Montien Boonma, Buffaloes from the Field to the Town, 1988, mixed media.
What you need to know about the artist:
Boonma's works are always about the change that has occurred in Thai life.
Like the rest of Asia, Thailand has gone through a rapid phase of modernization in the last 50 or so years. This type of rapid modernization has a great impact on the people who live through it, as they witness the demise or decline of one way of life and the birth and fruition of another. Many times this type of change is met with hostility.
In his artwork, Boonma juxtaposes the old with the new: we have manufactured stools placed with old gunnysacks that could be found in the more rural areas, with corn husks, another material found in rural areas, and finally a buffalo horn. While the abstracted and simplified Buffalo forms have been created from all natural materials, because some are manufactured it creates both tension and harmony between the old and the new.
The significance of the Buffalo in rural Thailand is huge. In rural areas, even in modern times (but less frequently as modern farm equipment is more readily available), water buffalo are used to help plow the rice patty fields, and in many villages are seen as a sign of wealth. They were once essential for a farmer's success.
Boonma also claims that his artwork is environmental. By using primative and natural materials, he hopes to get viewers thinking about environmental problems, and perhaps awareness will be heightened.
Questions:
1. In your opinion, how is this work environmental? (or is it?) Support your answer with contextual information.
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