Promoting Chiangrai's Arts And Culture

[dekbannok]

Chiang Rai has some world famous artists including Tawan. And it has abandance of fine culture not limiting to lanna culture. How can we do our bit as expats to promote it? Any great ideas? I am gathering ideas for Khun Worachai, the governor of Chiang Rai, to promote Chiang Rai as a center of arts and culture. All contributions will be duly acknowledged in our promotion.

Dekbannok

[svenivan]

We have the White temple South of town but have you been to the Black temple north of Town?

The name is probably not the Black temple but that is my impression. It is far more interesting than the White one. Lots of buildings and everyone with a theme. It is a Big Happening!!

It is another artist that have created this place and it is still under construction.

You go superhighway north towards Mae Sai. After the road to Ratchabat university you slow down and then (maybe after 400 m) take left on Soi 13. After another 3-400 m you take left again and go 200 m to the entrance.

(But I don't know how to promote Chiang Rai culture. And I don't know why. For me we have enough tourists already. I am not interested to see another 100 touristbuses invading the town ....

But I am very selfish!)

[Limbo]

The name is probably not the Black temple but that is my impression. It is far more interesting than the White one. Lots of buildings and everyone with a theme. It is a Big Happening!!

It is another artist that have created this place and it is still under construction.

Yes, it is funny, Chalermchai Kositpipat, the creator of the White Temple in the South, which goes on expandning and expanding (is it supposed to become a kind of Borubudur?) and Thawan Duchanee, the creator of the Black Magic Village in the North which Ivan describes (pay attention to the iglo-shaped building, which Thawan praises for its ability to spread the sound of a fart to every lacking, thus imaginary corner).

They are the antipodes of the Chiang Rai artworld.

In between them however, they seem to squeeze a lot of other good Chiang Rai artists.

Publicitary and financially they represent probably more than 95 percent of the Chiang Rai art scene. They are the Andy Warhole's of Chiang Rai, which both vigorously would deny .

About Thawan Duchanee:

Born in 1939 in Chiang Rai (makes him 67).

Student first at Silapakorn University (still remembers the legendary Professor Silpa Birashi, the Italian who came to Thailand in 1924 under the name Feroci) and later, from 1964 to 1968 at the Rijksakademie voor Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam (for a long time the influences were noticeable). Brilliant career.

There are similarities, especially concerning there earlier works.

Now I would call Chalermchai still the unchallenged champion on the square centimeter and Thawan developed into the unchallenged champion on the square meter.

I consider both outstanding artists (the neo-expressionist period of Thawan is however unsurpassed in Thailand, I consider it the peak of his oeuvre).

There is also some relation between the way they dress. Chalermchai underlines his humbleness by wearing Thai farmer clothes and Thawan with his long white hair and beard, dresses in wide traditional, often brown clothes.

"Sometimes westerners ask me if I am a munk. No, I am a monkey, I answer" and he laughs.

Limbo

[Limbo]

Chiang Rai has some world famous artists including Tawan. And it has abandance of fine culture not limiting to lanna culture. How can we do our bit as expats to promote it? Any great ideas? I am gathering ideas for Khun Worachai, the governor of Chiang Rai, to promote Chiang Rai as a center of arts and culture. All contributions will be duly acknowledged in our promotion.

Dekbannok

Just tell Khun Worachai to become a member of the Chiang Rai Forum!

If you would have taken the trouble to glance through the topics of this forum you would have noticed that there are at least twenty topics concerning art in Chiang Rai.

Giving information IS promoting!

Just realize that visiting the toilet of the Provincial Cultural Council of Chiang Rai doesn't make you a specialist on art and culture.

A description of what you see as an 'abandance of fine culture not limiting to lanna culture' could have been of an informative character. But we have to guess what you mean by that.

We don't know what you mean by an abundance, we don't know what you mean by fine culture and we don't know what you mean by Lanna culture.

With astonishment we have noticed your opinion about the culinary situation in Chiang Rai, where you indirectly compaired the population of Chiang Rai with pigs and some members of this forum even in a more direct way.

That you now intend to aim your arrows at the field of art and culture gives us the shivers.

Does Khun Worachai know that you are propelling yourself here in the position of his special advisor? He never mentioned you.

Limbo

[svenivan]

With astonishment we have noticed your opinion about the culinary situation in Chiang Rai, where you indirectly compaired the population of Chiang Rai with pigs and some members of this forum even in a more direct way.

That you now intend to aim your arrows at the field of art and culture gives us the shivers.

Does Khun Worachai know that you are propelling yourself here in the position of his special advisor? He never mentioned you.

Limbo

Dr Limbo, this guy is a BIG shot! Remember he has been travelling for a BIG US company for 30 years that paid his expences. And now he is very close to Chiang Rai governor!

Oh Dr Limbo, you might be walking on thin ice!!

Btw, I added some pics of White Temple and Black Village in the photosection of Chiang Rai.