Ferdinand Indrajaya. Art as the Manifestation of Embodimentd. rio Adiwijaya, yasser rizky. Techne as Technology and Techne as ArtI-na phuyuthanon. Video Art of “Bannangsata Case Study”

video Art of “Bannan0gsata Case
Study”: Women Muteness
I-na Phuyuthanon
Srinakharinwirot University Sukhumvit 23 road Bangkok Thailand
ina@g.swu.ac.th

Abstract
Video art is conveyance of creation of human emotions from a person who share
similar emotions using digital media. It is conveyed through spiritual and emotional
movements of the creators with definite aims concerning traditions, customs, beliefs,
religions, and local ways of life. A range of issues in three border provinces of southern
Thailand: Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat, were brought up. With depiction of separatist
terrorism in the area, video art might be able to tell complicated, over-a-decade-long story
triggered by two incidents: the Tak Bai Incident and the clash at Krue Sae Mosque, which
brought the three provinces to public attention. The video art provides a way to understand
the society, human empathy, and conflict of interest in Bannangsata District. These aspects
were conveyed through the local’s ways of life with religion as a spiritual keeping by
believing that God has determined everything and that they, as human, have to face any
test they are given. The end of the video art presented what cannot be narrated by words
about the area, and showed more than what the news may offer, which intensifies fear.The
researcher studied various aspects of Bannangsata District and has shown them through a
type of artistic media called video art, specifically about the issue of women’s suppression
as experienced by those who survived series of tragic incidents. The video art aimed to
raise awareness about changes of a way of life in the area and to create sympathy for fellow
human beings there. The researcher realized that empathy for fellow human beings was
significant for the existence of the world and that it cannot be relinquished. Thus, this art
media was made to portray the issue of complicated troubles in the area.
Keywords: video art, bangnangsata, muted

IntroduCtIon
Video art is conveyance of creation of human emotions from a person or a
group of persons who share similar emotions using digital media. It is conveyed
through spiritual and emotional movements of the creators with definite aims
concerning traditions, customs, beliefs, religions, and local ways of life.
A range of issues in three border provinces of southern Thailand: Yala, Pattani,
and Narathiwat, were brought up. With depiction of separatist terrorism
in the area, video art might be able to tell complicated, over-a-decade-long
story triggered by two incidents: the Tak Bai Incident and the clash at Krue
Sae Mosque, which brought the three provinces to public attention. The video
art provides a way to understand the society, human empathy, and conflict of
interest in Bannangsata District. These aspects were conveyed through the
local’s ways of life with religion as a spiritual keeping by believing that
God has determined everything and that they, as human, have to face any test
they are given. The end of the video art presented what cannot be narrated by

EditorialBook of ReviewIJCAS: Volume 5 Number 1 June 2018

words about the area, and showed more than what the news may offer, which
intensifies fear.

In defining context of video art, if art itself is not limited to aesthetically
pleasing object but is hidden with political power, world dynamics, narration,
transmission of creators works; video art, a novel form of art media facilitated
by technology, thus refers to fusion of discourse on power relation wherein
various agendas are used to recount complicated moments. The use and
prevalence of video art as an expressive mean can be delineated to the field of
visual arts as far back as 1960. Creators hide an intellectual process that dwells
on thought moment, which cannot be lumped together as product. However,
such moment is nonetheless picked as a criterion against which video art
is judged, moving it closer towards conceptual art. As video art becomes
a globally recognized phenomenon, it allows for deeper perception and
implication, between viewers and creators without direct reference, of subdued
messages. In the past such productions were accomplished only with the
help of simplistic hand-held cameras and cassette recorders whereas surveillance
cameras, video recorder displayed in museums, and basic knowledge of
videography technology, cinematography, human cultures are key improvement
in the 21st century. The term “conceptual art” first appeared in American
culture in 1961. In his article published in 1963, Harry Flint, a Fluxus artist,
used the term as a reference to a specific type of art that is sharply different
from its counterparts in terms of wordplay. Soon after, the term “conceptual”
was replaced by “conceptual art”, which was coined by Sol Lewit. Although
his works were far from related to linguistic, his article “Various Paragraphs
in Conceptual Arts” (1969) raised the interest and facilitated understanding
of the term “conceptual art” to wider public. In 1969, a group of British
artist who call themselves “the art-language” started a magazine called Art
Language and identified it as a “conceptual journal”. In the same year, Joseph
Kosuth, a young conceptual artist, declared that all artworks (following Marcel
Duchamp’s) were in fact conceptual in nature because art was a matter of
intellect. While it was arguable that conceptual art was already an international
trend as early as in the late 1960s, there were nonetheless considerable debates
surrounding the term itself. In 1973 Gregory Battcock collected artworks
into a composition titled “Idea Art” while Lucy R. Lippard published a serial
work called “Six Years: Materialistic Devaluation of Artworks”, underscoring
what conceptual art was, and organized a grand pilot exhibition for the first time
in Europe, demonstrating diversity of the contemporary art forms with
exhibitions like “Born in the Head, Attitude and Body to Shape, Thought Results,
Process, Situation, News” (Bern, 1969).

Conceptual art is seen to be highly theoretical and meant only for the literati,
which is in a sense true since many artists often improve their works by
incorporating theories of disciplines outsider their own. Ludwig Wittgenstein’s
critical philosophy, Logical Postivism, French Constructivism, Roland Barth’s
works of semiotics, Herbert Marcuse’s theory are just few theories used

Ferdinand Indrajaya. Art as the Manifestation of Embodimentd. rio Adiwijaya, yasser rizky. Techne as Technology and Techne as ArtI-na phuyuthanon. Video Art of “Bannangsata Case Study”

experimentally in artistic expression. Perhaps such subordinate theories, as
reflected by conceptual arts, may be a consequence of aesthetic opinions by
Clement Greenberg, an art critic, along with his alliance, whose group came
to attention in the 1960s. Greenbereg was against the adherence of conventional
work. His belief can be related to epistemological concept of Immanuel Kant.
According to Greenberg’s opinion of gaining access to the art, regard less
of branches, he posited that only when natural state of an art is thoroughly
studied can one reach its true core value.

Amphoe Bannangsata or Bannangsata District is one of the districts in Yala
Province known as the area of violence, the sullied, and brutality. Since 2014,
there has been mass murder of innocent victims as certain organization seek
interests from the bloodshed. Bannangsata District has become notorious
for the violence in the area with a number of vicious murders. For examples,
an assistant village headwoman was brutally decapitated and the government
officers as well as local people were attacked. Because of such overwhelming rate
of violence, inhabitants in the area face constant difficulties of having to survive,
feed their family, and emotionally cope with loss. The timespan studied in the
field research was from the incident in 2014 in the topic of women’s suppression.
Bourdieu (1984) said that symbolic power of the socially-constructed cultures
in the area is not less influential than economic power and that it affected
people’s ideology. The research aimed to study the issue of class reflected by the
incident, specifically the status of women who have been suppressed in terms
of power. The suppression is not only due to local social stratification, but it is
also a political struggle of the people in the society to create some visions for
social world and to construct their own social identity. One of Bourdieu’s
significant concepts is habitus, meaning the embodiment that meaningfully
and strategically shapes the actions of an individual. This historical
concept derives from Aristotle’s idea of the system of patterns according to
which an action is guided by a certain condition represented by the
per son. The action is not only determined but also a determiner, leading
to concrete results and distinctive characteristics. Bourdieu compares people’s
social life to a game and Habitus is like knowing the game and its final result
of winning or losing, with a feeling of being a part of the game and also
having the game as a part of their life. Bourdieu admits that a capitalist society,
as Marx and Weber suggest, embraces social class. Yet, the kind of class he sees
is not an economic one but relates to habitus and culture. Class differences mean
differences in capital which refers to an available set of power and resources
in different dimensions including economic, social, and cultural aspects.
Bourdieu says that differences in taste and aesthetics are the determiner of class,
placing the intellectuals as the elite because this group of people can more easily
attain and own cultural capital (Bourdieu 1984).

The researcher finds that the suppression done upon the women is
construction of their representation using Bourdieu’s concept of game playing.
Its final result is a representation or an image of women as being subjected

EditorialBook of ReviewIJCAS: Volume 5 Number 1 June 2018

to social suppression. The researcher studied various aspects of Bannangsata
District and has shown them through a type of artistic media called video art,
specifically about the issue of women’s suppression as experienced by those who
survived series of tragic incidents. The video art aimed to raise awareness about
changes of a way of life in the area and to create sympathy for fellow human
beings there. The researcher realized that empathy for fellow human beings
was significant for the existence of the world and that it cannot be relinquished.
Thus, this art media was made to portray the issue of complicated troubles in the
area.

MAtErIAlS And MEtHod
To study the issue of women suppression in Bannangsata District via video art,
the area of the research was determined as follows.

1. This creative research was a documentary research covering a time span of 10
years from 2007-2017 and focused on concepts, theories, and philosophies
relating to video art.

2. The research used historical information, theories, concepts, and
philosophies about video art making since 1980.

3. Information was collected in a field study at Bannangsata District,
Yala Province from one family for a period of five months. The procedure
included, participant observation, and interviews (with artists, experts,
and those concerned as interviewees).

4. The research is carried out in a period of 12 months.

dESIGn, CrEAtIvIty And dEvElopMEnt
As examined with documents, on-site interviews and field notes, the researcher
gathered all the information and created a story board divided into two sections.
Inner motivation came from the fact that the researcher has also lost her uncle,
father’s younger brother. The researcher used to observe the lives of his wife
from Puyuth district in Pattani province, and witnessed women suppression in
Banangsata district, Yala province. The format for this production is in VDO art
in which all the information was collected to create a virtual reality of women’s
feelings and minds from the women muteness in Bangnangsata district.

This was to create an awareness of the true story and recognize the future of women
in those provinces or even the future of the country. The researcher has divided the
Bangnangsata district into two sections: data obtained from print sources such as
books, journals and newspaper, television and internet; and on-site investigation.
Yala province is my hometown, Yala province, for my own safety and convenience
but not Bannangsata district is one district of Yala province it has become a red
zone which refers to the occurrence of terrorism in that area.

tHE FIrSt SECtIon oF tHE BoArd
First is the search from sources such as books, journals and newspaper,
television and internet, etc.

Ferdinand Indrajaya. Art as the Manifestation of Embodimentd. rio Adiwijaya, yasser rizky. Techne as Technology and Techne as ArtI-na phuyuthanon. Video Art of “Bannangsata Case Study”

tHE SECond SECtIon oF tHE BoArd
The second section is the on-site investigation. Yala province to inspect is
my hometown, Yala province, for my own safety and convenience but not
Bannangsata distict is one disrtict of Yala province it has become a red
zone which refers to the insurgency in that area.

rESultS

One of the Challenges in the on-site investigation was, most importantly
and mainly, the paradox of having to acquire as accurate information
as possible and without hurting interviewees’ feelings especially orphans. To
ensure that both tasks were maintained, the researcher had to study the true
profiles and in-depth details of the orphans as well as to consult with the local
psychiatrists.

dISCuSSIon
The creation of this VDO art set mostly reflected out my personal perspectives
through a sincere expression of problematic situation in the society in question. I
would like to make known the hardship those people had to endure on a daily
basis. In addition, in order to continue living, the only thing that holds orphans
together was their religious belief that all that whatever has happened is the test
from above that they must overcome.

ConCluSIon
In the area with long history of conflicts of interest in terms of power struggle,
the researcher intended to contribute to creation of video art in the age of

EditorialBook of ReviewIJCAS: Volume 5 Number 1 June 2018

globalization with new understanding towards cultures and traditions by
showing local ways of life amidst violence and with their faith for Islam. It
is hoped that the understanding, if achieved, will lead to a solution for the long-
standing conflict in the three provinces in the southern border of Thailand, which
has not yet been resolved due to a lack of basic understanding of the area. The
researcher employed symbolic presentation of social contexts through video art,
a medium to speak of the unspeakable and uncover the unseeable with the
intention that the research will contribute to future research and study.

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