Montien Boonma

Thailand

Cultural commentary – Traditions and heritage

Montien Boonma

• 1953-2000• Thailand• Studied in Bangkok, Rome, Paris• Initially trained as painter• Buddhist

• Some themes:• Rural and urban• Traditional and modern• Developed and developing countries

• From http://nga.gov.au/Boonma/edu.cfm

Montien Boonma - Buffaloes from the Field to the Town, 1988,Unhusked rice, sacks, straw, horn, stools, 80x180x160 cm

Montien Boonma Buffaloes from the Field to the Town1988Unhusked rice, sacks, straw, horn, stools

• 2 sacks on stools

• On one sack, a horn

• On the other, a curving, coiling structure made of straw, resembling a tail

• Abstract representation of a buffalo

• Whole structure looks very rugged

• Ragged sacks, ragged bundle of straw

• Earthy brown colours

Montien Boonma Buffaloes from the Field to the Town1988Unhusked rice, sacks, straw, horn, stools

• What do the various parts represent?

• Buffaloes used by farmers to plow fields

• Straw is fed to buffaloes

• Rice is harvested and stored in man-made sacks

• Their horns are used to make various objects like jewellery

• Buffalo milk, meat and leather are also used by man

• What is the significance of the stools here?

Montien Boonma Buffaloes from the Field to the Town1988Unhusked rice, sacks, straw, horn, stools

• The buffalo is a very important animal

• Integral to many people’s lives

• What does the buffalo truly represent?

• Man-made vs natural?

• Man’s relationship with nature?

• Urban vs rural?

Marcel DuchampFountain1917Porcelain urinal

“shifting the focus of art from physical craft to intellectual interpretation”

Pablo PicassoBull’s Head1942Bicycle seat and handlebars

Montien Boonma - Nature’s Breath: Arokhayasala , 1995,Metal, herbs, terracotta, 256x215x215 cm

Montien Boonma - Nature’s Breath: Arokhayasala , 1995,Metal, herbs, terracotta, 256x215x215 cm

• Perforated metal boxes

• Forming 3 curved columns converging at top

• Covered with various herbs

• Lungs made of terracotta at top

Montien Boonma - Nature’s Breath: Arokhayasala , 1995,Metal, herbs, terracotta, 256x215x215 cm

• Sight and smell

• Herbs often used in rituals and healing

• Wife died of lung cancer, he of lung cancer and brain tumor

Montien Boonma - Nature’s Breath: Arokhayasala , 1995,Metal, herbs, terracotta, 256x215x215 cm

• “[I wanted] viewers to cleanse and cure the mind in order to experience the condition of relaxation and mindfulness. The atmosphere is similar to monasteries, temples, or hospitals of mindfulness (sati). Meditation, space, border, sounds, material, and aroma in surrounding space of the work are the essence that arouse viewer’s perception.”

Phra Pathom Chedi, Thailand Great Stupa at Sanchi, India

Stupas

• "When my wife was bed-ridden, in critical condition, I went and made propitiations at shrines everywhere. I would chant continuously the Jinapanjara (an ancient mantra popularised by the late Buddhist saint, Somdej Toh of Wat Rakhang) and whatever I found in Lok Thip magazine (literally 'Heavenly World', a journal focused on the Buddhist supernatural). I took an oath to Mother Khun Im (Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion) to stop eating beef. I went to pray at the Buddha relics of Doi Suthep and Khruba Sriwichai. I recited the names of all the Buddhas, gurus, and deities - it was what I hung on to, like a kind of plea.

"I donated a pair of buffaloes, trying to find a pregnant one. The temple did a ritual saying, 'may you be free from calamity and bad Karma'. The buffallo was named 'Boonrod' (the merit of escape), because my name is 'Boonma' (the approach of merit). In the end it gave birth to a pair of twins, one male, one female. It turned out I saved three lives from the slaughterhouse, so I thought my wife would make it... The omens seemed to suggest that we had made merit in time.

"When we pray, even monks, they never really get there. Though they might feel they receive some kind of blessing, or inspiration. Every person's life is a process of building belief or faith - an empire for us to be able to survive. Without this empire, or this faith, we would be uncontrollable, we wouldn't know what to do, why should we work, ...Why should we live?

Even though we know we must die, we still try to discover something, so that we can pass a better day. Those who are sick understand this."

Earth Stupa, 1989 Black Stupa, 1989

Montien BoonmaLotus Sound1992Terracotta, lotus petals, gold foil350 x 300 x 300 cm.

Montien BoonmaAlokhayasan: Temple of the Mind1995-6metal lungs, herbs, pigments and glue installed with herb boxes