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Transcript/ScriptCAMBODIAN SCULPTURE EXHIBITION
HEADLINE: 1,500-Year-Old Cambodian Hindu Sculpture Honored at American National Museum
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 6/12/2022 1:35p
BYLINE: Chetra Chap
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER: Chetra Chap
SCRIPT EDITORS: KE, Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE (S):
PLATFORMS (mark with X):
TRT: 3:42
VID APPROVED BY: MPage
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE: ))
((INTRO))
An exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art is showcasing a sculpture of a Hindu god that was carved into a Cambodian mountain around year 600. VOA’s Chetra Chap reports on the importance of this Hindu sculpture to a nation that is now primarily Buddhist.]]
((NARRATOR))
Almost 1,500 years ago, a monumental sculpture of the Hindu god Krishna was carved into the sacred mountain of Phnom Da in southern Cambodia. More recently, the sculpture has traveled to France, Belgium and Spain before its recent stop in America.
Right now, the larger than life-size sculpture — "Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan" — is being featured in an exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in Washington.
((Emma Stein, Smithsonian Assistant Curator (Female In English)))
“We actually know the original location of the sculpture. It was in a cave temple about halfway up the mountain. It was really a site-specific installation. So what we're doing with this exhibition is trying to bring the original landscape and the whole religious and sociological culture that created this masterful sculpture into the space of our museum.”
((NARRATOR))
The exhibition, titled “Revealing Krishna: Journey to Cambodia’s Sacred Mountain,” centers on the Krishna sculpture, which was restored by staff at
((COURTESY: Cleveland Museum of Art))
the Cleveland Museum of Art in partnership with the National Museum of Cambodia.
Before the 13th century, the now-Buddhist nation of Cambodia was once a Hindu kingdom full of Hindu structures and sculptures. “Krishna Lifting Mount Govardhan” portrays the 8-year-old Krishna, who lifted a mountain with just one finger to shield the
((COURTESY) )
villagers and cattle from the raging storm sent by the angry god of rain, Indra.
((Emma Stein, Smithsonian Assistant Curator (Female In English)))
“This image of Krishna lifting the mountain that's in this flood plain in the Mekong Delta — an area that's agricultural-based, that's reliant on the monsoon — this image of the flood and of a storm would be really powerful. So having this beautiful sculpture of Krishna just standing inside of a cave as if he really is lifting up the mountain would be an extremely powerful and resonant emblem of protection.”
((NARRATOR))
Contemporary Cambodian communities worldwide are predominately Buddhist, and most of the ancient Hindu masterpieces like "Krishna" and the Angkor Wat temple complex have been adapted to Buddhist practices.
((COURTESY (2:26-2:34): Satook/Nocturnal Productions))
The immersive exhibition also features a 30-minute documentary about Buddhism and how ancient religious sites played a role in the belief journey of four Cambodian survivors who escaped
((COURTESY: Satook/Nocturnal Productions))
the communist Khmer Rouge regime that killed more than 1.7 million people in the late 1970s.
((praCh Ly, Filmmaker (in English))) [[<this is how he writes his name—Amy R]]
“I was able to put together a short documentary film called ‘Satook,’ because, you know, when you go to the temple, when you pray, you always say ‘Satook, Satook, Satook’ three times.”
((COURTESY: Satook/Nocturnal Productions))
((NARRATOR))
Loung Ung, best-selling author of “First They Killed My Father,”
is one of the four survivors in ‘Satook’ and co-narrates the exhibition’s visual timeline with Angelina Jolie. She said this exhibition is a great honor for Cambodia.
((Loung Ung, Author (Female in English)))
“I'm so happy to see people walking through the exhibits and enjoying Khmer arts and culture and music and scenery because we, as Khmer people, know how beautiful ‘Srok Khmer’ [Cambodia] is."
((NARRATOR))
“Revealing Krishna: Journey to Cambodia’s Sacred Mountain” is on view for free through September 18.
((Chetra Chap, VOA News, Washington))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington D.C.
Embargo DateJune 12, 2022 14:14 EDT
Byline((Chetra Chap, VOA News, Washington))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
