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| Handle
with care: Maestro
Nguyen Sang, 73, puts the final touches on his ascending
dragon sculpture. — VNA/VNS Photo Anh Ton |
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| Eyes
to the sky:
Artisans at the Hoa Hai stone village finish off one of
its commissioned statues. — VNA/VNS Photo Cong Dien |
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Renowned
VN sculptor carves out his own niche
by
Le Mau Lam
During my stay in
central Viet Nam, I developed an addiction to visiting one beautiful
sculpture garden.
After countless
trips there, I became acquainted with its remarkable sculptor-owner
Nguyen Long Buu.
I came to know
Long Buu’s laid-back habit, contrary to his father Nguyen Sang, who
starts each day by carving a statue, of beginning each workday with a
cup of coffee. He sips it silently in his garden adorned with stone
statues of every description at the foot of Ngu Hanh mountains.
Craftsmen in the
small village of Hoa Hai can testify that Long Buu’s family have been
distinguished residents here for seven generations.
Nguyen Chat,
Sang’s paternal grandfather, was a famous sculptor under the Nguyen
Dynasty, the last feudal regime of Viet Nam, and was invited to work on
the first royal palace in Hue and, later, the royal tombs.
The Governor of
Indochina invited artisan Nguyen Van Binh, Sang’s father, to Cambodia
to help restore Angkor Wat. By virtue of his superb craftsmanship, he
was awarded the 9th royal grade in the hierarchy of the Hue Court.
Under French rule,
Da Nang’s Cham Museum began to take note of an exodus of Cham antiques
to Europe. Along with the antiques, European collectors were snapping up
replicas of ancient Cham sculptures made by the artisans of Hoa Hai
Village, one of whom was Sang.
Though he’s now
on the plus side of 70, Sang remains healthy and active and his works
continue to be revered. In 1996, he was awarded the Golden Hand badge at
the National Handicrafts and Jewellery Fair.
His son Long Buu,
40, owns the sculpture garden at the foot of Mt Ngu Hanh, with hundreds
of sculptures that have been displayed at various exhibitions across the
country and ordered by foreign collectors from around the world.
Here one can find
every kind of statue in a variety of sizes, postures and positions, be
they for worship or decoration: Kwan Yin, Shiva, Ganesha (with a human
body and an elephant head), Lakshmi, a Tra Kieu dancer or a Cham
performer.
Sculptures of
famous figures, military and cultural, dominate the middle of the
garden, including General Tran Hung Dao, Tran Cao Van, Ho Chi Minh and
busts of numerous heroic mothers, all vividly portrayed.
The Association of
Taiwanese Sculptors wrote, "The statues harmoniously combine
classical and modern styles, the natural softness of the body and the
firmness of shapes. The statues of women in particular radiate a strong
vitality. Nevertheless, they are imbued with Asian beauty."
In addition to his
artistic inclinations, Long Buu has a solid work ethic, being both
serious and creative. As a student and then a soldier, Long Buu took
drawing lessons regularly. He graduated from the Faculty of Industrial
Design at the Ha Noi University of Fine Arts with a new style, but
remained engrossed in the study of sculpture, both Asian and Western,
ancient and modern.
"While still
in active service, the Military Zone 5 Command entrusted me, together
with senior sculptors, with making a sculpture of President Ho Chi Minh
and several marble reliefs of revolutionary struggles for the Ho Chi
Minh Museum. To get an idea, you can look at a large statue of the late
President entitled Uncle Ho at Work in a Stone Cave of the Viet Bac
Region," Long Buu explained.
He added, "It
was in that background that my orientation in art was formed. Later, I
made up my mind to leave Ha Noi to settle in my birthplace at the foot
of Ngu Hanh mountains, the cradle of Cham sculpture, to practise stone
carvings."
For many works,
Long Buu had to go to Thanh Hoa Province, even to the northern province
of Thai Nguyen to look for appropriate raw materials. At his family’s
large workshop, I witnessed his laborious performance with a three-metre
white granite block to produce a sculpture of our late beloved leader at
work.
Amid the
ear-splitting sounds of carving and chiselling stone, scores of 40- to
50-year-old sculptors recently trained by Long Buu were all working
diligently to create works of art and household decorations.
Beside the more
senior sculptors, a group of young craftsmen were busy making stone
sculptures under Long Buu’s guidance.
Looking at his
delicate and precise carving strokes, I came to understand why such
sculptures as these have emigrated from our land to stand in European
and Asian squares and gardens with age-old, renowned works of art.
Another subject
that captivates Long Buu, and one that has brought him artistic success,
is women, by virtue of their femininity and sensitivity.
In his sculpture
garden there stands a lot of female statues, particularly portraits of
rural women, benevolent and self-sacrificing, some two or three metres
high. Long Buu has made thirteen statues of this particular type of
woman, each with her own charm.
Numerous artisans
in Hoa Hai village are noted for their skill, but Long Buu seems to
breathe life into his work. Recent pieces like Composition, Life
Circle and Spring Gait show him encompassing the whole of
creation imbued with cultural tradition.
In 1999 ,a
representative of the Association of Asian Sculptors visited Long
Buu’s garden and chose four female statues to adorn its parks in Tokyo
and Singapore. His Woman with Her Round Palm Hat was selected by
an entertainment company in the US and Spring Gait was picked by
the authorities of a park in Sydney to be displayed right in the centre
of the park.
Over the past five
years, hundreds of Long Buu’s works have appeared at various
exhibitions abroad and many of them have found new homes in France,
Italy, Japan and the US. Meanwhile, a number of foreign cities have
invited him to erect statues in their public parks.
Returning to his
hometown to fully develop its traditional art has been one of Long
Buu’s burning desires.
He wants his
sculpture garden to grow into a sculpture park, or more precisely, an
outdoor art museum. At the centre of this park will stand a statue of Ho
Chi Minh surrounded by well-known writers, scientists and artists,
Vietnamese and foreign alike.
Long Buu would
like to see the park inaugurated in early 2005, right at the foot of Ngu
Hanh mountains, where he was born and raised and continues to practice
his lifelong craft. — VNS |
