A Study of Piriya Krairiksh's Historiography: Identity and Thought

Abstract

This article explores the works of Piriya Krairiksh on Thai art history from the 1970s to the 2000s. The main focus of this article is on how Krairiksh’s experiences - both in the West and later in Thai society - influences his methodology and research. Initially, Krairiksh has a strong “Truth” on his approach to Thai art history. He tends to exercise his freedom on his study even though a mainstream Thai art history academia may go against his argument in several occasions. A resistance from the mainstream academia cannot stop Krairiksh to find the truth buried in the past. This strong commitment leads to the exceptional and innovative way of conducting research through his life.

Particularly, his methodology mainly focuses on a concept of Iconography. All Histoical evidences have to be carefully examined and analyzed through the concept of Iconography. New evidences and data discovered by him on each decades of his works paves the way to the new explanations. For instance, in the late 1970s his works focus on an ethnography and local identity associated with Thai arts. In the 2000s to the present, he shifts the focus to the influences of doctrine, belief, and religion to Thai arts. In short, Krairiksh’s works focus on a diversity of ethnics and cultures in Thai society which associated with a history of Thai art. He believes that the diversity in Thai society leads to what we come to understand as “Thai art”. Also, he claims that an origin of “Thai art” has a root in Buddhism and Hinduism