Al Rockoff
Al Rockoff (born 1946)
Career
After several years in Vietnam, Rockoff came to the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh in the spring of 1973, when the US-backed government of Lon Nol was fighting the Khmer Rouge insurgents. Both houses of Congress had voted to end USAF bombing missions over Cambodia that summer, and many journalists expected the fall of Phnom Penh was imminent.
Rockoff was known to take tremendous risks to get his pictures at a time when any foreign journalist falling into Khmer Rouge hands could expect execution. In October 1974, he was badly wounded by shrapnel in an attack near the strategic city of
Most westerners took refuge in the French embassy from which they were taken by truck to Thailand two weeks later. But Cambodian citizens sheltering there, including government ministers seeking asylum, were ordered out. No exceptions were allowed, although some Cambodian women married to westerners could remain if they had documentation. Some did not survive the forced exodus to the countryside where they were expected to work in the fields. Rockoff tried to forge a passport for Dith Pran using an old passport belonging to Jon Swain. He is incensed at the way the 'Killing Fields' movie portrayed this, particularly scenes which appear to show him fixing up an improvised dark room and chemical solution while a photo of Pran fades away, until he finally gets it. In reality, Pran had an old photograph which Rockoff successfully attached to a passport. Eventually, Pran left the embassy of his own volition.[3]
Rockoff splits his time between his homes in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and
In 2008, Rockoff worked on collaborations with artist Shepard Fairey. These combine Rockoff's images of the Vietnam War and the Khmer Rouge with a modern poster art style.[7] In December 2008, Rockoff exhibited his images of the fall of Phnom Penh for the first time in the US at Composition Gallery in Atlanta.[8]
References
- ^ Mockenhaupt, Brian (5 April 2000). "From Behind Lens, Photographer Saw the End". The Cambodia Daily. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ^ Kyne, Phelim (Apr 16, 2000). "Being AI Rockoff: Shooting from the hip in Cambodia". TAIPEI TIMES. pp. Page 5. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ^ Kohler, Ann (23 March 2006). "Rockoff". Things Asian. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ^ Mydans, Seth (July 6, 2000). "Cambodia's 'Year Zero' Haunts a Photographer". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ^ "The FCC Permanent Collection". Foreign Correspondent's Club. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ^ Ehrlich, Richard S. (December 2000). "Al Gore Stole My Vietnam Photos". The Laissez Faire City Times. Archived from the original on 2009-10-24. Retrieved 2009-01-12.
- ^ "Al Rockoff x Shepard Fairey: "Duality of Humanity 4"". Juxtapoz Art and Culture. 16 November 2008. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
- ^ "The American War: Photographs by Al Rockoff". Composition Gallery. Archived from the original on 2009-04-08. Retrieved 2009-01-12.