Parsons School of Design
BFA Communication Design
Thesis 2014

Parsons School of Design
BFA Communication Design
Thesis 2014

To 1945/1945 To
Thanh Cong Huynh

To 1945/1945 To is a study of a particular moment of historical knowledge production during postcolonial Vietnam. First, in order to legitimize Viet Minh’s claims as to the importance behind the events of 1945, the book adheres to the conventionalized chronology of Vietnam but with the intent to complicate and rupture its linearity. The entirety of the book is a macrogenealogy. The first page starts with the story of Lac Long Quan and Au Co, who gave birth to the ancestors of the Vietnamese people approximately 2793 B.C., and closes with the Declaration of Independence announced by Ho Chi Minh on September 2, 1945. Though the pages symbolize a period of time in Vietnam’s history (the higher the page number, the closer to 1945), there are two distinct instances of disruptions. To interfere with the convention of Vietnamese history, one may begin by indulging in the themes and tropes in Vietnamese literature deemed acceptable by the Viet Minh, or by retracing the development of Quoc Ngu language, and systems of communication to disseminate these narratives. Each section is composed of cultural artifacts (empirical maps, diagrams, art objects, photographs, literary texts, legends, folklore, poems, etc.) that are paired with peer-reviewed excerpts of collected texts, journals, books from a variety of sources including Western, non-Western, and Vietnamese writers. Since each set of collected materials stemmed from different sources and therefore different points of view, the contradicting and overlapping voices suggest a multiplicity of perspectives. The whole collection is a fragmented and conflicting understanding of history, while it is bounded by the events of 1945. Consequently, To 1945/1945 To is a catalogue of cacophonic thoughts and ruptures that reenact the fantasy and fallacy of a national truth.

Sarah Alfulaij

Michael Anderson

Darwin Andrango

Leonardo Araujo

Atif Azam

Kyle Barber

Rachel Bernstein

Jillian Black

Matthew Boblet

Mallory Brennan

Joel Califa

Rosaurora Cardenas

Flora Chan

Hanna Chang

Julie Hanna Chea

Abby Wanyu Chen

Justin Cheung

Sherylene Chew

YunHee Choi

Mehr Chopra

Lu Chuang

YooMin Chun

Key Peum Chung

Haesoo Chung

Tyler Cohen

Vernicia Colon

Samantha Cooper

Gabriela d'Amato

Roderic David

Ambar Del Moral

Taryn Dooley

Anthony Duong

Patricia Encarnaciòn

Evelee Estevez

Virginia Leigh Farrell

Kean Ferin

Adam Fernandez

Enrique Ferreyros

Férvido Frías

Jane Gardner

Stephanie Gonzalez

Danielle Gorodenzik

Omar Greene

Gabrielle Guglielmelli

Elda Hadajian

Joy Han

Emma Hanson

Julio Hernandez

Jacob Hernandez

Chris Hong

Ann Yung Chu Hsieh

Xinle Jill Huang

Thanh Cong Huynh

Anthony Iciano

Wesley Johnson

Polina Kadkina

Byoungok Kim

Gena Kim

Lindsey Kim

Lucia Ji Won Kim

Tiffany Kim

Hyo Taek Kim

Esther Kim

Ga Hyun Kim

Jane Kim

Jae Young Kim

Daniella Krihely

Andrea Latimer

Seulbi Lee

Jina Lee

Yongmin Lee

JiYun Lee

Julie Lee

Jae Yong Lee

Iris Li

Joanne Chai Wen Lim

Octavio Llano

Rebecca Low

Andrea Fiorella Martinez

Odile Martínez-Santamari

Gerald Morin

Nadine Muhtadi

Phuong Nguyen

Brandon Nicolas

Seema Nisar

Grant Noel

Neal Oh

Solgil Oh

Valentina Pherson

Elli Pohl

Cody Pumper

Regina Puno

Shem Rajoon

Fabian Rastorfer

Bryan Ribeiro

Konstantinos Riginos

Sarah Rim

YoungHee Ryu

Sylvia Saborio

Joamir Salcedo

Camille Sacha Salvador

Emilio Sanchez

Katherine Santos

Joely Saravia

Amber Rose Seppi

Pauline Shin

Jennifer Shin

Anjana Singhwi

Renee Sluzhevsky

Meghan Smart

Noelle Smith

Chrystal Soegandhi

Wannina Somboonvechakarn

Albert Son

Suho Song

Charmaine Kwan Tung Sum

Natasha Sumant

Aija Suuta

Rachal Tai

Lisa Thieffry

Natashia Tjandra

Natasha Villarraga

Robert Vinluan

Francisco Vivar

Simone Wagner

Robert Waluszko

Kathleen Wang

Ashley Wayne

Boyun Yang

Kanny Yeung

Taylor Zanke

Frankie Zek

Sharon Zhang

Jody Zhou

Tiffany Zhu

Or Zubalsky