sunairi

In our last night in Chiang Mai, we gathered with artists and friends on the sixth floor of our guest house, a rooftop space not yet installed with windows or walls. With a dozen liters of Singha and a bucket of ice brought over from a friend's bar, our after-hours party was powered by tinny music streaming from a Powerbook and a slideshow of images from "the land," the sustainability project/art community some 30 km away near Sanpatong. We stayed at the land one night, sleeping in a bamboo tower made by an artist/massage therapist duo under mosquito netting and waking to the chatter of geckos and birds, the caws of roosters and the occasional ox grunt.

With us on the roof were two artists who are part of the land's One-Year Project 2, American Alex ("Lek," in Thai) Wang and Norwegian Marius ("Madu") Notvik. As photos of farming, fishing, trips to the market and shared meals popped up, one of the two made a comment to this effect: It's so beautiful I hardly recognize it.That's the thing about the land. It's one thing to experience it and entirely another to witness it through mediation. Seeing photos, you can get a romantic view of the place, and it is romantic, in a way. International artists mix with Chiang Mai locals to discuss art and Vipassana meditation, to grow rice (the excess goes to an orphanage for kids with AIDS in Sanpatong), build experimental housing, and test new ideas (Madu is building a wood-fired oven, while Lek is making a chicken coop island which will float on one of the ponds).

But the pictures don't convey the dry heat, the painful pinch of the relentless fire ants, the stink of buffalo poop, or the slippery slime of the klong, a drainage canal kept clean enough for bathing by powerful currents.

None of this is bad; it's just... real. Having stayed there -- and enjoyed myself thoroughly -- I know understand what curator Karen Demavivas meant when she wrote that the land is an “ephemeral utopia of cracks, leaks, buffalo waste, termites, big red ants, rainy seasons and mold, a whirl of decay and renewal."
The question that seems important to off-site critics is whether the project itself "is art" or not. Sure, the concept of the land is a compelling one -- how art can model solutions for sustainability, community, and, in the case of Kamin Lertchaiprasert's meditation, spirituality -- and it's been written about by everyone from Artforum's Tim Griffin to, well, me. But on the ground, the question feels less relevant. The land is a community, first and foremost. And the planting and cooking and brainstorming seem more about living than high-minded ideals about aesthetics or artistic concepts. Whether it is art or whether the community that shapes it sparks future art isn't a point I'm especially concerned with parsing.

What I enjoyed the most about being at a place made famous in part by art stars like Rirkrit Tiravanija, Atelier van Lieshout, Superflex, Philippe Parreno and Francois Roche, was the utter lack of art-world gloss. And my admiration, to be frank, is less for those great artists who pop in, as I did, for a few days, than to the local artists who maintain the place, physically and intellectually, through farming and regular Friday night art talks. In the end, I'm glad, though, that the project falls under the label "contemporary art." While the term sometimes umbrellas values and people I'm not especially fond of, this endeavor is one by good, talented people who strive to imbue art with the very best of ideals.
See more images from "the land" at our Chiang Mai Flickr set.

Greil Marcus w/The Mekons in St. Paul

Excellent! Rolling Stone music critic and Lipstick Traces author Greil Marcus is coming to town for a night at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul with the Mekons, March 28. Ticket info here.

Chiang Mai Street-Art

"Who's the monk?" So asked a friend of this stencil spotted on a wall at See Scape, an excellent art bar and restaurant in Chiang Mai. Actually, I'm told, it's a popular Thai comedian although no one could provide his name by the name of Suthep Po-ngam.

Alex, Fishing

At "the land," the art project/rice farm co-founded by Kamin Lertchaiprasert and Rirkrit Tiravanija 30 km outside Chiang Mai, Thailand, I met Alex Wang, a 25-year-old American who's participating in the second edition of the One Year Project. Among his challenges at the several-acre, off-the-grid experimental farm and art community is building a floating chicken island (a plant-based chicken cage that floats on the ponds of the farm and has tubes that catch eggs as they're laid, for easy gathering) and mastering net fishing. By the time we arrived, he and Norwegian artist Marius ("Madu" in Thai) Notvik had netted two fish, which both escaped from their underwater cage before dinner could be prepared.

Studio Visit: Kamin Lertchaiprasert

En route to "the land," we stopped at the Chiang Mai studio of one of its co-founders, Thai artist Kamin Lertchaiprasert. One of Thailand's more renowned artists, Kamin has a studio, meditation center and a new house (in progress) on a lot next door to the home of fellow "land" co-founder Rirkrit Tiravanija. His work often expounds poetically and sometimes humorously on the world seen from his Buddhist perspective and on his practice of Vipassana meditation.

En route

I'm halfway home, waiting out a six-hour layover in Los Angeles. Going from 90-degree Bangkok to sub-zero, snow-buried Minneapolis, it's probably good to have some time in 63-degree LA... and time to update the blog. Look for photos from "the land," Kamin Lertchaiprasert's studio, temple murals, banana-leaf fashion by artist Chakkrit Chimnok, and more, plus travel-free content, including my response to Colin tagging me with the Page 123 meme and a nice Billboard Liberation Front subvertisement I stumbled upon...

Chiang Mai

More photos just posted, including a look at a Thai casket factory; a visit to ComPeung, an artist's village a few kilometers outside Chiang Mai, and the Land Foundation; a dog named Kitty and this cat, spotted obstructing sales of knock-off wallets at the Chiang Mai night bazaar the other night. Tonight we're camping at The Land...

Elephant topiary

On the palace grounds in Bang Pa-In, Thailand. Click here for the full panoramic image or here for more photos from Bang Pa-In and nearby Ayuthaya.

Ko Kret stencils

Any idea what these are? Phone booths? Audio advertising kiosks? Found behind a building Ko Kret, north of Bangkok.

Ko Kret colors

We spent yesterday on Ko Kret, a car-free island in the Chao Phraya River just north of Bangkok. Known for its Mon pottery -- hand-thrown and carved red-clay vessels -- it also offered some picturesque and quirky photo-ops. Will post more when we arrive in Chiang Mai.

Soap

Bangkok back alleys

I got myself lost the other day killing time. I wandered a central Bangkok neighborhood, not touristy at all, figuring I could walk the soi (small street) around the block and end up where I started. Not so. First, I spaced out, peering into people's houses and workplaces (off a dark alley, I saw a silkscreen shop where a handful of guys were making what appeared to be knock-off Mickey Mouse t-shirts, then a seamstress shop where a half dozen women were making navy blue work pants). Then I got more distracted snapping photos of back alley murals and graffiti, including one that I'm told is a grade school or high school logo converted into a tag (and crossed ouy, apparently, by a student at a rival school).
By the time, I refocused on my route, I realized I was at a dead end, at the very end of a long soi in a neighborhood few farang (foreigners) have probably gone. A bunch of 10-year old boys approached, trying out their English. They led me through one of the boy's houses and out the other side to a rubble strewn vacant lot. Gesticulating wildly, one eager kid conveyed that straight ahead and "To the right!!!!" was the way back. I gave a heartfelt "korp khun krap" along with the wai gesture of respect (which I think is usually mainly used by younger people addressing elders) and followed his directions, stopping occasionally to respond to a dozen or so shouted "Good Byes" and much giddy waving.

Makha Bucha Day

Two nights ago, on the full moon of the third lunar month, we attended the Makha Bucha Day celebration at Wat Phra Dhammakaya, a gigantic new temple complex outside of Bangkok. The day commemorates two events that happened exactly 44 years apart: 1,250 "Arhantas" converged, unbidden, to hear Buddha give the principles of Buddhism, called The Ovadhapatimokha: To cease from all evil, to do what is good, to cleanse one's mind. Forty-four years later on this day, Buddha announced he'd be attaining nirvana three months later; that is, he'd die.Wat Phra Dhammakaya is a modern temple, and 100,000 people reportedly came for this week's ceremony. The complex has many facilities, but the event, which drew monks and families from all over Thailand and the world, was held outside in an area surrounding the "cetiya," or stupa. The temple is lit with spotlights that illuminate a dome covered by 300,000 statues of Buddha, each measuring 15 centimeters high. A detail from the temple's website:I can't say I understood much of what went on, but the bare fact of being in the midst of 100,000 chanting people focusing on peace was extremely powerful. Like, armhair-standing-on-end powerful. Words don't do it justice. (And unfortunately, neither do my photos.)

Chang!

Ok, it's a little cliche to come to Thailand to ride an elephant. But I've never seen one up close. We stopped along the road to Khao Yai to meet the family that leads tours through the jungle. We didn't take the 30-minute, ten-baht ride, but I sat on one of the stubbly 35-year-old elephants and fed it bamboo shoots.
See more photos.

Dan Kwian

On the way from Korat to Khao Yai ("Big Hill," the famed national park), we stopped in Dan Kwian for a little research trip. Known for its deep-red clay and the locally made pottery -- everything from tourist kitsch (see bottom image) to historical replicas of temple art to sophisticated glazed vessels -- Dan Kwian has seemingly hundreds of potters and stores. One of the best, I'm told, is the shop run by Mok's sister in law, former wife of her late brother. Behind her store is an extensive operation that produces local clay and its products. After chatting with a bird trained to say "Sawatdee ka!" we made our way back to the clay pits, kilns, and shipping area.
See more photos here.

"Beautiful Banyan"

Outside of Phimai is what's touted as Thailand's -- and possibly Southeast Asia's -- oldest and biggest banyan tree. Dubbed Sai Ngam (Beautiful Banyan), it's an island measuring around 15,000 square meters made up of one tree and its endless network of roots and branches.As Buddha meditated under a banyan (ficus) tree to achieve enlightenment, visitors flock to Sai Ngam to seek fortune of their own. Vendors are on hand to sell sell birds, oysters, and various kinds of fish to release to bring health, prosperity and good luck. We bought some oysters and a pair of eels to free in the water, which is just beyond a small temple where one can make offerings and prayers and the central banyan, which is draped with ceremonial flower strands.

More photos.

Soi Dog, Phattai

A street dog in Phattai

Saamlaw

To get from the ruins in Phimai to Thailand's oldest banyan tree, Sai Ngam, just a few kilometers outside Phimai, we hired a Saamlaw, the ubiquitous three-wheeled bicycle cabs. The bike itself had some intricate, if beat-up, detailing, and the driver truly earned his 50 baht fee (and the 50 baht tip we added).

Prasat Phimai

The tiny town of Phimai in Nakhon Ratchasima province is home to a complex of Buddhist sanctuaries dating back to the 11th century A.D. Created a century before Angkor Wat, it's one of Thailand's most important Khmer temples. More images here.

Phimai Monks

Spotted these monks just outside the ruins in Phimai, northeast Thailand, and barely had time to snap a shot as they passed. See the larger version.