The Buffalo 'n Black Temple Gallery Estate

[DavidFL]

From

https://www.gt-rider.com/thailand-motorc ... html#34866

A special early afternoon photographic detour....

and something very new for me,

but if you ask around the Thais know of it or about it

Who said buffalo

It's not all black

Or buffaloes

but back to black

Even the horses are colour coordinated to fit in with the decor

The grounds are extensive & you can spend hours here if you like; especially if you're a keen photographer

Anyone for crocodile heads...

An incredible place & well worth a visit.

Thawan Duchanee
Link removed

The artist devoted himself to an examination of his Thai identity. He then began to explore and reexamine the insanity, degeneration, violence, eroticism, and death lurking in the heart of modern man as they are involved with religion. Mr. Thawan expressed these concepts with a startling technique utilizing a black tone, drawing from the wellspring of traditional Thai Buddhist art and Buddhist thought.

His powerful style combines grotesque and erotic human figures that are a composite of animals or insects, and entwined with the Buddha as a
saint.

With his capacity and performance that have shocked the world, Mr. Thawan Duchanee is a deserving choice as the laureate of the Arts and Culture Prize of the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes.


Where is it - map coming.
GPS waypoint: N19 59.513 E99 51.642

 

[Ally]

To quote you on this one David, "You beauty!"

What a great place & well worth a visit.

Thanks for sharing.

Ally

 

[Marco]

WOW,, what a place,, looks like there is lot of history collection on those bones..

But any idea what are these odd looking Maybe "UFo" houses

 

[DavidFL]

Marco wrote: WOW,, what a place,, looks like there is lot of history collection on those bones..

But any idea what are these odd looking Maybe "UFo" houses

Marco
No idea really. Whilst the grounds were open, it was a Sunday & all the buildings were locked up. The place was pretty well deserted. It was a kind of a weird & eerie feeling being there; but the place is beautiful.

Location: the place is North of Chiang Rai, 1.9 kms past the CR University, turn left into Soi 13, go 470 metres & turn left into a small soi, proceed 360 metres & it is on the left on a right hand corner.

 

[aschoch]

Amazing indeed. This is what the artist himself has to say about the UFO: "This is my telephone booth where I talk directly to God. It’s a ‘box’ containing my body and spirit.” His favourite house for painting is a black, submarine-shaped house with round windows. Everything in the house is black.

Also check out: http://www.buddhistartnews.com/ban07/?p=535

[/img]

 

[DavidFL]

aschoch wrote: Amazing indeed. This is what the artist himself has to say about the UFO: "This is my telephone booth where I talk directly to God. It’s a ‘box’ containing my body and spirit.” His favourite house for painting is a black, submarine-shaped house with round windows. Everything in the house is black.

Also check out: http://www.buddhistartnews.com/ban07/?p=535

[/img]

Armin
Thanks for the link. Now I'm "enlightened" about Ajarn Thawan Duchanee. Indeed an amazing guy & place he has got there. Something for the more intellectual & arty-farty GT Riders to check out & photograph.

 

[Ally]

Right ! :?

 

[DavidFL]

Anyone else been here recently?

 

[pee]

Not been there yet, however it appears that this is another contemporary unconventional Buddhist temple in the Chiang Rai area.
Does anyone -"arty-farty GT Riders" or not(':wink:')- know another example in the North or anywhere else in Thailand, before we could say this is a northern trend?

With a totally different style the other one has already been mentioned on this board by Ally: Wat Rong Khun famous amongst Thais (located south of Chiang Rai, near the intersection highway 1/road 1208).

The author, a Chiang Rai native, strong mind artist: Chalermchai Kositpipat

 

[villagefarang]

People are always saying Black Village is located on soi 13, but it is really Moo 13 soi 1. The only sign there is in Thai so I guess it is easy to get it mixed up. The map does give you a pretty good idea, however. Perhaps someone should take a picture of the wooden sign at the mouth of the soi. Not easy to find but well worth the effort.

Davidfl wrote: [quote quote=Marco]WOW,, what a place,, looks like there is lot of history collection on those bones..

But any idea what are these odd looking Maybe "UFo" houses

Marco
No idea really. Whilst the grounds were open, it was a Sunday & all the buildings were locked up. The place was pretty well deserted. It was a kind of a weird & eerie feeling being there; but the place is beautiful.

Location: the place is North of Chiang Rai, 1.9 kms past the CR University, turn left into Soi 13, go 470 metres & turn left into a small soi, proceed 360 metres & it is on the left on a right hand corner.

 

[DavidFL]

Bump
For Richard & Kuhu (Mobile Atlas screenshots) whom we met at Miguel's last night.

 

[DavidFL]

A brief update Acharn Duchanee has passed away.

Thawan Duchanee , a national artist, dies of hepatitis yesterday. He was 74.
His son, Doytibet, announced the death of his father on his Facebook page but did not disclose the cause of his father’s death.

However the son praised him for leaving behind the immortal work.

Several online media said Thawan died of hepatitis after receiving treatment at a hospital for three months.

There will be praying ceremonies at Wat Dhepsirin temple for seven days.

Thawan was appointed a national artist on visual arts in 2001.

Born in 1939 in Chiang Rai province, Thawan studied at the Poh Chang Arts and Crafts College and Silpakorn University.

His paintings are widely praised, both in Thailand and abroad.

But it was in his home country where he found the widest appreciation. Art collectors and experts alike constantly seek his works.

Thawan is survived by four sons.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/national-artist-thawan-duchanee-dies/

THE NATION:
Thawan Duchanee, the bearded sage of Baan Dam, long ago prepared for death, but he knew his art will live on

The death yesterday morning of Thawan Duchanee, one of Thailand's most esteemed artists - and one of its best known overseas - set off ever-widening ripples of grief through the art world, along with fond recollections of a man as extraordinary in his creativity as he was in his appearance and speech.

Thawan, who called Chiang Rai home, was instantly recognisable for his bushy white beard and northern-style clothes - invariably black and adorned with animal bones and claws. His voice was loud and commanding, often given to satirical, absurdist humour.

He died of kidney failure following three months of treatment. He would have turned 75 on September 27.

Named a National Artist in 2001, the same year he won the Fukuoka Asian Culture prize, Thawan was renowned for the painstaking weeks-long efforts that went into his drawings and paintings, all elaborate lines and delicate patterns. In contrast, he could, with a flourish of brushwork, capture in seconds the swift motions of horses and eagles, tigers and lions.

"Although I paint neither the starvation nor the poverty of man, my painting is powerful," Thawan told The Nation in 2004 when his exhibition "Trinity" was at the Queen's Gallery in Bangkok.

"Many collectors say, when they see my bold brushstrokes, that they feel the power and the spiritual satisfaction. I believe a good artist should direct people to look at the sparkling light of the Milky Way rather than their waiting graves."

The astounding "Trinity" show drew the sort of spectators who rarely frequent art galleries. It was his first retrospective in Thailand - and turned out to be his last. Thawan earned his doctorate at Amsterdam's Rijks Academic Van Beeletende Kunster in 1968 and took a long time sharing his work with compatriots.

And yet "Trinity" was not a retrospective, he insisted. "If it were, the organisers would have had to travel around the world to borrow my work from all the museums, and the insurance alone would cost more than Bt1 billion."

As it was, the exhibition required five 10-wheel trucks to deliver 300 pieces from his sprawling home in Chiang Rai. Ten technicians toiled for four days to mount them on all three floors, and this was just work from the previous couple of years.

There were his sketches on white paper and red canvas - 20-second assaults in oil or black ink that uncannily caught the lunge of a jungle beast.

"It shouldn't take any longer or any less time," Thawan said. "I once painted an eagle in flight in six seconds, but it wasn't completely perfect. I got the power of its wings, but not the beak and claws."

These weren't whimsical impressions, either. "I went to a desert in Arizona to observe a snake that's capable of hopping short distances," he said. "I spent three months in the Philippines observing the behaviour of the eagle that eats monkey brains. Its movement is so fast that the monkey isn't even aware of its existence."

The animals of the real world took on supernatural form in his art. "If you're going to use the animal's anatomy symbolically, you need a room of anatomy in your mind," Thawan said. "For example, you should first be good at the form of a snake before trying to paint the naga. Otherwise your naga might look like pipe snake, or your lion might look like a dog."

As to the symbolism, however, Thawan bristled if anyone asked about meaning. "We never ask a star for whom it flickers, or ask a bird for whom it sings. I want people to feel something, not try to interpret its meaning. Feeling is what distinguishes humans from other animals."

Collectors both local and foreign have always been ready to pay generous prices for Thawan's art, among them prominent businessmen like Boonchai Bencharongkul and the Sophonpanich family. Boonchai has more than 100 of his paintings on view at his Museum of Contemporary Art on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road.

"Thawan inspired me to become a patron of the arts 20 years ago, when he said I could be 'a drop of water for parched soil'," Boonchai recalled in 2012. "He's a great representative of the artists from the East."

Thawan's personal empire in Chiang Rai is called Baan Dam - the Black House - an acute though coincidental contrast to nearby Wat Rong Khun, the ornate white temple his artist-friend Chalermchai Kosipitpat is building.

Baan Dam has more than 30 structures scattered across hundreds of rai, varying in size and style. Some are associated with "the diabolical", perhaps thanks to their inky tones, but they do house his collection of animal skins, bones, horns and claws and the chairs and beds he fashioned from the bits of creatures. Some of the structures reflect the Lanna style while others resemble temple stupas.

About 10 years ago I cheekily asked Thawan how much he was worth. It wasn't the sort of question he was ever going to answer directly.

"I've never counted, but I don't know what poverty is!" he said. "Ever since I was 33 I've had enough money to live for 100 years. So I can devote the rest of my life to painting without worrying about expenses. But I'm like a candle that's lit at both ends. I might produce more light, but I burn out quicker.

"I've already prepared for death," he continued. "When I was 37 I built my own coffin, delicately crafted in wood, and I'm now planning my funeral. I've erected the buildings and a chapel to house my work and my collections. I might die - but my art has to remain."

TRIBUTES TO THE MASTER

Religious rites continue at Wat Thepsirinthawas through next Wednesday. The royally sponsored cremation takes place there next Thursday at 5pm.

The Museum of Contemporary Art has four rooms of Thawan's work. It's on Vibhavadi-Rangsit Road, next to the Benchachinda Building, and open daily except Monday from 10 to 6. Call (02) 953 1005-7 or visit www.MoCABangkok.com.

Duchanee's work is featured in the "Thai Charisma" exhibition at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre until November 16, open 9.30am to 9pm daily except Monday. Call (02) 214 6630-8 or visit www.BACC.or.th.

Baan Dam is in Chiang Rai's Nang Lae district and open daily from 9 to 5. Call (053) 776 333 or visit The Pha Daeng Mansion.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/A-farewell-to-greatness-30242493.html

 

[DavidFL]

Update February 2023

The late National Artist Thawan Duchanee lived in two houses, each of which tells a different story about his life.

While art lovers are familiar with Thawan Duchanee’s Black House (Baan Dam) in Chiang Rai, they know little about the home in Bangkok where he lived with his common-law wife Thippachart Wannakul.

“Baan Rua Khao Kwai (House with the Buffalo Horn Fence) is his life while the Chiang Rai’s Baan Dam house is his work,” Thippachart, who calls herself Aunty Odd, said at a press conference for the “Miss You Thawan Duchanee” Exhibition.

The common-law wife of the national artist for over 30 years is organising the exhibition almost 9 years after his death. She said she would like to shout “I miss you”, so this exhibition is perhaps the best way for her to share that emotion with others.

What she is bringing to the exhibition is the couple’s happy life in Baan Navatanee (nicknamed Baan Rua Khao Kwai) which was home to the late master for over 3 decades.

At 2pm on 3 September 2014, Thailand and indeed the world’s art society lost its renowned artist. Aunty Odd lost her true friend and partner of more than 30 years. Coping with the loss of Thawan on that day was almost unbearable.

“Now that all the legal issues have been resolved, I want to organise this exhibition to express my love for and memories of Uncle Wan (as she calls him) for the last time, using money I inherited from him and everything at Baan Navatanee. Every painting, drawing, sculpture and letter in this exhibition are his authentic works. They represent the memories of Thawan from my heart.”

Despite his local and international fame, few people had a chance to glimpse into his real life: how he worked, what his “office” looked like and how he talked and wrote to his wife.

Entering the exhibition is like stepping into the private quarters of the two. It is unlike any other art exhibition of Thawan because it showcases artworks handpicked by someone who dearly loves and misses him, and from her own perspective.

In short, it is the exhibition that speaks to the viewer from his soul.

People will see animal horns – one of the master’s trademarks – lying on a big table which is how they are placed in the house. His working space was not big. Indeed, he was happy with limited space and he was also very tidy and clean – no colour drops around the work area.

Aunty Odd also “brings” the bedroom and his triangular pillows and bathroom with shell decoration to the exhibition. The costume that she arranged for him to wear at the award reception in Fukoka in Japan in 2001 is also on show.

“It is just like we are walking through their home,” said an art collector at the exhibition.

The paintings – most of them unseen elsewhere – belong to Aunty Odd and her selection includes the two last paintings by the master. “The two are his last and one of them lacks his signature as it is not yet completed,” she told reporters.

The first floor of exhibition is a preamble that takes visitor to Baan Khao Kwai with various decorations such as jars, animal horns and shells. All have stories behind them. On the second floor, the visitor learns about Thawan’s identity through his collections – animal skins and horns. These objects went on to reflect the creation of many valuable works of the master.

The 3rd floor gives visitors a glance into a different way of life of the master hitherto unknown and include the messages he wrote on paper and newspaper. The artworks that reflect the life of Thawan (1939-2014) are displayed on this floor. The 4th floor showcases the Nagara fashion brand by Nakorn ‘Toi’ Samphantharak who shows clothes inspired by Thawan’s creations in a fashion show.

Many good things happened at the Baan Khao Kwai and created beautiful memories. Each day of the couple’s life together was filled with altruistic love. Asked which work is the most valuable to her, Aunty Odd said: “of course, it is my picture (the cartoon-like sketch of her). He didn’t draw me beautifully but he managed to get all details like my hairpin right.”

On the title of exhibition, she said nothing said it better than “missing”. “I can only think of this word as it describes my feelings since the day he died. I often heard Uncle Wan said ‘Love reveals itself,’ but I’ve never seen it. But now I am seeing it, as love and the feeling of missing someone take a physical shape here.”

What better invitation to all those who also miss Uncle Wan to share her experience and get to know some aspects of the artist that have never been publicly revealed.

If you go…

“Miss You Thawan Duchanee” is showing at The Queen’s Gallery, 101 Ratchadamnoen Klang Road, Borwonniwet, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200, daily except Wednesday from 10am to 7pm. Admission is 50 baht.

By Veena Thoopkrajae


Source: Art, memories, friendship and love