Reflection on the article:"Alternative Hanoi"

In this article, I realised that the artists in Vietnam are actually struggling, like those in other countries, for acknowledgement and recognition in the society just because people feel that their works are spoiling the country's reputation and are extreme and are normally banned by the local government. It is not fair for those artists. They are capable of producing quality work and are creative but many have to turn into forging works of famous painters like Van Gogh and Dali to earn a living because they are not earning from their original paintings which people find disturbing. It is so as paintings of these Vietnamese artists normally show sides of local government and military officers.
Art is a way to express one's feelings and emotions. Thus, it is not up to the others if it is "good" or not and, not to say, ban it.
This article reminds me of movie censorship in Singapore. In local filmmaker, Royston Tan's first movie, 15, 15 scenes were censored before it was allowed to be shown to the public though this film received numerous awards and gained international recognition.
It is rather ironic that the government wants to promote the arts.
I sometimes wonder how free we, as human beings, are.


Cai Feng