Poetry and music in art photos by Musician An Thuyen

(Baonghean) - For a long time, many of us have probably only known An Thuyen as a musician, a giant in the Vietnamese music industry, without thinking that he is also a talented photographer.

An Thuyen picked up the camera very early, like other photographers, he traveled a lot, took many photos of the countryside, especially the sunny, windy countryside where he was born and raised. The year-end markets, the dikes, the ferry, the vast mulberry fields on the green alluvial strip of Lam River, the leisurely herds of buffaloes or the golden rice fields with the occasional stork in the bright summer afternoon... were all recorded by him, arranged as a kind of memory. An Thuyen's photos are as rustic as the intimacy of the Central region. Not smooth but profound, quiet but full of humanity.

Musician An Thuyen is also a talented photographer.

I still remember, around the early 1990s, when I returned to my hometown in Quynh Thang commune, Quynh Luu district, the photo “Neo dau ben que” was taken by An Thuyen there. The boat was quietly anchored on the flooded road, it seemed like it was anchored there, waiting for someone and waiting for something. The photo brought to the viewer nostalgia, love and thoughts. The nostalgia, the love made us feel tormented, forced to think and ponder. Perhaps, it was from this photo that in 1993, the famous song “Neo dau ben que” by An Thuyen was born. Both: the photo and the song named “Neo dau ben que” were truly the author’s deep feelings.

In 1996, when the First International Photo Contest and Exhibition (VN96), the first international photo contest organized by Vietnam under the auspices of the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), received 3,036 works from more than a thousand authors from 42 countries and regions across the continents, the Jury consisting of 7 famous photographers in the world directly judged and selected 150 works to display at the exhibition. The photo "Anchoring at the hometown wharf" by An Thuyen entered the top 150 with a worthy position.

After “Neo doi wharf que”, in the following years, 3 of his works were consecutively selected to be exhibited at national photo exhibitions. It must be said that in a photography career, many people just strive to have one work exhibited nationwide, which is already difficult, but for An Thuyen, he has had 4 works exhibited nationwide and dozens of photographic works exhibited in Hanoi, localities and countries around the world. This is truly a great effort.

Later, when I heard more about An Thuyen's songs and musical works, I realized one thing: With An Thuyen, photos and music seem to have become one. In his musical works, images are depicted, captured like a photo. "Nine steps of stairs, nine steps of love", then "I choose this path" or "the afternoon ferry leaves the dock, the herd of buffaloes slowly outside the dike"... not heavy, harsh but creating an impression, the images in the song seem to rush in, hitting the listener's eyes. On the contrary, when looking at An Thuyen's photos, the viewer feels something vague, sensual, with a sweet, gentle taste in the throat.

In An Thuyen's photos, many compositions are relatively strange, repeated over and over again. And then, these refrains seem to create verses, musical notes that make the photos soft, flexible, easy for viewers to absorb, creating touching emotions. That shows An Thuyen's cleverness and talent. That cleverness and talent is the smooth combination of music, poetry and photos. In An Thuyen, music, poetry and photos have become one, creating a glue that captivates people's hearts. And, photography has truly contributed its role to the success in the music field of Musician An Thuyen.

One more thing, I would like to add. If the musical instrument collection is huge, An Thuyen's camera collection also makes many people admire. To have that collection is a whole lot of frugality in his daily life.

Farewell, we mourn a talent, a sentimental person, a multi-talented person. An Thuyen is the one who "extracts" the essence of the Central region in music, poetry and photography.

Article and photos:Vu Van Canh