Rare exhibit of Vietnamese art displayed in Denver

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DENVER - When the country of Vietnam is mentioned old images of war, the Vietcong and U.S. soldiers often come to mind.

Art exports from that developing country usually are of traditional landscapes or women in cultural wardrobe like the Ao Dai.

There is a unique and rare art exhibit in Denver that is a departure from those "old" views of Vietnam.

At the Center for Visual Art, a branch of Metropolitan State College of Denver, works from 11 Vietnamese women break traditional molds.

"Vietnamese art in general has just slowly started coming to the west and it's mostly men artists that are seen. So for an exhibit of all women's work, it's pretty rare," said Cecily Cullen, the gallery's assistant director and curator.

The exhibit showcases works in water color, oil and mixed media. Cullen says her favorite piece is a collection of self portraits through photos. The artist, born in Vietnam, escaped shortly after the fall of Saigon in 1975.

"She went back to Vietnam after about 30 years of being away and photographed herself with relatives who she had not seen since she left. The pictures focus on her as life kind of just happens around her, and it really expresses her feelings of displacement, being a Vietnamese woman who was not raised in Vietnam," said Cullen.

The exhibit is rare not only because of its content but because of the context from its origin. In Vietnam a transition to a more market based economy puts more emphasis on what many would call practical pursuits. With more than 14 percent of the 86 million people living below the poverty line, art is often low in the line of priorities, especially for women.

"They're expected to take care of the family, take care of their husbands and fathers and also hold jobs. So they have very little free time to explore art at all," said Cullen.

I traveled to Vietnam earlier this year. From the "American" perspective, many people would be considered to be living at a subsistence level. On busy streets in Ho Chi Minh City, it's rare to see families in cars or SUVs. A more common site is a mother and a child riding together on a moped.

The "Hondas," as the Vietnamese call them, fill roads and streets throughout Vietnam, most of them traveling fast and following few traffic laws.

Kim Tran is 45 years old and lives in Can Tho in the southern region of Vietnam near the Mekong River Delta. She was a teenager during the Vietnam War. Tran is divorced and years ago saved up enough money to send her son to the United States. Daily life, she says, is hard, but not like it was when she was younger.

"It's changed a lot. When I was 16 it was really hard, we didn't have enough to eat, buying clothes was hard," Tran told me.

Her son sends money back from his new home in Alaska where he works at a nail salon. In Tran's small home, a computer and a new stereo system sit below portraits of her deceased relatives. Since she can't afford internet service and doesn't know how to use the computer, she keeps a blanket on top of it so it won't collect dust. The gifts from her son are symbols that he is doing well she told me. She takes comfort in that.

Thousands of miles away on Wazee Street in downtown Denver, the exhibit titled "Changing Identity," tries to capture some of the beauty and struggles of women like Tran. The exhibit is on display through Aug. 2 and is free.

More information can be found at http://www.mscd.edu/news/cva/.