What do war painters depict during wartime?

Fifty years ago, art classes of the Central Committee of the Southern Region were opened in the dense forests of Ca Mau, Tay Ninh, Dong Thap Muoi... in all kinds of terrain: amidst fierce bombing, in bunkers, in makeshift camps...

Since then, artists have left behind incredibly realistic works depicting this period.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of national reunification, Kim Dong Publishing House has just released a special book , "The Mekong River in the Flames of War – Sketches and Poems." This is an artbook containing sketches, watercolors, poems, and letters by artist-soldiers created right on the battlefield during the war against the US.

The Mekong River in Flames - Sketches and Poems is a special artbook.

PHOTO: PUBLISHER

This book was compiled by Sherry Buchanan and Nam Anandaroopa Nguyen, and translated into Vietnamese by Phan Thanh Hảo.

Battlefield artist: for the Fatherland and for the people

The battlefield artists were part of the cultural support troops for the Southern battlefield from the very beginning. These included Huỳnh Phương Đông, Lê Lam, Nguyễn Văn Trừ, Nguyễn Thanh Châu…

From Hanoi , they crossed the Truong Son Mountains to the South along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Artist Huynh Phuong Dong shared in an article: "As an artist, I went to the battlefield to record the suffering that war causes. My paintings record history through art."

Created during wartime, under a hail of bombs and bullets, in dark bunkers, with enemy tanks just meters away..., each artwork is also a visual record of history. But more than that, the artists authentically captured images of soldiers' lives, the home front, and the battlefield landscapes of Southern Vietnam, from Tay Ninh and Ben Tre to Ca Mau, during the period 1964-1975.

The artists realistically captured images of soldiers' lives, the home front, and the battlefield landscapes of Southern Vietnam.

PHOTO: PUBLISHER

The lyrical images of soldiers, children, mothers, mountains, forests, tunnels, and villages emerge amidst the gunfire, expressing love for their homeland, courage, and a yearning for peace . Even in the midst of war, they "remain steadfast in their belief in beauty and life," as artist Pham Thanh Tam shared.

They captured vivid moments, filled with love and unwavering faith in humanity. The artists passionately painted portraits of everyone from young messengers and soldiers to local guerrillas, sculpting the faces of heroic Vietnamese people in battle.

The book also features poems by two "great writers" of resistance literature, Nguyen Duy and Le Anh Xuan. For example, the poem "The Stance of Vietnam" praises the sacrifice of the liberation army soldiers. The poems are interwoven with moving accounts, diaries, and letters sent from the battlefield, creating a diverse range of emotions.

The journey of two international authors

Besides the valuable source material, what is noteworthy about this work is the person who compiled this material.

Having first learned about Vietnamese resistance art through Tran Trung Tin's paintings "Young Woman," "Gun and Flowers, " and then coincidentally admiring the painting "Crossing the Ba Thac River ," American journalist and curator Sherry Buchanan was so moved that she decided to embark on a journey to research, collect, and introduce to the world works of Vietnamese war art.

The Mekong River engulfed in flames – Sketches and poems are the result of Sherry Buchanan's artistic journey.

PHOTO: PUBLISHER

And the Mekong River engulfed in flames – Sketches and poems   It is a result of that artistic journey.

Together with Nam Anandaroopa Nguyen – a Vietnamese-American art researcher – Sherry traveled throughout Vietnam for nearly two decades (1998-2015), interviewing dozens of wartime artists, collecting sketches, watercolors, and previously unpublished documents.

The Mekong River in flames – sketches and poems, therefore, is a valuable source of information that helps the younger generation better understand the resistance war from an emotional, humane, and vivid perspective. Artistically, it is a unique visual heritage, recreating, through lines and colors, a tragic chapter in Vietnamese history.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cac-hoa-si-chien-truong-ve-gi-trong-chien-war-185250425192622083.htm