nation. In fact, columnist Roger Beaumont conducted a most excellent interview with Richard that ran in last Sunday's edition, 2 days after the opening night, but timed to try to keep the fires of interest stoked. (On a side note, I called Roger to tell him he did a brilliant interview, brilliant in every way. He spent quite a long while with Richard then distilled the raw results down to a very readable, engrossing interview.)

Richard himself was pleased to no end, of course. A good friend of his and his wife organized about 10 of her university friends to be there to serve refreshments, and he had been worried they would end up with nothing to do.

Interestingly, when I wasn't looking my (sort of) girlfriend took a look at the paintings. She hadn't even wanted to go and tried to squirm out of it at the last minute, calling me from the doctor's office saying she was running late but for me to go ahead. I insisted she go, late or not.

Ya is an Isaarn farm girl with only 4 years of formal education -- not someone you expect to appreciate fine art, especially surreal visual art. When we went home that night, I expressed yet again my appreciation for her going to show Richard support -- she knows him, but not well -- adding I knew she isn't interested in that sort of thing. (Luckily, the volunteer serving girls invited her to join them at their table; Ya knows the gal who did the organizing. That gave her something to do while I glad-handed around.)

She floored me when she said she had indeed looked at all 8 paintings. Thinking maybe she was throwing me a nice sop, I asked her if she liked any of them. She immediately mentioned one -- by name -- and described it at considerable length and what it meant to here. I was amazed -- not to mention impressed. I've long known that despite her lack of formal education she is very bright, but I certainly never expected her to get anywhere near out of the show what she did.

And that's a tribute to Richard's talent. (In case you're curious what surreal art could possibly fire an Isaan girl's inagination, Ya's favorite painting is "The Temptation of Eve.")

By all means, if you're in town anytime this month right to the end of the month, stop by and take a look; Richard's canvasses are . . . well, one can't help but get involved with them. And their intellectually both challenging and complex.