In 1967 Liberation Publishing House -- which was the publishing house of the South Vietnamese National Liberation Front -- put out a remarkable series of folders that contained sketches drawn by artists who were on the front line of the fight to liberate South Vietnam.
Called "South Vietnam Land and People" these amazing portraits of resistance run from drawings of sites that had been bombed by the Americans, to liberated villages, to individual guerrilla fighters. All were originally done in pen or crayon and, in this installment, date from 1964 or 1966.
While there are sketches from several artists, the most, by far, are by a remarkable artist Huynh Phuong Dong. Dong, happily, survived the war and died at the age of 88 in 2015. He is regarded in Vietnam as one of the greatest creators of what is called 'Liberation Art'.
These folders were accompanied by a brief but very moving leaflet that speaks of the terrible brutality and barbarity of the war and the spirit of resistance.
This is the second of two parts showing some of the sketches. They are divided by artist and are accompanied by their title/subject.
(Click on images to enlarge)
Artist: Nguyen Van Kinh
The Wreckage of an Enemy M-118 Armoured Car
Artist: Co Tan Long Chau
A Halt on the Journey
Artist: Le Hong Hai
Studying on Top of an Air Raid Shelter
Artist: Thai Ha
An NFL Cadre on a Mission
Making the Balance Sheet of a Demonstration
Mimeographing Newspapers and Leaflets
Artist: Huynh Phuong Dong
After an Engagement
Where the Ap Bac Battle was Fought
Barges
A Foot-Bridge
A Village School in Reconstruction After US Bombing
Binh-Duc After Liberation
A Makeshift Bridge
A Drawing Lesson
Food Scattered and Camouflaged Against Enemy Bombing
Thom Marketplace in the Liberated Zone
Digging Anti-Tank Ditches
Enemy Tanks Must Be Stopped
A Canteen for Combatants
A Grove of Coconut Palms
At Thom Landing-Place
In the Liberated Area of Ba-Ria
Preparing for a Struggle Against the Enemy
An Evening Class in a Liberated Village
Go Luy After Liberation
Latania Leaves for Roofing
Rural Landscape
Mrs. Hai, A NFL Fighter
You'll Be Avenged My Child
See also: The Art of Resistance: Sketches of the Vietnamese National Liberation Front 1964 - 1965 Part I
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