The Evolution of Cambodian Art

Cambodian art, based on the rich traditions of rice farmers and Buddhist pagodas, has experienced a tremendous change. Cambodia's visual arts journey illustrates a dynamic combination of legacy and creativity, from farmer-created paintings and sculptures in ancient temples to the birth of modern artistic expressions influenced by Western practices. This progression, highlighted by key contributions from icons such as George Groslier and Suzuki, illustrates Cambodian artists' lasting endurance and distinctiveness as they navigate and reinterpret their cultural identity throughout time. In the past, art was made by rice farmers who had skills in painting, sculpture, and other types of object-making that were either passed down from their fathers or learned as young men while working in the វត្ ត(Buddhist pagoda). When a temple needed murals or sculptures, these farmers were hired to do the work, and once finished, the farmers returned back to farming. In other words, prior to 1917, there were no full-time artists in the Cambodian countryside. The emergence of new forms and practices, mainly from the West, transformed the practice and process of painting as a whole from គំនូរបុរាណ  (ancient painting) to គំនូរទំនេីប (modern painting) during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Such distinctions developed gradually, with no clear point of origin, but they are definitely linked to the School of Cambodian Arts. 

From Rice Fields to Art Studios

(Iconic Visual Arts Form) 

In the past, art was made by rice farmers who had skills in painting, sculpture, and other types of object-making that were either passed down from their fathers or learned as young men while working in the វត្ត(Buddhist pagoda). When a temple needed murals or sculptures, these farmers were hired to do the work, and once finished, the farmers returned back to farming. In other words, prior to 1917, there were no full-time artists in the Cambodian countryside. The emergence of new forms and practices, mainly from the West, transformed the practice and process of painting as a whole from គំនូរបុរាណ  (ancient painting) to គំនូរទំនេីប (modern painting) during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Such distinctions developed gradually, with no clear point of origin, but they are definitely linked to the School of Cambodian Arts. 

Artistic Fusion Through Tradition, Copying, and Creative Revival 

(Contemporary Visual Arts Form)

George Groslier and the Battle for 'Pure' Cambodian Art

With the arrival of the French protectorate, French images and objects had permeated Cambodia, and he felt that these new visual influences were both hybridizing and destroying what he considered "pure" Cambodian art. Furthermore, farmers who used to make objects in the countryside stopped doing so because manufactured goods imported from France are easier and cheaper substitutes. Metal bowls made in French factories replaced traditionally hand-made lacquer vessels, French fabric replaced hand-woven cloth, and molded cement replaced the palace of hand-carved wooden sculpture. The palace visual art workshops were restructured and placed under the French administration in 1918. Groslier, a French painter himself, initially oversaw the newly established Cambodian Arts. Gtoslier felt it was critical to protect, preserve, and promote "authentic" Cambodian art. 

Teaching consisted of hanging drawn diagrams as examples of what the school considered "The Cambodian Arts" and having students repeatedly copy them. The diagrams are the teachings of Khmer masters teachings which were codified, synthesized, and summarized into a single 2-dimension diagram. Object making was only permitted after students had thoroughly learned to draw those model ornaments perfectly. The goal of these lessons was for students to eventually absorb these representations so thoroughly that they could render them without the reference material.  

Students who completed the drawing course advanced to the actual object-making course, where they learned to make objects perfectly according to the models. By the early 1940s, the system of training students to duplicate the models and then employing them as object makers in a set of Corporations of "Cambodian Arts" had become so economically successful that a network of markets had been established in Europe, the United States, and South America. The system was so successful because the objects produced were perceived by foreigners as distinctively Cambodian, and they were hand-made objects of high-quality finish with Cambodian ornaments identifying them as culturally specific. 

We can compare Groslier's method of teaching to the past when training consisted of copying the activity of a master. Beginning apprentices performed menial tasks before being gradually assigned duties in the production of the objects in which the master specialized. There was no prior drawing to acquiring a skill. Rather, object-making was learned through direct participation in the creation of objects under the supervision of a master. The School of Cambodian Arts' training method undermines the individual relationship between master and apprentice, as well as the apprentice's immediate attachment to object making. 

George Groslier continued to develop, supervise, and expand this system of object production and marketing until he died in 1945. His death occurred near the end of the Japanese occupation of Cambodia at the end of WWII. For as long as he was alive, his system of copying approved "traditional" models, as well as the economic incentive of the markers he created for such duplicate objects, actively worked to keep Western or "modern" art out of Cambodia. With the weakening of the French Protectorate following World War II and the death of Groslier, the school entered a period in which new elements were more easily introduced and colonial habits were called into question. In some ways, the National Art School mirrors Cambodia's overall movement. The definition of art proposed under the French Protectorate was rethought and rejected, while the question of how to construct a modern independent Cambida arose in both the art community and the nation as a whole. 

Suzuki's Influence on Creative Revival

Archival records show that by 1949, Japanese painter Suzuki had been invited to teach at the School of Cambodian Arts in a class labeled "modern painter" (​​គំនូរទំនេីប). Some claimed that Suzuki was personally invited to come and teach at the School by the young King Sihanouk, while others claimed that he came to Cambodia during World War II as an army draftsman and then decided to stay in Cambodia as a painter. 

There, he taught what was considered the standard course of study in a Western art academy. They begin by observing simple geometric forms (the cube, cylinder, and pyramid) and representing these forms in light and shadow. Then they drew observed scenes sketches from life outside the confines of the school. Direct observation was the cornerstone of Suzuki's teaching, and he insisted on immediately seeing what was drawing. Instead of relying on two-dimensional drawings as models, Suzuki's students turned directly to nature, placing at the heart of their studies the problem of translating a three-dimensional view onto a two-dimensional canvas. 

These representations of forms of painting and sculpture that came to be embraced as "modern" in 1950s Cambodia were already well-worn forms of academic impressionism within the context of Western "modern" art. Former students recall Suzuki being uninterested in Khmer culture or how his students might go about creating modern Cambodian visual forms. Instead, Suzuki thought that he was teaching an International” form of representation which means paying attention to nature and rendering from the observation that transcended the particularity of culture. According to the 1959 primary education manual, drawing from observation was an essential skill for Increasing vision precision and hand dexterity." The teacher instructs the students to "observe the object and then render it themselves." Suzuki is remembered as an influential teacher because his students spent their entire period of study under his care.

By the mid-1950s, Suzuki students had graduated from the School and had begun to carve out careers for themselves; however, none of these students could support themselves solely through the creation of their paintings; instead, they created work for the newly independent Cambodian society. For example, when the United States Information Service hired a group of painters to create educational posters and other visual literature for distribution in the countryside. Others worked on drawing images for bank notes, designing posters for the Ministry of Tourism, creating images for army recruitment, and training ordinary elementary and high school teachers to be able to teach representational drawing. 

In the early 1950s, Suzuki arranged for one of his favorite students, សំ យឺន (Sam Yuan), who was then drawing images for bank notes, to continue his studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris which was one of the most influential and important art centers in the Western World. When Sam Yuan returned to Cambodia around 1956, he encouraged Cambodian artists to collaborate to assert their importance within the newly independent society. They founded សាមាគមនសិល្បៈវិចិត្រកសខ្មែរ (The Association of Khmer Artists) with several other artists in the 1960s, which mounted exhibitions, established collections of books and documents, and served as a forum for discussion and companionship. Figures in the Cambodian embassy show a dramatic increase in the number of exhibitions during the three-year period in which the annual exhibit took place." In 1960, only twenty-one participants showed 41 paintings; by 1962, there were two hundred and two paintings by 86 artists. 

It is difficult to discuss the work of this first generation of self-proclaimed "Modern Khmer Painters" because few of their paintings survived the subsequent turmoil of the Khmer Rouge. Using the few that had prevailed or had a record, we can see that the subject matter of their paintings drew primarily on rural life in Cambodia. Nhek Dim worked hard to create "beautiful" paintings, using a smooth representation into a sea of gestural paint strokes figures to sanitize his landscapes and smoothing the skin of the peasants to make them appear ethereal. Others, such as Sam Yuan and Sam Kem Chang, presented "real life," depicting peasant poverty and the reality of beggars. The distance between art forms and real life is an issue, but the important question left unanswered was whether the role of modern Cambodian art was to entertain or critique society.

By the early 1960s, another notion of the "modern" emerged at the School, as a group of students who were sent to study in France during the 1950s returned to teach at the School of Cambodian Arts which was renamed the Royal University of Fine Arts in 1965. There the visual arts training began in the Department of Plastic Arts and students in that department were to learn to create original works showcasing their artistic personality and creative imagination under the direction of Vann Molyvann. Students were to pursue creation and innovation by drawing from life and studying "Khmer classic art" as a foundation. Suzuki's modern painting style thus became a skill, a tool for observing and rendering the seen. 

In a few years in which the Department and the University operated before the country was engulfed by war, the promise offered by those shaping the new institution was that innovative forms of arts by the late 1960s were simply the foundation for what was to come.

Conclusion

In summary, The development of Cambodian visual arts from ancient paintings to contemporary masterpieces demonstrates the country's perseverance and dedication Today, a new generation of artists combines classic motifs with modern perspectives to create brilliant artworks while remaining true to their cultural roots. The journey highlights Cambodia's resilience and the dynamic nature of its artistic expression, ensuring that its visual arts continue to be a powerful representation of its history and creativity.

Citation

Ly Daravuth, and Ingrid Muan. Cultures of Independence: An Introduction to Cambodian Arts and Culture in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Reyum, 2001.

“Cambodia.” College of Liberal Arts, cla.umn.edu/chgs/holocaust-genocide-education/resource-guides/cambodia.