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THE LIFE OF
ARTISTS IN VIET NAM
From "Young Artist of Vietnam", 1996
By The Hanoi Fine Arts Publishing House
Over a period of 30 years of peace from 1954
until 1984 - painting was a luxury. The concept, artists, was difficult to reconcile within
the working-class professions. Still, graduates from Fine Art schools could find employment
with some of the cultural bureaus in the provinces - if they were not at too high
expectation. They received the same standard salary as any other official with a high school or
university degree. Monthly rations included food, allowances for material (for clothing) and
accommodation, though very basic. The work performed by artists was simply as teaching elementary art classes in
school, producing drawing or decorating government offices. Since offices generally did not require a lot of artistic work, they saw
no need in employing an artist on a full time basis. However, the number of artists in Vietnam at that time was so small that the painting
profession was a respectable one.
The work is performed independently by artists, however, on the occasion of
national art exhibitions, the cultural offices would materially support the
participating artists in order to influence their creativity, directing them
towards themes like the revolutionary struggle or the productive labor force.
The organizing committee also gave priority to paintings with such themes. As a
result, two different kinds of art emerged. Quite often one artist would
practise both kinds at the same time. The first kind was art works to be made
for national exhibitions or to please the committee. If lucky, one could win a
prize or sell a painting to the national art museum. The order was to paint for
one's own pleasure. Both painting and making sculptures required a lot of
expensive materials. While artists, with their small salary, had to travel
around the country or do research of cultural and historical vestiges. As a
result most artists were very poor. No artist even the most renowned ones or the
teachers at the arts academy, had his own atelier. If one could get hold of some
painting material it was to be shared among a number of friends. Vietnamese
artists, thus, became generalists in the sense that depending on whatever
material was available at the time they painted in oil, on silk, used lacquer,
water colors or made wood prints - without being able to specialize in any style
or technique. Everything was available, yet not all the time and in too small
quantities.
There was a time lacquer painting lost their radiance for the lack of materials
to protect them from being cracked or lack of silver and gold layers underneath
the surface. Oil paintings ruined very quickly due to the climate and a lack of
high quality colors. The arts academy had to concoct their own material by
mixing local using line oil with water colors then squeezed it into an empty
tooth paste tubes. There was very little painting material. And sometimes
students had to trade their share for food. The economic difficulties made
influence on many spheres of society. The artistic community fell apart. Some
devoted themselves completely to their creative endeavors; others looked towards
different ways to make a better living, mostly abandoning their artistic
profession all together. Quite a number of mediocre painters entered into an
official career. This had become a disaster for the development of Vietnamese
painting in general when talents are ignored and at the same time state funds
were allocated to the wrong places. In the 1980s there were a lot of conflicts
happened in between artists which in fact created from the competition for
distribution of fund. Many young artists could not get their work exhibited.
When the committee for young artists was founded, three exhibitions; the first
one in 1981, then 1985 and 1988; were organized, bringing to light new
contradictions among the young artists themselves. The committee failed to
satisfy everyone's expectations or to accommodate everyone's need.
Artists unlike writer, only cares about things around them where they could get
inspiration to work crazily for an art work, then finally find the way to sell
it. Study art at school is aside, most of artists have to continue studying on
their own. Young Vietnamese artists tend to concentrate on essentialist or
spiritual theories. Besides materialism, they also study on Kant and Freud
especially Buddhist texts and the " Book of Changes" which is an
important Confucian work in Eastern philosophy. However the study could be said
as haphazard and unstructured. Given this situation, quite often an artists work
is influenced by the one publication on art he happens to own. There are also
tendencies to return to folklore since is the only direct cultural source.
The lack of information and the village-like life-style have, in many respects,
brought artists to a quite close knit group. A number of revered old teachers
receive a constant stream of young visitors to their homes. Sincere art artists
are admired. Artists with similar interests or from former class or former
workmates get together to form artist groups. Through this relationship, the
artists complement and learn from each other, even console each other after
harsh criticism. Many daughters of old artists gradually develop an interest in
the younger ones who visit their fathers and who might be famous one day, too.
Many get married in this way among the local community of artists and the
network of family relations among them becomes larger everyday. Vietnam is
unique in this respect since all the artists throughout the country known each
other as if they were living together in one village.
Every Vietnamese artist has experienced living in the countryside for a period
of life. They have been taught about traditional art of the cultural vestiges
like the village community house, temple and pagoda from the first lessons,
which will stay with them for the years to come. However, this is almost
contrary to what they will be taught on art in college or the arts academy. In
school, the most dominant teaching methods, based on the Renaissance and Classic
period, are long outdated. Moreover, teaching material is chronically in short
supply. In all the art colleges sketching nudes is taboo. Inheriting from a
richful treasure of art from our ancients, the artists were still starving from
lack of knowledge. Western life styles with the modern art that accompanies them
floods into the schools seducing the students and made influence on them.
Students just consume all the different styles and tendencies in the art without
context or theoretical background. Vietnamese are generally very strong on
"emotions"; one could specify further dash love, sympathy, sex,
passion, and emotional bonds. These factors are the inner life of Vietnamese
paintings, although on the outside they may have a borrowed form.
In the 1990, before and after the passing of the policy Doi Moi (renovation), an
art market emerged. The price of one painting could be sold equal or even two or
three times as much as the monthly salary. Artists began to neglect their
official jobs, devoting themselves entirely to painting. Up until 1994 numerous
artists have asked to leave their jobs at State offices, and now live entirely
for their free creative work or any art related job on the free market. Many
students no longer look for employment after graduation, some establish their
own design studios, others open galleries or workshops specializing in painting
on silk for ao dai, (the traditional dress still worn by schoolgirls today).
Even students from the provinces come to the city to make a living.
The fine arts in Vietnam has developed to a point where it is difficult to
characterize as one distinct activity. In 1991 the Ministry of Finance allocated
a State funds of VN dong 50 million to the Vietnam Fine Arts Association (about
US$5.000), 205 million in 1992 (about US$20.000), 287 million and 153 thousand
in 1992 (about US$15.000) and 221 million and 4 hundred thousand in 1994 (about
US22.000). At the same time, an average gallery invests around US$30.000 every
year in their activities. All famous artists that is, those who sell many
paintings, are very well off. They have motor-bikes, own property, paint in
ateliers, play tennis, collect antiques, go traveling, generally enjoying a good
time... and even buy paintings of each other. Since art has not yet been
acknowledged as a way of making business, there is no tax control on them. The
museums continue collecting mediocre paintings and sculptures. While all the
best works still wait to be officially recognized, they are continued to be sold
abroad.
The individual relationships of artists with galleries and foreign art
organizations are much more extensive than those with the Fine Arts Association.
In 10 years (1980-1990), artists in this country have gone from yearning for
state subsidies in order to complete only one painting to entirely spending
their own money for painting, exhibiting, selling and promoting their work. The
professional association of artists plays no more roles in their creative work.
Painting has become the most positive activity in the arts in general by taking
full advantage of the new opportunities under the renovation policy (Doi Moi) of
the State. Artists have generated their own capital without depending on the
state budget at all. The art market has good relation with foreign customers,
while attracting hard currency to the country. Last but not least, the arts have
made a strong contribution towards augmenting people's knowledge after and
beyond the war. |
