Reproductions on paper, 1950

After the Second World War, the Communist Việt Minh (Vietnam Independence League) fought for Vietnam’s independence from French colonial rule. After the August Revolution in 1945 and the outbreak of the First Indochina War (1946 – 1954), the Vietnamese artist Huỳnh Văn Thuận (1921 – 2017) joined the resistance movement against the former coloniser, France, and its renewed invasion. He was one of the so-called “combat artists” sent to the front by the Communist government in Hanoi to document the war. Posters, cartoons and drawings created in this context were used for propaganda purposes to support the local Việt Minh resistance groups.

Thuận created the cartoon series First Indochina War for the Việt Minh, to be exhibited in the rural regions of North Vietnam. As “combat art”, Huỳnh Văn Thuận’s work sheds light on the function of imagery in the context of Communist information and entertainment campaigns. At the same time, it opens up a perspective on a very specific experience of conflict in the military and ideological struggle against colonial occupation in the Indochina War.

Foto: © Witness Collection

Huỳnh Văn Thuận
Chiều vàng lên thắm cờ hồng; Thách ai ra trận lập công chuyến này; Chuyến này phải giết nhiều tây; Diệt sinh lực địch, ra tay “Tân anh hùng (“Yellow sunshine of the afternoon dyes deep the pink flag”; “Dare go into battle and succeed”; “This campaign must kill many Westerners”), 1950
Reproduction on paper | 16 x 18,8 cm
Huỳnh Văn Thuận/ Witness Collection

Huỳnh Văn Thuận
Đôi ta như bóng với hình; Đồng tâm diệt địch chúng mình mến nhau (“We are like an image and a shadow”; “We care for each other and all of us are equal in our desire to kill the enemy”), 1950
Reproduction on paper | 22 x 18,2 cm
Huỳnh Văn Thuận/ Witness Collection

Huỳnh Văn Thuận
“…Ngày mai voi quyết bắn phèo đồn Tây (“Tomorrow, the elephant shall fire into the Western enemy’s post”), 1950
Reproduction on paper | 19 x 24,2 cm
Huỳnh Văn Thuận/ Witness Collection

Huỳnh Văn Thuận
Hoàn thành chiến dịch tương lai
70 cùng với 82 lên đường (“Let’s complete the future campaign! 70 and 82, let’s go”), 1950
Reproduction on paper | 18,5 x 24,3 cm
Huỳnh Văn Thuận/ Witness Collection

Huỳnh Văn Thuận
Tú Anh; Yêu anh bằng vạn lá rừng Nhắn anh vệ pháo xin đừng đấm lưng (“Love you as much as a thousand leaves in the forest; Please tell the artillery man not to hit your back”), 1950
Reproduction on paper | 18,8 x 24 cm
Huỳnh Văn Thuận/ Witness Collection

Huỳnh Văn Thuận
Tú Anh Hôm nay vất vả leo đèo… (“Today is a hard day for climbing the pass…”), 1950
Reproduction on paper | 19 x 24 cm
Huỳnh Văn Thuận/ Witness Collection