Richard K. Diran

How to describe Richard?  He – his life – was as multifaceted as the gems that he explored and the jewelry he fabricated.  Richard was a fine painter and sculptor, who dipped his paintbursh into the mythic, supernatural, even surreal depths of primal dreams. He was an art dealer and restaurateur, whose enterprises were ignited by his gifts as a master raconteur.  No one told stories better than Richard.  And he was a swashbuckling adventurer, who swore like a sailor and traveled the world.

Richard K. Diran was also the acclaimed photographer of The Vanishing Tribes of Burma, the seminal book that revealed the glorious multiplicity of ethnic peoples who have lived under the jungle canopy for hundreds of years, to a great extent unknown to the world.  His work, a labor of love, fascination, and commitment to documenting more than forty distinct ethnic groups over twenty-five years, led him on meandering mountain paths through all corners of Burma.

From this body of work, Richard assembled seventy photographs for his acclaimed exhibition, The Vanishing Tribes of Burma, “the most comprehensive visual record of Myanmar’s many ethnic groups” (Asiaweek), in Yangon, Myanmar, 2014.  The vernissage opened in the presence of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.  Richard K. Diran’s invaluable collection of photographs now rests permanently in Yangon’s National Museum.

Richard K. Diran with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
“The Vanishing Tribes of Burma” Book and Exhibition
National Museum of Myanmar
September 2013

Richard Diran and Victoria Vorreiter
Bangkok, Thailand
November 2004

Pouring over Richard’s book in the early 2000’s completely altered the trajectory of my life. Having just completed my first documentary film, The Music of Morocco and the Cycles of Life, I was keen to move to some new far flung corner of the world to do more of the same and was contemplating the possibilities.  The promise of encountering such diversity of peoples, as seen in Richard’s book, and witnessing the fantastical variety of their songs, stories, and ceremonies, made me giddy.

In that instant, Richard’s book trumpeted a clarion call.  I wrapped up my life in Chicago, moved to Thailand, and made my first pilgrimage to Bangkok to meet Richard K. Diran, my hero, mentor, and friend.  We kept up a warm correspondce over the years – I always in awe (“Please know, dear Richard, that it is you and your beautiful book that first inspired me to begin my project here.  You are the seed planted in my imagination and you are much appreciated.  With light and love, V”) and he always encouraging (“I do so much appreciate your work in the preservation of the fast disappearing cultures of the ethnic minorities, but with your efforts at least the record is there. I am very proud of you.  Much love, Richard”)

Richard’s photographs, from long ago and half way ‘round the planet inspired me to create the Songs of Memory Project and, of late, launch the Cultural Crossroads Asia Heritage Center in Chiang Mai.

So here’s to you, dear Richard, for living life to the fullest and on your own terms, and for capturing so intimately the ethnic peoples and cultures of Burma that are quickly, quietly disappearing.  The world is enriched, as am I, by your example and your friendship.