Finding a new direction for painting

(Baonghean) - Devoting all their passion to painting, with many works leaving their mark in the art world, artists cannot make a living from their profession. In the new trend, artists "switch" and do other side jobs such as graphic engineering; embroidery printing, advertising design...

Passion

When talking about Nghe An fine arts, we cannot help but mention veteran artists such as Tran Minh Chau, Ho Thiet Trinh, Nguyen Dinh Truyen, Tran Hoang Trung... Most of these famous artists are active members participating in the province's fine arts activities; they participate in annual exhibitions and reap noble awards, certificates of merit, and fine arts prizes. That generation of artists has contributed significantly to making the province's fine arts make its own mark on the fine arts "map" of the whole country.

Painter Nguyen Dinh Truyen (Viet Duc Children's Cultural House - Vinh City) opens an art review class for high school students.

Entering the small, simple house on Nguyen Sy Sach Street (Vinh City) of artist - sculptor Tran Minh Chau, we felt like we were lost in the space of a mini art museum. A series of paintings were hung on the wall and large and small statues were meticulously arranged by him from the yard, garden to the living room. He proudly introduced to us the sculptures that had won noble awards from the Vietnam Fine Arts Association such as: "Love of the border"; "Tan Tao", "Nhat Nong" ... No matter what position he held, from an employee of a photography art workshop in the 80s; or later a provincial cultural management officer, artist Tran Minh Chau still had a deep love for painting - sculpture. After work, he spent time on paintings and statues. He said that although life was difficult before, he always tried to save every small salary to invest in buying painting materials. To cast a statue weighing 10 kg, the cost of purchasing materials such as composite, fiberglass, molds, etc. has reached several million VND; there are statues that cost up to 2-3 billion VND, which takes several months of saving salary to complete. For him, it seems that all activities related to art are just to exchange profession and to be able to unleash his creativity.

Up to now, there are many works of plaster relief, terracotta, monuments creating a majestic, solid impression bearing the mark of artist - sculptor Tran Minh Chau being displayed at historical sites, agencies and schools in the province. Notably: Victory Monument at Truong Bon Historical Site, Nguyen Tat Thanh Monument at Nguyen Tat Thanh Park (Vinh City), Monument of 72 Soviet - Nghe Tinh soldiers at Trang Ke Historical Site (Yen Thanh)... However, he still confided very honestly that most of his award-winning works in exhibitions are still kept in the "family museum"; only a few pieces were sold for double his salary in the 80s, which was more than 60 VND/month. In recent years, the award-winning works have not had buyers; each year, they only participate in a few art works upon request.

And artist Nguyen Dinh Truyen - the next generation of artists, currently the Head of the Fine Arts Department, the Provincial Literature and Arts Association, is considered the author of woodcut and papercut works with freshness and openness in lines and shapes. His assets of more than 30 years of holding a paintbrush are more than 70 paintings of many genres. His works of art have left a special mark such as the painting "Afternoon in the Countryside" which won the Third Prize of the Vietnam Literature and Arts Association (2007) or the painting "Mid-Autumn Festival", Third Prize of the North Central Regional Exhibition in 2009... And another job associated with his profession is to pass on his love of art to generations of students. Artist Nguyen Dinh Truyen has been an art teacher at the Viet Duc Children's Cultural House for more than 20 years. His love of art has "borne fruit" in the form of students who have won domestic and international art awards such as: Dau Thanh Huong, Vo Bich Thoa, Phan Thanh Nhan...

To “feed” his passion for art, artist Dinh Truyen opened university entrance exam preparation classes for students taking the V and H exams regularly every year. In addition, he also printed and embroidered advertising signs to earn extra income. He also painted a large number of paintings, more than 30 of which only a few were sold, such as the woodcut “Chieu Que” which was sold for 15 million VND, the rest still “quietly” lay in the corner of the small room where the artist often sat to create.

Painter Dinh Truyen confided that the environment for artistic activities in our province is still poor; the painter profession has few opportunities to develop. Therefore, although the passion for the profession is great, the "profession" cannot support him, so most painters in his time work in a "patchwork" manner; therefore, the life of a painter is often difficult.

Turn sideways…

Artists in Nghe An are only allowed to participate in regional exhibitions held once a year, creative camps held once every two years and national exhibitions held once every five years. Art exchange activities in the province are very limited, almost non-existent. There is a lack of art galleries to introduce, sell paintings or exchange professions. Therefore, fewer and fewer young people pursue painting. In the Provincial Fine Arts Board, the youngest member is almost 40 years old; each year only a few new members are recruited. Today's young generation are mostly people who have received formal training at universities and colleges. However, the works of young artists displayed in regional exhibitions are both sparse and appear "immature". Thus, the "gap" in Nghe An's art playground is still unknown when it can be filled.

To explain the current career development trend of young artists, we went to Nghe An College of Culture and Arts, the only place in the province that trains in Fine Arts. If 5 years ago the number of students in the faculty was nearly 150 students/course, in recent years, the number of students has gradually decreased. Up to now, on average, each course has only 45-50 students. According to Master Le Vu Anh, Vice Principal of the school, currently, of the students in the Faculty of Fine Arts, about 30% of students major in Applied Fine Arts, the rest are in Fine Arts Pedagogy; as for painting, in the past 2 years, the number of students taking the entrance exam was so low that the school could not open a separate major but merged it into pedagogy classes.

In reality, when painting does not have much development environment, most students choose Applied Fine Arts to develop their careers. After graduating with a major in graphic design, Faculty of Fine Arts K42, Nghe An College of Culture and Arts (a major considered "hot" today), Doan Van Phu became a graphic artist at the Green Architecture and Construction Design Company, specializing in interior and exterior decoration, gardens, miniature landscapes... He shared, fine art painting has been my passion since I was a child. However, instead of choosing painting, I chose to become a graphic artist to suit the current trend. This job not only satisfies my passion for painting through murals, reliefs, statues... but also brings me an income of 8-10 million VND/month to ensure my life".

As for Mr. Duong Xuan Tung K15, Faculty of Fine Arts, Nghe An College of Culture and Arts, after graduating with a major in Fine Arts Pedagogy, he studied Graphic Design. Thanks to his good skills, he is currently collaborating with two companies specializing in advertising design and interior design; so his income from work is quite high (over 10 million VND/month). With a busy job and little time for artistic creation, he mainly conveys his aesthetic emotions through each product. Because for him, each product he creates, whether it is an advertising image for a product, a brand or a mural, is made with all his heart like a work of art. The success of the "work" lies in the recognition of customers.

Mr. Le Van Hai, a long-time lecturer in Graphic Arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Nghe An College of Culture and Arts, shared: Most students now choose to study Applied Arts, because the social demand for these jobs is currently quite large, most students have jobs after graduating. They can apply their knowledge in advertising design, product branding, interior and exterior decoration, industrial design, etc.

Struggling for a new direction

The "sidetrack" of artists can be considered as a flexible adjustment to survive and develop the profession. However, there is one thing we cannot help but wonder, where will the art of painting go when the "senior" generation of artists in our province "returns to their roots"?! The current generation of young artists participating in "art playgrounds" is very sparse. Only a few young artists make an effort to find opportunities to exchange and develop their profession in big cities and even abroad, where the painting industry is developed. Master Le Vu Anh - Vice Principal of the Provincial College of Culture and Arts, who is also a talented young artist, also chooses to develop his career in that direction. He has had the opportunity to exhibit and sell his works at a gallery in Paris (France). Every year, on average, about 15 works by artist Le Vu Anh are sold here at prices ranging from 20 to 30 million VND/piece. Most of his paintings are painted with oil paints, so the investment cost for each painting only accounts for about 20% of the selling price. Therefore, he still regularly creates and "feeds" his passion with the income from his artworks. Although that number is not much, it is the dream of many young artists in our province today.

According to artist Le Vu Anh, in order for the art of painting to coexist with applied art, in line with the current development trend, the creators themselves, those who love painting also need to create connections, connect with each other, organize more exchange activities, and fine art exhibitions in the area. The artists themselves also need to proactively create opportunities for exchange, connection, build art galleries, create an environment for young artists to express themselves and exchange with each other. At the same time, they also need to proactively integrate and create the need for enjoyment, aesthetic needs, open up wide approaches to painting to connect with customers. Because building art galleries requires a large amount of funding; so the construction needs to be socialized; create opportunities for young artists to introduce and sell products and take a percentage for these galleries to maintain their operations. These art galleries can be opened at tourist attractions, both to attract visitors and to introduce and sell products to domestic and foreign tourists.

In addition, the association of those working in the painting profession also needs to have connections with travel centers, event organizers, and construction design consulting units to diversify the markets for selling paintings. Proactively approach and introduce and promote works on websites and promotional environments that have strong interactions with potential users of paintings. Thereby stimulating the demand for using paintings, opening up new directions for the painting profession in the integration trend.

Article and photos:Dinh Nguyet