Propaganda art is well-known in Vietnam and has proved highly popular with tourists but in this era of mass-marketing, billboard advertisements and TV commercials is anyone producing original propaganda art anymore?Â
Vietnam’s President Ho Chi Minh once said “when propaganda reaches a certain result, it becomes art. When a kind of art reaches a certain standard, it becomes propaganda.”

Uncle Ho certainly knew the importance of urging on his country’s people and in socialist countries propaganda art has always been used to spread messages to the masses. During wars, posters throughout the country urged the people of Vietnam to battle the invader for the glory of Vietnam. Farmers were encouraged to till the land. In the 1990s HIV/ AIDS campaigns in the countryside relied heavily on propaganda posters.

Since Vietnam’s inception as a socialist state in 1945, propaganda artists were under orders to tap the country’s revolutionary and populist spirit. Through times of hope and times of despair, the artists sought to capture the demands and trends of the nation.

The most animated periods of painting were during the reunification movement and the war against the US (1954-1975). The artists were not safely ensconced in a studio in Hanoi. Often he would be amongst the action.

Pham Thanh Liem, a professor from Vietnam University of Fine Arts, was officially appointed by the State as a propaganda artist in the DMZ where he lived and worked from 1963 to 1972.
“For seven years I worked and lived a miserable existence in the narrow tunnel of Vinh Linh in Quang Tri province as the US bombers attacked. Every day I witnessed the sufferings and death of innocent people. I could not run away,” he says.

One propaganda painting created by Liem was put up on the north side of Hien Luong riverbank from 1969-1971 opposite the propaganda art on the south side of the river where US-backed Southern Vietnam troops were stationed.

“Whenever US bombs destroyed the paintings, the locals would help me to re-make the picture immediately,” recalls Liem. “Besides the larger works along the river, smaller paintings were also stuck on the walls of the tunnels! The paintings with simple and clear colours and shapes could even be seen in the dim light of the tunnel.”

“How to guide”
So what makes a good propaganda painting? Liem says the design should not be abstract or impressionistic – the message should be clear and easily understood.
“Propaganda must be drawn so that people just have to look once to understand the message,” says Liem. “So passing pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists only need a second to see the painting.”

“Strong colours, uncomplicated graphics, familiar symbols which all have a direct impact. Images and words must both be direct, quick and without hidden meaning.”

“Brave new world… ”
When the country finally emerged from a decades-long war for independence another difficult period ensued as the national economy floundered. Propaganda art served another purpose: Bolstering the nation’s self-esteem; encouraging people to work hard.

In modern times Vietnam there’s plenty of competition for eye-catching public visuals. Increasingly posters became lost amongst the clutter of gaudy buildings, neon lights, advertising boards and high rise buildings, which overwhelmed propaganda art’s visual effectiveness.

But the propaganda artists still working today all firmly believe the government and the party still have a real need for this sort of art. Now posters depict the country’s rapid urbanisation and economic prosperity or office workers and computer programmers as well as the soldiers and farmers who dominated this art form a few decades ago. You might see posters for APEC or the Hanoi Millennium.

The government is certainly still keen on propaganda art and in recent years has been paying the genre more attention again.

A number of competitions and exhibitions to promote and showcase propaganda art have been held this year alone. One in Hai Phong celebrated the 50th anniversary of the expansion of Truong Son road (part of the “Ho Chi Minh Tail”) and the 55th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory. Sixty artists from different generations contributed 105 works.

During Tet an exhibition of propaganda art was held in Hanoi in response to the theme “Study and follow examples of Uncle Ho” with 48 pieces of art submitted by 33 artists.

Last June, the Ministry of Culture and Information organised a drawing contest in order to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the People’s Army and the popular response to the resolutions of the Central Government on agriculture, rural areas and farmers. Results will be announced on December 22. Another contest was also held during the recent Thang Long-Hanoi Millennium Anniversary.

“Room for propaganda art”

Liem believes that propaganda art and advertising posters can co-exist. According to the artist the state knows how to get their message across to people and people need to know what leaders want. In his mind it will never disappear.

Noticeably, drawing contests attract both young and old artists. But Liem is not convinced that younger artists capture the quintessential essence of the oeuvre. He claims younger artists rely on modern techniques too much.

“Propaganda artists in the past always drew everything by hand, so their work is more lively and emotional,” says Liem, who is also dismissive of the galleries, which flog propaganda art to tourists. “Propaganda paintings sold at galleries are mostly fakes or reproductions of famous paintings made in 1950-1980s.”

“An authority on the matter”

The 80-year old Tran Mai who lives at 17 Cua Nam street famously drew one propaganda painting for every day that the city of Hanoi and Vietnamese army fought against the US air force.
He recalls the night the US force attacked Hanoi Railway Station. He braved the possibility of being bombed and stayed at his small house where he painted through the night. The next morning his painting was put up by Hoan Kiem Lake, reporting the number of US aircraft which were shot down the day before.

Mai is also the only artist who has been selected to draw propaganda paintings for seven continuous terms of party congress. “Drawing propaganda paintings looks easy, but it is really difficult because this type of painting is political propaganda, mainly aimed at mobilising the people to implement State policies,” says Mai.

“The propaganda artist must be able to generalise the contents, use bright colours, strong, refined words, which are concise, precise, creating a conviction in the viewers.”Â
Source: Time-out