Somdet Khru: Initiative Soul that Brought About New Aesthetic Design

Abstract

This research article aims to examine social factors that influenced Somdet Chao Fa Krom Phraya Narisara Nuwattiwong’s conception of creating contemporary Thai art. This article also discusses the goal and concept of expression in design, which focuses primarily on elevating the minds of audiences. According to this study, Somdet Chao Fa Krom Phraya Narisara Nuwattiwong’s fines arts were consistent with the evolving social factors of Siam at the time. His works were intended to respond to usage, without being tied to a particular style, and were combined with reactions to cultural pressures and repeated compromises resulting from Siamese society’s conditions and global trends. These factors led to his creations, which developed into new aesthetic phenomena and preferences. The result of this research is an analysis that can be summed up as the following three creative processes:

1. Preservation process: initiative spirit and preserving tradition 2. Creation process: breaking conventions, integrating reactions, and compromising 3. Communication process: creating a balance between the visible and the unseen. Somdet Chao Fa Krom Phraya Narisara Nuwattiwong incorporated Western elements or examples from works of the same genre into his creative principles. Consequently, a new design emerged based on the era’s appropriateness. His works, thus, became the second Rattanakosin style of art, one of the dynamic principles of contemporary Siamese master craftsmen.