The faces being honored
With efforts in scientific research, dedication in teaching, and many awards in her creative work, painter Nguyen Thi Hai Hoa, Head of Graphic Arts Department, College of Arts - Hue University has become one of the 68 teachers honored at Quoc Tu Giam this Teacher’s Day occasion (November 20).
From a small age, innate talent and passion for art was running in Hai Hoa. Though her family did not support her, she still quietly drew, competed in contests and took home many awards. After graduating from high school, this passion caused Hai Hoa to secretly apply for entrance examination in Fine Arts, despite the opposition of her family. Graduating with a degree in graphics from Hue College of Arts - Hue University, she was recruited as a lecturer. Until now, it has been 24 years since she started pursuing graphics.
Painter Nguyen Thi Hai Hoa
Hai Hoa’s paintings always bring to the audience a gentle and serene feeling. Her paintings are not philosophical, but simply filled with the world of childhood, peaceful and clear. "I also painted other subjects, like flowers, landscapes, autumn ... but I don’t know why I always circle back to children. In the midst of this busy life, whenever I relax, I always think of children with peace and creativity. Childhood is the most beautiful part of everyone’s life, in the soul of each person. I think these pictures will allow people to enjoy the relaxed and comfortable feeling. That is also my art criterion when making a work for the public."
With that peaceful view, her paintings won many high prizes at home and abroad. Choosing wood material, stone, screen printing, zinc printing and the style of natural composition, Hai Hoa has many works that go into the heart of the viewers. With the painting of the baby sitting on the crane in "Flying in a Dream", Hai Hoa won the Vietnam Fine Arts Association Award at the ASEAN graphic exhibition. "The tranquility of the garden" is honored to be included in the collection of the Royal Thai family...
Hai Hoa confided that she is passionate about both teaching and creating. Loving her works as her own children, she would be very sad if she could not create. Teaching helps her introduce what she has studied to future generations with a passion for graphics. Teaching art is a unique training environment, requiring the painter - the trainer to always take care of the workmanship in her work, creations and new thinking. Whenever she finds students with special artistic qualities, she takes care of them, invests a lot of time, provides a lot of material and guides the deeper techniques to “water” those seeds.
Artist and standards
With 23 years of teaching, painter Nguyen Thien Duc, Dean of Applied Arts Department, College of Arts - Hue University has created strong impressions through generations of students. Not only in ethics, standard behavior, he is also a devoted teacher, wholeheartedly teaches all that he has accumulated for students, and is a talented artist in creation.
Despite being busy with teaching and management tasks, creating has become a part of the life of painter Thien Duc. Graduating with a major in lacquer, the Faculty of Painting, lacquer is the material that is associated with his life of creating. It always urges him to explore, discover and win many art awards. Lacquer requires a lot of investment in time, effort as well as in finance. So, when he cannot organize the required space to paint lacquer, he switches to painting with oil, acrylic, or ball point pen. Thien Duc's paintings have been exhibited in China, Thailand, Germany and USA.
With strength in abstract and semi-abstract paintings, he paints all his interests in life: time, space, emotions, nature, human mood in society ... His work called "Scenario Number 3" painted with a ball-point pen, which has been collected by the Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts, is a work that Thien Duc is very fond of. Drawing an image of hands, the artist shows his individual response to modern urban life. Hands make material products for society, but they also contribute to the destruction of nature. The drawback of a technological and modern life is the drying out of human emotions. The lacquer painting "Time Dance" was collected by Da Nang Museum of Fine Arts. The work praises the traditional culture of the Vietnamese. Using the decorative motifs on the bronze drums of the ancient Vietnamese to create a lively, bustling space of a festival, Thien Duc conveyed to viewers the vitality of the Vietnamese spirit, through the ups and downs of history, which is still alive and well today.
After lecturing, painter Nguyen Thien Duc continues with his passion
Thien Duc said that the teaching style of the art school is in favor of practice and application. Therefore, the role of the teacher is very important and cannot be replaced by modern tools and means. "Unlike many other faculties, art school lecturers have to consistently create art, research and teach to meet their work’s demands. To instruct and model for students, the instructor is required to have good skills and those skills can only be formed when the teacher practices a lot. To teach well, the teacher has to study, to create art, to participate in exhibitions, and must be socially recognized ... That requires the teacher to work relentlessly if he does not want to be left behind.”
With teachers and painters, teaching work is complementary to composition and vice versa. Researching, being exposed to and updating new knowledge of art, participating in exchanges, and connecting with educational institutions around the world bring many opportunities for artists. "As a teacher - painter, in addition to morality, standard behavior, it is necessary to have a soul, and the way of thinking of an artist," artist Nguyen Thien Duc shared.
Story and photos: TRANG HIỀN