A special exhibition on fine arts development in the Dong Son Culture will open on Sep 26 in Hanoi, according to Vietnam University of Fine Arts (VUFA).
The exhibition, called the Dongsonian Art Exhibition, will present research findings on the fine arts traditions of Dong Son, a prehistoric Bronze Age age in Vietnam. The research was carried out by the Center for Southeast Asian Prehistory (CSAP).
According to organizer, the period marked a high point in prehistoric fine arts for the country in particular and Southeast Asia in general.
From the late 19th to early 20th centuries, Western scholars paid close attention to the artistic works created by the ancient Dong Son people.
But it was not until the establishment of the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology in 1968 that Dong Son fine arts was studied scientifically and systematically. It was studied as part of the research project “The Hung Kings’ Foundation of the Country” for four years.
In 2003, the Vietnam Institute of Fine Arts under VUFA published Vietnamese Patterns from Prehistory to the First Half of Feudalism by Nguyen Du Chi. Dong Son fine arts was systematically delineated in the second chapter of the book, Prehistoric Patterns.
Also in 2003, CSAP, under the management of Dr. Nguyen Viet, conducted an intensive interdisciplinary, international research project about prehistoric fine arts in Vietnam.
The special issue “Research of Fine Arts” by the VUFA published all materials relating to this meticulous and important project.
In 2006, VUFA, in collaboration with CSAP, held an exhibition on “The Ancient Stone Site of Sapa in the Eye of Visual Arts”.
The Dongsonian Art Exhibition will be open at the Viet Art Center, 42 Yet Kieu, from Sep 26 to Oct 3.
Source: Thanh Nien News [September 23, 2011]