The Center for Khmer Studies

Public Lecture Series

Contemporary Visual Art in Cambodia and Viet Nam:

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Vit L, Ph.D.
Venue: Royal University of Phnom Penh, Campus II ( RUPP II) Russian Blvd Phnom Penh Date: 23/11/2012 Time:17.30 - 18.30 Please Confirm attendance by 7/11/2012 Email:

Cambodia and Viet Nam are both societies in rapid transition. Artists wrestle with the shocks of modernization as well as the traumas of history. This seminar explores the possibilities of research on current topics, including the intersection of society and the arts. How can you effectively combine field-based work with object-based research? This seminar examines two approaches: 1) ethnography and 2) visual studies/ art history. Ethnographys oral history interviews and participant observation complement art historys attention to close readings of artwork. The first part of the seminar will be present case studies, including artists, international art exhibitions, and brief presentations by select artist -organizers. The second part of the seminar focuses on interdisciplinary frameworks. Related hands-on topics include ethical ethnographic practices, the politics of positionality and translation, and the publication process.

Puthea_sim@khmerstudies.org

Vit L, Ph.D., M.F.A is an Assistant Professor at the California College of the Arts, where he teaches Visual Studies, Studio Art, and Visual and Critical Studies. As an artist, writer, and curator, his work deals with popular visual cultures, historical trauma, and modernity in Southeast Asia and its diasporas. Ls work is exhibited internationally, and his work has been published in positions; Amerasia Journal; Newsweek Asia; Modern and Contemporary Southeast Asian Art anthology; among others.