In the form of book art, this type of art allows interaction with the viewer
Learning from the Thai
In the framework of a collaborative project between the University of Fine Arts – Hue University and Bunditpattanasilpa Institute, Thailand, in late April, Thai artists and lecturers visited Hue to exhibit works of book art. The exhibition presented 54 works, including 37 by Thai artists and 17 by artists - lecturers from the University of Fine Arts. This is considered the first book art exhibition held in Hue.
Embodying openness, generosity and intimacy, book art is a form of artistic creativity diverse in materials, ideas, and colors. Many artists are trying out this new form of art which can bring about a special interaction with viewers.
Den Warnjing from Bunditpattanasilpa Institute said: "We want to create an exchange of creative ideas with book art by Thai and Vietnamese artists expressing the uniqueness of traditional culture as well as book art techniques. Each piece has its own personal touch, a unique look, and book art will present many ideas of the artists. "
With book art, Thai artists offer the public a different form, breath, perspective on art. With familiar topics in everyday life such as: dreams, leaves, fishnets on the beach, an elephant in the park or the color of the flowers, etc., the artists used refined techniques to create impressive artworks.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Thanh Binh, Rector of Hue University of Fine Arts, said: "For a long time now, people have thought that book art is a very deep subject matter, but when we look at the Thai artists' works, we can see how they raised simple, ordinary life into art. Their skills are very high in artistic expression but the topic is familiar. This is the unique point that we need to study. This exhibition also shows that we are slow to approach new art forms of the world."
Work by artist Komes Kuntig (Thailand)
Intriguing
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Thanh Binh, although book art is no longer strange to the public in Vietnam, it still has an interesting, unique style which is intriguing in its way of discovery and presentation, manifesting both individual and variant visual forms.
Dr. Binh said, "Each work of book art is an extension of an author’s perspective, of ideas and of thoughts. It is also from this very typical feature of book art that the public is receptive towards and can have a deeper insight into the creative world to better understand the mood and emotions of each artist. That creates a strong attachment to the viewer standing in front of every work of book art."
In the process of creation, a work of book art can generate more random connections, giving the artist a creative interest. Each book page can be considered a mini-picture, so book art requires the artist to be fastidious in the process of connecting the pages to create the link of both content and form.
Exposed to book art since 2015, young artist Tram Thi Trach Oanh, lecturer of the University of Fine Arts, has been quite successful when creating her works of book art. For her, book art is an interesting art form.
"Book art is like an art book that captures the movement, attraction, and linkage. It expresses emotions through every page of the book, and the artist is entirely capable of using any material or technique to create. The advantage of this type of art is the expression of emotions of the artist, and viewers can directly interact with the work by turning pages," Oanh said.
Oanh's work "Am Vang Song Bien” (The Ocean’s Resonance) is an art book that records the tone of the sea in harmony with nature at sunset. Using graphic material with the main character and array, Oanh captured the beauty of the sea through every page with familiar images of fish, snails, sea stars, coral, sea turtles, etc.
Ceramic book art by artist Prasit Mukdamanee (Thailand)
The interactive book by artist Do Ky Huy tells the life story of his father, painter Do Ky Hoang, in interactive art. Flipping through each page, the viewer would hear a different sound. It could be the sound of a rowing boat when painter Do Ky Hoang was in the U Minh forest, or a sound of gunfire and military martial when he went to war. Throughout the work, there always appeared the sounds of birds singing and rain.
Currently, book art is not yet widely available to the public. In Vietnam, this type of art is very new, and few artists create them. The University of Fine Arts - Hue University has integrated teaching this art form in the Composition subject of the course in graphics and has achieved certain effects, creating excitement in students.
Some artists and lecturers from the University of Fine Arts have shown that their access to the new art is very fast when composing works of book art with new expressions.
Story and photos: TRANG HIỀN