About The Book
Traditional Tai Arts in Contemporary Perspective examines a variety of forms of artistic expression, including weaving and fashion, carving, painting, and dancing, as well as boxing. The chapters are written by academics and artists and the volume as a whole reflects a blending of the perspectives of those who study the arts and those who practice them. While the focus is on the arts of T'ai peoples in Thailand, attention is also paid to T'ais in the neighboring countries of Laos, Burma, China, and Vietnam. Such a geographical spread reflects a growing interest in the comparative study of T'ai-speaking peoples living in different political and social settings in an effort to better understand common themes in T'ai culture and how it has evolved throughout the region. The chapters are accompanied by ninety-three color photos that provide a pictorial survey of the forms of artistic expression among T'ai peoples.
Introduction
The collection of chapters included in the present volume examine contemporary developments in T'ai arts as well as offering contemporary views of T'ai arts from the past. The focus is on the arts of T'ai peoples in Thailand, but attention is also paid to T'ais in the neighboring countries of Laos, Burma, China, and Vietnam as well. Such a geographical spread reflects a growing interest in the comparative study of T'ai-speaking peoples living in different political and social settings in an effort to better understand common themes in T'ai culture as well as how it has evolved and manifested itself throughout the region. In addition to having a geographically diverse coverage, the chapters examine a variety of forms of artistic expression, including weaving, carving, painting, dancing, and boxing. The inclusion of such an array of topics elicits definitional questions, especially in regard to distinctions that are commonly drawn between arts and crafts. It is not my intent here to engage in a definitional debate about what is and what is not art, but rather simply to employ a broad and widely accepted definition linking artistic expression with the production or performance of something that is judged to have a special aesthetic quality to it either by members of a particular society or cross-culturally. Accordingly, crafts have the potential to be works of art, but not all crafts are viewed as such. In this regard, the intent of the producer is not always a guideline, although it often is since within most cultures standards exist that set the exceptional bowl, basket, or dress apart from the everyday. Perhaps nowhere is the difficulty in establishing a hard and fast rule about what is art and what is not more apparent than in the case of martial arts. It is undoubtedly easier to gain consensus regarding the artistic merit of almost any type of dance than it is to gain artistic respectability for even the most ritualized form of combat. Thus, the presence of a chapter on Thai boxing as a form of martial art may raise a few eyebrows. My own view is that, especially within the context of T'ai culture, such a martial art is a very important form of artistic expression and one that is, in fact, closely associated with dance in T'ai culture. This is not to say that all boxing is art any more than that all dance is art, but that both types of performance have the potential to be elevated to a form of artistic expression and that in T'ai culture some forms of martial combat have achieved this designation. There are several themes that are especially important in contemporary analyses of T'ai artistic expression. One overall theme is the evolution of the practice and perception of traditional T'ai arts in the face of rapid change and unprecedented global influences. The T'ai have always drawn on outside influences in their arts, but have modified such influences in such a way as to maintain a distinctly T'ai character. Moreover, T'ai arts have never been static and have always shown an interesting blend of innovation and conservatism. However, the extent of external influences and pressures to change today are unprecedented and lead to questions about the ability of the T'ai people in the modern globalized world to continue to assimilate things from outside and to incorporate them into the creation of distinctly T'ai forms of artistic expression. Many past art forms and traditional motifs are local versions that differ only slightly from those found elsewhere.
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