Statues in Saigon Central Post Office

Statues in Saigon Central Post Office

In 1997, on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, the two sides of the post office were equipped with two groups of statues (fig. 1), which is reminiscent of the socialist realism style. Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art developed and popular in the Soviet Union and other socialist countries (Encyclopaedia Britannica 2021). The purpose of socialist realism was to propagate and promote the Soviet ideals, especially the Party (Cary and Grossberg 1988). These statues present an idealized Socialist in Vietnam.  

This style’s character often refers to depicting communist values, such as the emancipation of the proletariat (Pavel 1971). The figures in the Socialist realism style are very often highly idealized, have a “prevailing sense of optimism”, and elevate the common worker, whether factory or agricultural, by presenting their life, work, and recreation as admirable (Richard 2004). These two groups of statues also employ that. The statues on the left are a young man and woman in costumes very similar to peasants (Ba Ba shirt, broad-brimmed cap, bandana – regular traditional costumes of peasants in the South). The statues on the right depict two seemingly young, a girl wearing “ao dai” (a traditional clothes of Vietnamese women, especially young student girl), perhaps to appeal to the student/intellectual class. We can quickly find similar images in other art forms such as posters and newspapers (fig. 2) 

The characters in the pictures and both groups of statues are shown with solid and muscular bodies, slightly smiling, standing upright, with their heads raised high towards the front. We can interpret these details as confidence in the future, in the revolution, in the Communist Party – very similar to the message conveyed by the statue of Ho Chi Minh in front of the City Hall.  

Thus, The Post Office – a colonial building that promoted many French ideas about civilization and (technological) prosperity, is reframed, pushing partly back itscolonial past and affirming Vietnam’s confidence in building the future. 

References: 

Encyclopaedia Britannica 2021. "Socialist Realism." Last modified August 31, 2021 (29 May 2022).  

Nelson, Cary and Lawrence, Grossberg. 1988. Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. Illinois: University of Illinois Press. 

Pavel, Korin. 1971. “Thoughts on Art.” In Socialist Realism in Literature and Art, edited by n/a, 89–102. Moscow: Progress Publishers. 

Nguyen Van Trung

Nguyen Van Trung, Fulbright University Vietnam. CC BY-NC-ND