Steel Art in Thailand - Miracle of the 21st Century

and is making a name in the international arena inArtists had no design ideas, and no plans on how
making steel arts. Many Thai online sitesto start construction. The work was basically a
showcase their craftsmanship in the form ofsocial activity. A three dimensional frame was
Alien, Star Wars characters, Predator, and so on.made from wires and artists searched through
These are made from scrap metal and arethe masses of scrap metals and discussed which
freestanding.parts would look good on the statue. Drinking was
The development of the industry started aboutas much a part of the event as was construction.
15 years ago. Small and very basic models wereThe artist voted to complete the job if anyone
being made by independent artists using wire,thought there were improvements to be made.
bolts and nuts. Stick figures, motorcycles andThe finished statue was not sold but passed
animal models were being made. This was but abetween the people who made it. Finally it was
hobby and there was no commercial intentiondonated to charity. But the legacy that was born
behind the creation of these figures, they werenever ceased to exist. Now it is a bit difficult to
just a way of spending time for 12 craftsmen.get the workers with skill and team spirit. But
After the appearance of the first Predator movieonce such a group is assembled, they work with
in 1987, this industry experienced its first growth.a great sense of family spirit. They share the
The artists were by this time adept at basicglory of making a statue and are happy to assist
models and were seeking challenge. So theyeach other.
decided to work together to create a PredatorThailand has developed a great hand crafted steel
statue, made from scrap metal.works industry. There are many people involved
The Thailand manufacturing industry for thein this business and they are getting great offers
creation of metal sculptures could only grow soas well. For example, the Art From Steel,
fast because there was a lot of cheap scrapThailand’s largest manufacturer of steel
metal. These were sourced from Ford Thailand,art, gets regular offers to make factories replica,
scrap yards, boat manufacturers, military suppliersAlien V's Predator bar furniture, symbols and gift
etc. 5 artists together mad the first Predator,items. Science fiction seems to be the most
which was 1.5 meters high and took four months.attractive of the works. Along with the Aliens,
20 workers also volunteered time to completeStar Wars and Predators, they are also producing
this statue. At that time no internet existed, andTerminator, Gremlin etc designs as well. So it is
there were no computer designing, digitalbecoming a good source of revenue for the
photography. The entire design was made fromThailand people as well. There are scopes for
one photo and this was just a poster of themajor developments in this sector.
Predator which was imported from USA.