Irish artist alters Khmer Rouge victim pictures, adds smiles

biko

Cambodian authorities have criticised the Vice media organisation after featuring photos of victims of the Khmer Rouge genocide, which were digitally altered by an Irish artist.

Last Friday Vice published an interview with Matt Loughrey, a Mayo-based artist, who is working to restore and colourise images of victims at a notorious prison used by the Khmer Rouge during the 1970s.

When some of the original images were posted on social media alongside the colourised versions, it resulted in a volley of criticism in Cambodia.
Exiled Cambodian politician Mu Sochua said the images were a “grave insult”.

In my own book this is history revisionism.
The victims of communist regimes must not be "fluffed" in order to make them seem happy.





https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/cambodia-criticises-vice-over-images-of-khmer-rouge-victims-altered-by-irish-artist-1.4534676

Gregor Samsa

If Matt Loughrey has an artistic intent for doing this, then it can and should be debated on that level, but to claim that the images are merely "restored" when they've actually been fundamentally manipulated, and then not to mention the level of manipulation in the article is wrong.

There's many that would argue that the mere act of colourising historic photos is in itself a step too far (there was a bit of a debate about this a few weeks ago in on the Photography forum), let alone adding in smiles that didn't exist.

biko

Now do Auschwitz victims...

TomTomTim

Vice journalists are likely the types of people who would of supported the Khmer Rouge

Cheensbo

Not sure how you could go to Tuol Sleng and come out with the idea to do this -



This is not art, nor would it be if someone was taking the mugshot images from Auschwitz and doing the same thing.

Thelonious Monk

I didn't realise communism = mass murder. In that case capitalism = mass murder too, if Iraq, Vietnam, and other American atrocities are anything to go by. Communism is an ideology that was completely warped by regimes like the Khmer Rouge.

Donald Trump

He is from Mayo. You have to judge him by their standards, not ours. Things are relative.

When shown images of what most would perceive to be terrible photos of tragedy and devastation, he possibly saw a level of potential happiness and luxury that was beyond the dreams and aspirations of most Mayo people


Being serious though, it would depend on the context. Was he trying to show those people as being happy in their situation or was he trying to show what they should have had the opportunity to be?

Donald Trump

Cheensbo wrote: »

Not sure how you could go to Tuol Sleng and come out with the idea to do this -



This is not art, nor would it be if someone was taking the mugshot images from Auschwitz and doing the same thing.

Well I don't know his reasons. But I reckon that studies have been done in terms of impact of images and how relatable it is.


Would the image on the right perhaps evoke more sympathy/compassion for the victim? Is it more relatable to the target audience - it is a real girl who is happy and smiling and you might see her walking down the street in your local shop. Is the one on the left just an unhappy image of one of "them". "Them" being other people and not affecting us?



Everyone knows the name Madeline McCann. As they should. But lots of other children go missing but their situations aren't as relatable to "us". So we don't hear about them.

biko

Vice dropped the article like a hot potato once the backlash started.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/epngbe/editorial-statement-regarding-photographs-of-khmer-rouge-victims

On Friday April 9th, VICE Asia published an interview with Matt Loughrey, an artist working to restore and colorize images from Security Prison 21 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which was used by the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 until its fall in 1979.

The article included photographs of Khmer Rouge victims that Loughrey manipulated beyond colorization. The story did not meet the editorial standards of VICE and has been removed. We regret the error and will investigate how this failure of the editorial process occurred.

Cached page with the actual article.
It must have met the standards of Vice as it was published.
It was only when people complained it suddenly didn't meet their standards.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FKeEHVEJ4C4J:https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3dmpm/mugshots-people-arrested-by-khmer-rouge-cambodian-genocide+&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ie

Wallet Inspector

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I didn't realise communism = mass murder. In that case capitalism = mass murder too, if Iraq, Vietnam, and other American atrocities are anything to go by. Communism is an ideology that was completely warped by regimes like the Khmer Rouge.

Whataboutery is in poor taste too.

Iraq and Vietnam were horrific - U.S. foreign policy sucks. And in Latin America and Africa. Those weren't explicitly about setting up a capitalist system though.

And this is specifically about communism. Nowhere has a communist regime been anything other than oppressive. It doesn't mean I don't support some socialist ideals - I do, very much. But glorifying the hammer and sickle, which I do see eejits in the west do today... is an insult to those who suffered horrifically.

Thelonious Monk

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

I didn't realise communism = mass murder.

Only every time it has been attempted.

Treppen

I don't think it's revisionism if the original photo and story is included.

Although the person in the photo has no say in the matter, so for that reason I'm out.

osarusan

Photoshopping to show a photo of a smiling girl taken before they were arrested - you can make the argument that it's humanising them and showing them in freedom and what they might have become.

Photoshopping to show a photo of a smiling inmate taken by the Khmer Rouge in one of their murder houses - completely misrepresenting things.

Who paid this guy to do what he did will be the main question here.

Thelonious Monk

Celchick wrote: »

Whataboutery is in poor taste too.

Iraq and Vietnam were horrific - U.S. foreign policy sucks. And in Latin America and Africa. Those weren't explicitly about setting up a capitalist system though.

And this is specifically about communism. Nowhere has a communist regime been anything other than oppressive. It doesn't mean I don't support some socialist ideals - I do, very much. But glorifying the hammer and sickle, which I do see eejits in the west do today... is an insult to those who suffered horrifically.

fair enough, I just think some people compare socialism to these regimes and I don't think it's fair.

ongarite

Not the first time this guy has done something like this.
He has "enhanced" 1920,30s era photos to add smiles to the subject faces.
Seems to be his USP.

Cheensbo

Donald Trump wrote: »

Well I don't know his reasons. But I reckon that studies have been done in terms of impact of images and how relatable it is.


Would the image on the right perhaps evoke more sympathy/compassion for the victim? Is it more relatable to the target audience - it is a real girl who is happy and smiling and you might see her walking down the street in your local shop. Is the one on the left just an unhappy image of one of "them". "Them" being other people and not affecting us?



Everyone knows the name Madeline McCann. As they should. But lots of other children go missing but their situations aren't as relatable to "us". So we don't hear about them.

I dunno, maybe i'm 'biased' - having spent a full day in the place and still able to remember some of the terrified faces in the photos, and remember what they did to them, and also to feel the absolute sorrow of the place 6 years later when I think about it, perhaps i'm not the target market for this shit.

Manipulating those victims faces into smiles is like something the KR would do themselves.



It's crass and tasteless, cannot see any value in this 'art' for society tbh.

Donald Trump

Cheensbo wrote: »

I dunno, maybe i'm 'biased' - having spent a full day in the place and still able to remember some of the terrified faces in the photos, and remember what they did to them, and also to feel the absolute sorrow of the place 6 years later when I think about it, perhaps i'm not the target market for this shit.

Manipulating those victims faces into smiles is like something the KR would do themselves.



It's crass and tasteless, cannot see any value in this 'art' for society tbh.

Maybe. But I would say that, unfortunately, more people would identify with, and feel sympathy for, the girl in the doctored smiling image.


I don't know if that is why he does it or not. He might just be a bit of a nutter who does random things without thinking.

seamus

The photos don't really match the tone of the article. So I'm really curious to know what the explanation is here.

I can certainly understand , as osarusan says, if part of the attempt was to "lift" the individual out of the circumstances. Many of the families probably have no photos of their loved ones, except this. So a photo where they're smiling and not terrified may be what they wanted.

There's no indication in the article that he was denying the seriousness of the situation, or claiming that the prisoners weren't terrified. So there's some disconnect between the photos and the article.

He's done a phenomenal job on lots of other photographs, so I'm going to give the benefit of the doubt here and assume there's an innocent explanation until we hear more.

Cheensbo

Donald Trump wrote: »

Maybe. But I would say that, unfortunately, more people would identify with, and feel sympathy for, the girl in the doctored smiling image.


I don't know if that is why he does it or not. He might just be a bit of a nutter who does random things without thinking.

I really wouldn't agree but, am not a sociologist... - Would you really think so though?


I think it whitewashes the whole thing - "you ever heard of S21" - 'yeah, that's where all those smiling asian folk went wasn't it?'


It's like putting googly eyes on the famine memorial on the quays.

alchemist33

ongarite wrote: »

Not the first time this guy has done something like this.
He has "enhanced" 1920,30s era photos to add smiles to the subject faces.
Seems to be his USP.

He may have just done it without thinking then. But he really really should have engaged thinking mode first.

Donald Trump

Cheensbo wrote: »

I really wouldn't agree but, am not a sociologist... - Would you really think so though?


I think it whitewashes the whole thing - "you ever heard of S21" - 'yeah, that's where all those smiling asian folk went wasn't it?'


It's like putting googly eyes on the famine memorial on the quays ffs.

This came to mind when you mentioned the famine. I had seen it at the time and remembered it. Now that I looked for it again, it is the same artist!

I had thought that the colour added to the photo made the subject more "real". He didn't alter the subject's expressions though in that case.


I'm not supporting your man. I'm just theorizing reasons he might have done it.


Here is an article from the US for example. Being from the US it will obviously tend to focus on racial aspects. How are person looks does unfortunately correlate with sympathy evoked in the general public.

Calahonda52

revoke his Irish passport

60,000 hits for matt loughrey khmer rouge

dhaughton99

One of the founders of Vice Media, Shane Smyth, used to be a barman in the baggot inn in Dublin.

www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/shane-smith-how-i-went-from-serving-pints-in-the-baggot-inn-to-building-a-400m-fortune-1.1577326%3fmode=amp

Cheensbo

Donald Trump wrote: »

This came to mind when you mentioned the famine. I had seen it at the time and remembered it. Now that I looked for it again, it is the same artist!

I had thought that the colour added to the photo made the subject more "real". He didn't alter the subject's expressions though in that case.


I'm not supporting your man. I'm just theorizing reasons he might have done it.


Here is an article from the US for example. Being from the US it will obviously tend to focus on racial aspects. How are person looks does unfortunately correlate with sympathy evoked in the general public.

I'm not sure those examples are really suitable though, an otherwise-undoctored colourised famine photo doesn't compare & as you note a very American review into missing persons posters & images. As you say, you're not supporting your man, but I'm not sure where trying to get to.


The issue is not colourising the photo, it's making them look happy that they're about to be tortured... These images could easily play into the hands of deniers of the KR and their genocide, much like doctored images of the Nazi's handiwork regularly do the same thing.

Donald Trump

Cheensbo wrote: »

I'm not sure those examples are really suitable though, an otherwise-undoctored colourised famine photo doesn't compare & as you note a very American review into missing persons posters & images. As you say, you're not supporting your man, but I'm not sure where trying to get to.


The issue is not colourising the photo, it's making them look happy that they're about to be tortured... These images could easily play into the hands of deniers of the KR and their genocide, much like doctored images of the Nazi's handiwork regularly do the same thing.

Well I just don't jump to the conclusion that it was your man's intention to minimize or whitewash anything.

Will it make the horror of it more real for people who suddenly identify with the person in the smiling image? It might very well. Maybe you don't think that way yourself because for you it is obvious anyway. But for some they might not give a second thought to the original because it is of an "other people" person. Not looking like a girl you might have passed in the shop this morning.

He obviously didn't think it through properly, or at least didn't make his intentions clear.

Cheensbo

Donald Trump wrote: »

Well I just don't jump to the conclusion that it was your man's intention to minimize or whitewash anything.

Will it make the horror of it more real for people who suddenly identify with the person in the smiling image? It might very well. Maybe you don't think that way yourself because for you it is obvious anyway. But for some they might not give a second thought to the original because it is of an "other people" person. Not looking like a girl you might have passed in the shop this morning.

He obviously didn't think it through properly, or at least didn't make his intentions clear.

Of course not, and in this spirit - I didn't say it was his intention, I don't know that - I noted that I feel the presence of the doctored images contributes to whitewashing, regardless of it's intended purpose by the guy who modified the original images.

Regarding perception, I don't think we should modify history to make it more appealing to people - certainly not points of history that demonstrate the peak of human depravity and the absolute indifference of man, to his fellow man.

Not having a go at you btw Donald, apologies if it comes across that way

Monkey arris

These are photos of record depicting victims. Adding the smiles is distasteful and dishonest.

NickNickleby

Have watched colourized WW1 and WW2 films. I agree with posters above who have said that the colourising makes the poor people look more 'real' , rather than historical images.

In this case, the manipulation of the expressions might have value, insofar as it shows how they should , and may well have, looked before the tragedy. But it only works if the photos are shown together.

If there is merit, you'd think VICE would have unearthed it rather than pull them.

Which leaves just one impression ... Appalling.

buried

Further proof of the absolute wolloxology that pathetically tries to coin itself as 'art' in the vapid, notoriety seeking, unimaginative, greasy money seeking, plastic $hithouse that is the realm of 'modern art'. This lad is no 'artist'.

The One Doctor

buried wrote: »

Further proof of the absolute wolloxology that pathetically tries to coin itself as 'art' in the vapid, notoriety seeking, unimaginative, greasy money seeking, plastic $hithouse that is the realm of 'modern art'. This lad is no 'artist'.

Art is about getting yourself recognised first. Talent comes later... or not at all in this case.

meeeeh

Thelonious Monk wrote: »

fair enough, I just think some people compare socialism to these regimes and I don't think it's fair.

Communism is the only regime that can rival nacism with it's body count. Where that leaves socialism is another question. I was born in one of less bloodthirsty communist countries and I can take you to mass graves 1 or 2 km away from my parents home. The country is dotted with them. Communism can very much be equated with mass killings of it's own people. Which communist regime did not need oppression, prison camps and mass murder to stay in power?

Anyway I'm not sure what the aim of this is. It's very easy to do something like that to a nation on the other side of the planet. To me it seems more like they were made prettier and I'm not sure that's needed to humanise someone.

Donald Trump

The One Doctor wrote: »

Art is about getting yourself recognised first. Talent comes later... or not at all in this case.

Sure there was the random fella that smeared elephant shite on a canvas and sold it for millions.


It doesn't need to make sense to normal people.

TheValeyard

This was an incredibly stupid and ignorant thing to do. Maybe he should educate himself on the actions of the khmer rouge genocides against their own people.

Smiling pictures of the victims who would have been slowly tortured before surrerfing a horrible death. People who survived the killing fields, security prison 21, experimentation, Cham villages massacres, or watched while guards beat children to death against a tree while laughing.


How the fcuk could somebody be so stupid?

buried

Its all the more stupid and sickening because this guy labels himself as an 'artist'. When the Khmer Rouge grabbed the reigns of power in Cambodia, they utilised all forms of known media to broadcast a message to the concerned citizens of Cambodia, citizens that wanted to rebuild their country, These citizens that included the likes of doctors, engineers, teachers and definitely artists. The message was 'sign up and join us and tell us how you can help rebuild Cambodia'. All those people that did sign up were eventually soon shot in the head not long afterwards, and then finally thrown in an open pit in a swamp.