ABSTRACT
On Wednesday the 28th April 1993, a best-selling Thai-language business daily in Thailand carried a full-page advertisement on page 22 of Samakhom sathapanik Sayam nai phraborommarachupatham, or the Association of Siamese Architects under Royal Patronage (ASA), announcing its annual seminar for that year on the theme of ‘Süptò winy an süpsan welda’ (or ‘Tradition and Trend’ in the Association's own English rendering, although a more literal translation would be ‘Carry on the Spirit, Move on with the Times’) to be held in the Plenary Hall at Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre from 30 April to 3 May. The advertisement itself featured a photograph of an attractive young Thai lady elegantly dressed in a business suit. Reclining at ease in an armchair and looking intently, even invitingly, at her supposed viewers, she was surrounded on all sides by graphic pointers with English captions revealing the un-Thai identity of various parts of her bodywear: namely, a hairstyle with a ‘Parisian Touch’, ‘Italian Import(ed)’ ear-rings, ‘American Fragrance’, a suit of ‘English Wool’, a ‘Swiss Made’ watch, and ‘Japanese Silk’ stockings. A big caption near the top right of the photograph asks straightforwardly in Thai: ‘Bòk dai max khun pen thai thi trong nai?’ (Can you tell which part of you makes you Thai?).
