The Bowers Museum's exhibition of art works from Vietnam
hytran
From: Hieu Van Ngo <hie...@ix.netcom.com>
26/6/99
Hi friends and colleages,
The following is an article regarding the Bowers Museum's
exhibition of art works from Vietnam, written by a young
Vietnamese professional who was among 1.5
millions of the Vietnamese boat people in late 1970's and
early 1980's. After resettling in the US, he has worked his
way through high school, college, and law school, and become
a prominent human rights activist and refugee's rights
advocate in the Vietnamese overseas community. Through his
article, his view reflects the feelings and experience of the
majority of the Vietnamese American and their friends.
The author has a law office in Little Saigon, Westminter,
California. We appreciate his continued invaluable
contribution and devotion to our just cause.
For further information regarding the struggle for human
rights in Vietnam, please contact us or visit our website
http://www.vnhrnet.org.
Thank you,
Hieu Van Ngo
Committe for Human Rights in Vietnam
Member, Vietnam Human Rights Networks
*****************
Art and Politics
Vietnamese paintings create a public clamor at Bowers Museum
[Orange County Register, Opinion, June 25, 1999]
Lan Quoc Nguyen, Esq.
The Bowers Museum's exhibition of art works from Vietnam may
falsely present the nature of art from a country that does
not tolerate freedom of expression. ["Is it art or
politics?", News, June 21]
The Vietnamese-American Community objects to the display,
which opens Saturday, not for what it shows, but for what it
does not show. When purchasing a pair of shoes, one may want
to know where those items came from or how they were made. It
is the same case for art.
Twenty years ago, as a junior high school student in Vietnam,
I was prohibited from singing songs that were publicized
before the fall of Saigon in April 1975. In school, we often
secretly exchanged children's story books which were popular
before 1975 but outlawed by the new revolutionary regime. If
caught, one may earn a mark of "clinging to anti-
revolutionary ideas" in school records.
At the same time, we were required to read state-published
children's newspapers and demonstrate proof of completion in
weekly group or individual self-criticism sessions. Failure
to do so may be grounds for an entry in school records which
would read something like "Failure to demonstrate
revolutionary spirits." In a wall paper contest, my very own
teacher yanked out a center piece drawing on the paper on the
eve of the contest because he thought the picture looked like
"Uncle Ho riding a cyclos." We lost the contest, of course,
but we had already lost the very essence of our being to
begin with, the right of children to express ourselves.
At the same time in the adult world, it was commonplace that
most of the artists from pre-1975 were banned from engaging
in their trade unless they succumbed to the "revolutionary
spirits" and had their works sanctioned by the state. Many
artists were imprisoned in "re-education camps" for years to
answer about the works they produced before the change of
regime.
All art works generated after 1975 must comply with the
revolutionary criteria and be approved by the censorship
agencies installed at all levels of the government structure.
In short, all art forms must be used to further the causes of
the people and the state.
Twenty years later, those phenomena are still accepted as
"ways of life" for the people in Vietnam. Today, all
literary works in any medium must be inspected and approved
by the Information and Culture Bureau on entry or exit from
Vietnam.
The entire Internet network in Vietnam is isolated from the
rest of the world with a firewall which screens all messages
or materials traveling in and out of the country. No
art can be displayed in public unless approved by the state.
Section 99 of the Vietnamese Penal Code provides that
circulation of objectionable cultural materials is a crime
punishable by prison sentences ranging from six months to
twelve years. In such a controlled environment, no person can
expect to have freedom of expression in any meaningful way.
It is perfectly within the rights of the American public to
enjoy the art works from Vietnam, as they did when they
abandoned the Vietnamese people during the Vietnam War and
looked the other way to the onslaught of the southern people
by the northern invading army. But the Vietnamese people who
lived and suffered at the hands of the communist regime
cannot help but see only the suppression of freedom of
expression and the suffering of the artist community which
still continues today.
The Bowers Museum contends that this exhibit is about art
which is apolitical. But in Vietnam, art is a major
instrument used by the government to further its political
message. The proposed display, even without any political
connotation, can very well be used to show to the outside
world that there is genuine art in Vietnam and that the
people do have freedom of expression.
The museum argued more than once that it had complete freedom
in selecting the art works and there was no interference by
the state. But such freedom is not relevant if the
art works are selected from the officially available pool.
Not only that, the selected works may be allowed to exit
Vietnam for display abroad solely to convey the false image
that there is freedom of expression in Vietnam.
The exhibit proponents insist that a cultural exchange such
as this exhibit is a first step in the positive direction to
promote understanding among various communities from
different political spectrum. Such a novel concept is
misguided when the exchange only goes one way and art works
from the overseas communities are still prohibited from
entering Vietnam.
Should the Vietnamese-American community forget the past and
get on with the future? How can they forget when the
suppression of freedom of expression continues.
The objection is not against the past policy, but it is truly
against the current policy which still continues each and
every day of the Vietnamese people's life.
The Vietnamese-American community would only ask Bowers
Museum and the public to be aware of one thing - the exhibit
does not represent the genuine creativity of the Vietnamese
artists or people. The American public may enjoy the
display. But Vietnamese-American community has the duty and
the obligation to voice its objection to the display, not
only for what it shows, but for what it does not show.
_________________________________
Lan Quoc Nguyen, Esq.
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