Pink donut boxes are canvas for artist portraying kids of Cambodian-American refugees

Pink donut boxes are canvas for artist portraying¹ kids of Cambodian-American refugees

　　Transcript²

　　Los Angeles is a city dotted with donut shops, many of them mom-and-pop operations run by immigrants from Cambodia and tucked away in strip malls across Southern California.

　　Right now, artist Phung Huynh is standing³ in Donut Star, in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Highland⁴ Park. It's is an unpretentious oasis⁵ of cheap coffee, lottery⁶ tickets and a staggering array of freshly baked donuts.

　　Huynh has stopped here for a sugery pick-me-up – and some artistic⁷ inspiration. Her solo show, entitled Donut (W)hole, recently opened at Self Help Graphics⁸ and Art. It's a homage⁹ to the Cambodian immigrants known as "Khmericans" who survived the aftermath of warfare¹⁰ and genocide.

　　"The exhibition is also a celebration of the Cambodian stories told through the lens of 1st and 2nd generation Khmericans who grew up in their family's donut shop," the artist writes in the exhibition notes.

　　Huynh, a bubbly 44-year-old with black bangs sweeping¹¹ across her face, created these portraits first by drawing her subjects in a style reminiscent of Pop Art, then silkscreening them, along with vintage family photographs, onto the pink cardboard donut boxes that have become emblematic¹² of donut shops run by Cambodian-Americans. "These donut shops represent a cultural space where refugees and immigrants reshape their lives in the process of negotiating, assimilating and becoming American," Huynh writes.

　　Although Huynh was trained as an illustrator, and most of her work emphasizes her skill in painting and drawing, the donut box series reflects an evolution in her use of photographs, which draws on family history and traditions that range from deeply spiritual to traumatic.

　　"I have a very complicated relationship to photographs and portraits because when we left, we couldn't bring any photos with us," she explains, showing framed copies of the resettlement photos taken of her father, mother, grandparents and siblings¹⁴ in a Vietnamese refugee camp. "And we use photographs to worship our ancestors."

　　Huynh's family did not run donut shops when she was growing up, although her brother currently owns one in Houston. Her parents worked in a garment factory when they first arrived in Los Angeles in 1981.

　　"And they couldn't speak English," Huynh recalls. But, she says, they became close to a women on the factory floor she now thinks of as a grandmother. "My abuelita, Nellie Pavone, was a production manager, and she stood up for my parents and helped them. My mom would call her 'mama.' She's our Mexican grandmother, and she would call us her Chinese, you know, grandchildren."

　　Pavone noticed Huynh's artistic talent as a child, and encouraged her parents to allow her to attend art school, Huynh says. Now, Huynh is an associate professor of art at Los Angeles Valley College and an artist-in-residence at the Los Angeles County's Office of Immigrant Affairs. She's particularly proud of the way her work has been displayed in numerous civic¹⁵ sites all over the city, from the Los Angeles Zoo to Los Angeles County's USC Medical Center.

　　Ratana Kim in a silkscreened portrait on a pink donut box by artist Phung Huynh.

　　Self Help Graphics & Art

　　Phung Huynh's parents eventually built their own business with the support of their community, and the artist wants to celebrate their resilience, bravery and entrepreneurship. Still, she's uninterested in perpetuating¹⁶ a glossy¹⁷, mythologized version of the American Dream.

　　"There's a lot of struggle and pain," she says of the Khmerican immigrants who built their small businesses. "I feel that for a lot of survivors¹⁸, specifically of the Khmer Rouge¹⁹ genocide, there's a lot of guilt²⁰. There's a lot of guilt for being able to come to United States and leaving family behind. There are a lot of family back home who weren't able to come."

　　Meanwhile, the kids who grew up in these donut shops — because there wasn't the money for afterschool care — were taunted²¹, and harassed²² by their peers, Huynh says. Recently, one donut shop family she knows were threatened in their own store by white supremacists.

　　"When generational trauma¹³ is not even a generation away from experiencing what our brothers and sisters in Ukraine and Afghanistan are undergoing right now," she says, "That's what I'm interested in exploring. But donuts matter. Even a fleeting²³ pleasure — that's good. That's what trauma teaches you. Like, pleasure and joy are fundamental."

1 portraying   

v.画像( portray的现在分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• The artist has succeeded in portraying my father to the life. 那位画家把我的父亲画得惟妙惟肖。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ding Ling was good at portraying figures through careful and refined description of human psychology. 《莎菲女士的日记》是丁玲的成名作，曾引起强烈的社会反响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 highland   

n.(pl.)高地，山地

参考例句：

• The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
• The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林，一直都是黑熊的避难所。

5 oasis   

n.（沙漠中的）绿洲，宜人的地方

参考例句：

• They stopped for the night at an oasis.他们在沙漠中的绿洲停下来过夜。
• The town was an oasis of prosperity in a desert of poverty.该镇是贫穷荒漠中的一块繁荣的“绿洲”。

6 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

7 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

8 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

9 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

10 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

11 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

12 emblematic   

adj.象征的，可当标志的；象征性

参考例句：

• The violence is emblematic of what is happening in our inner cities. 这种暴力行为正标示了我们市中心贫民区的状况。
• Whiteness is emblematic of purity. 白色是纯洁的象征。 来自辞典例句

13 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

14 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

15 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

16 perpetuating   

perpetuate的现在进行式

参考例句：

• Revenge leads to a self-perpetuating cycle of violence. 怨怨相报会导致永不休止的暴力。
• It'set out to eradicate heresy, and ended by perpetuating it. 它的目的只是要根除异端邪说，结果却巩固了异端邪说。 来自英汉文学

17 glossy   

adj.平滑的；有光泽的

参考例句：

• I like these glossy spots.我喜欢这些闪闪发光的花点。
• She had glossy black hair.她长着乌黑发亮的头发。

18 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

19 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

20 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

21 taunted   

嘲讽( taunt的过去式和过去分词 )； 嘲弄； 辱骂； 奚落

参考例句：

• The other kids continually taunted him about his size. 其他孩子不断地耻笑他的个头儿。
• Some of the girls taunted her about her weight. 有些女孩子笑她胖。

22 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

23 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。