Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo: Kyle Knodell EXPLORE THE RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION ‘RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA: A LOT OF PEOPLE’ BY THE ARTIST WHO HAS A TRADEMARK AS ‘THE ARTIST WHO COOKS PAD THAI.’ THIS EXHIBITION IS HELD UNTIL MARCH 4, 2024, AT MOMA PS1 IN NEW YORK
TEXT: TUNYAPORN HONGTONG
PHOTO CREDIT AS NOTED
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It doesn’t feel like that much time has passed, but surprisingly, the iconic ‘Untitled 1990 (pad thai),’ which introduced many to Rirkrit Tiravanija is now 34 years old. From then until now, it’s no longer uncommon to walk into a gallery and encounter interactive art that actively encourages viewer interaction and engagement. It’s also no longer surprising if a gallery hosts activities similar to an artist cooking Pad Thai and serving it to viewers. Certainly, back in the 1990s, these kinds of things were considered novel, and it earned Rirkrit the status of an avant-garde artist who broke the existing artistic conventions as well as his ‘the artist who cooks Pad Thai’ trademark that many referred to him by at the time, and perhaps even now.
untitled 1990 (pad thai) | Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo: Marissa Alper
In October of the preceding year, MoMA PS1 unveiled ‘Rirkrit Tiravanija: A LOT OF PEOPLE,’ marking the inaugural retrospective exhibition of Rirkrit Tiravanija in the United States. The title, ‘A LOT OF PEOPLE,’ is extracted from a phrase recurrently appearing in the artist’s artwork labels. For example, in ‘untitled 1990 (pad thai),’ the label detailing the materials and techniques employed states, “Ingredients for Pad Thai, utensils, electric woks, and a lot of people.” Similarly, in ‘untitled 1993 (cafe deutschland),’ the description reads, “Four chairs, one table, metal shelves, stacked books, mix media, Turkish coffee, and a lot of people.” The phrase ‘a lot of people’ serves as the fitting exhibition title, effectively expressing how ‘people’ have always been the essence of Rirkrit Tiravanija’s art, underscoring the collective experience of viewers within his works.
untitled 1990 (pad thai) | Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo: Kyle Knodell
untitled 1996 (rehearsal studio no. 6, open version) | Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo: Kyle Knodell
untitled 1993 (café deutschland) | Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo: Marissa Alper
In addition to the two aforementioned artworks and ‘untitled 1996 (rehearsal studio no.6, open version),’ where viewers were invited to play music and record sounds, which, too, features ‘a lot of people’ as a key element, the exhibition had put together a comprehensive collection of over 100 pieces encapsulating Rirkrit’s four-decade long artistic career. Among these, a number of lesser-known works share the ‘a lot of people’ narrative, telling the tales of individuals through the lens of the ‘people power’ perspective.
(up against the wall motherfuckers) (2023) | Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo: Kyle Knodell
untitled 2012 (Remember JK, Universal Futurological Question Mark U. F. O., Zócalo, México City) | Image courtesy kurimanzutto, Mexico City / New York. Photo: Michel Zabé & Omar Luis Olguín, 2012
We are talking about artworks such as the ‘Demonstration Series’ (2001–present) and ‘untitled 2015 (bangkok boogie woogie, No. 2).’ The first piece is a project that originated from the ‘Demonstration Drawings,’ where Rirkrit Tiravanija commissioned artists in Thailand, mainly his apprentices, to redraw photographs of various protests from the International Herald Tribune newspaper. The aim for the artists was to gather daily to draw images from the newspaper, to read the ever-changing news, and to immerse themselves in the news images on the pages of the fading publication. ‘untitled 2015 (bangkok boogie woogie, No. 2)’ showcases an installation featuring several bronze tires sculptures and a video portraying an image of a tire engulfed in flames. It serves as a remembrance of the demonstrations that took place in Bangkok in 2010, which culminated in protestors being forcefully and violently dispersed.
untitled 2015 (bangkok boogie woogie, no.2) | Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo: Kyle Knodell
However, for those planning a visit to New York and hoping to get to engage with Rirkrit’s art at MoMA PS1, there’s no need to worry. Works like ‘pad thai’ are still part of the experience, but this time, the artist has taken a theatrical turn, presenting the artworks in a play-like format. On a small stage, instead of being the one who cooks the dish, Rirkrit has his students from Columbia University act as the performers, handling tasks like preparing and serving Pad Thai and brewing coffee. Similar to a theatrical production, the five legendary works selected for this showcase will be performed exclusively on Fridays and Saturdays. Each piece will run for a month, following the chronological order of when they were originally exhibited throughout Rirkrit’s artistic journey. It kicks off with ‘untitled 1990 (pad thai)’ and concludes with ‘untitled 2011 (t-shirt, no t-shirt)’ where viewers are able to screen print their own T-shirts with messages created by the artist.
untitled 2011 (t-shirt, no t-shirt) | Photo courtesy of Rirkrit Tiravanija Archive, Berlin
Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo: Kyle Knodell
Counting out the Thailand Biennale Chiang Rai 2023, where Rirkrit undertook the role of artistic director, this retrospective exhibition stands out as a major highlight of his career in the 2023–2024 period. This comes at an opportune time, as he was recently selected as one of the top three artists in the Art Review Power 100: Most Influential People in the Contemporary Art World at the end of last year. The ‘Rirkrit Tiravanija: A LOT OF PEOPLE’ exhibition will be showcased until March 4, 2024, at MoMA PS1 in New York. For those planning to be in the city, this is an event you absolutely don’t want to miss.
untitled 2008-2011 (the map of the land of feeling) I–III | Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo: Kyle Knodell