Pham Thanh Tam

Battlefield and Propaganda Artist - Retired Director of the Military Museum, Hanoi

Pham Thanh Tam enjoys a unique status as a prominent member of a rare group of elite Vietnamese battlefield and propaganda artists. With the publication in 2005, of his illustrated journal from the Battle of Dien Bien Phu entitled, Drawing Under Fire, Pham Thanh Tam attained international recognition.

Artist Tam has the unique distinction of being present at the day siege of the French at Dien Bien Phu and then, some thirteen years later, during the height of the Vietnam - American War, at the siege of the American marine firebase at Khe Sanh in January 1968, from which time the above water colour work is dated. It was painted when troops paused to refresh themselves at a stream. The moment inspired Tam to ask the soldier, who forms the subject of the painting, to pause and pose for him.

This eloquent and quintessential painting of a warrior dappled in light infiltrating through a thick forest canopy provides an example of a painting style often referred to as 'Poetic Realism'. It's a style where one can readily see the lingering influence the French introduced in the classes of the Hanoi Fine Arts Institute. Divergent cultures converge in a beautifully modulated work that speaks with a unique Indochinese voice.

Tam's artistic talents were forged as a youth under the gunfire of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. The works following that depict a marching soldier on the jacket of his book, and a beautiful portrait of a singer attached to the army, are but two examples of the unique style of Colonel Pham Thanh Tam.

Tam returned home to Hanoi the year following the Battle of Dien Bien Phu and was moved to see flowers growing through a shattered French helmet. The above work was painted on a page of his notebook, hence the script visible through the transparency of the paper.

Even in 1956 there was a shortage of material for artists to work with and recycling of this kind goes some way to herald what was to come when maps, charts, posters, and even fine life drawings were re-used to produce propaganda posters. Examples of this recycling may be found amid the ‘On the Reverse Side' and 'The Forgotten Pictures' section of the Gallery. 

Tam's talents were quickly noticed by his companions and superiors who recommended that he devote himself to drawing and writing about army life.

In the intervening years that culminated in open conflict with the US, her allies and proxies, Tam carried on developing his skills and was involved with illustrative, propaganda and journalistic activities on behalf of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), during the period when War was in the air and the National Liberation Front (NLF) was active in the South.

 Tam was enrolled at the Institute of Fine Arts in Hanoi while maintaining his military commission. This College was the new manifestation of the same prestigious art school originally established by the French in the 1920's. The legacy of the traditional European approach to life drawing and painting with its origins in the Renaissance, was maintained and coupled with classical academy teaching. The coupling blended with the Vietnamese artistic spirit and produced remarkable results witnessed in the works of a generation of which Pham Thanh Tam and Le Lam, among others, provide spectacular and enduring examples.

 In 1964, Tam was sent on a field drawing trip from the College to Ha Long Bay. The work above is one example of his observations. Below, a coastal battery crew poses at rest for the artist. Note how, with a few deft touches, a face comes alive under the artist's hand.

In 1967, Tam embarked on the arduous and dangerous journey South on the Truong Son or Ho Chi Minh Trail, as it is known to the outside world. His was a quite rapid three month trek into South Vietnam and thus he became a rare and highly respected artist veteran who painted on the front lines of both the French and Vietnam - American Wars.

Conceived as a strategy both to help maintain morale, and to spread propaganda art, artists of various disciplines were attached to a special 'Literature and Arts' Division of the Armed Forces called 'Van Nghe'. The artists included those who served in theatre groups, singers, writers, and dancers, most of whom travelled with, and sometimes even fought alongside, the combatants of the NVA regulars and NLF.

Following the Battle of Firebase Khe Sanh, Tam returned North and became the director and presenter of several group exhibitions featuring both propaganda and combat art. He gave Ho Chi Minh a personal guided tour on two occasions, such was the prestige in which Tam was held.

 In 1970, Tam made the long trek South for an extraordinary second time and chronicled events leading up to the final victory, one of which depicting a Russian-made armoured vehicle with troops mounted aboard drawn in 1972.

Following the end of the Vietnam American War in April 1975, Tam was appointed director of the Military Museum in Hanoi.

Colonel Phan Thanh Tam lives and works in Ho Chi Minh city. He is one of a rare handful of artists who drew and painted on the battle fronts of both the French and American wars. Some 60% of his companion artists did not return.

- Richard di San Marzano-