Don’t make monuments by order

Congratulations to him who was just honored at the awarding ceremony of the State Prize for Literature and Art 2022 in May 2023 for his monumental work. Vietnamese heroic Mother. How do you feel when receiving this prestigious award?

I feel very honored to be awarded an award for the monument by the Party and State Vietnamese heroic Mother, a work that I have devoted a lot of heart to over the years. During the process from composing to finishing, I always kept my emotions about the great sacrifice of heroic Vietnamese mothers, especially when I heard the story of Mother Thu (Quang Nam), typical of the sacrifice for the Fatherland with 9 sons, 1 son-in-law and 2 grandsons who are martyrs.

When my mother was still alive, every time I visited, I would hold her hand to try to feel her pain. I tried to portray a great mother in the monument as a representation of the mothers whose children died across the country. I try to feel the image of my mother by feeling, thinking and carving into a statue from her spirit, not copying it in a divine way.

How did the idea of ​​the monument cluster come to you?

With the symbol of the mother as the source, the endless dedication to the Fatherland, when making the statue, I had 4 options but I felt that it was not achieved, did not describe the greatness of mothers. I pondered for a long time, and then once as God gave me, I dreamed of a mountain mass with flowing water, the image of Thu’s mother appeared very beautiful. The next morning, I took out a pencil sketch and finished it in just one session. When I finished the manuscript, I was happy because it was true that the image of the mother evoked the image of the country.

Monument blocks are rhythms, moving circuits containing many metaphors for a loss story. When making a monument, I try to show a symbolic style combined with reality, which is portraits of mothers and heroic martyrs.

As a sculptor, there are many clusters of statues, such as: Kham Duc victorymonument Hero Dien Ngoc (Quang Nam); monument Tra Bong Uprising and the West of Quang Ngai… highly appreciated, what do you usually prepare for each composition?

To make a monument, you must first have a clear mind. I always think of those who sacrificed and shed their blood to make the country where it is today. For me, each monument is a real work and must be done with all the guts, with all the heart; Use all your intellectual ability and knowledge to build a perfect project.

Monuments require occupying space. If this is not done, the project will fail. Therefore, making a monument requires knowledge of architecture and planning to calculate the proportional relationship between height and width with the campus, with the distance of the path; calculate the field of view around the statue, where are the positive points of view, where are the many limited views…

I often read the material very carefully to prepare ideas, scripts, study the space to place the statue, imagine how that space will develop later. When making a monument, it is also necessary to forecast the process of urban development and landscape changes so that the monument does not become outdated. That is, there must be space vision to hundreds of years later.

What is his philosophy of creating monuments?

Speaking of artistic language, I wanted to create something different. To create a great work, the thought must be high. Ideology must be expressed and conveyed in the characters they express. For example, the ideological character of the monument Vietnamese heroic Mother is benevolent, tolerant, simple, ready to sacrifice, but also shows an identity of the Vietnamese people “bringing great justice to victory over cruelty”. The image of the mother also shows the national spirit.

Each monument will have its own philosophy, its own solution, but must be ideological, because the monument is a work that will exist hundreds of years later. Throughout the monument must depict the imprint of a historical period, so that when looking at, it must see the imprint of time; do not have the same pattern of the characters on the stage.

The field of monuments has encountered many “storms” in the past time, even many monuments have been criticized. When composing a monument, how do you feel?

When presenting a work, if the opinion is positive, I will be more motivated, if the opinion is opposite, it will remind me to be very careful because there have been lessons about monuments across the country. There are bad monuments, so when people think of monuments, people think of superficial works and become prejudiced against monuments.

I want to contribute to bring pride and eliminate prejudices about the monument. I am always eager to do something breakthrough, change the language, the way of artistic expression so that from people to professionals to have a new look. Monuments are not boring characters because of the scene of raising arms, spreading legs… If that is the case, the monument will make viewers dissatisfied because of poor intellectual investment.

What style of monument sculpture influenced you the most?

I looked at many famous sculptures in the world and found that the metaphorical works, expressing the inner feelings of the author easily impressed me. The classical works often help me have knowledge of anatomical language and standards in shaping. In Vietnam, when I saw many monuments, I also gained a lot of experience.

The big and famous monuments in the world also have disadvantages, there are dry switches. When I saw this monument, I thought to do differently. The stone blocks themselves, if we know how to shape them, will become soulful blocks. If I cut, how do I draw to create a pulse, create movement, the visual attraction will be very strong without much trimming. I am influenced by modern languages ​​and try to create my own style.

As a passionate and knowledgeable music person, is that why music has entered sculpture as a style of your own?

My advantage is knowing about music and playing the piano well. I wanted to bring music into the language of sculpture. The emotions in the process of making the monument come from music. Perhaps that is why my works are often unlike any other because there are moving shapes like the melodies of a piece of music.

Since the age of 6, I have been listening to classical music. I especially love revolutionary music. During the process of making the monument Vietnamese heroic Mother, I often listen to music about my mother. When I made a statue of Truong Son, I heard a lot about the girls who paved the way, the marches… Those songs nourished my own emotions. In sculpture, I pay close attention to silence as in music.

It is known that he is the adopted son of talented musician Phan Huynh Dieu. Did you influence or learn anything from your father in creating art?

Phan Huynh Dieu’s father has been with me for decades. I learned a lot from my grandfather. In it, I learned the style of composition: capturing those ecstatic moments when a good story or a unique idea flashed.

I also learned that, being an artist is simpler, the more effort you put into having a good work, the more valuable it is to worry about building a personal image. Father Phan Huynh Dieu is a very simple and humble person. He always works hard to have excellent works. He is someone who always encourages me and believes in my success when viewing my works. Grandpa always told me to make works to achieve “ripeness”.

What monumental works are you pursuing and cherishing?

I am working on a cluster of monuments to the Legend of Truong Son (located in H.Nam Giang, Quang Nam) with emotion and pride when telling about those who sacrificed when opening Truong Son road, the lifeline of supply for the frontline. Emotions about drivers, engineers, soldiers, youth volunteers… will be shown on the main statue cluster about 28 m high, about 30 m wide. I want people who come to see the statue to see the image of Uncle Ho “on the march with us”.

I also cherish and prepare a solo exhibition in 2025 with small sculptures, some paintings. The exhibition will convey the issues of bringing new languages, styles and distinctive features into painting and sculpture, creating a new premise for the visual arts.

Succeeding with a new direction, do you have any message for young sculptors?

I often tell young artists: don’t make a monument to order, it has to be a real work. Made to order, the monument won’t last long. The second is to find out, research, learn deeply, not make a monument like arranging the characters on the stage. Or when making the relief array, the structure must change, don’t let the group of characters look like each other, it will cause boredom to the viewer. The most important thing is that the monument is a must work, don’t blame it on local requirements.

I make a monument different from other people in that I don’t do whatever the locality asks me to do. Of course, I will accept suggestions, but the way I do it, the idea I have to protect and deal with in an artist’s way. I think that a sculptor must be brave in protecting emotions, protecting expressions, not depending on anyone. I must have faith that I will succeed to make efforts and boldly defend my ideas.