Art and goodness

First of all, I must openly confess that the writer of this article is an outsider in painting, even though since childhood I have been crazy about paintings like “Golden Autumn” (Levitan), “Em Thuy” (Tran Van Can), or “Young girl with lilies” (To Ngoc Van). I love paintings with an innate sense, where the good messages emanate from the works. I do not have specialized knowledge in painting, but I am confident that a large part of the masses do not. Painting expertise is a special and rare ability that nature only “shares” with a small number of people, not universally.

However, like any other art form, even if we are laymen, we all have the right to love and hate, and even more so, the right to express our feelings. I would like to emphasize that: expressing thoughts is one of the rights that “no one can deny”. Personally, the author of this article refutes the view that “If you do not have expertise, you cannot discuss”. Sir, saying that is no different from covering people’s mouths with your hand.

Outside the Dien Bien Phu exhibition venue. Photo: T.D/TTO

As stated above, artists only account for a very small proportion of the community. They are truly talents extracted from life, they need to be respected, protected and supported by us. Not everyone who knows how to hold a brush can become an artist. Someone once said something like: drawing is easy for those who don't know how to draw, but drawing is very difficult for those who know how to draw. The genius painter Vincent Van Gogh once said: "Paintings also have souls, and their souls are taken from the soul of the artist." Indeed, no matter how extraordinary your intelligence is, you cannot create a work of art with clumsy hands. On the contrary, no matter how skillful your hands are, you will never have a valuable work of art if it is controlled by an unkind heart. Art in general and painting in particular is a balanced convergence of intelligence, talent and personality. Any deficiency can lead to distortion.

Back to the story that has been "hot" in the past few days. As we know, on May 7, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports requested to temporarily suspend the exhibition "Dien Bien Phu" by painter Mai Duy Minh on the grounds that "there is information that some paintings may cause misunderstandings". In particular, the painting "soldiers holding torn flags" caused controversy. This unit also announced that it would establish a re-evaluation council and give a conclusion in the shortest time possible. It should also be added that the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports had previously issued License No. 133/GP-SVHTT for this exhibition. According to the plan, painter Mai Duy Minh will display 88 works at the Museum, Vietnam University of Fine Arts from May 7 to May 20. However, after receiving a document from the Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibitions (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports decided to request the organizing committee to stop the opening. After this noisy incident, a representative of the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports affirmed: The Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports worked with the author, the venue management agency and related parties to agree to temporarily stop organizing the exhibition with the theme "Dien Bien Phu".

The announcement by the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports stated: "After receiving information about the exhibition, there were still different opinions about some works that needed to be clarified to avoid misunderstandings, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports worked with the author and the venue management agency to request a temporary suspension, and the relevant parties agreed to temporarily suspend the exhibition. After reaching a conclusion, the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports will notify relevant units and individuals."

The main painting in the exhibition is said to be the reason why the exhibition had to be suspended. Photo: TD

Of course, with incidents like this, the online community never "let go". The suspension of the "Dien Bien Phu" painting exhibition has created a heated debate, even at times fierce in public opinion. The so-called "artists" side said that this was a strict act against artistic creation. However, the majority (after seeing the painting "torn flag") unanimously affirmed that the suspension by the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports was correct and necessary. The vast majority said that the painting "soldiers holding torn flags" does not represent the image of Dien Bien soldiers "Famous in five continents, shaking the earth". The author exaggerated the image too much, the feeling of malice when depicting a soldier who is too skinny, austere, with a torn flag in his hand, and even a somewhat fierce face.

Presenting his personal opinion, journalist Chien Van wrote: "It is difficult to understand that some people still praise and defend the author of a painting depicting a Dien Bien soldier in a heroic historical moment of the nation with a distorted, deformed face, eyes that seem to be deformed, and a hand holding a torn, dirty flag. They think that is art. And art must reflect reality.

I don't know much about painting, but when I look at the painting, I see three things: One, the overall picture is too bad. Two, it doesn't reflect reality. Three, I feel that the person who painted this picture doesn't have a positive view. People with a national spirit, when imagining the Dien Bien soldiers, will immediately think of a heroic, majestic, dignified, and glorious image. How could a victory of "world-shaking, earth-shattering" magnitude be recreated through this shabby, dirty, and distorted image? It is true that art must respect creativity, it cannot be imposed or rigid. But no matter how creative, it must aim for beauty and positivity, especially when wanting to display it in a solemn place, on the occasion of an important anniversary of the country". However, on the contrary, there are also opinions speaking up to protect the author and the work, such as: "This painting cannot be considered as a painting directed by the Government to be drawn and forced to follow the main ideology of the person who "set the topic".

Yes, maybe no one directly "set the question", but Dien Bien Phu was a people's war, the victory of Dien Bien Phu was the victory of the whole nation. When it comes to Dien Bien Phu, it is assumed that history has "set the question", the people have "set the question". The exhibition of works about Dien Bien Phu on the occasion of the "May 7th" anniversary is of course not a limited space for exchanging works for a group of people. It seems to touch the deep sacred land of millions of Vietnamese people. We respect art very much, but please do not let art go astray or intentionally. Art should not be separated from life. Art always needs to be guided by goodness.