Looking back at life

Veteran artist Choosak Vissanukamron has chosen to mark his 70th birthday by sharing a collection of his artworks with the public in the exhibition “Sen Sai Lai See 70 Pee Haeng Cheewit”, which is showing at Siam Sindhorn on Withayu Road through Friday.

“I’ve been honoured by two national artists – SEA Write author Prapassorn Sevikul who created the name of my exhibition a month before his death, and Chuang Moolpinit who wrote it in a letterhead font,” Choosak says with pride.

The collection, which spans five decades of the Udon Thani-born artist, is divided into five parts: religion, the monarch, majestic horses, life in Isaan, and Bangkok in bygone days.

“The segment on religious includes paintings about the history of Buddhism. I studied it for many years and travelled to India six times. I travelled to all places related to Buddha such as Gridhakuta Hill and Shravasti in addition to the four holy places said to be the birthplace of the Buddha, Bodh Gaya in Bihar where the Buddha attained Enlightenment, Varanasi, where the Buddha preached the First Sermon in Sarnath and Parinibbana in Kushinagar, the place where the Buddha passed away. I wanted to prove to Thais that Prince Siddhartha and the Buddha are human characters and part of history, not mythology or myth. I want to emphasise too that Buddhism is a religion where human teaches human. I’m fascinated by the history of Ashoka the Great in India.

“In terms of the monarchy, I painted watercolours of King Naresuan, King Taksin, and Bang Rajan long before their stories were adapted for the big screen. I painted a series on King Naresuan during his declaration of independence. Every time I painted, I imagined that I was holding a sword together with both the kings. After that, I painted King Rama I, King Rama V and King Rama IX with their families,” says Choosak.

The artist also has an talent for portraying animals and here again been inspired by Buddhism for his works. A favourite subject is Kanthaka, the white horse described as a loyal servant of Prince Siddhartha.

“ The prince used the horse in all major events described in the Buddhist texts prior to his renunciation of the world and also to escape the palace to become an ascetic,” Choosak explains. 

Another horse in Choosak’s works was used by the influential Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang, who not only brought the Indian sutra to China, but also brought Chinese culture to the West and contributed to the spread of other cultures.

The third horse that has inspired Choosak is General Guan Yu's war mount Chituma or Red Hare.

“The horse is like the knight’s friend going to the war throughout the ages. The horse takes the great warrior king, Naresuan, to protect the Ayutthaya Kingdom from Burma. The horse takes King Taksin to save the country. King Rama V commands from horseback. To me, the horse is the most beautiful and smartest animal with four legs,” says Choosak.

The last two parts of the exhibition portray Choosak’s life in Isaan and Bangkok.

“Many of the places I painted have now disappeared including such theatres as the King, Chalermkhet and Chalermthai. Bangkok was very different in the past,” says Choosak. 

“I also drew and painted with watercolours, poster paint and oils in recording places of the past. I hope these will be an inspiration for the artists of today.”

Choosak admits that he was tempted to leave rural Isaan and come to Bangkok as a teen after listening to songs by vocalists Kamron Sambunyanon, Chaichana Bunachot and Pong Preeda.

“I dreamed of Bangkok as the beautiful city with well-dressed people. I decided to escape to the city on my way to high school and left without saying goodbye to my parents,” he says.

The runaway teen travelled with a monk from Wat Machimawas in Udon Thani and worked a labourer, earning Bt12 to Bt15 a day to pay for his schooling. His talent earned him a place at the Poh Chamg Academy of Arts but without the money to enrol he ended up at vocational college. He continued with his construction work and supplemented his income by drawing at Wat Pho for Bt10 or Bt20 every Saturday and Sunday. He also worked in a bar and eventually landed a job with an advertising agency.

“Luckily the boss wasn’t interested in me for my certificate but for my skill. I worked in the advertising field as an artist, an art director, a creative director and then as managing director. I designed the packaging for several products including Lipo, Olay, and M150.

“I also worked for Osotspa or Tek Heng Yu as it was at the time, for two years and set up advertising agencies. I created the packaging design for Singha and became a managing director at its advertising agency. I earned a lot of awards from advertising but quit 20 years ago because I wanted to paint.

“And Bangkok was never like in my dreams. Truth be told, it isn’t all that different from Udon Thani.”