The latter problem has involved many writers and artists in heated discussions in seminars and symposiums, with no resulting consensus. So much the better!

I believed that cultures of all times face that problem, for even Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures had to evolve and change, i.e. “modernize” themselves if that term could be used. In order to endure while keeping its substratum, all cultural achievements must follow a process of evolution influenced by endogenous and exogenous factors.

Concerning Vietnamese culture let me take as an example the art of lacquer-work.

Archaeological excavations undertaken since 1961 have found in unearthed coffins object of lacquered wood or leather, and even tools used in lacquer work. They proved the existence of that primitive craft in the northern (Red River) delta as early as the 4th century B.C. Those objects, not very numerous and of little variety, had been mostly buried with the dead.

No documentation on the making of Vietnamese lacquer-work in the course of the long period of Chinese domination of the country is available. From the 11th to the 14th centuries, in the reigns of the first major royal dynasties (Lý and Trần) of independent Việt Nam, that handicraft left visible, albeit scanty, traces (in archives, cult objects, funerary articles).

It was in the 17th-19th centuries that Vietnamese lacquer-work was in full bloom, putting itself mostly in the service of religion: architectural decoration, statues, palanquins, wooden panels, columns… It also played a part in the mummification of Buddhist monks: the Đậu Pagoda in Thường Tín District, Hà Nội, contains the mummies of two bonzes in a sitting position of dhyanist meditation, with a red-and-gold lacquer coating. These dated from the 17th-18th centuries made use of Chinese achievements and improved its own technique, strengthening its products resistance to the tropical climate and widening the range of its background materials (lacquer coating on wood, lather, baked earth, stone, copper, rattan, plaited bamboo, etc.). Articles for everyday use were few, the bulk of production being reserved for acts of worship.

Under the French rule, that traditional art followed the same trend in villages of the northern delta (1862-1945). In the first half of the 20th century, the making of curious and objects for secular use (boxes, vases, screen, etc.) prospered in cities and towns.

Vietnamese lacquer-work underwent a renewal in the 1920s and 1930 at its contact with Western art brought into the country through the Indochina College of Fine Arts founded in 1925. Two French artists, Inguimberty and Jonchère, are credited with having encouraged and organized the transformation of an old handicraft which had lost many of its secrets and which was essentially decorative into modern art, true art, capable of expressing all shades of feeling and thought 1. The Hà Nội School of Lacquer-work was thus set up thanks to efforts by young Vietnamese students of the French college of fine arts. They had discovered the technique of pumiced lacquer and enriched the art’s material, colors, subjects and style.

Vietnamese modern lacquer-work, starting from an age old tradition and enriched by several acculturations, could supply an example of faithfulness to national cultural identity, one could say “dynamic and evolutionist faithfulness”. Many villages in the suburbs of Hà Nội are now engaged in lacquer-work.

]]> http://vietnam-travel.org/vietnam-culture/architecture-fine-arts/lacquer-and-cultural-identity/feed/ 0 http://vietnam-travel.org/vietnam-culture/traditional-wedding-music-of-the-khmer/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=traditional-wedding-music-of-the-khmer http://vietnam-travel.org/vietnam-culture/traditional-wedding-music-of-the-khmer/#comments Wed, 06 Jul 2011 09:22:55 +0000 liendang http://www.vietnam-travel.org/?p=2542 It is impossible to be without this kind of traditional music at a Khmer wedding reception in the South of Vietnam. Though there has been much change in the wedding customs of the Khmer, traditional wedding music has been well preserved by its people.

Researchers have collected some ten ceremonial songs and folk songs which used to be sung at wedding receptions. The traditional songs sang at the wedding are expressions of the feelings and characteristics of the people’s lives in the Khmer community.

Each song is equivalent to a specific rite in the wedding, such as leading the bridegroom to the bride’s house, asking for the breaking of the fence to get into the house, and the beginning of the ceremony. The ceremony incorporates the rituals of the hair cut, the pounding solution for dying teeth, the cutting of betel flowers into pieces in order to scatter them on heads of the young couple, the drawing of a sword out of its sheath, the binding of thread around the wrist, the kowtowing of the sun god, the act of entering into the wedding room, the sweeping of the wedding mat, and the greeting of parents and relatives. The reception lasts until the young couple see off their wedding guests.

 Source Vietnamtourism

Shortly thereafter, international cultural centers began to establish, further pushing the growth of modern art. In late 1991, the Center for French Language and Culture (Alliance Francaise) was founded and made its headquarters near Hanoi University of Art, No. 42 Yet Kieu Street. The British Council came next, first operating in early 1993, while the Goethe Institute was established by Germany in early 1997. In the following years, manycontemporary art programs of both Vietnamese and foreign artists have been produced and presented at these cultural centers.

At the beginning of 2001, the Hanoi Contemporary Art Center was founded under the joint-sponsorship of the Vietnam Association of Art and the Ford Foundation. In less than three years, the center had taken a center role in contributing to domestic exhibitions, foreign relations, and in supporting student experimental art projects. The center’s arrival, along with Duc’s stilt house, has fostered a healthy environment for the growth of experiment art inHanoi and in Vietnam.

The year 2003 marked a big step in the progress of modern are with the birth of L’Espace from former Alliance Francaise, headquartered at No.24 Trang Tien Street,Hanoi . L’Espace, with its exhibition halls, small theater, and large library, is example of maximized foreign support of Vietnam modern art. In early 2004, the Goethe Institute moved to No.56 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street,Hanoi . The Goethe’s relocation was inaugurated with a very impressive and successful installation art show called “Green, Red, and Yellow”. Dozens of Vietnamese and foreign artists contributed to the show. Since mid-2004, the British Council inHanoi has also supported a series of experimental art projects, bringing together many Vietnamese and British artists. One such production was the fashion show “Street Symphony”, which combined music, sound, visual images and light with modern fashion. The show was a success inHanoi and later in the year toured at the Hue festivals. In the year 2005, contemporary art continued to spread across the nation’s galleries and studios. Though a relatively small movement, modern art in Vietnam increasingly attracts young artists. In the meantime, the general public has had the time to familiarize with the new art trend. InHanoi , the newly created Ryllega Gallery at 1A Trang Tien Street has quickly become reliable space for experimental art, exposing the interested public to new art trends and artists. During the Hue festival, the New Space Art Gallery at No.7 Pham Ngu Lao Street opened a series of installation andperformance art exhibitions and activities.

Meanwhile, in Ho Chi Minh City, many small galleries and studios have supported some artists in realizing their art experiments. For example, A Little Blah Blah, Atelier Wonderful, Gallery Quynh, Green Space at the Art Museum, and Himiko Visual Saloon, are all spaces in HCMC that support modern art events. The upcoming Saigon Open City Center, sponsored by the Ford Foundation, has turned an old factory neat the Saigon River into a place for large scale installation and performance exhibitions.

In Hanoi, since early 2006, those interested in contemporary art have witnessed the appearance of the Viet Art Center at No. 42 Yet Kieu Street near Hanoi University of Art. This past July, there was a beautiful and inspiring installation exhibit called “Books”. From September until the end of October this year, the Viet Art Center is collaborating with the Center for Prehistoric South East Asia and theHanoi University of Art to organize an exhibition of photos and documents about a Sapa ancient carved stone site. This result is a fusion of art an archaeological research.
Today the expansion of contemporary art continues. By the end of this year, Vietnam Red Space will be completed on the large site of world-renowned Anh Khanh’s studio onHanoi . The space will be reserved for experimental art activities and exchange programs between Vietnamese and foreign artists. In addition, an artist residency program known as “Campus” has proven a popular stamping ground forHanoi ’s modern artists since its inception last year. Local artists come to collaborate with foreign resident artists, to experiment with each other in different artistic mediums, to participate in free English classes, or simply to gain the friendship and guidance of Marcus Mitchell, the program’s charming director.
As developments flourish, modern art continues to expand in Vietnam, the impact of such through institutional support of the arts reverberated throughout Vietnam’s art world and, more broadly, for art enthusiasts everywhere.

Dong Ho pictures are printed on a special kind of Dzo paper. The printing paper is made of bark of a tree called “Dzo”. Artists use pine leave brushes to coat Dzo paper with sea bivalve mollusk powder to create a sparkling colorful background. Colors of the painting are refined from various kinds of tree leaves, which people can easily find in Vietnam. Traditional artists use all-natural colors for their pictures: burnt bamboo leaves for black, cajuput leaves for green, copper rust for blue, pine resin for amber, and crushed egg shells mixed with paste for white. The painting is covered by a layer of sticky rice paste to protect the painting and their colors. They are so long lasting, so that it is very difficult to make them dimmer even time or daylight.

Dong Ho Painting has produced hundreds of famous works such as the romantic and humorous “Catching coconuts”, “Teacher” which captures old educational practice and “Jealousy scene” satirizing the polygamous system. But the most famous ones are the pictures of pigs with Ying and Yang circles on the bodies. People in the countryside used to buy Dong Ho pictures for decoration during Tet.

In the past, December was the month households started to produce pictures for Tet. Dong Ho pictures were sold at most rural markets. Those who went shopping for Tet never failed to bring home several Dong Ho pictures, believing they would bring good luck.