According to legend, watermelons were brought to
Vietnam by An Tiem, the adopted son of King Hung Vuong. Married to the king’s
daughter, the king’s court became jealous of An Tiem and exiled him and his
wife to a remote island. Stranded on the barren island, An Tiem noticed the sea
birds pecking at some black seeds. He decided to plant the seeds and watched as
the fruit grow larger and larger. When his wife finally tasted the cool and
sweet pulp she wept with joy and named the fruit “tay qua”, or “watermelon”,
after the sound of the bird’s cry. Desperate to reach the king, An Tiem wrote
his name on the watermelons and set them adrift in the ocean. Eventually they
were brought to King Hung Vuong and, impressed by An Tiem’s resourcefulness, he
sent for his beloved son and daughter to be brought back to him.
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In 1957 Trung Chin, the Minister of Information for the
Northern Democratic Republic of Vietnam, paraphrased the well-known
Leninist dogma, declaring, 'Art is only real art if it becomes propaganda'.
Over the ...
Read More
In 1957 Trung Chin, the Minister of Information for the
Northern Democratic Republic of Vietnam, paraphrased the well-known
Leninist dogma, declaring, 'Art is only real art if it becomes propaganda'.
Over the next three decades, as the country fought against the French, the
Americans and the Cambodian Khmer Rouge, the Vietnamese ‘art force’ played an
essential part in relaying the government’s message to a difficult to reach
population. Amid bombing campaigns and land battles, the artists cycled their
posters to villages across Vietnam. Despite these brutal conditions they
created works of striking originality, pieces that combined 1960s Soviet art
with Vietnam’s own folk art traditions.
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Details and Dimensions
15 x 10.5"
A silk-screen reproduction of
the original propaganda poster on rice paper.