A Short-Story: Kamin.
by Uthit Atimana

Life-Emotion-Art.

From my experience of studying in the same class with Kamin Lertchaiprasert, it seemed that amongst art students of that generation, he was the most ambitious to become an artist. His interest in art tarted with photography, even though at the art institute attended, offered no course on photography; but as the energetic youngster he was, he investigated this field of art as Kamin's understands it. : "Art is an instrument to convey the emotions that evaporate insubstantially from life experiences".

When I first saw his early photography works ( Fig. 1, Pressure No. 4), I noticed two kinds of components, the figure of a real person and a sculpture of a human face, composed in different gestures, in the middle of a desolate environment and frightening atmosphere. These works refer to the connection between 'life and death' (represented by the harmonious composition of living subjects and non-living objects). At that time Kamin had just lost his mother who had a leg amputated before she died. Kamin was giventhe duty to make a substitute Ieg from paper for the Chinese funeral ceremony.

These 'insubstantially evaporating emotions from past experiences' also appear in Kamin's later graphic works, when he chose graphic art as his major field of study. His photographic work from then on developed through the process of print making.

An example of his work during the last three semesters toward his Bachelor's Degree is shown in ( Fig. 2, Myself No. 1). Here Kamin intented to show his guilt, which is connected with his childhood, through his work. His former photographic work was adapted by the special characteristics of the etching techniques, shown in the moving lines (aggressive and direct), and the rough surface laid upon the flat photograph, in order to represent the stressed emotions, evaporating and alienated from his inner self.

In the works he did before his thesis ( Fig. 3, One-self No.1 ), Kamin experimented with the use of photographs of himself, gesticulating in 'agony'. These photographs had also been adapted by the special characteristics of the etching technique as in the former works.

In his art thesis ( Fig.4, Agonizing and Fig.5, Men ), A certain change is apparent in the main component of the images, of which only a strange human model is left. Kamin wants his work to be interpreted more broadly. He conveys a state of personal mental agony, which he sees as the basic nature of all human beings.

I believe that through the works Kamin made when he was a student, it is obvious to see the connection between his favorite art & artists. It is very common for new artists all over the world to begin their development from the 'artistic intellectual heritage' of art history. It is interesting to point out here that in these very early works a certain aspect appears which will also become evident in his later work. That aspect is his interest to come to an understanding of life's philosophy and his reconsideration of life experiences to be conveyed through his work or his writing. He loves the 'directness and sincerity' of communication.

I have to admit during that time, amongst young Thai artists, Kamin was the most successful to be quickly accepted by Thai society, due to his overflowing ambition to "be an artist". After his solo exhibition at the Gallery of the Silpakorn University in 1987, Kamin immediately decided to go 'gold digging' in New York City, the world center of contemporary art, a considered must for every young artist, a place that can make unknown artists world famous.

It was not as easy as he thought, especially for a Thai artist who wanted to become involved in the New York art-politics. He began at a personal low, down on his luck. He rented a cheap place and tried to support himself by working as a waiter in a restaurant. There was not much time left for creative art work.

During the first two years in New York, Kamin created a body of work, continuing both in concept and style from the work in Thailand. In New York he turned into a painter who worked on a very large scale. He experimented with paintings in series. He presented his works together as 'installation art' (according to the fashion at that time). The content and subject matter still dealt with the human condition, with the burden of struggle and agony. This body of work ( fig 6, I look at myself ) introduces the cycle of life: birth, old age, pain, death, life before birth, life after death. The main component of the picture is an image of himself, situated in a Christian context: Adam and Eve, the bite in the apple from the forbidden tree (the Tree of Wisdom), death on the crucifix, etc..

Parts of this Work had been shown in public. When looking at this work someone may wonder: why is it that Kamin, from his art thesis on, refers to Christianity in his art? His answer to this is: "I once was a pupil in a Christian school; I studied the bible; I prayed; I attended Christian ceremonies, until I felt a mental bond with God, but I am not interested in Christian formalities, nor in their ceremonies"

The concept comes before the emotions.

Kamin would not easily forget his 3rd year of living in New York. It was a bad year for love, but a good year for his finances. He started to work as a printmaker for other artists. This job solved his financial problems. He also had the chance to continue his art education in an art institute there. His social contacts with the artistic scene in New York increased. Another important aspect that changed his life as an artist was the fact that he changed his concept on art.

I am sure that his residency in America has been an important factor in the change of concept. It seemed that Kamin had thrown away the kind of art that conveyed the energy of emotions, and he started to emphasize on conceptual-based art works, inspired by his readings and his rationality. In this kind of art, the concept comes before the emo-tions. Kamin still held on to his everlasting characteristic, namely 'directness', but this time his directness was sarcastic and jeering, dealing with the arts and other topics he feels involved with.

The prints of Albert Einstein sticking out his tongue, and of the Pope, with the word 'art' printed upside-down over the images, are full of humor ( Fig 7, Art No.1 and Fig.8, Art No.2). Kamin sees it as problematic that there is still a large gap between the people who deal with art and those who don't understand art (a print of a monkey that holds books on science and religion is another example). Representations of the past, present or future are compared conceptually, in order to state some questions concerning human cultures from different points of view. These works are realistic in style, using skilled etching techniques, which he had by then mastered.

Another important question that arises when I consider Kamin's stay in New York - why Kamin started to read so much whcn he was over there? He started serious reading on Eastern philosophy, Tao Philosophy, Zen Buddhism, etc.. Inspired by the Yin-Yang concept of Tao Philosophy, Kamin made a series of drawings ( Fig. 8, Untitled ). Drawing is a kind of 'therapy' for Kamin, which he does when he feels himself becoming too extravagant. The main components of the picture are abstract, divided into two parts; for example, a white form with a black form, a natural form with an imitated form. This work is further developed in the works 'Niras Thailand, of which will be dicussed.

I still cannot guess what change in Kamin's perception of the New York art world made him decide to Ieave it behind, and return to Thailand, at the end of 1990, extremely disappointed. He bravely announced he had quit "Being an Artist". From my personal point of view, I dare say that his personality at that time was kind of abnormal: very self-confident, direct speech, dictatorial in discussions and etc.. People thought him crazy. At last, Kamin decided to enter the Buddhist monkhood for a short while.

Looking back at his past, Kamin said: " I was very confused at that time about several things, and very disappointed in the so called 'high art-world'. I used to believe that art is beneficial for the human spirit, but it seemed more and more clear to me that art was becoming more and more materialistic, adding to the desires and lusts of the people, becoming big business, playing games, competition, power, etc..."

Fortunately, his "boredom of art" didn't last long. Kamin was selected to participate in a group exhibition "Enneagramm-Nine into 9', together with a number of leading contemporary Thai artist, at the Visual Dhamma Gallery, Bangkok. An attempt was made to establish a group of artist, to join in co-operative art-activities. This attempt, however, failed eventually. At that time there were intense discussions on topics such as whether specific features, characteristic for a specific culture, can be found in contemporary art; and how can art become an instrument to search for those specific cultural features; how can "being Thai" be reflected in "Thai" art?

Now that Kamin had resumed his artistic energy again in Thailand, he decided to return to New York at the beginning of 1991. The main questions he had on his mind were: How is "being Thai " reflected in art? What makes Thai culture "Thai "? Living in another country, I realized that the main cultural value, which is within ourselves all the time, is "Thai Language "

This second time in New York was more pleasant for Kamin. He dedicated all his energy to the creation of the work called "Gaw Ery Gaw Gai " This project was divided into 5 series, created simultaneously. The art project "Gaw Ery Gaw Gai" can be considered a main version of a school-book for learning Thai alphabet. In the examples (Fig.10, Thai Painting 1990-1991 and Fig.11, Thai Painting), he used masking tape to mask out the letter '°' and used his fingers to smear colour on it, letting his imagination run free as he concentrated on what this particular letter evoked him. This image abstractly refers to the rhythm of a cock fight. When he felt satisfied with smearing colours around his palms and fingers, he used his fingers, still soiled with colour to make his hand print on paper prepared in advance with masking tape, masking out a Thai letter. We see an example of this in (Fig.12, Thai Print, 1991). Furthermore he used his hand, still soaked with paint, to write a letter on white paper, which resulted in the series "Thai Poem" He used his imagination to call up associations wit this particular letter, which often resulted in words or short sentences. There are no limitations (Fig 13), and often he has played with words with a double meaning.

After that, Kamin created the work "ABC' (shown in 1995). This project is a continuation of the "Gaw Ery Gaw Gai" project. He just changed the Thai alphabet into the English ones and used his imagination to call up associations with the letters A to Z. It is his intention here to give an ironic comment on the different "-isms" in modern Western Art.

Kamin said about this work: "When I finished the work 'Gaw Ery Gaw Gai' ,I considered the side-effects of art that deal with specific cultural features from a specific nation. This is the basis of nationalism, and nationalism is the cause of all international conflicts, racism and war. This thought inspired me to reflect on the issue "universality in art". I thought about children's art, so free in its direct expression, and similar all over the world; no cultural frontiers: no art styles that can limit their freedom of expression. "

In the works of the project "ABC", Kamin wanted to present art that is freed from all knowledge on art history. He wanted to express a "child's spirit" directly and personally. In the example ( D. Dada), Kamin wrote the word 'Dada' upside-down and painted a double-meaning image: the image one can see is either a human face or the male and female sexorgans. In the example "Z. Zero Art " the letter 'Z', with which no art technique or style can be connected, Kamin created the word 'Zero Art', and painted symbols of money followed by a lot of zeros.

Time - Experience - Art.

In the middle of the year 1991, Kamin decided to return toThailand again to show his work "Gaw Ery Gaw Gai", and during the preparation of this exhibition he created the work "Niras Thailand".

It is hard to believe that in a short period of three months, Kamin produced like an industrial factory, so, many works. "Niras Thailand" is composed of 5 series of works: drawings, poems, grahic art, photographs and performance. 'Niras' can be seen as a recording of Kamin's travel experiences. He used footprints as a symbol for travel. In the sole of his shoes his name was carved in three languages: Chinese, Thai and English, three cultures that has formed his personality. He recorded everything which he felt impressed on his journey through everyday life inThailand, using different means of recording. He also intended to give his view of certai events, using short sentences, such as in (Fig 17, Roat Roat Lode Roat - Car Car Reduce Car) or Fig.18, Broomstick) with his name and date signed in 3 languages.

So one can his principle of creating art to evaluate daily experiences, the recording of experiences using different artistic means, the attempt to learn, to understand and to summarize events in short phrases, to sign and date experiences eloquently. These are the basic principles of Kamin's creative process, starting with "Niras Thailand" project up until the present. In Kamin's words: "l am impressed by a quotation from Einstein in which he wonders how we acknowledge 'Time' we perceive time through experience; everybody conceives 'Time' differently, depending on their state of mind. This concept made me realize the value of 'Time' as related to my own state of mind and my experiences in everyday life"

Besides this concept on 'time', the work "Niras Thailand" also reflects influence from the Yin-Yang concept in Tao philosophy. Kamin has already been interested in this philosophy and did some drawing experiments on this before. Niras Thailand in Poem (Fig.19) and Drawing to Spirit (Fig.20), are elaborations and developments of the work he did in 1990.

"Niras Thailand " was shown in public the following year (end of 1992). The fact that he used his shoes as a symbol for his travel, was a topic of suspicion for some parts of the Thai audience. The fact that he burned his own work Drawing to Spirit (about 1,000 pieces, onepiece in 8 minutes) also made many people wonder. Kamin gives many reasons for using footprints in his art.

One important reason for using footprints concerns Thai culture and Thai society. Feet are considered as inferior and impolite, but on the other hand, we respect and humble ourselves before the footprint of the Lord Buddha. This means that real value lies in an abstraction of an activity, valued by society, rather than in its formal aspect. This brought Kamin to his next question: Does the real value of art lie in its formal aspects or in the intention? Kamin refers to Chinese culture, where paper puppets are burned as a dedication to the spirit. Kamin burned his work as a dedication to those who enabled him to do this work, to the spirits of all the art-creators of the past. Besides, it was also a gesture to emphasize the fact that art is not a commodity, but a process of 'therapy' for our spirit and intellect. I shall leave Kamin's view on value of art to the reader's own judgement.

The art project "Muangnging Sae Lao" reflects the development of Kamin's concept on 'time and experience'. He began to work more orderly and systematically (I remember that prior to this he used to work simultaneously on different works). Kamin began this project the first day after his return to New York in October 1991, and ended the project exactly 366 days later, in September 1992, in Thailand. The name of this project "Muangnging Sae Lao" is the name he was given as a child. In this project Kamin used the innocent spirit of children as a means for artistic expression (Kamin had done some experiments on this already in the work "ABC"). Kamin stated on this: "Many people say that I make cartoons, but the fact is that I cannot draw cartoons. The intention of this project is to make drawings with colour, looking through the eyes of a child, thinking myself into a child's spirit, not caring whether the outcome is right or wrong, good or bad, beautiful or ugly, trying to throw overboard all my knowledge on art theory and art styles "

The project "Muangnging Sae Lao" is divided into two series. The first is a series on canvas (12 x 12 Inches), of which he did one per day. Here he recorded his experiences and events that happened on that particular day. Kamin believes that the private experiences of each person have an impact on the social problems (Fig.21). In the second series (Fig.22 -23), it is he himself who looks at society. Kamin also believes that the social environment has an impact on our personal problerns. In the latter series, Kamindid not work from singlc-day experiences and events, but he evaluated a variety of social events simultaneously, both from New York and Thai societies. He works on large-sized canvases, using bright colours and inserting social topics, both positive and negative aspects, according to the facts he assimilated himself and evaluated them sincerely. He is not interested in the aesthetic value of the work, nor in the unity of it. People commented on these works :'raw', 'no artistic taste', which is precisely what the artist aimed at. What's in my mind (Fig.24) and Art is not Silpa (Fig 25), is another project that deals with the notion of 'Time'. Kamin started this project in August 1992 and finished it 365 days later. This project is a continuation of the philosophy from his former works: Kamin 'still' makes one piece per day. - The work 'still' deals with daily experiences. - In this project, Kamin still evaluates his experiences, tried to understand them, to see whether they were right or wrong, suitable or not, and - he 'still' writes a short sentence that summarize his thoughts, together with his signature and the date of the experience.

Change is found in the quality of style he used; he simplified the use of materials and drawing technique. The main component of each picture is connected with the Yin-Yang Philosophy (an influence since "Drawing on Spirit"and "Niras Thailand in Poem") The emotions of the forms and the colours refer to the content of the work; his signature and date of the experience orderly and systematically executed arc becoming the trademark of Kamin.

Buddhism - Art - Life.

At the end of 1993, Kamin began another art project titled ''Problem Wisdom" (Fig. 26 and Fig. 27), a pursuit from the concept he used in former works, dealing with "time - experience - opinion", but with a change of style. This project covers a period of two years. He started in August 1993 and finished in August 1995. His life is still systematic and orderly. During the first year Kamin read a daily newspaper everyday and cut out the article that affected him most. He considered these articles to be a private lesson on life. The rest of the newspaper had been used to model a paper-sculpture with a form that refers to the content of the particular article. Afterwards he glued the article on the paper-sculpture. He made one sculpture per day, one article per day, one topic per day, over a period of one year. During the second year of the project, each day he took the paper-sculpture of the previous year and evaluated the topic. He tried to understand the problem more profoundly, considering whether the topic is right or wrong, suitable or not. This is considered a lesson for the intellect. Finally, he summarized the topic in a short sentence, wrote it on the paper-sculpture and signed them.

Because of his systematic and orderly life, the second year of the project "Problem-Wisdom" became a golden year for Kamin's culture of reading. He read a lot, especially books on Eastern Scholars, until his life changed drastically when he began to practice yoga and meditation seriously on a daily basis.

The book 'Upalamanee', a biography on the Venerable Ajahn 'Chah' changed Kamin's life profoundly, and influenced his work "Problem-Wisdonn"; especially towards the end of the project, this book is often refered. Kamin said: "I was searching for the meaning of life and the value of art, until I read this book. It made me understand that Buddhism is a way that leads to the 'Ultimate Truth', with very clear directions on the various steps towards that 'truth' and how to practice. When I understood what this book communicated to me in writing, I decided to put the Buddhist method into practice".

I can say that the influence of Buddhist philosophy is the most important factor that changed the creative process of Kamin's art. I see that in the works he did before this change, "Niras Thailand" "Muangnging Sae Lao', "What's in my mind" and even in the first part of the "Problem-Wisdom" project, he evaluated his daily experiences based on the Yin-Yang philosophy. Kamin understands this philosophy as "the understanding of everything in balance, bad/good, wrong/right, etc.. It is a thought towards problem in moral and cultural levels".

Buddhist philosophy, as Kamin understands it, adjusts the direction in which daily experiences are evaluated. This evaluation is based on the understanding that everything is empty, constant change, constant suffer, emptiness. Kamin searches for an understanding of events, without partiality, prejudice or personal benefit. Kamin started to use the words pure reason, which will become the basic philosophy for his following works.

"Problem-Wisdom" is Kamin's most positively rceceived art project. Perhaps because of its continuity, that span over the period of two years. For my opinion, it is because of the formal aesthetics and the original style I find in this work (not similar to the former works of Kamin in which his style is derived from the traditional visual arts). The formula of world contemporary art requires an original and strange-looking style that affects the senses, rather than offering 'content' or an underlying abstracted concept. "Problem-Wisdom" is a meeting place of both quality of content and quality of style, according to the principles of Kamin.

"Normal-Nature" is Kamin's latest art project to be shown in public. This project is also a continuation from his former work. He started from August 1995 and finished exactly 366 days later. His concept is still the same; it deals with the notion of 'time and experience' and the search for 'pure reason'. The use of materials and technique is very simple: black pencil on white paper. He illustrates incidents in a style that reminds me of children's drawings (as in his former work). He persists in his choice of style and means of communication that is 'normal', and in his definition of art: art is only an instrument, only a path; it's only a process to develop 'the content of life', a process that leads to the 'ultimate truth'. Art is more than a search for the value of stylistic features.

It seems that, from the time he began to practice Buddhism, his way of life changed completely, (sometimes this also affected his family-life): waking up, sleeping, eating, yoga-practicing, reading, meditating and evaluating his daily experiences circumspectly. When he meditates, he looks deep into the components and factors that stimtllate the daily activities, events and problems. He asks himself "What is the 'pure reason' of this event, not a biased or prejudiced understanding of it; what is 'emptiness, what is the 'ultimate truth' of that particular event?, etc.. " When he has thought the issue through and seen the truth of it, he draws a sentence that summarizes the issue.

The term 'pure reason' is a term that has been heavily discussed in the first period of this project. One of his friends, Mit Jayin said: "We must define this term very clearly, because Immanuel Kant, uses this term frequently. Personally, I don't believe that man can reach, or even believe in this so called "pure reason" l don't believe that this "pure reason" can be found in real life, especially in the context of capitalism.. all the reason we have, or create, we use for our personal benefit"

Kamin believes: 'pure reason' can be found in everybody's daily life; it can be found in 'common sense' common sense that is without thought or intention. "Pure reason can also be acquired through meditation, to reach a state of wisdom, freed from all principles and attachments to one's ego. We cannot enter this state of mind through our senses: eyes, ears, tongue, body nor through our thinking. We can enter this state of mind through 'Yahntassena' (an intuition), which arises from experience in practice, meditation and wisdom, according to the Buddhist precepts. "

As a matter of fact, these two visions reflect the basic philosophies of humankind. The first does not believe in a perfect 'utopia', there is no such thing as 'nirvana' nor 'pure reason'. We struggle only in order to go on struggling (this is a philosophical point of view). The second, Kamin's, believes that there is a perfect 'utopia', 'nirvana' exists, and so does 'pure reason'.. and people are able to reach this 'ultimate' state of being (this is the Buddhist point of view).

There are some viewers who do not agree with this kind of art. They feel they are being 'instructed'. Kamin explained: "'The first intention to create this art project, was to teach myself. I use the process of making art as a means to reach the 'truth ' but the art works themselves "are" in no way this 'truth ' compare to meditation. Meditation in itself is just a means to reach the 'ultimate truth', but the fact that one meditates does not mean one has reached 'Nirvana'

The facts I have explained in this 'Short Story on Kamin', give rise to a lot of new questions concerning the principles of Kamin's art and other principlcs on contemporary art.

First: Concerning "the way meaning is communicated" through art objects. Kamin believes in a simple, sincere and direct way of communicating; he believes that "a good goal requires a good and just method " This is a viewpoint opposite to the general point of view in contemporary art that favors indistinct communication by using any means of communication, no matter what style or method, inorder to achieve the goal, without concern for the effect of the work on society, morality, etc..

Second: Concerning the relation between Buddhism and contemporary art. One group of artists recreates the content and the style of Buddhist art of the past, by altering the main components and the environment or setting. Kamin' however, is inspired by the Buddhist philosophy in making of his work.

Third: Concernillg the definitions for a classification of contemporary art. Many people may once have read the following two famous sentences :"Art as Seeing" and "Art as Thinking",, By these two sentences most of 20th Century Modern Art is classified. The first definition emphasizes on the search for new styles. The second definition emphasizes on the methods for communicating ideas in order to stimulate the viewer to think about the presented topic. Kamin's work, however, cannot be classified within these former two groups. I would like to present here the definition: "Art as Meditation", which emphasizes the process of action in the present.

Finally: Concerning "the value of art". In the world of art, as recorded in art history, the value of art lies in the art object. The artist is separated from the art object. Kamin's art, however, is just a means to improve the value of the artist's life (his art is his life). Therefore we cannot evaluate Kamin's art if we separate the artist from his art work.

In the end, Kamin leaves us one more important question: "Can the process of art really lead us towards the 'ultimate truth'...or not?"

English translation by
Jan De Vleeschanwer

From Normal & Nature, Tadu Contemporary Art, Bangkok