Mural painter speaks her mind (from Asiaweek)
Vagabond
ASIAWEEK
A Way With Dirty Dishes
Thai muralist takes an unusual view of temple life
By MARIA CHENG and LEKHA J. SHANKAR
The 41-year-old with the plain bob and warm smile doesn't look like
much of a threat to the established order. Nor does she view herself
as one. But her presence alone undermines old notions about women's
place in Thailand's art world. Tradition holds that only men are
capable of becoming master mural painters and heading large artists'
workshops. Yet Phaptawan Suwannakudt is not only a leading exponent of
classical Thai murals. She has even led a collective of male mural
painters.
Phaptawan is issuing subtle challenges to Thailand's patriarchy
through her art, too. At first glance, most of the paintings recently
presented in "Buddhist Lives," the artist's first solo exhibition in
Bangkok, don't seem like much of a departure from her earlier work.
They echo the themes of the mythical tales and allegories engraved on
ancient temple walls. But a closer look reveals an element seldom seen
in contemporary Thai art — condemnation of a male-dominated society
that has exploited and maligned women for centuries. The series called
My Mother Was a Nun, for example, focuses on the difficulties women
frequently encounter within the Buddhist hierarchy. Phaptawan also
points to a rigid monastic tradition, which generally relegates nuns
to menial labor. Women are restricted to fulfilling a mere 10 vows
while monks are allowed 200. Inspired by her mother, who became a
Buddhist nun after her father died, Phaptawan created the evocative My
Mother was a Nun I, which features nuns who are alternately smiling
and grimacing in front of piles of dirty dishes in a flaming temple.
This artist doesn't shy away from controversy. "I paint as an artist
and not as a feminist, but my works are influenced by my feelings,
thoughts, and experiences," she says. While using the linear and
narrative forms of traditional painting, Phaptawan often portrays
overlooked aspects of Thai society. In her three-panel series,
Nariphon, for instance, Phaptawan uses the familiar image of mythical
nymphs that live in temple trees to denounce the prevalence of child
prostitution in Thailand. She painted the series after learning that a
12-year-old girl helping at her local noodle shop had been sold into
the trade — for about $70. In the Nariphon series, young girls appear
both as fruit dangling from the trees as well as vulnerable prey of
hedonistic hunters. "Most sexual discrimination occurs today because
of old customs and traditions," says Phaptawan.
If Phaptawan had allowed herself to be bound by tradition, she would
have abandoned the paintbrush long ago. As the younger daughter of
famed Thai mural painter Paiboon Suwannakudt, popularly known as Tan
Kudt, she grew up with the classical murals. She was just nine when
she snuck out to a temple wall where her father's team had been
working to add her touch to the painting. Art, however, was
discouraged as a career goal. Paiboon may have made his children read
art criticism and Buddhist texts aloud while he worked on temple
commissions; but he advised Phaptawan against pursuing painting.
Instead, he insisted that she study something more practical at
Silpakorn University: foreign languages. "He told me that mural
painting was not for a woman, and that it made one poor," she says.
Earnings were certainly erratic. Sometimes, her father could only
afford to give the family one meal a day. So after graduation,
Phaptawan dutifully left to teach English to refugees near the
northern border.
It was only in 1978, after her father was stricken with cancer, that
Phaptawan was drawn back into painting. Returning to Bangkok, she
assumed supervision over her father's team of 27 male artists for his
last and biggest project: a 1,000-square-metre ceiling mural at the
Regent Hotel. The work, completed in 1982, established Phaptawan as an
artist in her own right, leading to subsequent commissions. While
contracted to complete the hotel project, the male painters of the Tan
Kudt group at first resisted the idea of continuing to take direction
from their master's daughter. But Phaptawan won them over when she
staged a successful group exhibition that attracted royal patronage
and sold off 70% of their work. Though she moved to Sydney in 1996
with her art historian husband, Phaptawan left the artists' collective
in capable hands: those of her sister, Kapkaew.
Phaptawan's recent collection displays a potent mix of Australian and
Thai art influences. Inspired by the vivid hues of aboriginal
painting, she has created several dynamic color compositions with lush
reds and greens. In Buddha Lives and His Enlightenment, the
exhibition's centerpiece, the reddish earth tones and dark greens are
as much a tribute to Buddhist imagery as to the landscape of the
outback. But the work has another, and more meaningful, purpose. It
pays homage to the art form that has profoundly enriched not just her
life and career, but also her father's. "I wish my father could see me
now," she says, "I would like him to know that an artist's [life] is
an excellent life for a woman."
After years of fighting against conservative stereotypes, Phaptawan
has achieved recognition at last. "She is a great talent," raves
artist Lawan Upa-in. Phaptawan's exhibition in Bangkok has been hailed
by local critics. Other more established Thai artists also acknowledge
Phaptawan's importance, citing her finely executed murals as a crucial
force in keeping the Thai art form alive. Someday they may praise her,
too, for her pivotal role in eroding age-old artistic barriers against
women.
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Source: http://www.asiaweek.com