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Hunting Authenticity - Pseudo-Tourism by Pravit Rojanaphruk and Pasakorn Intoo-Marn
Dear Thai Textile Society Members,
The Jim Thompson Art Center cordially invites you to attend the discussion Hunting
Authenticity - Pseudo-Tourism by Pravit Rojanaphruk and Pasakorn Intoo-Marn and
moderated by Worathep Akkabootara on Saturday 19th June, 2010 at 14:00-16:00 at The
Jim Thompson Art Center.
This session will consider and re-evaluate notions which concern the existence and
status of “authenticity in tourism”. To underline the idea of “authenticity”,
concepts which came into question as early as the industrial revolution will be
explored in terms of how they are interrelated to modernity. The arguments on
authenticity can be drawn from considering mass tourism which has had a profound
impact on the experiences of tourists. In particular, we will consider how tourists
classify or evaluate their experience related to cultural authenticity. To classify
and evaluate such experiences, an audience should take the approach of
reinterpreting the experiences in terms of authenticity. For example, one can
consider the types of artifacts which are produced to serve a tourist’s interests.
Some of them are intentionally produced to be consumed as tourists’ art objects or
souvenirs. This discussion and the arguments involved can be better understood by
viewing the exhibition THE TROPICS: VIEWS FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE GLOBE. The
exhibition showcases pieces from the collection of The National Ethnological Museum
in Berlin. It also illustrates cultural and cult representations of the indigenous
peoples who are living in the tropical regions. In particular, the collection of art
from National Ethnological Museum reflects Eurocentric interpretation of the
tropics.
About the Collaborators:
Pravit Rojanaphruk: received a Master’s Degree in Social Anthropology from Oxford
University (Chevening Scholarship, The Ministry of Foreign Affair, Great Britain),
and wrote the dissertation “Tourist and Cultural Authenticity : Anthropological
Reflection on the Notion of Cultural Authenticity in Tourism”. He now works for the
Political News Section, The Nation. Pravit has traveled to over 40 countries and
has received other scholarships such as Reuters Fellowship, Oxford University and
Katherine Fanning Fellowship for Journalism and Democracy by Kettering Foundation,
Ohio, USA.
Pasakorn Inthumarn: received a Bachelor’s degree in Drama from Thammasat University
and Master’s Degree in Theatre and Film Studies from University of New South Wales,
Australia. He is interested in the role of art on society. He now regularly teaches
courses in Film Appreciation at the Faculty of Arts, Silpakorn University.
Worathep Akkabootara : received a Bachelor degree in Graphic Art and Art Theory
from The Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Art Silapakorn University He has
cooperated with cultural activists in several socially engaging projects and art
exhibitions and regularly works as an editor and writer on art and cultural topics
for books and magazines, published both locally and internationally. He is now
working as writer and editor for “Exemplar Editions”.
About The Tropics exhibition
“The Tropics – Views from the Middle of the Globe” attempts to detect currents of
energy and subtle disturbances between the hemispheres in times of tension, and to
search for cooperative as well as counteractive cultural forces. The exhibition has
already been presented in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town and Berlin.
Ranking among the most important in the world, exhibits from the collections of the
Ethnological Museum in Berlin from Africa, Asia, Oceania and tropical America enter
into dialogue with works by contemporary artists from South America, Europe, Africa
and Asia. Old and new art converge in one place. As the show is conceived as an art
exhibition, the selection of the older works was primarily made according to
aesthetic criteria. In general, the exhibition attempts a re-aesthetisation of the
tropics, in order to place more emphasis on cultural aspects of tropical regions, as
opposed to the otherwise prevailing negative political and economic discourses.
For more information please contact The Jim Thompson Art Center Tel: 02 612 6741
Email: education@jimthompsonhouse.com
Ms. Somsuda Piamsumrit
Education Program Co-ordinator
The Jim Thompson Art Center
6 Soi Kasemsan 2 Rama1Rd. Wangmai Patumwan BKK.
Tel: (66) 2- 612 6741
Fax: (66) 2- 219 2911
email: somsuda@jimthompsonhouse.com, education@jimthompsonhouse.com
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