Rapping, Body Painting, and Performance Art at PS1

On an infamous episode of Thailand's Got Talent two years ago, one contestant covered her topless torso in paint and made a painting with her breasts. The incident ignited debates on TV and in newspapers over that age-old conundrum: what is (good) art? New York-based artist Korakrit Arunanondchai might not have the answer, but he clearly is interested in the question. This Sunday at MoMA PS1, as part of a performance that also included his twin brother Korapat and performance artist Boychild, Korakrit recreated the episode onstage, covering his body in paint and smearing it against a canvas.

Arunanondchai, a Thai native who attended RISD and Columbia, staged the performance as part of his solo show at PS1, which opened earlier this month. As it started, a fog machine encased both the stage and the onlookers in smoke and the clear voice of Jaki Doyka bounced of off the high ceilings of the dome. The fog returned for the performance "Painting with history in a room filled with men with funny names 2," where Korakrit and Korapat rapped with a whole group of denim clad, e-cigarette smoking boys in the background, called the Bangkok Boys. We later discover that one of these were none other than Boychild, as she ends up mid-stage stripped of her denim jacket and covered in paint by the Arunanondchai twins.

And as I watch the performance, completely mesmerized in the strobe light after almost an hour and a half inside the dome (not to mention the videos of dripping rainforests and tranquil beaches) I thought to myself: could this be one of those defining art performances that ends up in history books, like Shigeko Kubota’s vagina painting or "The Monotone Symphony" by Yves Klein? At the very least, it was good art.

Photos by Lina Michal