Narong Kumpunbutr
— Modern Thai Artist
Kumpunbutr is a Thai artist who specializes in acrylic painting – having his work revolve around his life philosophies that he draws from life experiences communicates a complex meaning to the viewers, all up for open interpretation. Having lived in a rural community, he draws inspiration from memories during this period in his life and expresses this through his creative work.
Concept
Through his observations, he has collected many of his thoughts into one concept. The fact that humans are nothing more than living creatures who share the same space with other existing matters is a conceptual thought. Kumpunbutr expresses this through the iconography in his works, which in this case, is a monkey. “They function the same way as us, the only difference is our language and that’s just because we are much more capable of developing technologically. If we completely ignore the complexities of everything, we have the same basic foundation,” Kumpunbutr explains. The artist further suggests that without the social constructs and restrictions that were placed upon us during evolution, there would be little to no difference between humans and animals.
With the experience of living in a rural community, he sees the difference between the lifestyles of local villagers and individuals in the city. He can sense that the basic foundation of humans are fundamental within one’s character build, but without any additional implications such as the influence of mass media, humans essentially hold the same purpose and value: to survive. This correlates to his main concept of being one with animals – by the law of nature, we are originally among the same classification, according to the artist.
Technique
“Figuring out a technique that works for you is almost like science,” explains the artist. He had previously experimented with oil colour to find that it had many limitations that held back his art and led him to unsatisfactory results. With that said, he ultimately felt like acrylic paint suited his artwork best. His ideas come in a full visual, so his ideas are typically sketched beforehand before being filled in with paint. Sticking with the message he intends to convey allows the work to be more prominent and visually cohesive – a skill that Kupmunbutr has like no other artist.
Narong Kumpunbutr
— Modern Thai Artist
Kumpunbutr is a Thai artist who specializes in acrylic painting – having his work revolve around his life philosophies that he draws from life experiences communicates a complex meaning to the viewers, all up for open interpretation. Having lived in a rural community, he draws inspiration from memories during this period in his life and expresses this through his creative work.
Concept
Through his observations, he has collected many of his thoughts into one concept. The fact that humans are nothing more than living creatures who share the same space with other existing matters is a conceptual thought. Kumpunbutr expresses this through the iconography in his works, which in this case, is a monkey. “They function the same way as us, the only difference is our language and that’s just because we are much more capable of developing technologically. If we completely ignore the complexities of everything, we have the same basic foundation,” Kumpunbutr explains. The artist further suggests that without the social constructs and restrictions that were placed upon us during evolution, there would be little to no difference between humans and animals.
With the experience of living in a rural community, he sees the difference between the lifestyles of local villagers and individuals in the city. He can sense that the basic foundation of humans are fundamental within one’s character build, but without any additional implications such as the influence of mass media, humans essentially hold the same purpose and value: to survive. This correlates to his main concept of being one with animals – by the law of nature, we are originally among the same classification, according to the artist.
Technique
“Figuring out a technique that works for you is almost like science,” explains the artist. He had previously experimented with oil colour to find that it had many limitations that held back his art and led him to unsatisfactory results. With that said, he ultimately felt like acrylic paint suited his artwork best. His ideas come in a full visual, so his ideas are typically sketched beforehand before being filled in with paint. Sticking with the message he intends to convey allows the work to be more prominent and visually cohesive – a skill that Kupmunbutr has like no other artist.
