Vietnam's Propaganda Art: Getting the Message Across in Ho Chi Minh City!
O ut and about in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) you can’t miss those big, bold and colourful propaganda art posters plastered on billboards and walls, along and up-high on the city’s chaotic streets. This unique and iconic art form isn’t for tourist’s benefit or decorative purposes. In Vietnam, propaganda art is highly informative, closely connected to its development – from nationalist struggles to post-reunification. It relays important political, social, economic and cultural messages from the Socialist Republic Government and local People’s Committees, to the Vietnamese public, besides covering landmark national events and anniversaries. The posters speak for themselves, literally. This hand-painted. graphic-style art is brightly coloured (invariably emblazoned in red, reflecting the national flag), with a strong image that is usually direct, symbolic and simplistic and with colours, light and shapes much bolder than the norm. With straightforward and concise sloga