The creation of mixed media art from the belief of thaen in the new context of the northeast

Abstract

The creation of mixed media art from the belief of thaen in the new context of the northeast. This is creative research inspired by the belief in Phaya Thaen of the people in the Northeastern Region, reflecting how the belief in Phaya Thaen of the people in the Northeastern Region has evolved through mixed media visual art creations in various forms such as pottery, waste materials, visual and audio media. The creator arranges the project into 2 processes that are the study of changes of the belief in Phaya Thaen through the history records, and visual art creation. 

          The study and creation processes discovered a new finding as follows 1) the belief in Phaya Thaen links with the lifestyle of the Northeastern people in many dimensions. The belief has been there since before the arrival of Buddhism in the region, as shown in the historical records in the forms of myths, tales, and folklore both verbal and written. This is clear evidence that the ancient Northeastern and Laos-Thai people worshiped the same idol that was Phaya Thaen. The influence of the belief elevates Phaya Thaen to be worshiped and respected as the supreme deity. Thus, Thaen has become both the giver and punisher. The Northeastern people and Thaen are bound together, and the belief is closely linked with the lifestyle through the social structure. The belief in Phaya Thaen also influences the worldview of the Northeastern people in a way 2) The evolution of the belief in Phaya Thaen in the new context of the Northeastern people can be concluded that there are two factors decreasing the belief in Phaya Thaen of the Northeastern people. The first factor is the internal factor which is the desire of the Northeastern people desiring to be free from the problems. Then second factor is the external factor which is introduced by outsiders through the center civilization, if this occurs before the revolution, it would be applied to the federal officials sent to rule the Northern provinces, if it occurs during and after the revolution, it would be applied to the politicians, Thai and American soldiers. In the Northeastern new age, the federal officials and policies from the outside still continue to stream in. Urbanization has provided basic utilities, communication, and education. These external factors greatly impact the Northeastern structure. The changes from both internal and external factors have impacted the social structure and worldview of the Northeastern people. These changes also impact the belief in Phaya Thaen of the Northeastern people. 3) Creations inspired by the belief in Phaya Thaen of the Northeastern people through a new context, bringing a characteristic that represents the development under the government’s policy to the creation such as employing the cold-war maps could create a content that relates to the format and technique very well. The creation also presents contents related to the impacts from the physical changes. Thus the creation has an image that reminds of the contents and connects to them very well. Moreover, integrating the Boun Bang Fai Festival into the creation reflects the direction of the change in the belief very well. Because the Boun Bang Fai Festival is directly linked to Phaya Thaen according to the myth. Mixed media art creation delivers many forms of art and media. Having many forms of media in one creation has an advantage in creation and awareness where the audience is able to enjoy the aesthetics in many senses, enhanced immersion, and contents that are more connected.