Sala Keoku
Encyclopedia
Fantastic art
Fantastic art is an art genre. The parameters of fantastic art have been fairly rigorously defined in the scholarship on the subject ever since the 19th century. There was a movement of science fiction and fantasy artists prior to and during the Great Depression, which were mainly cover art and...
concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
sculptures inspired by Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
. It is located near Nong Khai
Nong Khai
Nong Khai is a city in North-East Thailand and is the capital of the Nong Khai Province...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in immediate proximity of the Thai
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
-Lao
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
border and the Mekong
Mekong
The Mekong is a river that runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is the world's 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annually....
river. The park has been built by and reflects the personal vision of Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat
Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat
Bunleua Sulilat was a Thai/Isan/Lao mystic, myth-maker, spiritual cult leader and sculpture artist...
and his followers (the construction started in 1978). It shares the style of Sulilat
Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat
Bunleua Sulilat was a Thai/Isan/Lao mystic, myth-maker, spiritual cult leader and sculpture artist...
's earlier creation, Buddha Park
Buddha Park
Buddha Park, also known as Xieng Khuan , is a sculpture park located 25 km southeast from Vientiane, Laos in a meadow by the Mekong River. Although it is not a temple , the park may be referred to as Wat Xieng Khuan , since it contains numerous religious images...
on the Lao
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
side of Mekong
Mekong
The Mekong is a river that runs through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It is the world's 10th-longest river and the 7th-longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annually....
, but is marked by even more extravagant fantasy and greater proportions.
Some of the Sala Keoku sculptures tower up to 25m in the sky. Those include a monumental depiction of Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
meditating under the protection of a seven-headed Naga
Mucalinda
Mucalinda, Muchalinda or Mucilinda is the name of a naga , who protected the Buddha from the elements after his enlightenment....
snake. While the subject (based on a Buddhist legend
Mucalinda
Mucalinda, Muchalinda or Mucilinda is the name of a naga , who protected the Buddha from the elements after his enlightenment....
) is one of the recurrent themes in the religious art of the region
Lao Buddhist sculpture
-Overview:Lao artisans have, throughout the past, used a variety of media in their sculptural creations. Of the metals, bronze is probably the most common, but gold and silver images also exist...
, Sulilat
Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat
Bunleua Sulilat was a Thai/Isan/Lao mystic, myth-maker, spiritual cult leader and sculpture artist...
's approach is highly unusual, with its naturalistic (even though stylized) representation of the snakes, whose giant protruding tongues beautifully complement the awe-inspiring composition.
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
building, whose domes bear a surprising resemblance to a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
. It was constructed following Sulilat
Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat
Bunleua Sulilat was a Thai/Isan/Lao mystic, myth-maker, spiritual cult leader and sculpture artist...
's plans after his death. The 3rd floor hosts a large number of Sulilat
Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat
Bunleua Sulilat was a Thai/Isan/Lao mystic, myth-maker, spiritual cult leader and sculpture artist...
-related artifacts, as well as his mummified body.
Perhaps the most enigmatic part of the park is the Wheel of Life, a circular multi-part group of sculptures representing the karmic
Karma
Karma in Indian religions is the concept of "action" or "deed", understood as that which causes the entire cycle of cause and effect originating in ancient India and treated in Hindu, Jain, Buddhist and Sikh philosophies....
cycle of birth and death. The composition culminates with a young man taking a step across the fence surrounding the entire installation to become a Buddha statue
Buddharupa
Buddharūpa is the Sanskrit and Pali term used in Buddhism for statues or models of the Buddha.-Commonalities:...
on the other side.
See also
- Visionary environmentsVisionary environmentsVisionary environments are extensive/large-scale artistic installations intended to capture intense subjective/personal experiences of their creators...
- Outsider artOutsider ArtThe term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut , a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by insane-asylum inmates.While...
- Wat Rong KhunWat Rong KhunWat Rong Khun is a contemporary unconventional Buddhist and Hindu temple in Chiang Rai, Thailand. It was designed by Chalermchai Kositpipat. Construction began in 1997,finished in 2008.-Style and construction:...
- Sanctuary of TruthSanctuary of TruthSanctuary of Truth is a sanctuary under construction in Pattaya, Thailand. It is an all wood construction building, resembling a temple, and filled inside and out with wood sculpture based on traditional Buddhist and Hindu motifs. The building, which resembles a temple, is close to 105 meters ...
- Wat Pa Maha Chedi KaewWat Pa Maha Chedi KaewWat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew , also known colloquially as The Million Bottle Temple, is an unconventional contemporary Buddhist temple in Khun Han district of Sisaket province, Thailand. The temple is made of over 1 million empty discarded beer bottles. The construction was initiated in 1984.-External...
- Sala (architecture)Sala (architecture)A Sala , also known as a sala Thai, is an open pavilion, used as a meeting place and to protect people from sun and rain. Most are open on all four sides. They are found throughout Thailand in Buddhist temple areas, or Wats, although they can also be located in other places. A person who builds a...
External links
- Collected images from Bunleua Sulilat's sculpture gardens
- http://www.mutmee.net/030010_sculpture_park.htm
- http://johnpseely.com/travelarticles/thailand/mysticgarden.php
- http://www.mnmuseumofthems.org/Envr/Sala.html
- http://www.pbase.com/gaiyang46/a_tale_of_two_temples
- http://www.panasia.net/photo/thailand/nongkhai/
- http://garden-buddha-sculpture.blogspot.com/
- http://sala-saeoku.blogspot.com/
- http://www.xs4all.nl/~sasseng/kaek.htm
- http://wikitravel.org/en/Nong_Khai
- Photo-tropism: Three(3) photos of Sala Keoku (Sala Kaew Ku)