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| This portrait of Tran Tien was taken in a very lively style at a school. |
This is the first comprehensive publication on the portrait of musician Tran Tien, encompassing his memories, musical style, musical works, and life stories recounted through his own narrative prose, along with those of his friends, art lovers, and numerous previously unpublished images.
Photography conveys a message of freedom and love.
Photography plays a significant role in portraying the portrait and spirit of an improvisational folk artist who lived and wrote many representative works spanning various periods of the country's history, from the war for national independence, the post-war period of subsidized economy, to contemporary life today. Photography also "takes responsibility" for conveying the message of the musician born in 1947 (79 years old): "People live for each other… If you love, you will reap the rewards."
In Part 1: Tran Tien's Improvisations , the documentary images are mostly black and white or yellowish-tinged color photographs, deeply imbued with nostalgia, very characteristic of the era when cameras took pictures and developed film, and printed them onto photo paper that faded over time. These photographs bear the mark of the musician's inner self-portraits of Hanoi memories, the image of his mother, and the once-famous music programs. Especially the early 1990s with the emergence of the Countryside Folk Music group – and now, looking back at the photos of him playing the guitar with artists Hong Ngoc, Tran Tai… on an open-top jeep performing everywhere from ships to rice paddies, along the country's roads, borders, and islands, Tran Tien exclaims: "That was the most beautiful time of my life."
Part 2: Songs & Stories features 108 representative songs by Tran Tien, with lyrics that are "beautiful as poetry" and brimming with gratitude. The public has access to a valuable archive of photographs: scraps of handwritten sheet music, covered in blue and red ink, underlined lines, corrections, erasures, handwritten letters, short notes—sometimes just a few lines—and pages of music theory written on yellowed paper… These images truly serve as witnesses to time, preserving the most authentic, sincere, and creative aspects of Tran Tien.
The team successfully portrayed an artist who "lives honestly and always yearns to live and sing as he pleases." Their efforts and photographic vision, along with their timeless handling of photographic materials, created a visual "musical score" of Tran Tien for the public. "Even the musician himself might not remember all these moments of his life," said Artistic Director Duy Dao.
Images, words, and music blend together.
Tran Tien - The Singer of His Own Poetry contains many photos of Tran Tien with the people around him. His loving mother, his eldest brother, the "hero Samson" of the family: People's Artist Tran Hieu (born in 1936), friends, close companions, deceased relatives, and especially senior figures like musician Trinh Cong Son, who had a great influence on him during his lifetime.
"My whole life has always been about the desire to live," composer Tran Tien expressed. But what about the comments and assessments from fellow artists, journalists, and those who have accompanied composer Tran Tien through many stages of his creative journey? The final section of this publication is a rich collection and sharing of perspectives on the person and music of this unique freelance/wandering artist of Vietnamese music, Tran Tien.
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A key factor contributing to the "flourishing" of the photography in that publication is Duy Dao (Dao Duc Duy) - a top graduate in design from Art Center College of Design (California, USA) and the first Vietnamese designer/creative director to receive a Grammy Award nomination in 2024 in the Special Publication Design category for the album "Gieo" by the band Ngot. He led the team developing the visual design for the publication " Tran Tien - The Singer of His Poetry" with a contemporary visual perspective.
Speaking to Dong Nai Newspaper and Radio & Television, Duy Dao said: “We approached Tran Tien's legacy not through mere illustration, but through a new visual structure: powerful, restrained, respecting the spirit of folk music and the author's free personality. In the summer of 2024, we spent many days living with the musician in Vung Tau, working under the midday sun, sharing bowls of pho and simple meals… along with countless stories and spontaneous laughter.”
The portrait photography team for Tran Tien, led by photographer Lam Nguy – a renowned photographer of the 9X generation, especially in the field of artist portraits and fashion art – was headed by Lam Nguy. The supporting team included: Manh Phung, An Dang, Bao Nguyen, Mike Pham, Ba Thi, Thanh Draw, Colin Tran, and Hiep Hoang. To capture the photo for the poster included in the publication, Lam Nguy brought along a team of nearly 20 people, working all day just to get the most satisfactory picture of musician Tran Tien.
Trung Nghia
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/dong-nai-cuoi-tuan/202601/nhac-si-tran-tien-nguoi-hat-tho-minh-19624ad/
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