- HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:
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Art Exhibition Review – ‘Pattaya In My Mind’
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‘Murderous Crossing’ goes down a storm
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Pattaya goes ‘Culture’
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KTD Thailand Rock Festival on the Beach
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Art Exhibition Review – ‘Pattaya In My Mind’
Tony Godel
KC Space Art Gallery has just opened at 391/57 Moo 10 on Thappraya
Road and it is a very welcome addition to the cultural scene in Pattaya. The
proprietors are going to promote contemporary artists by holding regular
monthly exhibitions in their spacious and well appointed new gallery. Their
inspiration has come very much from the nearby “Gallery Opium” which has for
the last four years led the way in promoting contemporary art from around
the world.
 ‘Think
Before You Do’ - oil on canvas.
The opening exhibition at KC Space provides an eclectic mix of styles from
eighteen Thai artists. The styles and techniques vary greatly. There are a
number of mixed media collages which are absorbing and contemporary. Samart
Khajornrit’s “Show Girl’s Curtain”, Yongyuth Suparattanakul’s “Final Night”
and Kriangsak Trongthong’s “Showgirls” were extremely imaginative and well
executed.
The night life and landscape of Pattaya are a dominant theme throughout the
exhibition. The bright colours and figures in the pictures reflect the
glizzy, dream like quality of the night haunts. You can almost hear the
music emanating from Sirijan Noila’s aptly named picture “Moths” which
portrays Walking Street. There are two wistful and subtlety portrayed
portraits by the talented artist Suriya Wiset. These two pictures have a
mesmerizing charm.
The new “KC Space Art Gallery” is an inspiring and exciting venue in which
to view the emerging artistic talents of Thailand. The current exhibition
runs from Sunday 1 March to Tuesday 31 March 2009.
‘Lady Walk’ - oil on zinc.
‘Murderous Crossing’
goes down a storm
Gillain Thom
The Pattaya Players’ latest offering, ‘Murderous Crossing’, was put
on recently at the -5 Supper Club with performances on two nights, and was
well attended by Pattaya’s thespian crowd. This production is the second in
a series of dinner theatre offerings presented by the Pattaya Players, this
one written by David Landau.
 Chris
Parsons played the waiter Howard Krepps.
Based on a “murder mystery” scenario, the scene is set for the actors and
audience alike to imagine themselves on board a cruise ship to attend the
wedding of a young “society hostess” Contessa Follette (Jacinta Farraghar)
to a rich Scottish baron (played with an extremely authentic accent by
Pattaya Mail TV’s very own Paul Strachan).
Also on board is the famous Inspector Clurrot, who has tracked down a
homicidal mastermind hiding on board. Needless to say, no-one is who they
appear to be (including Sam Wilson, who played two parts, one of which was a
murder victim!), and the twists and turns of the plot have to be very
carefully followed to reach the correct denouement.
Much like Pattaya Players last murder mystery, “Death and Deceit on the
Nile,” this play is acted strictly for laughs. Audience members were
recruited to stand in for the best man, bridesmaid, mother of the groom, and
father of the bride in this Agatha Christie style comic mystery.
 Lord
Bennet realizes that his scheme has failed and he is about to lose
everything.
Before the play started, whilst the audience were “warming up” (in the Ice
Bar!), they were introduced to the characters and asked to join in by
studying clue cards, which assisted in revealing the identity of the killer.
Audience members were encouraged to “get in character” and join in on the
fun - but could also choose to just sit back and enjoy the show. The
production consists of a one-act play set in four scenes, and each scene was
interspersed with a delicious course offering from the Supper Club chefs.
Ray Lightbown directed a versatile cast of the Pattaya Players and as a
Clinical Psychotherapist, brought a unique and refreshing perspective to the
production. The star of the show, however, was the character of Inspector
Clurrot, played with great aplomb and with a suitable tongue-in-cheek
gravitas by Thor Halland, and his portrayal of the Inspector brought the
house down.
A thoroughly enjoyable evening was had by all, and members of the audience
agreed that they would look forward with great anticipation to the next
offering from Pattaya Players. The group was formed in 2008 and has already
put on seven productions.
Anyone wanting more information about the group, can e-mail to
Pattaya-players@gmail.com, or visit their website,
www.pattayaplayers.org.
The cast of
‘Murderous Crossing’ at the -5 Supper Club.
Pattaya goes ‘Culture’
Searching for an independent art scene in Pattaya, between leisure district and go-go bars
Lothar W. Brenne-Wegener
Opening events of art exhibitions primarily serve to get to know and
maintain contact with like-minded people under the aspect of ‘see and be
seen’. Sometimes they involve the presentation of art or the introduction of
young or maybe already successful artists, who, from what one hears, should
also sell one or even several of their works here and there.
This admittedly somewhat unconventional characterization does not stem from
Piroschka Dossi’s book ‘Hype! Art and Money’, published in Munich in 2007
but rather matched the impression the author gained on 31 January during his
visit to the ‘Gallery Opium’, at the opening of the exhibition entitled
‘Inspiration from my friend’s spirit’ featuring the works of Narong Wannasa,
who was born in 1984 in the Thailand Province of Kalasin. Around 120
visitors had gathered in the gallery, about 80 percent of whom were foreign
nationals.
A brief meeting with the person who runs the gallery, Alan Kirkland-Roath,
whose business card showed he himself is a ‘Watercolour Artist’, set me on
my path to go in search of the art scene in Pattaya for once.
1 February 2007: Visit of the Santi Gallery in Walking Street 309/ 1. The
exhibition room drifts from the street into the building like a deep tunnel.
Here, you find copies of pictures by August Macke, a Rembrandt or even an
Albrecht Dürer. Much to my surprise, however, the wall is also adorned with
a number of portraits of the ‘foremost commander in history’ – Adolf Hitler,
who is shown once in unostentatious civilian attire, but also wearing a
brown uniform with a swastika armband standing at a lectern. The surprise
leaves me so speechless I even forget to ask the gallery owner what
something like that might cost and most of all who buys something like this!
When I set out once more into Walking Street for another visit to Santi
Gallery, because I would really like to hear the answers to the two
questions from them, I find out that the gallery has in the meantime made
room for the Nok Bar. – Pity? Actually, no!
16 January 2008: While sitting in a taxi driving down Thapphraya Road, which
later turns into Pattaya 2nd Road, I quickly count more than ten galleries
until we reach the junction with South Pattaya Road.
At the entrance to ‘Boyz Town’ I come across another one named ‘Artist
Mana’. The 39 year old Mana Yaprakham is just in the middle of creating a
copy of Gustav Klimt’s ‘Adele Bloch-Bauer’ from 1907, on behalf of the
Manager of the Tiffany Cabaret. Mana, who never learned to paint or
reproduce but turns up as a pure autodidact, uses a lot of gold leaf in the
process. To the superficial observer, the copy being produced comes
surprisingly close to the original, of which Mana has a copy reproduced in
2007 and published in a voluminous picture book about Gustav Klimt by the
Munich based publishing house Prestel Verlag.
The question, why he doesn’t try to develop his own style and use it to
present himself at a gallery with a view of an exhibition, while he could
still continue to earn a living with copies, fails because of his rather
limited knowledge of the English language.
31 January 2009: In the solo exhibition mentioned above, ‘Gallery Opium’
shows works by the artist Narong Wannasa. So it does exist after all in
Pattaya – the true, creative art, which does not limit itself to the
production of cheap copies of old or young masters or the fakes painted in
oil for the loved ones at home.
Narong is a member of the new Thappraya Group, named after Thappraya Road,
where the group initially met on a regular basis and now maintains a studio.
In addition to Narong, the group also includes Thawatchai Homthong, Vasin
Suttikasem and Wasan Suttikasem. In October 2008, the group staged its first
public exhibition ‘The Golden Kingdom’ at the ‘Silom Galleria’ in Bangkok.
5 February 2009: While looking for an independent art scene in Pattaya, I
meet up with Alan Kirkland-Roath, the owner of ‘Gallery Opium’, to exchange
ideas at the Sheraton Pattaya Resort. The reason for the meeting is the fact
that Alan, together with the Bangkok based critic Brian Curtin, has just put
together an exhibition of contemporary art at the hotel.
Under the title ‘New Ecologies’, around 150 exhibits from 28 different
artists from around the world are being presented, among others also quite a
number of native artists. Like Alan himself, many are autodidact, but there
are of course also those who have learned their trade by working their way
up from the bottom. And, to say it right up front, the results that are
presented here at the Sheraton are impressive!
“No, an art scene such as you’ll find in many countries across Europe does
not exist in Pattaya, nor in Thailand,” states Alan right at the start of
our conversation. “This would require a tight network of galleries, which
supported by a number of sponsors give artists the opportunity to exhibit
their works. Take Germany, for example, there isn’t a single larger town
that does not have a gallery. In addition, it also requires a network of
whatever shape that allows interested parties to maintain contact and to
exchange information. And finally, an artist must also be able to earn a
living from his profession! That’s not possible in Thailand!”
“If an artist in Thailand isn’t able to make a living solely from his art,
one cannot help but ask if it’s possible for the gallery owner,” I
interject.
“No, that too isn’t on the cards”, replies Alan.
There were three to four galleries in Pattaya. He’s about to enter the
fourth year with his own but without the many supporters who regularly make
themselves available out of sheer enthusiasm for the arts, one would not get
very far. A well functioning art scene also needs reliable sponsorships in
the background, which would also allow one to take some risks; because as a
gallery owner, he does not judge what the artists deliver for an art
exhibition and his goal is solely to give them a chance.
“This, of course, sets you fundamentally apart from the European market,
where one sometimes gains the impression that it has to be considered as
art, if the gallery owner insist it is art!”
Alan can’t suppress a wry smile.
“Oh, you know, here in Asia we are still right at the beginning. Our goal is
to initially introduce Pattaya to the many different manifestations of
contemporary art in the first place. We hope to one day turn the current
presentation into an annual Art Fair, which can then also be positioned in
connection with other, comparable events in Pattaya. There’s still a lot to
do,” he says.
Before setting off for a tour of the exhibition, I still want to know from
Alan why of all names it is called ‘New Ecologies’. His reply is that
Pattaya is a pulsating vibrating city shaped by the internationality of its
visitors, always searching for itself and its own identity. The title ‘New
Ecologies’ specifically referred to this situation, namely to put the former
sleepy fishing village Pattaya into context in the fast growing
globalisation including all related risks and side-effects. This great
diversity, this continuous change, the combination of national and
international was being shown as an example with the variability of the
exhibits on display.
The tour can begin!
The numerous exhibits are finally presented in various areas of the hotel.
Walking through its facilities simultaneously turns into a sightseeing tour
through one of the most beautiful designer hotels in the city. The eye
repeatedly strays from the art objects to the architectural charms of the
building and the fascinating surroundings in which it has been built.
Most of the exhibits have been integrated in the interior of the hotel,
including its water features, in a way as if they had never stood or hung
anywhere else. It is difficult not to be fascinated by both. And still, the
quality of the exhibits is so exquisite throughout and at the same time so
discreet that one is prevented from highlighting any of them by name. They
meet the highest international standard and need not shrink from any
comparisons.
“I am delighted such a splendid exhibition has been presented to us here;
Pattaya has never seen anything like it before,” is the consequently
enthusiastic comment from Dietmar Koegerl, the German General Manager of the
Sheraton Pattaya Resort, who at the same time proposes that “it would be
best to walk through the exhibition late afternoon, and afterwards enjoy the
sunset, while tucking into a substantial dinner in our restaurant.”
A suggestion the author endorses wholeheartedly. Highly recommended!
The ‘New Ecologies’ exhibition at the Sheraton Pattaya Resort, 437 Phra
Tamrak Road continues until 25 April.
KTD Thailand Rock Festival on the Beach
 A
2km strip of the Had Yao beach will be the venue for the upcoming KTD
Thailand Rock Festival on the Beach, organized by the Royal Thai Navy, TAT
and Krathingdaeng Co., Ltd (Red Bull) and taking place on Saturday and
Sunday, March 28-29.
More than 35 artists and famous musician will join together to provide a
rare treat for rock fans. Bands taking part include Modern Dog, T-Bone, ETC,
Groove Rider, Joey Boy, Kaijo Brother, Slot Machine and many more.
There will be two main stages on the beach, a DJ Beach Tower, a cinema on
the beach, a Rock Market, restaurants and cafes, the Red Bull rock bar, and
an “Eco Display Designed Recycle” competition amongst universities.
There will also be a special resident’s zone where you can erect your tent
and spend a night on the beach.
Tickets are priced at only 800 baht per person and are available from Total
Reservation by calling 02-833 5555 or go to www.totalreservation.com.
For more details about the event check out www.ktdthailandrock.com.
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