SAIGON OPEN CITY Reflection

Have to say that was the first time I visited an Art place that gave me so many thoughts and feelings like in SOC.

I was not surprised when getting there, small building and no decoration at the front. I was either surprised or disappointed because not many Art places in Vietnam have good infrastructure or well decorated. The real fact is the investment is not much for the artist or people doing Art in Vietnam up to now. Also from seeing the website online, I know this is a private company and this means budget to do the work will be larger.

Attending the talk and hearing comments made me step by step reach closer to the problem. If there were no commands about the work then I myself could not realize the SOC was on the way solving too many problems at this stage.

I heard all the comments and also the two writers’, what I didn’t feel pleasant was their commands were somehow biased and personal. I don’t know if they already or not join the process of doing this, but at least they should say something to encourage what the group had poured effort to do, rather than just complaining about the beginning stage of the group. They likely wanted to show the errors for everyone to see but not suggest any solution for them to fix and develop. Why just keeping pointing out errors? Is it really trick like that or I’m kind of easy? Either ways, their commands played an important role on that day and I knew I have too many things ahead to experience.

I always think of the day when not only us - the students study design - but all people can have the chance to get a closer look into Art. There will be a day when Art is no longer thought as a hard concept to get involve, a luxurious or sublime “thing” just can be “hung” on the wall, exhibited in galleries. Here and now Vietnam has a chance to do that, difficulties stay ahead, challenges can be everywhere, every time. We have to stay together and push it go further.

Just think of an art work you made, if your style is not along with the way people often see things, feel things; it can be objectionable and takes time to be adopted though it perfectly please you. Art process is more than that, it not only needs time (which already took for too long) but also supports, human resources, money … to be able to run and maintain. That’s quite a lot of works to do. Not simple.

That’s Chapter 1 of it. Like reading story, if you don’t reach to the very end, you cannot say the story good or bad, successful or failed.