You speak French, Uncle Sam needs people like you! Ludovic Connod wasn’t ready to fall in love, but he did. Corsica and it’s mysteries. France and it’s secret resistance. The Vichy, the Occupied Zone where mother lived in her elegant apartment using her ‘green joy’ to remain in her past. The OSS. The CIA and it’s shady psychotic substance activities. Berlin, it’s grey cold rain and world of deceptions. Saigon, the ‘Paris of the East’, captivating and fascinating, dragging in people who changed the world. Not because they planned to but because they followed their feelings, good and bad. Silvester the dog and Dennis the Donkey! His father would have loved them. But now he’d had enough!
Thursday, 14 April 2022. Written by Ann Ann. Photos courtesy of Minh Sơn
In hopes of recreating the paintings of silk master Mai Trung Thứ, photographer Minh Sơn and his collaborators have done something extraordinary with this photo collection. The resulting works bear striking resemblance to their painted predecessors and have taken Vietnam’s social media by storm recently.
Decades after his death, Mai Trung Thứ’s graceful, cheeky, and culturally distinct gouache works have been a beacon of inspiration for artists and designers alike. Motivated by a love for the painting master, Hanoi-based photographer Minh Sơn decided to collaborate with some like-minded friends to execute the “Mai Trung Thứ” photoshoot. After just a few days online, the images have been well-loved by Vietnamese netizens, who were impressed by how faithful the photographs are to their painting counterparts.
Based on ‘Woman With a Red Cushion’ (1971).
The photo collection was created by the group based on seven famous artworks by Mai Trung Thứ, including ‘Lady Writing a Poem’ (1943), ‘Woman With a Red Cushion’ (1971) ‘Toilette De La Mariée,’ ‘La lecture’ (1956), ‘Turban rose’ (1968), ‘Woman With Veil’ (1953), and ‘Conversation’ (1966). The project was also a special gift Sơn intended for his friend and collaborator, designer Thiều Ngọc, who was also the main model for the photoshoot.
Based on ‘Turban rose’ (1968).
“Anyone who sees her, soon forgets the Mona Lisa”
Based on ‘Lady Writing a Poem’ (1943).
It would take, I know, a Michaelangelo And he would need the glow of dawn That paints the sky above To try and paint a portrait of my love
Based on ‘Woman With Veil’ (1953).
Sơn tells Saigoneer of the idea behind the shoot: “We love Mai Trung Thứ’s paintings, but we can’t afford one for ourselves, so we have aspired to create this project for a long time. Not until Thiều Ngọc’s birthday this year did we finally sit down to execute it.”
Recreating the original works proved to be a bigger challenge than expected for the crew. Sơn shares that they tried their best to be as precise as possible in arranging the set, picking the lighting and props in order to mimic the paintings. Still, the team also sprinkled in some personal touches, such as how Ngọc played with the costume choices, incorporating some modern accessories. “This creative touch not only enlivened the frame but also reflected my passion for design,” she comments.
Based on ‘Conversation’ (1966).
Nonetheless, the biggest hurdle for the photoshoot team was post-production. “To preserve the feeling of decades-old antique paintings, we spent a lot of effort to edit the images to get that vintage feel in colors and materials. This phase took half the time of the whole project,” Sơn explains. Even though it took a considerable amount of time, he felt that the period also prompted him to peruse Mai Trung Thứ’s paintings more intently. He came out of it with a deeper appreciation of the artistic ingenuity of the master painter whom he’s admired for years.
Post-production was the hardest part because the group had to edit the photos so they match the originals in both lighting and material.
You will never see a portrait of my love For miracles are never seen
Mai Trung Thứ, La Lecture, 1956.
A fascinating aspect about the shoot was how Thiều Ngọc played every single character present in the photographs. “Posing for all the roles by myself was really fun because I had the chance to explore the mood of each person who appears in the photos,” she says. According to Sơn, to replicate the scene in the original works, Ngọc had to be positioned very precisely and made many amusing expressions. But the challenge also made the experience more fulfilling for the team.
Thiều Ngọc, the model for the project, played different characters in the same photo.
War, I despise ‘Cause it means destruction of innocent lives War means tears to thousands of mother’s eyes When their sons go off to fight And lose their lives (Edwin Star 1970)
Let’s all hope it ends soon! Love and peace John (Now with one teenagers eye and one pensioners eye courtesy of a cataract / lens operation.)
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