Vietnamese Children's Drawings
Brisbane Town Hall
Until November 20
Reviewed by Dave Riley
Vietnam, after more than 30 years of war, has not yet won the peace. The brutal price that the people of Vietnam have paid for their independence lingers on in the lives of their children. Today the early gains of the revolution are being rolled back by a scarcity of money and resources.
Children who previously could look forward to a state-supplied education must now hope that their parents can afford the money to send them to school: only three years are currently free. Classroom facilities are at a minimum. Overworked teachers must subsist on the average wage of $240 per year. Paper to draw on and implements to draw with are in short supply.
Nonetheless, the outlook of the children of Vietnam seems remarkably enthusiastic and energetic. This is the overwhelming impression that this exhibition of drawings by Vietnamese children, mainly aged from three to eight years, gives the viewer. For Barbara Piscitelli,a lecturer in early childhood development who coordinates the exhibit, "This art shows a very positive impression of the future. Regardless of the high level of abject poverty in Vietnam, for children their world is rosy."
The paintings, drawings and torn collage works were selected for international exhibition from 4000 submitted. They are a very astute and strong representation of the lives of young children, reflecting the cultural uniqueness of their country. Families and family pets are a common theme but so too are religious festivals and scenes that mark the end of the war, such as one young child's depiction of her visit to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum.
"These kids are like kids everywhere", says Piscitelli. The simple naivety of the art nonetheless carries with it an exciting impression of a vibrant and living culture. "There is no slavish modelling or copying of original ideas", she says. "The art shows a strong cultural tradition and stamp of individuality."
Unlike my five-year-old's quick pic approach, the artwork of these Vietnamese children displays a methodical attention to detail that spreads throughout the whole sheet of paper. Youngsters spends hours on a single drawing, working with adults who are trained artists. "Here", Piscitelli told Green Left Weekly, "children are explorers encouraged to heighten their awareness".
Sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Queensland University of Technology, the Kindergarten and Creche Association and corporations like Crayola, the crayon manufacturer, the exhibition is a significant breakthrough in Australia-Vietnam cultural exchanges. A similar exhibition of Australian children's artwork was mounted in Hanoi earlier this year, and the exhibition carries the visitors book from that display. The exchange has the enthusiastic backing of the Ministry of Culture and Information in Hanoi.
Crayola has donated a load of crayons to Vietnam, and income from the sale of posters, calendars and postcards will fund further art supplies for the children of Vietnam. Unfortunately aside from the possibility of a statewide tour and a visit to Perth early in 1994 for an early childhood development conference, the exhibition has no further commitments. This is a real pity because this display has been greeted so enthusiastically by visitors to it in Brisbane.