ปี-39-ฉบับที่-3

พิ นิ จกามิ กศิ ลป์ 68 The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Vol. 39 No. 3 Jul-Sep 2014 Abstract Examining Erotic Art Vibul Leesuwan Fellow of The Academy of Arts, The Royal Institute, Thailand Examining erotic art is the act of exploring a genre of art dealing with sex which has been in existence since ancient time and has continually developed in both Eastern and Western worlds with differences in format and concept. The Eastern world creates an idealistic art while Westerners create realistic art. The stone sculptures found at Khajuraho Temple in Madhaya Pradesh, India, are considered the most renowned and valuable Eastern erotic art. Built around 950-1050 A.D., the temple consisted of 85 buildings, of which only 22 remain at present. These buildings have been designed to blend in architecture with sculpture. The Indians have been putting an importance on sex for more than 3,000 years. Some thinkers have tried to ask questions about the nature of sexual desire and how to requite it with pleasure, and seek answers for these questions. In Hinduism sexual desire is called kama, the same word as kam in Thai. The Indians have been trying to seek a way to fulfill sexual desire until positions for pleasurable intercourse have been invented called Kama Sutra, which is both science and art. Indian philosophers view sex as a sensitive issue, not just a matter of instinct. An understanding about sex would lead to a sustainable married life. Eastern erotic art appears in painting and prints. The Japanese call sexually arousing art shunga. In the 13 th Century most shunga were woodblock prints. They might have been influenced by the erotic art of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) called Shung-significan which depicts 12 positions of intercourse. When spread into Japan the word becomes shunga. Most of the shunga depict life in the court with an emphasis on sexual pleasure. The shunga have been continually developed as prints and scroll paintings, accompanied by writings. In Thai art erotic art is not so evident due to the Thai culture which holds that sex is a personal matter that should not be publicly expressed. So in Thai art there are only pictures of people expressing their love, but none showing them having sexual intercourse, which differs from Western art in which scenes of intercourse have been depicted since ancient time from prehistoric age, historic age, to modern art. Several artists create their erotic art in various forms. Keywords : erotic art, exquisite sex, Kama Sutra, Kama Deva, shunga