Impressions at major events of the country
Artist Nguyen Duy Thanh just won the First Prize in the propaganda poster design contest about the 13th National Youth Union Congress with the work "Resilience - Pioneering creativity - Aspiration to contribute - Mastering the future". For him, this is not simply a professional award but also a return to youthful memories associated with Youth Union work.
Talking to Lao Dong reporters, he said that this award is not only a professional joy but also an opportunity to revive the beautiful memories of youth.
“I have worked for the Youth Union for many years, so I always have a special affection for the youth movement. As soon as I knew the contest was launched, I participated with all enthusiasm and sent 30 works - the largest number in that year's contest. I am also the only author with two winning works, including one first prize.
This award makes me extremely proud because every stroke contains memories, enthusiasm and feelings of the time attached to Youth Union work. It can be said that I have put all my heart into that work" - he shared.
Not only making his mark at propaganda poster design competitions, Nguyen Duy Thanh is also a familiar face in many major propaganda campaigns.
Before the 14th Vietnam Trade Union Congress, he was invited by the Organizing Committee to create in order form. Among the initial 16 designs, 9 of his works were selected to serve the official propaganda work for the congress.
“It is a great honor for a propagandist. Every important political and social event requires the creator to study carefully to convey the spirit of the era in a concise but widespread visual language,” he said.
The predestined relationship with propaganda posters
The opportunity to bring Nguyen Duy Thanh to propaganda paintings came quite late. Although he was trained in propaganda art at Hanoi University of Culture, after graduating, he became attached to journalism for more than 14 years. The turning point came from a propaganda painting creation contest launched by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor more than 5 years ago.
About 5 years ago, I received information about a propaganda poster design contest launched by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor for trade union members. At that time, I participated as a trade union member of the agency and did not think that the contest would open up a completely new journey for me.
After the competition, I became more known, had the opportunity to participate in many professional playgrounds and gradually became attached to propaganda posters as an indispensable part of my creative work" - he recalled.
In his writing journey, what Nguyen Duy Thanh is most proud of is not the awards. He especially remembers a work made during the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak in 2020.
At that time, the Department of Grassroots Culture, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism launched a campaign to create propaganda paintings for epidemic prevention and control. Although not on the list of invited artists, he still actively sent 14 works to participate. As a result, two of his works were selected for nationwide propaganda.
“One of those works was later reposted by many international media agencies as a typical image of Vietnam's epidemic prevention and control work. There is an article stating that besides the Government's drastic policies, propaganda is an important factor contributing to Vietnam's success in the early stages of epidemic control. In which, radio and propaganda posters are considered two particularly effective media channels” - he shared.
When a journalist paints
Journalist Nguyen Duy Thanh believes that journalism and propaganda posters both aim to convey information, but each type has its own language. If journalism tells stories in words, propaganda posters convey messages through visual images.
Advertising posters require very high concision. Viewers only need to scroll through a few seconds to understand the message that the author wants to convey. That is what makes this type of art seem simple but very difficult. The most difficult thing is how to make the image strong enough, visual enough but still easy to understand and create an immediate impression" - he analyzed.
Journalist Nguyen Duy Thanh added that, besides creating propaganda posters, he also won a journalism award for a work that used propaganda poster language to convey content.
I once made a work on the topic of reducing plastic waste and won the Third Prize. The special thing is that instead of expressing it in the form of a regular newspaper article, I chose to completely use the language of propaganda posters to tell the story. The work was published in the newspaper and then participated in the contest. For me, it is an interesting example of the combination of journalism and propaganda posters" - he expressed.
Besides, propaganda posters that want to exist and develop must know how to inherit traditional values, and at the same time adapt to the visual language of the new era. He believes that technology has created very big changes in the creative process.
He said: "If in the past artists had to paint entirely by hand, taking a lot of time from creation to printing, today graphics and digital technology help things become faster and more flexible.
However, the important thing is not the tool but the creative thinking. I always try to bring the spirit of modern posters into propaganda posters by minimizing images, using highly generalized symbols and reducing unnecessary descriptive details.
According to him, propaganda posters today do not necessarily have to recreate reality in a realistic way as before, but need to aim for symbolic images, helping viewers recognize the message from the first sight.
The characters in propaganda posters must also accurately reflect the breath of the times. If previously the familiar image was farmers, workers or soldiers, today it could be technology engineers, researchers, startup youth or young people mastering science and technology.
Each period has its own symbols and the artist's task is to tell the story of the era in the most appropriate visual language" - journalist Nguyen Duy Thanh shared.
For him, propaganda posters are not only a propaganda art but also a way to record social milestones. Each work is a story, a slice of the era told with colors, lines and concise but powerful messages.
