alastar505

[alastar505]

research - cambodian civil war (events leading up to the genocide)

Eight years before the genocide began, Cambodia was engaged in a bloody civil war. The war pitted the Cambodian monarchy, and later the Cambodian Republic, and its allies, including the United States, against the Cambodian communists. The communists received support from the neighboring Vietcong.

The Cambodian Civil War was an armed conflict that involved the Khmer Rouge, Viet Cong, and North Vietnam, against the Kingdom of Cambodia and South Vietnam, with the support of the United States. The Khmer Rouge were members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea. The war began on March 11, 1967, and ended on April 17, 1975. It was responsible for the death of 240,000–800,000 people.

The conflict was sparked by a disagreement between King Sihanouk's neutral administration and the serving Prime Minister Lon Nol. Political unrest and economic instability in Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, increased the burden on rural communist villages. Lon Nol decided to increase rice taxes, prompting landowners in Battambang to launch an insurgency that quickly turned into a revolution against the government. In just a few months, 11 of Cambodia's 18 provinces revolted against the government under the banner of communism.

After Sihanouk was overthrown, Pol Pot took the responsibility of dethroning the government of Lon Nol. He allied himself with the ousted king and China. China supplied weaponry while Pol Pot generated revenue from rubber and rice plantations. The communist course grew immensely powerful that it was recognized by sixty-three countries as the official Cambodian government. In 1975 a new government took over the control of Cambodia and began the process of negotiating the surrender of the Khmer Rouge. 

The Lon Nol government fell apart in April 1975. Communist forces stormed Phnom Penh and forced the city's residents to flee to the countryside. In less than a week, Phnom Penh and other cities and towns around Cambodia were depopulated. Thousands of city people died during the forced marches, and conditions worsened in the years afterwards.

______

What did the Khmer Rouge do with the Angkor Wat?

One of the most famous Cambodian examples is Angkor Wat, a Hindu temple built in the 12th century in honor of the god, Vishnu (Glancey 2017). During the Khmer Rouge regime and collapse, heritage sites like Angkor Wat became places of destruction caused by war in the latter half of the 20th century. Protection, maintenance, and access to Angkor Wat was limited because of the Rouge’s presence in the surrounding area (Glancey 2017). Even if the fighting wasn’t going on at the site itself, surrounding fights made the area dangerous and abandoned by tourists, locals, and site caretakers (Reap 1997). This hurt the influential tourist trade, meaning less money to fund the upkeep and protection of the site (Reap 1997).

The Khmer Rouge looted heritage sites and temples, but also prevented the protection and continued study of temples like Angkor Wat.

https://pages.vassar.edu/realarchaeology/2017/10/26/the-role-of-conflict-in-the-looting-and-destruction-of-cambodian-temples-in-the-late-20th-century/

Directly from

https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-caused-the-cambodian-civil-war.html

https://www.britannica.com/place/Cambodia/Civil-war

https://cla.umn.edu/chgs/holocaust-genocide-education/resource-guides/cambodia#:~:text=Cambodia%20before%20the%20Genocide,States%2C%20against%20the%20Cambodian%20communists.

https://pages.vassar.edu/realarchaeology/2017/10/26/the-role-of-conflict-in-the-looting-and-destruction-of-cambodian-temples-in-the-late-20th-century/

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research - chronological order of khmer rouge

Chronology of Khmer Rouge

1940s: Cambodian communist movement emerged from the country’s struggle against French colonization.

1960s: King Norodom Sihanouk named his communist opponents the “Khmer Rouge.” Their official name was the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK).

1963: Pol Pot became the party secretary and leader of the CPK.

March 1970: Cambodian Civil War. Marshal Lon Nol and his pro-American associates staged a successful coup to depose Prince Sihanouk as head of state.

1973: The Khmer Rouge became a major player in the civil war and gained members because many people resented Lon Nol. At this time, 85 percent of Cambodian territory was controlled by the Khmer Rouge.

April 17, 1975: The Khmer Rouge took full control of the city of Phnom Penh in Cambodia. A few days later, they forced approximately two million people in Phnom Penh and other cities into the countryside to undertake agricultural work. Thousands of people died during the evacuations. Because of this and other policies, nearly two million people died during the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975-1979.

1976: The CPK created the state of Democratic Kampuchea and wrote the first “Four-Year Plan,” which called for the collectivization of all private property and placed high national priority on the cultivation of rice. All Cambodians were required to bring their private possessions to be used collectively. Cambodian families were split up and people were assigned to work groups. The goal of the Four-Year plan was to achieve an average national yield of three tons of rice per hectare throughout the country. To achieve that goal, most Cambodians were forced to work harvesting rice more than 12 hours a day without rest or adequate food.

Late 1977: Clashes broke out between Cambodia and Vietnam. Tens of thousands of people were sent to fight and thousands were killed.

December 1978: Vietnamese troops and the forces of the United Front for the National Salvation of Kampuchea fought their way into Cambodia.

January 7, 1979: Vietnamese troops captured Phnom Penh. Khmer Rouge leaders fled west and reestablished their forces in Thai territory.

1979-1990: The United Nations recognized the Khmer Rouge as the only legitimate representative of Cambodia.

1982: Khmer Rouge formed the Triparty Coalition Government. At the same time, in Phnom Penh, Vietnam helped to create a new government regime called the People’s Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), which governed Cambodia for a decade.

1990: Vietnamese troops withdrew from Cambodia.

October 23, 1991: All Cambodian parties signed a peace agreement in Paris and agreed to organize a national election under the supervision of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC). The Khmer Rouge boycotted the UN-organized election and refused to demobilize their forces.

1993: A newly elected government came to power called the Royal Government of Cambodia. For several years, Khmer Rouge soldiers continued to fight against these troops.

1998: Pol Pot died. Other senior Khmer Rouge leaders defected in 1998.

March 1999: The last surviving leader of the Khmer Rouge who refused to join the Royal Government of Cambodia, Ta Mok, was captured.

1999: The Khmer Rouge movement totally collapsed. All of its leaders had either defected to the Royal Government of Cambodia, been arrested or died.

Directly from:

https://cambodiatribunal.org/history/cambodian-history/chronology-of-the-khmer-rouge-movement/#:~:text=January%207%2C%201979%3A%20Vietnamese%20troops,formed%20the%20Triparty%20Coalition%20Government.

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week 6 - sdl

Image 2:

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week 5 - sdl

[alastar505]

week 4 - visual // sdl

using the database through the library on the aut website. i was able to find these images.

Cambodian. (Angkor period, Bayon style, 12th-13th century). Head of Buddha. [Sculpture]. Retrieved from

 https://library-artstor-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/asset/AMICO_ASIAN_SOCIETY_103813332

The study of Cambodian and Thai sculpture from the 10th to 14th centuries is primarily a study of the Khmer empire's civilisation and culture. This head of a Buddha is assigned to the Bayon style, referring to Jayavarman VII's city within a city, Angkor Thom, which had as its center the Bayon, a temple mountain constructed c. 1180-c. 1230.

Jayavarman was a king during the Khmer Empire era, who is considered as the greatest Cambodian king. He was most famous for being one of the most forceful and productive kings for the Khmer empire of Angkor. He rebuilt the city of Angkor, now known as Angkor Thom, and rebuilt and extended the system of highways, which radiated outward from the Bayon and the royal palace and reached far into the provinces.

https://library-artstor-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/#/asset/28458304

late 12th century, consecrated 1186

This Bayon-style art is part of Ta Prohm Kel which is a small ruined sandstone monument north of the angkor wat. Ta Prohm Kel was one of the hospital chapel that Jayavarman VII erected throughout the empire.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.19262435

https://encyclocraftsapr.com/hol-lboeuk-ikat/

Silk weaving has been a part of Cambodia culture for centuries. This Hôl lboeuk dates back to around mid 20 CE. 

lboeuk is a well-known traditional Khmer pattern, particularly refined and sophisticated. It is often seen on people scarves and garments during official and religious ceremonies, weddings etc. It is incredibly representative of the traditions and cultural heritage of Cambodia. The phrases hôl and lboeuk describe the process of making this fabric. Hôl is the result of the ikat technique, while lboeuk means "diamond shape."

https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.13870769

This image here shows a bones field in Cambodian countryside due to Pol Pot's Regime.

Cambodia genocide was one of the worst, if not the worst thing that has happened in history with millions of people killed. 

Reality is almost certainly impossible for people who weren’t present. Between 1975 to 1979, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge were dominating the country, seeking to transform Cambodia to a rural, classless society in which there were no rich people, no poor people, and no exploitation. To achieve this endeavor, money, free markets, traditional Khmer culture, private property, foreign clothing styles, and religious traditions were all destroyed.

https://library-artstor-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/#/asset/MOMA_10400003

This artwork was created by Tadanori Yokoo in 1993,

Devastated by what Cambodia had to go through, Japan's assistance to Cambodia has been critical in preventing Cambodia from slipping back into political instability. Cambodia's government and people have expressed gratitude for Japan's assistance and as a result have strongly backed Japan's policies in international venues. On various levels and occasions, close ties of friendship have taken root between Japan and Cambodia.

https://www.kh.emb-japan.go.jp/economic/cooperation/japc/japc.htm

https://library-artstor-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/#/asset/ARTSTOR_103_41822001644796

Photograph of starving refugees was taken during the Pol Pot regime, 

It demonstrates how difficult life was in Cambodia at the time, as well as what Pol Pot was doing to the Cambodian people. 

Quick Fact: When Pol Pot took over and renamed the country to Democratic Kampuchea, he declared that the nation would start again at “Year Zero”

These images were chosen because they provide a visual representation of Cambodia's history. It also kind of depicts different eras of Cambodia, such as the Khmer Empire and the Khmer Rouge era.

[alastar505]

week 4 - written // sdl

propaganda, politics, and violence in cambodia: democratic transition under united nations peace-keeping steven heder judy ledgerwood

thomas clayton

this article talks about the propaganda, politics and violence that was shown in cambodia and the transition cambodia had to go through under the united nations peace-keeping steven heder and judy ledgerwood. 

the city in time : contemporary art and urban form in vietnam and cambodia.

corey, pamela n.

chapter 3: this chapter is relevant to my topic, because it discusses the history of modern and contemporary art in phnom penh, cambodia and how a new generation of artists after the khmer rouge regime had to use photography to help serve as a vital platform for inspiration. because there was no socio-spatial trajectory for artists seek out new modes of expressions and artists at the time; not all of whom had institutional artistic training.

understanding the khmer: sociological-cultural observations.

abdulgaffar peang-meth

the historical, social, and cultural viewpoints are discussed in this article. and it tries to address inquiries from people who are interested in achieving a political solution to the khmer dilemma. 

the khmer rouge, ritual and control

daisha lee delano and j david knottnerus

discusses the control the khmer rouge had over the country and various tactics utilized by the khmer rouge between 1975 and 1979 to increase their power, the elimination of ritual practice such as dance dramas, family ceremonies and religious activities. 

during this time, cambodia became democratic kampuchea as the communist regime swept through the country, forcing its citizen out of the cities and into rural labour camps.

the persistence of cambodian poverty : from the killing fields to today

harold r. kerbo

chapter 8 : this chapter discusses the corruption that is in cambodia. after vietnam invaded cambodia in 1979 and ejected the khmer rouge from power. when the then prime minster died in office, vietnam appointed Hun Sen as prime minister, who is still in office to this day. 

When a UN Human Rights Commission official criticized Cambodia for severe human rights violations in 2006, Hun Sen went into one of his long, furious speeches, with the BBC quoting him as saying, “Cambodia is not hell.”

Kerbo, Harold R.. The Persistence of Cambodian Poverty : From the Killing Fields to Today, McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers, 2011. ProQuest Ebook Central, 

References https://www-cambridge-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/core/journals/journal-of-asian-studies/article/propaganda-politics-and-violence-in-cambodia-democratic-transition-under-united-nations-peacekeeping-edited-by-steven-heder-and-judy-ledgerwood-armonk-ny-m-e-sharpe-1996-xix-277-pp-6495-cloth-2495-paper/5C543BB105ACAC2BF1C05A32AC03053F

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/AUT/detail.action?docID=6828839

https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/stable/2645017?seq=1

https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.aut.ac.nz/stable/26567227?seq=2

http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/aut/detail.action?docID=679307.

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week 3 sdl - due week 5

Graphic Means

Suggested questions:

What were the processes described in the documentary?

How has printing processes influenced the aesthetics of the era mentioned in the movie?

What were the methods, tools and evolving social roles that gave rise to the graphic design industry as we know it today?

How was the transition from manual and digital means of production in the discipline of graphic design?

You had actual blank pages that you had to decide where to start.

July 3rd, Otmar Morgenthau demonstrated a machine that is today regarded as one of the 10 greatest inventions of all time. 

Linotype

Linotype is a type of printing technique that prints an entire line instead of each character on the printing surface. The process of linotype is shaping hot metal into the shape of letters and words. Producing an entire line of metal type at once and engraved on newspapers and books. Due to it being difficult to print images onto paper, getting images on to the newspaper was difficult. the look was kept to a minimum, due to the fact that a line of metal text was created using hot metal. 

Photo typesetting

Newspaper industry moved to tape operation

Was discovered during the 1920s, but was not used until 1950s.

Method was discovered because Dr. Agatstan stated that if you use a fast enough camera, you will be able to photograph something that is moving as if it were stil, therefore we could have a moving font if there was fast enough light it would go through the character and then exposed photo matierial.

Photo typesetting was first introduced in 1949 as the photon machine. And was first used to compose a book called The Wonderful World of Insects. 

Brought more women into the workplace than any other.

Increased production speed and scale. 

The process of photo typesetting was using photographic paper, a lens, a disc with negative type, and a light source, projecting a light through a film negative image of an individual character. As the disc spun, a light would shine through it. The light will pass through the lens and onto the photographic paper, illuminating the shape of the letter.

Paste up

Every shop where they did paste up, had someone known as magic knife. People who were so good with an exact blade, they were able to cut those letters out, move them around and tape them down.

Rulers, technical pen, boards, grids.

Set of french curves, adjustable angle, t square

Every morning, shake rapida graph and get ink flowing to tip

Align paste up board

Turquoise sort of blue that you can write on, but cameras wont see it

Manually drawn

Cut each chuck out, place it into position using adhesive -wax

Requires precision

Common to use clip art

Material called ruby lith, indicate to cameraman is artwork.

Photostat machine big part of production

Combine yellow cyan black magenta to get colour

Electric typewriter

Small shops doing form and simple stuff, use vera typekit to produce art for that.

No need for photograph, everything done in typewriter.

1968, IBM comes out with IBM composer, version of selectric typewriter with type element ball. Only few typefaces.

Source of most new release typefaces -  ITZY, come out with new typeface, not just one but in 4 different weights. Total about 16 different weights

Huge outbreak for typeface design

60s, 70s when there was alot of things associated with design. Such as music, fashion etc.

Letroset, great typefaces Available to anyone to had couple dollars to spend.

Letroset was a product and photo setting was a service.

Cheaper than photo setting

Students or people who are not familiar with typography can use

Digital design

Invention of mac, 3 design programs

Beginning of desktop publishing

People who got into graphic on mac were not designers but were computer people who got interested in doing graphics.

Mac great liberator of not only what you create, but your mind. Cause it had it own kind of thinking and you might go, oh that was better than what i was thinking.

Promoted use of colour and images

Mac was controversial, moving from drawing to digital

Letters were pixelated, some loved the look, some hated it.

Removed all complex methods used in traditional design

Print quality at the time was not up to photo-setting,

Production methods were still analogue

Can compose everything on one screen and export as one. 

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week 4 - reflection

in the lecture, we learnt how to effectively find information, books and articles using the aut library; or the internet in general. using key words and using quotation marks to help search for that word or phase. 

utilising the aut library will help me find more accurate information than searching on any regular search engine. 

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week 3 - moodboards

References - 

https://www.voacambodia.com/a/photographs-by-michael-vickery-show-1960s-Cambodia-in-a-new-light/4636765.html

https://issuu.com/typefacedesign/docs/zachary_scheuren_matd_dissertationw

https://art21.org/read/time-traveling-through-music-cambodias-lost-rock-and-roll/

https://www.phnompenhpost.com/7days/poster-children-golden-era-khmer-film

https://medium.com/loopandreplay/the-rise-and-fall-of-cambodian-rock-and-roll-825a09fea07a

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_rock_(1960s%E2%80%931970s)

https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/cambodian-culture

https://www.lets-tour-bangkok.com/blog-things-to-do/culture-in-cambodia-art

https://www.britannica.com/place/Cambodia/Cultural-life

https://www.gocambodia.tours/cambodian-traditional-art-forms/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_Cambodia

https://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Cambodia/sub5_2a/entry-2844.html

https://issuu.com/typefacedesign/docs/zachary_scheuren_matd_dissertationw

https://www.ikttearth.org/khmer-ikat

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/cambodia/articles/a-guide-to-cambodian-traditional-dress/

https://www.anytexture.com/2019/06/khmer-ikat-and-the-institute-for-khmer-traditional-textiles/

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week 3 - reflection

in week 3, we were assigned to breakout rooms to present our work from the previous week to others. i had the opportunity to learn about other people's ancestry or personalities. this was extremely beneficial because i gained a better understanding of how to present my work to others.

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Week 2 - Geo/History Moodboard

Reference:

https://hmh.org/education/cambodia-1975-1979/#:~:text=People%20ate%20their%20meager%20food,were%20arranged%20by%20the%20regime.

https://www.britannica.com/place/Cambodia/Visual-arts

https://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Cambodia/sub5_2c/entry-2889.html

https://www.frommers.com/destinations/cambodia/in-depth/cultural-life

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2012/2/3/key-facts-on-the-khmer-rouge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_genocide

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Week 2 - Research Questions

1975 - 1980

1. How old was Sihanouk during this time period?

2. What type of clothing did they wear during this time period? How did they dress?

3. What kind of form of entertainment was popular? 

4. What did Cambodia look like at the time?

5. What kind of architectural designs, art were created at the time?

6. Why is Sihanouk significant to the Cambodian culture? Why is he considered a Cambodian hero?

7. What kind of lifestyle were the people in Cambodia living in?

8. What was happening outside of Cambodia during this time?

9. What sort of problems, discrimination and injustice did they face?

10. What events were happening during this time frame?

11. How was education at Cambodia like? What was the learning environment like?

12. What were their political viewpoints at the time?

13. How did Sihanouk become king?

14. What kind of transportation did Cambodia have?

15. How did the Khmer Rogue affect Cambodia?

[alastar505]

Week 1 - Moodboard

[alastar505]

Week 1 - Reflection

First week of Design Research, we were greeted by our lecturers and spent time trying to get familiar with the course and our lecturers. We are required to write and complete a 1200-1500 word essay about a specific time period, location, or person; while also weekly documenting our thoughts, ideas, and processes on this blog for others to see. We also had a look into what research is about and how others would describe it. “Research means that you don’t know, but are willing to find out.” - Charles Kettering

I believe this is a great opportunity for me as researching and writing are not my strong suits. As a result, I will touch and improve on these areas.

formative - due week 7 – 14th april summative - due week 13 – 7th june

[alastar505]

Introduction

Hey, my name is Alastar Lon. I am currently 18 years old and of Cambodian descent. My interests include; videogames, editing, and photography. I chose to study Communication Design at AUT because I want to get into Interaction Design and had chosen subjects similar to this during my time in high school and enjoyed them.