Problem Wisdom

Kamin Lertchaiprasert was born in Lopburi, Thailand, in 1964. Interested in art from a very early age, Kamin studied at the College of Fine Arts, Bangkok, from 1978 until 1981. He continued his art education at Silpakom University from 1981 to 1987, working in printmaking while pursuing his own interest in photography. Following the completion of his studies, Kamin spent the period 1987 to 1990 in New York. Over the next two years he worked in both Bangkok and New York until his permanent return to Thailand in 1992. The period 1990--91 marked the beginning of Kamin's questioning of the role of art in society. His search for the meaning of life and the value of art was profoundly affected by the philosophies of Daoism and Buddhism and led him in 1990 to become a Buddhist monk for a period in Thailand. Kamin's art is closely associated with his lived experience. Not only does he draw on personal history, ideas and beliefs, but the process of making art interweaves with his philosophy and practice to a degree that the two, art and life, become inseparable. Problem - Wisdom is a floor installation consisting of 366 papier mi\che sculptures. It is a work that combines the artist's social concerns with his philosophical and artistic beliefs. The work commenced in 1993 on the artist's birthday, 14 August, and took two years to complete. Each day over the first year, the artist read the daily newspaper and chose an article dealing with a problem. He then cut out the article, soaked the newspaper and sculpted out of the paper pulp an object in response to the particular problem. Once the object was shaped, the article that carried the original story was pasted onto the object. Each day over the second year the artist revisited an object and reflected on a solution for the problem posed by the story. He then inscribed onto each sculpture his prescription of wisdom. The use of calligraphy and language is an intrinsic part of Kamin's artistic practice. The Thai script in Problem - Wisdom functions on several levels. At its most obvious it is a system of communication; its calligraphic qualities add a strong aesthetic pleasure; it intersects with the printed words of the newspaper and comments on their content; and it refers to Thai culture, since language is a fundamental component of any culture. The value and significance of Problem - Wisdom does not merely lie in its finished form as a group of art objects. Rather, the distinct character of the work lies in the creative process which brings together time, art, life and philosophy. Problem - Wisdom incorporates a conventional, linear system of recording time which expands to include the artist's personal experience and perception of time. Problem - Wisdom required a very disciplined approach where the artist had to engage in a daily, systematic revisiting and contemplation of social issues. Thus these 366 objects embody Karnin's philosophy where the process of making art becomes a meditation on life, which in tum is a reflection of Buddhist Dharruna (the Pali word for Dharma). In Buddhism, life is defined in terms of the disappointment and suffering caused by human beings' desire for pleasure, power and continued existence. To avoid disappointment and suffering, one must stop desiring. Dharruna, or true law, is the Buddha's teaching of the 'middle way', a negotiation between the extremes of self-denial and worldly life, and a path to end desire and the suffering associated with it. As the artist says: 'Problem' in my opinion, is something whose cause we do not understand, thus [we] do not know how to control the situation. And that causes suffering, both physically and mentally. I believe problems can be solved by wisdom, and that process has to start in one's own mind first. .. 'Wisdom' in my opinion, means insight into the elements of truth. Wisdom rises from right and reasonable thinking. To obtain wisdom, we should have good purpose and the right way. Good purpose intends to exterminate passion and to be of benefit to all human beings. The right way should be on the path of moral so it does not cause problems to ourselves and to others.' Problem - Wisdom reflects a belief that everything in life - good and bad, right and wrong, male and female - exists in balance, as expressed in Buddhist and Daoist philosophies. It is the flux within this balance, experienced individually in endless permutations, that determines how one's present and future lives will unfold. This work is the artist's contemplation of the problems which face contemporary Thai society and his suggestions for some possible solutions. During the last six months of this project, in order to better understand problems and solutions, the artist meditated daily. Problem - Wisdom exemplifies Karnin's process-based art practice as it overlaps with his philosophy and life. Dionissia Giakoumi (Assistant Curator, International Art) Suhanya Raffel (Assistant Curator, Contemporary Asian Art) I Kamin' Lertchaiprasert, The Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art: Artists' Statements, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, 1996