The Evolving Art of Today's Vietnam

[Le^ Hu+ng]

The Evolving Art of Today's Vietnam

By Esther Iverem
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 25, 1997; Page C07

Americans might carry a lot of baggage to the exhibit "The Winding
River: The Journey of Contemporary Art in Vietnam," at Meridian
International Center. There could be pain, anger, intrigue, a distant
memory, some personal residue from the war that ended 22 years ago.
Even if you feel none of these emotions, you might carry the common
Western assessment that Vietnam and its people are somehow exotic --
the most "other" that other people can be.

But whatever you bring, this show of 80 works by 45 artists may help
you leave your bags at the door. Instead, you'll walk away with many
new pictures in your head of a country that is fitful, eclectic,
evolving and -- after centuries of outside influences -- very
international.

There's everything here in this exhibit, so much so that it sometimes
appears a bit crammed, even in the large rooms of the mansion that
serves as Meridian's home. If you're thinking exotic, if you're
thinking insular, then you have to quickly readjust to see everything
from traditional lacquer works to abstract visions One picture
strangely resembles the television cartoon "Cow and Chicken." It is
the march of history and influences that is interesting here first.
This is a show entirely made of paintings, yet painting in the Western
sense did not exist in Vietnam until 70 years ago when, during the
French occupation of the country, the Ecole de Beaux Arts d'Indochine
was founded. Until that time, the country's culture had evolved over
more than 2,000 years with various regional influences. Lacquer
painting was highly developed but was primarily a decorative art for
temples and other spaces. There were also sculpture and crafts. A 1941
masterpiece of lacquer painting, "Going to the Pagoda" by Le Quoc Loc,
is included in the show.

"I love the lacquer tradition of painting in Vietnam and I want to use

modern art to express it," says Bui Mai Hien, one artist in the show.
"I am always looking for ways to use old tradition to express
contemporary art. I am searching for myself through that work."

Now, according to the curators, painting is the medium almost always
chosen by professional artists in the country, and so it dominates
this show.

Three generations of artists are represented, beginning with masters
who studied early at the Ecole de Beaux Arts d'Indochine, which is
still in existence under a different name and Vietnamese auspices. One
artist from this period, Nguyen Gia Tri, who died in 1995, is noted as
a premier lacquer painter who integrated Japanese and French styles
into his fantastical works. One of his paintings here, "Three Women,"
is a red, black, white and gold lacquer rendering of a fairy world, an

other-world of sketchily formed nymphs. Other artists of this period,
like To Ngoc Van and Tran Van Can, both of whom died in 1995, made oil

paintings of civil urban scenes in the style of French impressionists.

According to Nguyen Quan, one of the show's curators, the next
generation of artists -- following the 1945 defeat of the Japanese --
participated in the organized resistance against their French
colonizers and produced works with themes of patriotism.

This stridency softened during the '50s with artists such as Bui Xuan
Phai, Nguyen Sang and Nguyen Tu Nghiem. These three had also produced
painting about workers, peasants and soldiers during a phase of
socialist realism, but they went on to lead a movement of aesthetic
reform. They jettisoned government conventions they considered
dogmatic and restrictive as well as French impressionist and romantic
influences. Instead, they gravitated to Vietnamese folk art and the
modern schools of Paris.

The Vietnam War, like the war with the French, influenced many artists

who either fought in the war or recorded historic events. An example
here is "Homecoming" (1976), by Dang Thi Khue, showing a victory
celebration for a soldier returning to his family and friends.

Since then, artists have continued to rebel against conventions in
Western mainstream art and have sought more freedom in their
expressions, a freedom that also leaves behind the colonial and
resistance eras.

Popular among artists now in their thirties -- those born during
America's involvement in the war -- is an affection for rural and
village life. Traditions and symbols that hold special cultural
significance in Vietnam often stand out in this show.

Tran Quoc Long's "Girl, Buffalo and Moon" (1994) is a whimsical and
warm work that glows with gold, black, pink and oranges. The water
buffalo, which is frequently a subject of Vietnamese artists because
of the large role it plays in village and family life, is elongated.
Her hoofs are mere points. Her fat udder is larger than the moon and
looks like a sun. A girl floats over the cow as if she is levitated,
secure in the food and labor the animal provides.

The intricate images in Dao Minh Tri's "Fish Series (1996)," are made
with traditional lacquer but have the texture and glow of mosaic tile.

Phan Cam Thuong's woodblock carvings, printed in Virginia for the
first time for this show, show traditional scenes of village life.
Tran Nguyen Hieu's steel engravings of a coastal city are dark and
haunting. Huge drops of rain fall toward the sea and threatening
clouds billow overhead. Yet his work reveals an affection for the
land, for a town's familiar skyline and for nature.

The artists here appear to carry little baggage from the past. The
absence of pain, loss, destruction or bitterness in these images is
noted by the curators in the catalogue's introduction to the show.
They said they found "no violence, bitterness or anger" in the art
they collected in Vietnam's towns and cities. The art here looks
forward. And it looks up. Its hands are free.

The Winding River: The Journey of Contemporary Art in Vietnam, at
Meridian International Center, 1630 Crescent Pl. NW, through March 15.

Call 202-939-5568 or 202-939-5518. A two-year national tour is
scheduled to start in late April.

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