Neverland

Giuseppe Rosato’s travel Journal introduces you to the Contemporary Art ambience of Bangkok; epitomized by Ida-Art-Café &Gallery, where Ida Propong, the Thai dynamic artist and owner, together with Thai and international young artists are constantly involved in “visionary contemporary art”. With the advent of the “modern art” and “postmodern art” sensible questions, such as what is the definition of contemporary art? what is or what is not Art?, open up debates regarding what can ‘legitimately’ be titled as CONTEMPORARY ART within the art-circles. Strictly speaking there is no single understanding and current movements - that I tend to agree with, define Art as Contemporary not because of its genre or style, but insofar as it is genuinely inspired by a inner desire to express outside the frame of established boundaries, journeying into the universe of divine intuition. Outsider art, Naïve-Art, Folk-Art, Visionary-Art, Intuitive-Art, Experimental-Art, Body-Performing-Arts are few of the nomenclature used to describe Art that is loosely understood as "Outsider" - of the official culture. Definitions might vary for each of the above term, and there might be areas of overlap between them. However, broadly speaking Contemporary-Art can be defined as a ‘continuous present’ art-form: it has to be basically produced in the present, for the present. It is in this universal context that Ida’s community art-project provoked my curiosity. As I was walking along Sam Sen Road situated in one of Bangkok’s most art-dynamic district, Banglamphu, I was virtually drawn into the energetic flow of this creative ambience. Had I fallen in a quantum leap? Certainly I felt the sudden change from one energy level to another, transported from the hammering noisy and asphyxiating heat and pollution of the capital to the harmonious and vibrant charm of this artistic oasis: Contemporary paintings, sculptures and literal manuscript decorated its interiors space, Thai and international youngsters sat around tables, each absorbed in their muse. Ida herself smilingly welcomed me. I made clear that I was just charmed by the place and did not know exactly how to make sense of it. She brought me a menu stating “this is my home and do for others what usually I do for myself: I prepare cold and hot drinks; I make food; I have a laundro-mat for everyone to use, plugs for people to charge their technological gadgets –mobiles, digital cameras, lap-tops and so on; and books to be borrowed from our inner library to be read in-house”. Still a bit unclear I ordered a freshly brewed pot of Lotus tea. As she returned few minutes later with my hot drink she carried on explaining under my obvious curiosity “There is a studio up-stairs for everyone to use. At the Moment a Spanish artist is staying in-house, painting.” and invited to satiate even more my curiosity by visiting the up-stairs space that she defined “Home Studio Gallery” and the ground floor space as “Laundro Arts Lounge café”. Ida explained that she had opened the place by combining the mere necessity to make a living and be able to create a living and working space where Art was part of it. At the end of 2003, she had opened up the Ida-Art-Café & Gallery combining a coffee shop, tea room, bar, Laundromat, art gallery, book club and home, ALL IN ONE. I reflected to myself, “What she enjoys for herself she offers to the public. Everyone needs to wash and dry clothes at home, have snack breaks, and who doesn’t like to end their day by sipping a drink with their loved one and friends? But most importantly she is to my knowledge a sort of visionary combining a commercial outlet with a cultural one” As if she had read my thoughts she added up “This is not only my home, work-place, art-studio and gallery but much more… is a sort of sacred temple where anyone who dare can fall in its divine grace” As she left for few moments I browsed the overhead bookshelves, which displayed a good selection of Thai and world literature; the music played in tune with the vibes; the customers were busy in multifaceted activities: writing, drawing, playing music and as for enchantment I found myself naturally inspired to do what I most enjoy when I am on the road: Talking to people, taking pictures, and writing my travel Journal. That evening I met Ton, a Thai artist who sells shirts with his paintings, Olivier, a French photographer, Alberto, the in-house Spanish painter and Louise, an Afro-European artist. They collectively confirmed that this was not another commercial outlet but a contemporary art laboratory where artists meet, work, create, interact, and exhibit. To use Louise’s own words “this is a visionary multifaceted ambient”. Later that some evening sipping some red wine and conversing with others guests I learned that Ida is experimenting with performance shows, video installations beyond traditional arts such as painting and sculpture. Most of Ida performance shows seems to be impregnated with spiritual symbolism. Ida is not only as most Thai people a Buddhist but she also practices meditation. And it was after one of this meditational sitting that she understood one basic truth, that at less you are rich you need to spice up Art with others ingredients, which provide a living. Isn’t it true that creativity combined with commercial skills benefit not only spirit and mind but our earthly needs as well? After her Art-Academy studies she found herself in that junction where artist most often find themselves in: renunciate Art for a job or chose art but pushing yourself to the fringe of a bohemian life, she found her formula by virtue of the divine providence: MEDITATION.  At the moment of my writing October 2007 she is holding in her Laundro Arts Lounge, in the 2nd floor the debut exhibition of Thai artist Vichian BoonMeeMak (collage of 27 acrylic paintings). She is also involved in embryo art projects, such as the one: "Woman in 5 Continents". This performance structured as a multimedia event of international character rejoins in an unitary action the single performance of different women artists, in representation of the five different continents