โครงการวิจัย “การวิจารณ์ในฐานะพลังทางปัญญาของสังคมร่วมสมัย” มีวัตถุประสงค์ที่จะสร้างองค์ความรู้ด้านการวิจารณ์ใน 4 สาขา คือ วรรณศิลป์ ทัศนศิลป์ ศิลปะการแสดง และสังคีตศิลป์ เพิ่มความจัดเจนในการวิจารณ์ให้กลุ่มบุคคลต่างๆ สร้างเครือข่ายระหว่างศิลปิน นักวิชาการ นักวิจารณ์ และผู้สนใจทั่วไป รวมทั้งใช้การวิจารณ์ศิลปะในการเสริมสร้างพลังทางปัญญาและวัฒนธรรมแห่งการวิจารณ์ให้แก่สังคมร่วมสมัย สำหรับวิธีการวิจัยนั้น ใช้การรวบรวม วิเคราะห์ และสังเคราะห์ข้อมูลเอกสาร การสัมภาษณ์ผู้รู้ การทดลองสอนในระดับต่างๆ การสัมมนาเชิงปฏิบัติการ อันรวมถึงการฝึกฝนการวิจารณ์จากการสัมผัสกับตัวงานศิลปะต้นแบบ และการสร้างและเผยแพร่งานวิจารณ์โดยร่วมมือกับสื่อแขนงต่างๆ ผลการวิจัยปรากฏว่า การวิจารณ์ในสังคมไทยยังเป็นส่วนหนึ่งของวัฒนธรรมมุขปาฐะ และศิลปินเองก็ชอบที่จะรับฟังทัศนะวิจารณ์อย่างไม่เป็นทางการในระดับของบุคคล กล่าวโดยรวมการวิจารณ์ยังไม่เป็นกิจสาธารณะอย่างเต็มรูป ถ้าเปรียบกับการวิจารณ์สังคมและการเมืองแล้วจะเห็นได้ว่า การวิจารณ์ศิลปะเป็นเพียงกิจกรรมริมขอบ มิได้เป็นตัวหนุนเนื่องให้การสร้างสรรค์ทางศิลปะแข็งแกร่งเท่าที่ควรจะเป็น ยิ่งในยุควิกฤตเศรษฐกิจสื่อส่วนใหญ่ก็ยิ่งให้ความสำคัญต่อการวิจารณ์ศิลปะน้อยลง ยิ่งไปกว่านั้นวงวิชาการและสถาบันการศึกษาก็มิได้ใส่ใจอย่างจริงจังที่จะสร้างความแข็งแกร่งของวิทยาการที่เกี่ยวกับศิลปะ อันรวมถึงวรรณคดีศึกษา ประวัติศาสตร์ศิลป์ วิชาการละคร และวิชาการดนตรี ซึ่งยังไม่อยู่ในฐานะที่จะเป็นเพื่อนร่วมทางที่ดีให้แก่กิจกรรมสร้างสรรค์ศิลปะร่วมสมัยได้ แม้จะต้องเผชิญกับข้อจำกัดที่กล่าวมา ผู้วิจัยก็สามารถคัดสรรงานจำนวนหนึ่งจากข้อมูลอันกว้างขวางที่สะสมมาได้ โดยนำมากลั่นกรองและวิเคราะห์ในรูปของสรรนิพนธ์ใน 4 สาขา งานส่วนใหญ่เป็นผลงานของนักวิจารณ์ไทย โดยได้มีการนำผลงานของต่างประเทศมาเสริมบ้างในบางกรณี เป็นที่แน่ชัดว่าสังคมไทยมีนักวิจารณ์ที่ทำงานอย่างจริงจังอยู่ไม่น้อย แต่อาจยังขาดความต่อเนื่อง และยังมิได้มีการสร้างความแข็งแกร่งของการวิจารณ์ขึ้นมาในระดับสถาบัน นักวิจารณ์กลุ่มเล็กๆ เหล่านี้สำนึกดีว่าการวิจารณ์เป็นเครื่องมือในการประเมินคุณค่าและเป็นเสียงแห่งมโนธรรมให้แก่สังคมได้ นอกจากนี้ ผู้วิจัยยังสามารถค้นพบข้อสรุปเชิงทฤษฎีที่สามารถก่อตัวขึ้นจากสิ่งแวดล้อมทางวัฒนธรรมของไทย อาทิ การสร้างความมั่งคั่งให้แก่กันระหว่างศิลปะสาขาต่างๆ สัมพันธภาพแนวนอนของประชาคมศิลปะ และบทบาทของการวิจารณ์ที่ไม่สื่อด้วยภาษา เป็นที่น่ายินดีว่า ผลการวิจัย อันรวมถึงข้อสรุปเชิงทฤษฎี ได้รับความสนใจจากนักวิชาการชาวต่างประเทศอยู่ไม่น้อย โดยที่บางท่านได้เสนอให้มีการนำประสบการณ์ของไทยไปแลกเปลี่ยนกับวงการนานาชาติในกรอบของสหวัฒนธรรมศึกษา อันที่จริงภาพรวมของการวิจารณ์ศิลปะในสังคมไทยอาจจะยังไม่แจ่มใสนัก เมื่อเทียบกับสังคมอื่นที่มุ่งเน้นวัฒนธรรมลายลักษณ์ แต่เมื่อวิเคราะห์ลงไปในระดับลึกแล้วจะเห็นได้ว่ามีปัจจัยมากหลายที่เอื้อต่อการปรับศักยภาพแห่งการวิจารณ์ให้เป็นพลังทางปัญญาของสังคมร่วมสมัยได้ ผู้เข้าร่วมกิจกรรมของโครงการส่วนใหญ่เห็นพ้องต้องกันว่า การวิจัยชุดนี้จะสามารถส่งผลในระยะยาวได้ โดยน่าจะได้มีการนำผลการวิจัยไปปรับให้เป็นส่วนหนึ่งของกระบวนการของการศึกษา ทั้งที่เป็นทางการและไม่เป็นทางการ อนึ่งการค้นพบจุดเด่นและจุดด้อยของวัฒนธรรมการวิจารณ์ในสังคมไทยถือได้ว่าเป็นรากฐานสำคัญที่จะทำให้เกิดกระบวนการแห่งการศึกษานี้ กิจกรรมต่อเนื่องที่น่าจะดำเนินการได้ในอนาคตอาจจะเป็นไปในรูปของการสร้างตำรา การสนับสนุนวารสารและนิตยสารการวิจารณ์ การสัมมนาเชิงปฏิบัติการ และการฝึกอบรมที่มีแบบแผนและต่อเนื่อง ตลอดจนการสร้างเครือข่ายทั้งในรูปของมนุษย์สัมผัสมนุษย์ และในรูปของการใช้สื่ออันหลากหลาย The research project “Criticism as an Intellectual Force in Contempopary Society” under the aegis of the Thailand Research Fund (TRF) was undertaken from 4 January 1999 to 3 January 2002. Its objectives were to build up a body of knowledge in the criticism of literature, visual arts, drama and music; develop critical skills for those involved or interested in criticism; promote networks of creative artists, critics, scholars and the general public; and create possibilities for the criticism of the arts to reinforce the intellectual and critical culture of contemporary Thai society. The methodologies employed for the research included investigation and appraisal of documentary sources; interviews; teaching experiments at various levels; workshops in criticism based on commissioned work; and promotion of critical activities in co-operation with various media and educational institutions. The research results reflect how dramatic criticism development in Thailand is a concomitant characteristic of cultural, social, political conditions of the country. Dramatic criticism, as a written culture, emerged with the Western drama curriculum in universities. As the modern/western drama criticism develops, Thai traditional drama criticism begins to decline. Only a few evidences of Thai traditional drama criticism remain in the form of recorded oral presentations at academic seminars or interviews. Moreover, there is no evidence concerning the criticism of different performing arts from the various regions of Thailand. The results from conducting interviews for this research show that dramatic criticism in Thai society remain an oral tradition rather than a written one. Many practitioners prefer an informal, private oral criticism rather than public criticism. It will take some time before Thai practitioners come to the full understanding and acceptance of the culture of public criticism. Even drama departments at various universities put more emphasis on the practical aspect rather than creating a balanced curriculum that at the same time demands academic and scholarly excellence. In fact, there has been no intention to produce drama critics. Dramatic criticism, therefore, becomes a peripheral activity. Besides, the existing critics face difficult obstacles because the majority of print media do not accord enough space and freedom to criticism. The influences from mass marketing result in the acquiesce in simple reviews or press reports instead of serious criticism. All of the above reasons should help explain why the in-creases in the number of published criticism over the years do not represent distinguished improvement in quality. While the theatre criticism anthology aims to compile critical contributions that are representative of an intellectual force, there are only a limited number of Thai critical works that meet the standards set by this research. Although priority has been given to Thai works, it has not been possible to compile an anthology consisting mainly of Thai works, the difficulty being that works of real quality are penned by a very limited number of critics. The situation has forced the researchers to search for additional contributions from abroad. As a result, the anthology substantiates the claim that criticism can be an intellectual force in society, rather than a representative corpus of Thai criticism reflecting a clear-cut historical development. The anthology possesses a wide variety of forms ranging from interviews, speeches, and various kinds of writing. Individual contributions originate from different cultural contexts, different disciplines, and different thinking modes, such as political, historical, humanistic, literary and aesthetic. Through the various ways of expressions, the experiences of the individual critics are reflected upon and transformed into concepts or major issues that can transmit the intellectual force to the audience, reading public as well as practitioners, having an impact on the development in art, life and society. In conclusion, the research results give an overall picture of the development of drama, and dramatic criticism, propped by an anthology which should prove to be beneficial to drama studies at various institutions. The research project “Criticism as an Intellectual Force in Contemporary Society” under the aegis of the Thailand Research Fund (TRF) was undertaken from 4 January 1999 to 3 January 2002. Its objectives were to build up a body of knowledge in the criticism; develop critical skills for those involved or interested in criticism; promote networks of creative artists, critics, scholars and the general public; and create possibilities for the criticism of the arts to reinforce the intellectual and critical culture of contemporary Thai society. The methodologies employed for the research includes investigation and appraisal of documentary sources; interviews; teaching experiments at various levels; workshops in criticism based on commissioned works; and promotion of critical activities in co-operation with various media and educational institutions. The beginnings of art criticism are found in the setting of the principles of modern art, in the need to explain to the public and to open their eyes to the values of art in the early period. This has made some creative people do criticism as well as art right from the start. The role of the makers of art vis-?-vis criticism runs very deep, even today, and it is generally true that criticism in the visual arts is mostly in the hands of the makers of art. When criticism makes itself amenable to the ideas and opinions of such people, however, it may not be able to maintain a balance between the producers and the viewing public. The result may not be a wholly public activity. Education which is directed at practiced without equally developing academic and scholarly knowledge about art is partly to blame for the weakness of art criticism. At the same time, historical and theoretical circles have not given support to the work of creating more vigorous criticism. Nor can the role of the media be overlooked. The various branches of the media are free to make wide-ranging criticism. But most do not realize that art criticism is one of the intellectual forces of contemporary society just like social and political criticism. Despite these constraints on criticism in the visual arts, however, we have collected, digested, selected and analyzed these documents to create this anthology. These are critical writings of obvious value by persons both inside and outside the art world and come from many scattered sources such as exhibition catalogues, introductions to texts, scholarly articles, research reports and newspaper criticism. Although these critical writings were selected for their intellectual force, this anthology cannot help but reflect the general variety that exists in the art world. The criticism therefore wanders over varying art media, ranging from painting to electronic works of art. In terms of content, there is analysis of the ideas on the works of individuals and in the collective creations of groups of artists. There is also analysis of the various elements which have had impact on artistic creativity, for example, the system of patronage as well as public and private management of the arts. They also interpret the many forms taken by beauty in works of art. Furthermore, the anthology reveals the relationships among the various branches of art which enrich one another and criticism as well. The anthology reflects the Thai awareness of the art world and its changing scene. Some critical articles from abroad, especially 1 writings from neighboring countries, present experiences which are comparable with things that happen in the Thai art world. Sometimes these writings shed light on points which are unclear in the oeuvre of Thai critics. This anthology and this research are important because they show that art criticism, besides revealing the value of works of art, also alerts us to the importance of creativity in our lives and in contemporary society. This anthology is proof that the culture of criticism in Thailand has not ebbed. If written criticism is not as vigorous as it should be in some individuals, this little group of Thai critics makes it clear that they can create very worthwhile criticism, even if their work lacks continuity. Finding the strengths and weaknesses in Thailand’s critical culture in this critique may pave the way for the building of a worthy foundation for the study and cultivation of art criticism, making of the discipline a means of demonstrating to society its true intellectual power. The research project “Criticism as an Intellectual Force in Contemporary Society”, undertaken with the support of the Thailand Research Fund (TRF), was carried out from 4 January 1999 to 3 January 2002. Its objectives were to build up a body of knowledge in the criticism of literature, visual arts, drama and music; to develop critical skills for those involved or interested in criticism ; to promote networks of creative artists, critics, scholars and the general public; and to create possibilities for the criticism of the arts to reinforce the intellectual and critical culture of contemporary Thai society. The methodologies employed for the research included an investigation and appraisal of documentary sources ; interviews ; teaching experiments at various levels; workshops in criticism based on commissioned works ; and promotion of critical activities in co- operation with various media and educational institutions. The research results reveal that literary criticism has been characterized by considerable coverage, continuity and longevity. Criticism as an intellectual activity has always been supportive of creativity. Written literary criticism began 100 years ago. Critics became an intermediary between the writer and the reader. The study of literary criticism at the university level for the past 60 years has created a body of knowledge propped by theories of literature and theories of criticism. The direction of literary criticism has developed in such a way as to be responsive to the social context and has kept up with the development of literary criticism at the international level. Although at the present time, the decline in media space allotted to criticism as a result of the economic crisis has resulted in an attendant decline in the quantity and variety of literary criticism, and the shortcomings in the discipline of literary study within academia have robbed criticism of a solid foundation. Nevertheless, this research study has been able to confirm that Thai literary circles possess a culture of criticism. Many critical contributions taken up in the present study constitute an intellectual force which reaffirms the value of creative arts to life and society as well as substantiate the inherent value of the creative arts themselves. The 50 articles in Anthology are selected from more than 4000 articles published in various print media from 1937 to 2001. In many respects, they can create a body of knowledge related to the history of criticism, concepts, forms, and give clear directions as well as an overall picture of Thai literary criticism. Some articles reveal the continuity of ideas and offer new points of view. Some engender debates in the form of “criticism of criticism” which confirms the culture of criticism in Thai society and the potential of critical reception. These phenomena are of immense benefit to the artists as well as to the reading public. Many critical articles reflect the interaction in terms of imagination and experience between writers and readers, thus paving the way for an interpretation and evaluation of the works under discussion. Besides, some emphasize the role of criticism, not necessarily as a fellow-traveller of the literary mainstream but also as an innovator that breaks new ground for literary creativity. Some critical articles included in the Anthology point clearly to the “mutual illumination of arts” which confirms the versatility on the part of the critics whose rich experience can make literary criticism more profound, more perspicacious and more convincing. They also bring to the fore the roots of Thai culture which is rich in artistic creativity, whereby the act of creating and the art of living have formed an integrated whole, and the various arts are there to enrich each other. This research project can reveal the potential of literary criticism to act as an intellectual force of our society. The study is expected to create a long-term impact, especially in relation to the use of criticism of the arts to strengthen the intellectual force of contemp orary society and the culture of criticism. The research project “Criticism as an Intellectual Force in Contemporary Society” under the aegis of the Thailand Research Fund (TRF) was undertaken from 4 January 1999 to 3 January 2002. Its objectives were to build up a body of knowledge in the criticism of literature, visual arts, drama and music; develop critical skills for those involved or interested in criticism; promote networks of creative artists, critics, scholars and the general public; and create possibilities for the criticism of the arts to reinforce the intellectual and critical culture of contemporary Thai society. The methodologies employed for the research included investigation and appraisal of documentary sources; interviews; teaching experiments at various levels; workshops in criticism based on commissioned works; and promotion of critical activities in co-operation with various media and educational institutions. The research results confirm that criticism in Thai society still remains part of an oral culture, and many practisting artists themselves are receptive only to the informal mode of criticism at the personal level. Criticism does not yet belong fully to the public domain. Compared with social and political criticism, criticism of the arts remains a peripheral activity and is not yet in a position to lend strength to artistic creation. With the present economic crisis, the majority of media are giving less and less importance to the arts. Moreover, academia is not paying sufficient attention to constructing a firm basis for the academic study of the arts, and such disciplines as literary studies, art history, theatre studies and musical studies are too weak to function as a reliable companion to the creative arts of the present. In spite of the aforementioned limitations, the researchers have been able to select from a very broad base of materials a number of critical works to constitute the Anthologies in the four areas, which are accompanied by critical commentaries and analytical introductions. The majority of the contributions are drawn from Thai sources, supplemented by some foreign works as deemed appropriate. It is without any doubt that there exists a small group of serious-mined critics at work in contemporary Thailand, although some of them choose to write at their leisure without much continuity, and it is still too early to speak of critical impacts at the institutional level. These critics art well aware of the potential of criticism as a discipline of values and as a voice of conscience to society. Besides, it has been possible for the researchers to formulate theoretical conclusions out of Thai cultural environment, such as the mutual illumination of the arts, the horizontal relationships in Thai artistic community and the role of “non-verbal” criticism. It is gratifying to note that foreign scholars have shown interest in the research results as well as the theoretical propositions, and suggestions have been made as to the desirability of applying these results to inter-cultural studies at the international level. In fact, the total picture of the criticism of the arts in Thailand may not appear to be very bright, especially when compared with societies with a solid written culture. Nevertheless, an analysis at a deeper level has revealed an immense potential within Thai culture that may turn criticism into an intellectual force of contemporary society. Those who have been involved in the activities initiated by the research project share the common belief that the research will create a long-term impact, especially if applied to the development of educational processes in the framework of both formal and informal education. Besides, the strengths and weaknesses in Thai critical culture, as identified by the research, will help propel these educational processes. Follow-up actions can take various forms, such as the writing of manuals of criticism, the support of critical journals and magazines, the organization of workshops and training programmes on a continuous and systematic basis, and the creation of networks at the personal level as well as through the various media. The research project on music is one of four parts of the main project entitled “Criticism as an Intellectual Force in Contemporary Society” which was undertaken from January 4th, 1999 to January 3rd, 2002. This research follows the objectives of the main project, which are: to build up a body of knowledge in criticism; develop critical skills for those involved or interested in criticism; promote networks of creative artists, critics, scholars and the general public; and to create possibilities for the criticism of the arts to reinforce the intellectual and critical culture of contemporary Thai society. The methodologies employed for this research cover investigation and appraisal of documentary sources; interviews; workshops; identification of concepts inherent in the practice of traditional Thai music which is different from that of Western music; and a comparative analysis of the different characteristics between Thai and Western criticism, which should pave the way for the development of music criticism in Thailand, which indeed still needs strengthening. The research results reveal that there exists little criticism both of Thai and Western music in Thailand that would qualify criticism as a public activity. Especially in the case of Thai music, one can hardly speak of criticism in the way familiar to Western societies. Nevertheless, it must be maintained that the practice of traditional Thai music is as strong and lively as ever. Besides, data gathered from interviews and workshops confirm that the oral mode of criticism is seriously and continuously practiced, especially criticism of musical performances, which still remains unwritten and inaccessible to a larger public. It must be admitted that certain deficiencies such as lack of basis knowledge to constitute a solid body of knowledge as well as lack of understanding on the part of promoters of music, have resulted in traditional Thai music remaining the prerogative of the initiated few. Moreover, the interest of the practitioners of Thai music lies almost exclusively in the creative domain, with written criticism being practiced by interested outsiders. This state of affair can explain why current criticism concentrates more on contextual rather than technical aspects of Thai music, unlike criticism in, say, Western countries. However, Thai media have proved to be generous in allotting space to music criticism, which cannot be said to be devoid of certain dynamism. The Anthology of criticism both in Thailand and Western music contains contributions of great variety that interestingly combine knowledge of music with other relevant disciplines. They can substantiate the claim that music enters into a solid relationship with society and humanity, a relationship that goes beyond mere entertainment or pious acts of cultural preservation and promotion. The selected critical works both from Thai and foreign sources clearly point in this direction. Likewise, the gleaning of certain concepts from the practice of Thai music can point the way to the construction of a significant body of knowledge and theories and offer a remarkable insight into certain aspects of the Thai way of life. As the present research has set out to demonstrate that value and intellectual force are inherent in criticism, constructive responses and suggestions have been forthcoming from those involved in the project activities that there is an urgent need to reform that educational process and to create an understanding of the role of criticism in society. It goes without saying that the inculcation of an appreciation for the arts can strengthen the culture of criticism. How that is to be done will be done will be the subject of further debates, investigations and actions.