The scenes of an old mid-autumn festival started with the lion dance troupe. Shading autumn moon with the idea of a world interwoven between the past, present, and future, represented on the Laccol of Rhus succedanea medium is extremely appealing and evokes a fairy-tale childhood.
HOÀNG HỮU VÂN (Born in 1982). Shading autumn moon. 2018. Laccol of Rhus succedanea. 120×200 cm
The full moon of the eighth month (lunar calendar) since 1945 has become the Mid-Autumn Festival that Việt Nam especially dedicated to children. In history, the small differences between the past and the present accumulate to create big changes. Mid-Autumn Festival in Việt Nam, past and present, is not the same. Culture follows the integration of the economy. Việt Nam cannot be excluded from global development. With other countries, what should we have to assert ourselves?
Shading autumn moon depicts a full moon night in the eighth month, is an experience of memory and imagination about a journey in space created by the artist, containing a message from contemplation and self-questioning. Hoàng Hữu Vân had a particularly suitable idea for the Laccol of Rhus succedanea medium. The space of Shading autumn moon is the interweaving space of memories, of the old Mid-Autumn Festivals. The sky in the painting is also the sky of the past, when the light of the moon and stars and the lanterns are still more shimmering than the light with electric. Putting feelings into the old beauties, Shading autumn moon brings back the atmosphere and scent of the Mid-Autumn Festival that has belonged to the memory of many Vietnamese generations.
Korea, Japan, and China are some of the countries where the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated. As mentioned, Mid-Autumn Festival in Việt Nam is more special because it is considered a Tết — holiday for children. Việt Nam is also the only country that makes mid-autumn lanterns for children to play during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Traditional lanterns have a bamboo frame and are bent into complex shapes by lantern-makers. In addition to the star lantern, there are also rabbit, carp, crab lantern… from shape to size are very diverse. On the full moon night of the eighth month, lighting up the mid-autumn lanterns, seeing their shimmering colors along with the gentle but radiant moon, illuminating the children’s faces, to feel the peace and joy of heaven and earth.
HOÀNG HỮU VÂN (Born in 1982). Shading autumn moon. 2018. Laccol of Rhus succedanea. 120×200 cm
In today pace of life, it’s hard for Vietnamese children to experience an old Mid-Autumn Festival full of national identity. Growing up lacking this experience, the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival does not exist in the memory of the generation, will disappear in the future. Many great civilizations have developed and collapsed. History shows that the end of civilization or culture is sometimes not due to wars, epidemics or natural disasters, but simply fading away over the years. When the following generations are not properly inherited from the previous generation, traditional values, identities, and so on, become less and less until there is nothing left. Metamorphosis is very easy to happen with culture. We are facing concerns about traditional values in collision with the integration trend. Culture and economy interact. It is said that art is a far-fetched thing, but in the end, art is still towards the purpose of life, culture and economy. Around the world, the trend of many contemporary artists is determined to imprint the mark of their country on the global cultural map, with an extremely strong will to identity.
Depicting images that belong to the identity of the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, Hoàng Hữu Vân’s work raises profound questions about the clash between tradition and modernity and the identity of culture in the context of global industry.
Written by Viet Art View
Copyrights belong to Viet Art View
