If you track both the baht and the SET over the last 15 years or so, it’s quite difficult to correlate them to political events. The 1997 crisis severely depreciated both, but the 2006 coup, 2008 PAD airport seizure, 2009 drought, 2010 red riots, and 2011 floods don’t seem to have much direct effect. I’ve always been confused and impressed by this. It gives me hope that the king’s passing won’t be an economic nuclear event, just a social and political one.
“This is exactly what I wondered about: is it possible to survey the impact of royalist propaganda on its intended audience?”
In the current environment, any survey whose terms of reference acknowledged a separation of the monarchy itself from the state portrayal of the monarchy would be disallowed, because the official line is that they are one and the same.
In the same way Pepsico would never publish a study on the impact of Pepsi advertising, because that would be admitting that the message is separate from the product. Even though we all know it’s true, they can never say it.
Thank you for the comment. This is exactly what I wondered about: is it possible to survey the impact of royalist propaganda on its intended audience? Could a scholar formulate human subjects research protocol that would protect the subject from any potential negative fallout while providing the researcher with data about reception or influence? I imagine it would certainly have to be more sophisticated than merely approaching someone at a crowded rally and asking them their opinion. I know friends and colleagues who are certain that such a study would be impossible in this political environment, but I keep wondering whether this is absolutely true. Foreign scholars, of course, must have their research projects approved by the National Research Council before they begin in Thailand, and thus, I imagine, would stand little chance of getting such official approval. But I don’t know what rules guide research for Thai scholars.
New Mandala readers:
Is such a study possible? Are there other methods beyond merely interviewing for opinion about the king that would gauge impact? Could scholars examine other areas for impact? What other areas could be examined?
I’m not an expert in this area for sure- so a couple questions if possible:
Can you expand on what you mean with “the majority of prisoners at Tuol Sleng were KR affiliated” ?
Once again, I’m no expert, but it seems to me a bit of an issue to reference the many non-political actors — children, random family members and associates — killed at Tuol Sleng as “KR affiliated”…. And what about the many victims who were linked to the Lon Nol regime?
Are you drawing on somebody’s research with the idea that the *majority* of S-21 victims were “KR affiliated”– [i.e. official KR cadres] ?
Second, you write: “As many have previously noted, this makes the S21 photographs even more remarkable and their value harder to classify.”
– Can I ask who are the researchers who have written interpretations of the S-21 photographs ?
Thanks if you have a moment.
Lastly, maybe its just me, but I’m still slightly confused on why Fionn would show a photo of a defaced photo of a KR cadre- which was defaced by post-1979 public visitors to S-21– as a lead-in to a discussion on how the KR dehumanized their enemies through the use of language.
Personally I don’t find Cole’s work to be very interesting art. I cannot say I hate or even dislike it. It is just something I would walk past. Then again that is my opinion and everyone has one. Art is not intrinsically good or bad but just an expression of a person that some may like or not like or have no feeling about.
It seems bizarre that people would want to row over something that is totally subjective
Economic development is not the answer to everything and there are many reasons for discontent, even in the richest of countries. Rising inequality and high unemployment rates are some.
But if you believe that access to quality healthcare and education for everybody is a good thing, this cannot be achieved in an economy where the majority of people are still working on the farm.
Google has revealed requests from governments in the second half of 2011 to remove content from its sites, including YouTube.
“Thailand
We received four requests from the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology in Thailand to remove 149 YouTube videos for allegedly insulting the monarchy in violation of Thailand’s lèse-majesté law. We restricted 70% of these videos from view in Thailand in accordance with local law.”
This response seems to be self-incriminating under Thailand’s laws, the extraterritorial nature of which Google doesn’t seem to understand. Google admitted that they ignored 30% of RTG’s requests completely and cavalierly left the rest of the offensive content visible outside Thailand and to viewers using proxy servers inside Thailand. It will be interesting to see whether this contemptuous response leads to the arrest of any Google executives brazen enough to holiday in Thailand.
Wassana’s work is far too prosy to be described as being constructed of stanzas. Nevertheless discussion of the renewed threat of a coup, however unlikely, is now vital to the red shirt leadership to replace the previous formula of the more visceral rallying call for justice for those slaughtered and maimed by the military in 2010. It is a pity that had to be abruptly dropped due to political expediency.
I am fully aware that these past few years, from times to times, we could encounter complete strangers at political rallies or some taxi drivers, talking about the royal families quite frankly, i.e. very negatively. But such ‘anecdotal’ encounters could hardly constitute a definitive or reliable conclusion about the ‘impact’ of royalist propaganda. On the other hand, most ordinary people, if surveyed, could hardly be expected to talk freely what they truly feel about the monarchy.
The problem with this “economic development” is that you hardly ever see people enjoying that at all.
If the money and economy is the answer ato all as the politicians, economistd as well as academics espouse, why are people compiling 100 most likely riotous cities in the United States? Why did the old pensioner shot himself in Sytagma Square?
For Thailand, the evidence is simple. At a time when people are dying at the of 30, there was no market for drug. Now there is not enough drug even with all out Burmese production well shephered by their rulers.
The essays, while very strong on the intricacies of the construction of this image, largely ignore examples of its impact. Such studies certainly would be difficult to pursue; they would probably be dangerous to careers in Thai studies that relied on access to the country; and, most importantly, they would introduce potential harm to the subjects surveyed. But it is not accurate to say that such pursuits would be outright impossible. And the essays could have been strengthened by a few examples of the ways in which this newly formulated image of King Bhumibol affects Thai people, be it in their daily lives or in more extraordinary circumstances such as political rallies.
This is rather strange. If such a ‘survey’ would ‘introduce potential harm’ to the people surveyed, should it be done at all? Or, even if one goes ahead and carries out the survey, as suggested, among ‘people in their daily lives or in .. political rallies’, would the result be reliable? Would people say to someone (academic stranger) other than their very intimate friends or families, how they really feel about the monarchy? Can a study of the “impact” be possible or be of any use given conditions of the impossibility to discuss the monarchy freely?
Muslim-Buddhist War of Bangladesh and Myanmar – The Price of Silence by Shwe Lu Maung, Sabiha A. Khan, Ellen E. Abbott and Shahthureen Khan (May 31, 2011)
Author shwelumaung wrote:
My website is http://www.shwelumaung.org and I blog with videos on Myanmar and US affairs. You can view my videos at youtube. Search for Shwe Lu Maung at Youtube or google.
I am a biologcal scientist and Darwinist. In 1963, I read Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species and became a Zoology Honours student at Rangoon University. I used to walk along the Chancellor Road carrying the book and declaring, “I am a Homo sapiens, we’re all Homo sapiens”. After 1962 coup d’état by General Ne Win and his colonels I became a rebel. Now, I believe that over population is the main cause of the economic woes we are facing.
As a Rangoon University student my ambition was to become a member of parliament. Opposing the military government I joined a democratic national guerrilla force but left the left the jungle a year later to become a demonstrator (junior faculty) at Rangoon University. I won a Colombo Plan Fellowship and finished in 1976 my doctorate degree in reproductive endocrinology from the University of Wales,(University College of North Wales), Bangor, United Kingdom.
Unhappy with the high-handedness of the military junta I left Myanmar (Burma) in 1977. I worked for the advancement of science in my capacity of the Chief Scientific Officer at the Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endorinology, and Metabolic Disorders (BIRDEM) from 1978 to 1991. I have visited and worked in twelve countries in four continents as a research scientist. I did a post-doctoral research in USA from 1982-85.
I got back into Myanmar politics during the 1988 uprising and I lost my scientific career. I came back to the United States to get back my scientific career in 1994. I specialize in DNA technology and gene-search. That means I am a gene-hunter, search for the causative genes that are responsible for the hereditary genetic diseases. I have about 60 scientific publications and two books and 20 articles on politics. Now I am retired and plan to write more books.
I am a descendant of the ancient Rakkhapura Kingdom which is now 75% in Myanmar, 15% inside Bangladesh and 10% inside India. I am happily married to my graduate classmate and have two children- a daughter and a son.
Muslim-Buddhist War of Bangladesh and Myanmar – The Price of Silence by Shwe Lu Maung, Sabiha A. Khan, Ellen E. Abbott and Shahthureen Khan (May 31, 2011)
Exiled to Nowhere: Burma’s Rohingya by Greg Constantine and Emma Larkin (2012)
A tale of refugees : Rohingyas in Bangladesh by Abdur. Haque, Mahfuzul. ; Centre for Human Rights (Dhaka, Bangladesh) Razzaq (1995)
I beg to differ. These megatrends are global issues like the “occupy” movement that move mainly the “young nation” and widening income gap or the Brotherhood in Egypt as rising Islamization in the Middle East and globally.
In the Malaysia, the key issue is the Malay agenda and its place when globalization is rapidly encroaching & challenging the nation. It is obvious that UMNO, PKR & PAS are vying to be champions of the Malay dominated politics. These issues are further intwined by the fact that to be Malay is to be Muslim.
How can Anwar be divorced from the fact that he was the prime mover of ABIM (a youth Islamic activist movement), a minister and high ranking official in UMNO and ultra-Malay nationalist during his tenure with the government?
Najib at the present moment with a “clear signal” (or maybe not so clear?) that the Chinese voter base has deserted BN, is now fighting for the middle ground of Malay voters and a direct approach to the Indian voting block. As the elections approaches, it will be seen how Najib & MCA wrestles the Chinese from the seemingly grip of DAP.
However, having crossed the Rubicon in the electronic & digital age, having no hold bars on the preceived position & request of Chinese in a Malay state (through political pandering), most importantly is the ruling government’s inclusion of the East Malaysians and proto-Malays of West Malaysia. Its obvious, they cannot “balik kampung” (go home) after all the rhetorics leading up to the watershed GE13.
Lastly whether PAS or PKR in keeping the glue that binds Pakatan Rakyat by going the way of PAS or UMNO in it continual policy of Malay leadership includes Islamization as a process must surely take into account the position of the East Malaysians & proto-Malays, if not the rest of Malaysians.
Having now looked thru the 100 plus photos in Coles Noir Nights in Phnom Penh (link: http://phnom-penh-noir.blogspot.com/ ), I can’t for the life of me see what Sean and Dexter are on about in accusing Coles of presenting a romanticized version of Phnom Penh at night.
In fact, quite the opposite, Coles version of Phnom Penh looks pretty damn gritty I would say, not romanticized or romantic at all, at least in my book.
Aside from the 6 or 7 photos of bargirls and Expats in bars (I suppose despite that being part of the Phnom Penh reality, that’s the area Sean is accusing Coles of being cliched), the other 100 plus photos seem to cover a broad range, street dogs and cats, trash and garbage, lots of big SUVs, tuk tuk and bicycle taxi guys, street markets, odd things like an ATM machine, billboards of the royal family and Hindu figures, Chinese stuff, some large construction sites, the Naga Casino and the island where all the big weddings take place.
Please explain yourself, Sean, why and how all of these images fall into the romanticized or romantic Asia category.
Jon, the number of LM cases is “unspeakably” high because LM can’t be freely talked about. It’s an area which for most people is unspeakable. And this unspeakability makes things like the number of prosecutions, invesigations, and charges difficult to know. And difficult to parse, I guess.
But you are right, one prosecution would be one too many.
BTW, jis because I’m in the English teaching business don’t mean I speak proper all the time. I try to learn ’em the whole range of Angkrit – the good, the bad, and the ugly. And occasionally, a phrase or two from the Queen’s English.
Nick, I think you missed the fact that Priscilla was satirizing some of the comments in this blog about “proper” photography and grammar, not endorsing them..
“Nick”
I guess even most of the rather critical commentators agreed that Coles is an artist. However, being an artist does not mean to be untouchable towards criticism. Particularly since his artpiece reinforces clichés (#sean), and his interpretations seem to be quite questionable (#nontok) for at least some readers. Again, being an artists does not exempt you from criticism-particularly not on an academic blog like NM.
Facebook 
Twitter 
Soundcloud 
Youtube 
Rss
Thailand’s resilient economy
If you track both the baht and the SET over the last 15 years or so, it’s quite difficult to correlate them to political events. The 1997 crisis severely depreciated both, but the 2006 coup, 2008 PAD airport seizure, 2009 drought, 2010 red riots, and 2011 floods don’t seem to have much direct effect. I’ve always been confused and impressed by this. It gives me hope that the king’s passing won’t be an economic nuclear event, just a social and political one.
Review of Saying the Unsayable
“This is exactly what I wondered about: is it possible to survey the impact of royalist propaganda on its intended audience?”
In the current environment, any survey whose terms of reference acknowledged a separation of the monarchy itself from the state portrayal of the monarchy would be disallowed, because the official line is that they are one and the same.
In the same way Pepsico would never publish a study on the impact of Pepsi advertising, because that would be admitting that the message is separate from the product. Even though we all know it’s true, they can never say it.
Review of Saying the Unsayable
Ajan Somsak,
Thank you for the comment. This is exactly what I wondered about: is it possible to survey the impact of royalist propaganda on its intended audience? Could a scholar formulate human subjects research protocol that would protect the subject from any potential negative fallout while providing the researcher with data about reception or influence? I imagine it would certainly have to be more sophisticated than merely approaching someone at a crowded rally and asking them their opinion. I know friends and colleagues who are certain that such a study would be impossible in this political environment, but I keep wondering whether this is absolutely true. Foreign scholars, of course, must have their research projects approved by the National Research Council before they begin in Thailand, and thus, I imagine, would stand little chance of getting such official approval. But I don’t know what rules guide research for Thai scholars.
New Mandala readers:
Is such a study possible? Are there other methods beyond merely interviewing for opinion about the king that would gauge impact? Could scholars examine other areas for impact? What other areas could be examined?
Comments?
How the Khmer Rouge dehumanised their “enemies”
Non-Tok:
I’m not an expert in this area for sure- so a couple questions if possible:
Can you expand on what you mean with “the majority of prisoners at Tuol Sleng were KR affiliated” ?
Once again, I’m no expert, but it seems to me a bit of an issue to reference the many non-political actors — children, random family members and associates — killed at Tuol Sleng as “KR affiliated”…. And what about the many victims who were linked to the Lon Nol regime?
Are you drawing on somebody’s research with the idea that the *majority* of S-21 victims were “KR affiliated”– [i.e. official KR cadres] ?
Second, you write: “As many have previously noted, this makes the S21 photographs even more remarkable and their value harder to classify.”
– Can I ask who are the researchers who have written interpretations of the S-21 photographs ?
Thanks if you have a moment.
Lastly, maybe its just me, but I’m still slightly confused on why Fionn would show a photo of a defaced photo of a KR cadre- which was defaced by post-1979 public visitors to S-21– as a lead-in to a discussion on how the KR dehumanized their enemies through the use of language.
– Keith
Noir nights in Phnom Penh
Personally I don’t find Cole’s work to be very interesting art. I cannot say I hate or even dislike it. It is just something I would walk past. Then again that is my opinion and everyone has one. Art is not intrinsically good or bad but just an expression of a person that some may like or not like or have no feeling about.
It seems bizarre that people would want to row over something that is totally subjective
Leaving the farm
Ohn,
Economic development is not the answer to everything and there are many reasons for discontent, even in the richest of countries. Rising inequality and high unemployment rates are some.
But if you believe that access to quality healthcare and education for everybody is a good thing, this cannot be achieved in an economy where the majority of people are still working on the farm.
You are mentioning Japan as a country where traditional culture has been maintained. Mind that only 3,9% of Japan’s labor force is working in agriculture.
http://www.indexmundi.com/japan/labor_force_by_occupation.html
Fault line: a panel discussion on Thailand’s Article 112
Google has revealed requests from governments in the second half of 2011 to remove content from its sites, including YouTube.
“Thailand
We received four requests from the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology in Thailand to remove 149 YouTube videos for allegedly insulting the monarchy in violation of Thailand’s lèse-majesté law. We restricted 70% of these videos from view in Thailand in accordance with local law.”
This response seems to be self-incriminating under Thailand’s laws, the extraterritorial nature of which Google doesn’t seem to understand. Google admitted that they ignored 30% of RTG’s requests completely and cavalierly left the rest of the offensive content visible outside Thailand and to viewers using proxy servers inside Thailand. It will be interesting to see whether this contemptuous response leads to the arrest of any Google executives brazen enough to holiday in Thailand.
Coup talk in Thailand 2012
Wassana’s work is far too prosy to be described as being constructed of stanzas. Nevertheless discussion of the renewed threat of a coup, however unlikely, is now vital to the red shirt leadership to replace the previous formula of the more visceral rallying call for justice for those slaughtered and maimed by the military in 2010. It is a pity that had to be abruptly dropped due to political expediency.
Review of Saying the Unsayable
I am fully aware that these past few years, from times to times, we could encounter complete strangers at political rallies or some taxi drivers, talking about the royal families quite frankly, i.e. very negatively. But such ‘anecdotal’ encounters could hardly constitute a definitive or reliable conclusion about the ‘impact’ of royalist propaganda. On the other hand, most ordinary people, if surveyed, could hardly be expected to talk freely what they truly feel about the monarchy.
Leaving the farm
Chris L,
The problem with this “economic development” is that you hardly ever see people enjoying that at all.
If the money and economy is the answer ato all as the politicians, economistd as well as academics espouse, why are people compiling 100 most likely riotous cities in the United States? Why did the old pensioner shot himself in Sytagma Square?
For Thailand, the evidence is simple. At a time when people are dying at the of 30, there was no market for drug. Now there is not enough drug even with all out Burmese production well shephered by their rulers.
Review of Saying the Unsayable
Richard Ruth writes (paragraph #5):
The essays, while very strong on the intricacies of the construction of this image, largely ignore examples of its impact. Such studies certainly would be difficult to pursue; they would probably be dangerous to careers in Thai studies that relied on access to the country; and, most importantly, they would introduce potential harm to the subjects surveyed. But it is not accurate to say that such pursuits would be outright impossible. And the essays could have been strengthened by a few examples of the ways in which this newly formulated image of King Bhumibol affects Thai people, be it in their daily lives or in more extraordinary circumstances such as political rallies.
This is rather strange. If such a ‘survey’ would ‘introduce potential harm’ to the people surveyed, should it be done at all? Or, even if one goes ahead and carries out the survey, as suggested, among ‘people in their daily lives or in .. political rallies’, would the result be reliable? Would people say to someone (academic stranger) other than their very intimate friends or families, how they really feel about the monarchy? Can a study of the “impact” be possible or be of any use given conditions of the impossibility to discuss the monarchy freely?
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Doffice-products&field-keywords=rohingyas
Muslim-Buddhist War of Bangladesh and Myanmar – The Price of Silence by Shwe Lu Maung, Sabiha A. Khan, Ellen E. Abbott and Shahthureen Khan (May 31, 2011)
Author shwelumaung wrote:
My website is http://www.shwelumaung.org and I blog with videos on Myanmar and US affairs. You can view my videos at youtube. Search for Shwe Lu Maung at Youtube or google.
I am a biologcal scientist and Darwinist. In 1963, I read Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species and became a Zoology Honours student at Rangoon University. I used to walk along the Chancellor Road carrying the book and declaring, “I am a Homo sapiens, we’re all Homo sapiens”. After 1962 coup d’état by General Ne Win and his colonels I became a rebel. Now, I believe that over population is the main cause of the economic woes we are facing.
As a Rangoon University student my ambition was to become a member of parliament. Opposing the military government I joined a democratic national guerrilla force but left the left the jungle a year later to become a demonstrator (junior faculty) at Rangoon University. I won a Colombo Plan Fellowship and finished in 1976 my doctorate degree in reproductive endocrinology from the University of Wales,(University College of North Wales), Bangor, United Kingdom.
Unhappy with the high-handedness of the military junta I left Myanmar (Burma) in 1977. I worked for the advancement of science in my capacity of the Chief Scientific Officer at the Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endorinology, and Metabolic Disorders (BIRDEM) from 1978 to 1991. I have visited and worked in twelve countries in four continents as a research scientist. I did a post-doctoral research in USA from 1982-85.
I got back into Myanmar politics during the 1988 uprising and I lost my scientific career. I came back to the United States to get back my scientific career in 1994. I specialize in DNA technology and gene-search. That means I am a gene-hunter, search for the causative genes that are responsible for the hereditary genetic diseases. I have about 60 scientific publications and two books and 20 articles on politics. Now I am retired and plan to write more books.
I am a descendant of the ancient Rakkhapura Kingdom which is now 75% in Myanmar, 15% inside Bangladesh and 10% inside India. I am happily married to my graduate classmate and have two children- a daughter and a son.
Intolerance, Islam and the Internet in Burma
Books on Ropingya
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Doffice-products&field-keywords=rohingyas
Muslim-Buddhist War of Bangladesh and Myanmar – The Price of Silence by Shwe Lu Maung, Sabiha A. Khan, Ellen E. Abbott and Shahthureen Khan (May 31, 2011)
Exiled to Nowhere: Burma’s Rohingya by Greg Constantine and Emma Larkin (2012)
A tale of refugees : Rohingyas in Bangladesh by Abdur. Haque, Mahfuzul. ; Centre for Human Rights (Dhaka, Bangladesh) Razzaq (1995)
Noir nights in Phnom Penh
“tom hoy”:
I think you may be quite right there. 😉
Megatrends at Malaysia’s 13th general elections
I beg to differ. These megatrends are global issues like the “occupy” movement that move mainly the “young nation” and widening income gap or the Brotherhood in Egypt as rising Islamization in the Middle East and globally.
In the Malaysia, the key issue is the Malay agenda and its place when globalization is rapidly encroaching & challenging the nation. It is obvious that UMNO, PKR & PAS are vying to be champions of the Malay dominated politics. These issues are further intwined by the fact that to be Malay is to be Muslim.
How can Anwar be divorced from the fact that he was the prime mover of ABIM (a youth Islamic activist movement), a minister and high ranking official in UMNO and ultra-Malay nationalist during his tenure with the government?
Najib at the present moment with a “clear signal” (or maybe not so clear?) that the Chinese voter base has deserted BN, is now fighting for the middle ground of Malay voters and a direct approach to the Indian voting block. As the elections approaches, it will be seen how Najib & MCA wrestles the Chinese from the seemingly grip of DAP.
However, having crossed the Rubicon in the electronic & digital age, having no hold bars on the preceived position & request of Chinese in a Malay state (through political pandering), most importantly is the ruling government’s inclusion of the East Malaysians and proto-Malays of West Malaysia. Its obvious, they cannot “balik kampung” (go home) after all the rhetorics leading up to the watershed GE13.
Lastly whether PAS or PKR in keeping the glue that binds Pakatan Rakyat by going the way of PAS or UMNO in it continual policy of Malay leadership includes Islamization as a process must surely take into account the position of the East Malaysians & proto-Malays, if not the rest of Malaysians.
In this aspect, we agree.
Noir nights in Phnom Penh
By the way, I just looked at the website and the pics looked good to me
Noir nights in Phnom Penh
Having now looked thru the 100 plus photos in Coles Noir Nights in Phnom Penh (link: http://phnom-penh-noir.blogspot.com/ ), I can’t for the life of me see what Sean and Dexter are on about in accusing Coles of presenting a romanticized version of Phnom Penh at night.
In fact, quite the opposite, Coles version of Phnom Penh looks pretty damn gritty I would say, not romanticized or romantic at all, at least in my book.
Aside from the 6 or 7 photos of bargirls and Expats in bars (I suppose despite that being part of the Phnom Penh reality, that’s the area Sean is accusing Coles of being cliched), the other 100 plus photos seem to cover a broad range, street dogs and cats, trash and garbage, lots of big SUVs, tuk tuk and bicycle taxi guys, street markets, odd things like an ATM machine, billboards of the royal family and Hindu figures, Chinese stuff, some large construction sites, the Naga Casino and the island where all the big weddings take place.
Please explain yourself, Sean, why and how all of these images fall into the romanticized or romantic Asia category.
Launch of “Unspeakable Things”
Jon, the number of LM cases is “unspeakably” high because LM can’t be freely talked about. It’s an area which for most people is unspeakable. And this unspeakability makes things like the number of prosecutions, invesigations, and charges difficult to know. And difficult to parse, I guess.
But you are right, one prosecution would be one too many.
BTW, jis because I’m in the English teaching business don’t mean I speak proper all the time. I try to learn ’em the whole range of Angkrit – the good, the bad, and the ugly. And occasionally, a phrase or two from the Queen’s English.
Noir nights in Phnom Penh
Nick, I think you missed the fact that Priscilla was satirizing some of the comments in this blog about “proper” photography and grammar, not endorsing them..
Noir nights in Phnom Penh
“Nick”
I guess even most of the rather critical commentators agreed that Coles is an artist. However, being an artist does not mean to be untouchable towards criticism. Particularly since his artpiece reinforces clichés (#sean), and his interpretations seem to be quite questionable (#nontok) for at least some readers. Again, being an artists does not exempt you from criticism-particularly not on an academic blog like NM.