Painters in Hanoi

"Drawing on interviews with artists, cultural officers, curators, art critics, and others in Hanoi, Taylor surveys the impact artists have had on intellectual life in Vietnam. The book shows them within their own complex community, one fraught with tensions, politicking, and favoritism, yet also a sense of belonging. It describes their education, the role of the government in the arts, the rise and fall of individual artists, their influence as active players in the politics of place and gender, the audience for their work, and how tourism and the international art market have influenced it. Painting is emerging as emblematic of Vietnam in the same way that textiles have come to represent Sumba (East Indonesia) and stone sculpture characterizes Cambodia; each has become simultaneously a marker of national identity and a commodity in a global trade network." "By presenting artists as individuals actively involved in national life, Painters in Hanoi offers a truly innovative perspective on modern Vietnamese history. The book's ethnographic approach, grounded in discussions with artists, critics, and collectors, sheds light on a diverse art world, making the work of significant interest to anthropologists and art historians as well as students and scholars concerned with interdisciplinary research on culture and society."--Jacket.