Vietnamese Draft on Artist Trinh Cung

8/3/2019 Vietnamese Draft on Artist Trinh Cung

1/8

Hello, my names Trnh Cung and I

wasborn in 1939 making me 72 years old. Im

from Nha Trang but Ive been living in Sign

for a long time now. Ive got 4 children- the

first three were with my first wife. She passed

away 11 years ago. Im remarried now and

have a 4 year-old with my new wife- shes a

poet. 2 of my kids, my oldest son and one of

my daughters, are in California working as

musicians for Thy Nga Paris by Night [a live

music variety show popular in the Vietnamese

American community]. My other daughter

lives here in Sign with her husband and two

kids. Ive been an artist for at least 40 years

now and work with oil paints.

After graduating high school I begged my

parents to let me go to Hu. Hus a

wonderland its a poetic land with the

Hng River, beautiful landscapesit was the

old capital of Vit Nam, ya know? Theres

been so many inspirational artists and poets

from Hu including Hn Mc T and Xun

Diu. I loved poetry and Hu is a land of

Xin cho cc bn, ti tn l Trnh Cung, v ti

l mt ha s. Ti sinh ra Nha Trang nm

1932 v ln ln , nhng ti chuyn vo

Si Gn v sng y t rt lu ri. Ti hai

ln kt hn, ngi v u c vi ti ba con

trc khi ra i 11 nm trc; sau ti tc

huyn v c thm mt thin thn bn tui vi

ngi v hin nay ca ti, mt nh th. Con

trai ln v mt con gi ca ti hin sng California v l nhc s cho chng trnh Paris

by Night ca trung tm Thy Nga [mt chng

trnh ca nhc tp k rt ni ting trong cng

ng ngi Vit M]; ngi con gi cn li

ca ti hin sng Si Gn cng chng v hai

con nh. V phn ti, ti l mt ha s trn

bn chc nm nay v hin ti ti ch chuyn

ch vimng tranh sn du.

khi qut mt cht v cuc i ti, c l

nn bt u t vic ti gn nh phi qu

xung cu xin ba m cho php ti ra Hu

ngay sau khi tt nghip ph thng. Hu l mt

mnh t tht tuyt diurt nn th, tr tnh

vi dng Hng v nhiudanh thng


2/8

poetry and for me a land of dreams. I wanted to

go to Hu to try and get into the Fine Arts

College of Hu. In high school, I hated math

and sciences but loved poetry, literature, and

art. I was horrible at math and sciences. I feel

that art is like poetry it gives me freedom of

feeling, love, and the movement of everything.

I followed my hearts calling. Anyway, there

was an evaluation test to get into the school.

There were a hundred applicants and outta that

hundred they were only picking 15. They put a

statue in front of us and we had to draw it. I

looked around at everyones drawings they

were really good... I asked some people how

they were able to draw so well and they told

me they had been practicing and getting private

lessons. Compared to everyone elses mine

looked like shit. I thought theres no way in

hell Im gonna get into this school. I packed

up my stuff and was ready to go home.

Someone told me that I had got in and I

didnt believe em! They told me to go look for

myself. I went to the sheet of paper posted up

khcmnh t c bn hiu ti phi

khng? l mnh t mang li rt nhiu

cm hng cho cc nh th, cc ngh s nh

Hn Mc T vXun Diu. Ti yu th, v

khng u khc chnh Hu l mnh t th ti

lun m ti, v ti quyt nh rng mnh mun

ti Hu theo hc trng M thut Hu.

ph thng, ti rt cm th ton v cc mn t

nhin khc, trong khi dnh trn tnh yu cho

th vn, hi ha, nhng th cho ti s t do

trong tm hn, trong cm xc v cm nhn s

lay ng ca vn vt. Ti quyt nh i theo

ting gi ca tri tim, nhng vo c

trngNgh thut Hu, tivn cntri qua

mt k thi, ni m ti phi cnh tranh vi hng

trm th sinh c mt trong tp 15 ngi

c chn. thi ca chng ti ch n gin l

v, mt bc tng c t trc mt v

chng ti c yu cu v theo. Ti nhn xung

quanh, quan st tc phm ca mi ngi v h

v tht tuyt Ti hi mt vi ngi, v h

ni h luyn tp rt nhiu cc bi tp v

cng cc thy gio, v l l do bc tranh ti


3/8

and there was my name! I couldnt believe it. I

was so excited. I really grew and progressed as

an artist during my four years in college. I was

the top of my class. After graduating, I found

immediate success- instant fame. Out of the 15

students who got in only one or two of us

became professional and famous artists. Know

why? Because we had creativity. The first

step in learning to paint is to copy and the

second step is creating what you feel. An art

teacher can easily teach his student to paint a

portrait of a person. Its easy to just copy what

you see but what a teacher cant teach you is

how to paint well with soul and feeling onto

the canvas. A good artist should be able to

breathe life into the painting- it should be able

to portray happiness, sadness, and have its own

memories.

In school I was inspired by many

modern artists such as Picasso, Chagall, Van

Gogh, Gaugin, Matisse, Kandinsky, Klee,

Rocko, Pollack, and Modigliani. Though I was

in art school, they didnt teach us any modern

v trng tht t hi khi ng cnh nhng sn

phm ca h. Khi ti ngh Chc khng c

mt c hi no cho mnh, ti ng gi hnh l

v chun b sn sng tr v.

Ri sau mt ngi bn bo vi ti rng ti

v khi ti nht quyt khng tin cho

n khi tn mt thy tn mnh trong danh sch!

Tht khng th tng tng c! Bn nm

y khin ti tr thnh mt ha s thc th.

Khi lc no ti cng nm trong tp nhng

sinh vin xut sc; rinhanh chng tr nn

thnh cng v ni ting ngay sau khi tt

nghip. Trong s 15 sinh vin trng tuyn nm

y, ch mt hai ngi cui cng tr thnh

ha s chuyn nghip v ni ting.L do ?

Vn nm s sng to. Bc u tin trong

vic hc hi ha ch l s bt chc, nhng ri

sau l s sng to t cm xc. Mt ging

vin hi ha c th d dng dy hc tr ca

mnh v chn dung ngi khc bi ch n

gin l chp li nhng g mnh thynhng

ci m gio vin khng th truyn th l lm

sao v bng tm hn v cm xc ca mnh.


4/8

art. In fact, they hatedmodern art. We were

only classically trained [classically trained

artists are usually trained in the style of the old

masters which include artists such as Leonardo

daVinci, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Francisco

Goya, and Jacques-Louis David]. I had to learn

about modern artists and techniques on my

own outside of school. We were forbidden to

paint anything but classical realism. There

were some students who tried to paint in a

modern style but they got kicked out! I didnt

want to get kicked out so I painted classically

at school but modernly at home. Alotta

Vietnamese people saw anything modern as

new and as a sign of change. We felt that

Vietnam was a slow developing and resistant

to change. We wantedchange though. Modern

art was new and exciting for us artists.

Although I love modern art I do appreciate the

old masters too. I got a chance to travel to

Spain and France back in I think 1994. Seeing

the paintings in real life is so much different

than seeing them in a book.

Mt ngi ha s gii s phi bit lm sao thi

cho tc phm ca mnh nhng hi th ca cuc

sng; mi bc tranh phi l mt tm gng ca

nhng nim vui, ni bun v s hu k c ca

ring n.

Khi cn i hc, ti b nh hng rt nhiu

bi cc danh ha hin i, c th k ra Picasso,

Chagall, Van Gogh, Gaugin, Matisse,

Kandinsky, Klee, Rocko, Pollack, v

Modigliani. D l trng M thut nhng

chng ti khng c tip xc nhiu vi hi

ha hin i. Trn thc t, h ght hi ha hin

i. Tt c nhng g chng ti c dy ch l

trng phi c in[trng phi hi ha c

in l trng phi c xy dng trn phong

cch ca cc bc thy hi ha nh Leonardo

daVinci, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Francisco

Goya, v Jacques-Louis David]. Ti phi t

hcthm v cc tc gi v cc k thut hin i

bn ngoi. Chng ti b cm v bt c th g

khng lin quan n hin thc c in, cng c

mt vi ngi c theo ui hi ha hin i,

nhng tt c h u b ui hc. Bi khng


5/8

I always knew I wanted to be an artist

and that it was my true passion. Being an artist

isnt easy though. The life of an artist is often

short and difficult like Van Gogh. He had a

hard and lonely life. He couldnt sell any

paintings during his lifetime and had no

mun ri vo cnh , trng ti ch v theo

trng phi c in v dnh li nhng g tn

tin hn nh.Nhiu ngi Vit Nam quan

nim tt c nhng th hin i u l nhng

biu hin chos thay i v tin b, nhng

chng ti khi cm nhn c rng Vit

Nam thc s l mt t nc chm pht trin

v ngi thay i. V chng ti mun thay i.

Hi ha hin i chnh l s thay i mi mv th v m gii ha s chng ti mun thy,

d rng ti cng rt yu hin thc c in v

knh trng cc bc tin bi theo phong cch .

Ti c c hi sang Ty Ban Nha v Php

vo khong nm 1994; tn mt chim ngng

nhng tuyt tc trong gii hi ha, v qu thc

tri nghim khc rt xa so vi ch ngm

nhn chng qua sch v.

Trc y ti lun bit rng mnh thc s

mun tr thnh mt ha s, v chnh xc l

mt nim am m chy bng.Nhng l mt

ha s qu thc khng hon ton d chu. Cuc

i ca mt ha s thng ngn v y chng

gainh Van Gogh, vt v v c n. Lc


6/8

money. People didnt respect or appreciate his

work until afterhis death. But! He was

remembered forever. His paintings

immortalized him and he was able to live on

through them and many other generations

know of him.

Ive done well for myself as an artist.

My paintings sell- theyre not too expensive

but theyre not really cheap either. The price

really depends on its size. A medium-sized

canvas can range from $3,000-5,000 USD

while a large canvas can cost around $10,000

USD. Its not all about the size though. The

price also depends on how much I like my

painting too. Its harder for me to let go of a

painting if I really like it. In a year I probably

paint about 10 paintings- multiply that for over

40 years makes 400 or so paintings over my

lifetime. I love all of my work. I trash all of the

ones I hate. My first painting that got famous

sinh thi, chng ai thm oi hoi n tranh

ca ng, v ng khng kim c mt xu no

t tranhca mnh. Ngi ta cha bao ginhn

ra ti nng ca ng cho ti khi tn sau khi ci

cht mang ng i.Nhng, ngs c ghi nh

vnh vin. Nhng tc phm i ca ng

khin ng tr nn bt t, ng sng vnh vin

trong tm tng ca nhn loi ca hng trm

ngn th h tip theo.

Trong vai tr l mt ha s, ti ngh mnh

lm tt.Tranh ca ti, d khng qu t nhng

khng bao gi r tin. Mt bc tranh c va

ca ti thng c gi khong 3000-5000 la

M, trong khi mt bc c ln c gi khong

10000 , nhng kch c khng phi l tt c.

Gi tr ca mt bc tranh ng thi cn ph

thuc vo cm nhn ca ti v n, ti thng

rt kh bn i mt bc tranh m mnh thc s

yu thch. Mi nm ti v khong 10 bc, v

khi nhn con s vi khong 40 nm trong

ngh, cuc i ti c trn 400 tc phm. Ti

yu tranh ca mnh, v lun lun vt b nhng

g ti khng thch. Bc tranh u tin ca ti


7/8

was called Ma Thu Tui Nh [Childrens

Autumn]. It was 1962 in Sign and an

exhibition was held. 21 artists were invited to

exhibit their best painting. The artists came

from all over the world: Germany, France,

England, Spain, France I was so proud to be

invited just barely after graduating from

college. I dont have that painting anymore. It

was sold to a woman living in Washington,

D.C.

My art has changed over time but more

dramatically over the last 20 or so years. Up

until 1996 I painted only figurative art. You

could always tell what my painting was about-

a woman, a place, an object, whatever. In 1996

I was invited to San Francisco State University

in the U.S. to be a guest lecturer. There in San

Francisco, I went to many museums in the area

as well as other museums in the U.S. such as

the Museum Of Modern Art in New York and

Museum Of Contemporary Art in LA. This

really inspired me and I began to experiment

more with my art. I began painting much more

c bit n rng ri c tn l Ma Thu Tui

Nh. l vo nm 1962, ti Si Gn, ti v

20 ha s khc n t khp ni trn th gii:

c, Php, Anh, Ty Ban Nha,c mi

tham d mt cuc trin lm v chng ti trng

by nhng tc phm xut sc nht ca mnh.

Tht vinh d cho ti, khi ti va tt nghip.

Bc tranh hin c bn cho mt ph n

sng ti th Washington D.C ca Hoa K.

Phong cch ngh thut ca ti lun thay i,

nhng 20 nm qua chngkin mt s lt xc.

Cho ti nm 1996, ti thng ch v nhng

bc hin thc, v khng cn bit nhiu v hi

ha hay c cm xc ca mt ngh s, bn vn

c thch ra ch ca bc tranh l mt ph

n, mt a im hay mt th g .Nhng ri

nm 1996, ti c mi thnh ging ti trng

i hc bang San Francisco, Hoa K, v ti c

c hin thm nhiu bo tng trong bang,

cng nh khp nc M nh bo tng ngh

thut hin i New York v Bo tng Ngh

thut ng i Los Angeles. iu thc


8/8

abstractly.

The worst thing for an artist is khng

tm ra c cho mnh cch ring [not being

able to find your own way or style]. A

problem that artists face is the applause. Anh

ng tng ngi ta khen lc ngi v tay

[Dont think that people are praising you just

because theyre clapping for you]. Once you

fall into this, you begin to fear any sort of

criticism of backlash There are many

cases of artists falling into this trap. They sell a

painting and then they feel like they have to

continue painting the same thing. They fear

any change for fear that people wont like their

paintings if they switch it up. They become a

forgery of themselves. That there is the death

of an artist.

s c v ti th nghim nhiu hn trong tranh

ca mnh, v ti bt u v tru tng hn.

iu ti t nht ca mt ngh s, l khng

tm ra c cho mnh cch ring. S tung h

ca cng chng l mt vn , v anh ng

tng ngi ta khen lc ngi ta v tay. Khi

anh ri vo tnh cnh , anh bt u s mi s

ch bai, kchhay nhng bc li trong s

nghip.C rt nhiu v d v nhng ha s ri vo ci by , h bn mt bc tranh

p v ri h ngh rng tt hn ht mnh nn

tip tc v nh th. H s mi s thay i bi

h s ngi ta s khng cn yu thch tranh

ca h na. H tr thnh ci bng m, tr

thnh k sao chp chnh bn thn h. l khi

mt ngh s thc s cht, d anh ta c cn th

hay khng.

Documents

Vietnamese Draft on Artist Trinh Cung