April 12, 2005

International scholars discuss Siam

International experts on Southeast Asian art, including two Sacramento State professors, will discuss the legacy and art of the ancient kingdom of Siam-what is now Thailand-from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 23 in Mariposa Hall 1000.

Co-sponsored by the University and the Society for Asian Art in San Francisco, the "Kingdom of Siam Symposium" is presented free of charge in conjunction with a major West Coast art exhibit, "The Kingdom of Siam: The Art of Central Thailand, 1350-1800," currently running through May 8 at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Sacramento State Art professor Pattaratorn Chirapravati is one of the exhibit's two curators and organizer of the symposium.

A highlight of the program will be the keynote address by Hiram Woodward, curator of Asian art at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, on art from Siam's capital city Ayutthaya, once one of Southeast Asia's most cosmopolitan cities and a major trading hub linking India and China.

From 11 a.m. to noon, three internationally known scholars of Thai art, including Forrest McGill, co-curator of the Asian Art Museum exhibit, will discuss Siam, Ayutthaya and Buddhist influences. Later in the program, Chirapravati will discuss royal influences on temple architecture. Sacramento State Religion professor Richard Shek will also take part in the symposium.

Following the symposium from 5 to 6:30 p.m. will be a reception at the Raymond Witt Gallery in Kadema Hall for "The Tradition Continues: Thai Art from the Past into the Present," an exhibit organized and curated by Sacramento State graduate art students.

To register for the event, call Chirapravati at (916) 278-3880.

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