(VOV) – ‘I’m very moved to praise painter Dang Ai Viet for her artistic portraits of Vietnam’s Heroic Mothers’, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung remarked at an exhibition called ‘Graceful drawing lines’ a year ago on the occasion of the 65 anniversary of the Vietnamese Martyrs and War Invalids Day. Viet was recognized in May to have set a record for drawing the most portraits of Vietnamese heroic mothers. The 60-year-old painter said the 1,000 paintings is her way of paying tribute to these women for their great sacrifice and indomitable spirit.
Dang Ai Viet long nurtured the dream of touring the country painting heroic mothers. In 2010 she was finally able to begin the journey. Having worked for the Vietnam Liberated Women’s Union during the American war, Viet understands and respects the role these women played in wartime.
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| The 60-year-old painter Dang Ai Viet has set a record for drawing the most portraits of Vietnamese heroic mothers (Photo: Archive/ http://kyluc.vn) |
In February, 2010, Viet began her tour on an old Chaly motorbike, visiting the homes of these special women all over the country. In a bit more than 3 years, as of April of this year, she has managed to paint 1,122 portraits of heroic Vietnamese mothers. She calls what she has done ‘a race with time to record the images of the mothers of those who sacrificed their lives for the Vietnamese nation’. Viet says “I respect all heroic Vietnamese mothers both in my mind and in my heart. They shared the same pain of losing their sons during the war. Some like the mothers who only had one son, leave me with special commiseration. I can still remember each one of them.”
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| On the old Chaly motorbike, Dang Ai Viet has traveled all over the country and drawn 1,122 portraits of heroic Vietnamese mothers. (http://laodong.com.vn) |
Viet says each portrait is a story telling younger generations about the sacrifices and losses that bought today’s independence. She adds “the biggest difficulty in drawing heroic Vietnamese mothers is drawing their eyes, which reflect many contradictions. It’s a blessing the mothers now can live in peace with a better life, but it’s a tragedy that they lost their sons. When I draw them, I go with their memories. I talked with them and listened to each of their stories to better understand them and create a connection for the artistic works.”
Viet on her motorbike has traveled to cities and provinces nationwide, from the North to the South, and from the lowlands to the mountains, visiting hundreds of heroic Vietnamese mothers.
During her trip, Viet has been lucky not to get seriously ill. Sometimes, feeling tired or exhausted, she stopped and took a short nap in her hammock, then continued on her way. Viet has adopted a very simple lifestyle. In the eyes of the mothers she has painted, she is dedicated and has a close connection with others. Mother Cao Thi Duc, of Phuc Tho district, Hanoi, shared her thoughts with VOV “I just sat on my bed while she painted me. She painted me from 9 a.m to noon. When lunch time came, she stayed and ate with my family”.
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| Dang Ai Viet has donated her portraits to the Vietnam Women’s Museum and the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum to preserve the work for posterity (Photo: http://ven.vn) |
Viet’s portraits have been donated to the Vietnam Women’s Museum and the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum to preserve her work for posterity. Painter Tran Khanh Chuong, a colleague of Ai Viet’s, says “I admire Dang Ai Viet’s travels throughout 63 provinces and cities of the country on her motorbike. It is not easy to sketch heroic Vietnamese mothers with true feeling and sprit, but Viet has done it successfully. That’s her great achievement”.
Despite setting the record for the most portraits of heroic Vietnamese mothers, Viet says that, for her, painting the mothers was a way of paying tribute to them for their great sacrifice and undaunted spirit.
She says she’s proud to have met and sketched the portraits of so many heroic mothers, but regrets that she has drawn only about a third of all the heroic mothers nationwide.
VOV