"We are proud to have Vietnamese Heroic Mothers"

Artist Dang Ai Viet. Photo: chandungme.vn

Artist Dang Ai Viet, whose real name is Dang Thi Bong, is 77 years old this year. She is from Cai Lay district, Tien Giang province. She is famous for her project of painting portraits of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers all over the country. At the age of 15, with her love for art and her love for the Fatherland, she became an actress of the My Tho Provincial Art Troupe. After being sent to study the short-term Liberation Painting class in July 1964, she went to work at the Liberation Women's Newspaper when she was only 16 years old. After the country's reunification, she continued to study at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts, graduated in 1981 and became an art lecturer. Artist Dang Ai Viet retired in 2003 and began her journey of participating in social activities for the community.

In particular, from February 19, 2010 to present, she has been and is continuing to carry out the art work of sketching portraits of living Vietnamese Heroic Mothers across the country, with more than 3,000 works. In 2010, 2011 and 2013, she was successively recognized by the Vietnam Book of Records Center and the Asia Book of Records as the first woman to use a Chaly motorbike to travel across 63 provinces and cities to sketch portraits of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers and the person who drew the most portraits of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers. On April 14, 2021, the female artist was honored to be awarded the title "Hero of Labor in the Renovation Period".

Some new works by artist Dang Ai Viet. Screenshot

The image of an elderly woman, carrying her belongings on an old Chaly motorbike, traveling across the country to paint portraits of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers has moved many people. Next to each portrait, the female artist has a brief description of the mother being painted, signed and stamped with confirmation by the local authorities. 3,000 portraits encapsulate the heart and brushstrokes of a woman from the West who has gone through years of war. Artist Dang Ai Viet shared: "What I paint is not the faces of the mothers but their souls."

WebGIS Portraits of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers by HCMGIS, launched during the historic days of April, is even more meaningful. This website introduces 3,000 portraits of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, along with information about the mothers. The website's great design is a map of Vietnam, with attached images of mothers according to administrative boundaries for easy searching. For example, when wanting to see images of mothers in Ninh Kieu district, or Phong Dien district... of Can Tho city, just click on the map and the information will appear. From there, it was very touching when we were able to see again the portrait of Vietnamese Heroic Mother Pham Thi No, born in 1932 in An Binh ward, Ninh Kieu district. She had a husband and an only child who sacrificed their lives in the war to protect the Fatherland from 1972 - 1978. The portrait was drawn by the artist on March 31, 2011. Or the portrait of Vietnamese Heroic Mother Pham Thi Nen, born in 1922, in Long Hoa ward, Binh Thuy district, painted in 2014. Her husband and two children died in the war to protect the Fatherland from 1961 to 1969... As the artist Dang Ai Viet said, each painting is not simply a portrait, but deep down is the thoughts, hearts, and feelings of mothers. The more you look at it, the more you admire and feel proud of Heroic Mothers.

In February 2010, artist Dang Ai Viet composed a poem, with the following passage: “Mother sheds her red heart and blood for the Fatherland. Her children go and paint the country red. Her flesh and blood - her children bring back to the land. Mother Vietnam! Brave children - Heroic mother”. Admiring the female artist’s paintings, reading the poems she wrote, is truly admirable!

DANG HUYNH

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/-tu-hao-chung-con-co-me-viet-nam-anh-hung--a185882.html