(NADS) - The scientific conference "Khanh Ky - Life and career" organized by the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists in collaboration with Lai Xa Photography Museum honored Nguyen Dinh Khanh, also known as Khanh Ky, as a talented photographer and successful businessman, while affirming the contributions of a silent but courageous patriotic activist in the turbulent early years of the 20th century in the nation's history.
Attending the workshop were: Dr. Doan Thanh No, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations; Artist Tran Thi Thu Dong, Vice President of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations, President of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists; Artist-NB Ho Sy Minh, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists, Editor-in-Chief of Photography and Life Magazine; Artist Le Nguyen, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists; Historian Duong Trung Quoc, Editor-in-Chief of Past and Present Magazine; Artist Nguyen Van Thang, Director of Lai Xa Photography Museum...
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the workshop, NSNA Tran Thi Thu Dong, Vice President of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations, President of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists, said that photography was introduced to Vietnam in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the country was still immersed in the long night of French colonial rule. In that context, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Khanh soon became involved with this new art form. With his talent, acumen, and eagerness to learn, he quickly grasped the techniques and opened the famous Khanh Ky photo studio, laying the foundation for the development of early Vietnamese photography.
Not only did he develop his personal career, according to NSNA Tran Thi Thu Dong, Mr. Khanh Ky also made great contributions to spreading the photography profession to his hometown Lai Xa. Lai Xa photography village is not only famous domestically but also internationally, affirming the position of Vietnamese photography on the world map. It can be said that Lai Xa is the "Capital of Photography" of Vietnam, and Mr. Nguyen Dinh Khanh deserves to be honored as the "Ancestor" of the craft village, the one who opened the path of professional photography for the country.
“The workshop is an opportunity for us to review, deepen and honor the great and comprehensive contributions of Mr. Nguyen Dinh Khanh to Vietnamese photography and the revolutionary cause of the nation. We not only see him as a talented photographer, a successful businessman, but also see in him a deep patriotism, a noble national spirit, always looking towards the homeland and country”, the Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists emphasized.
The Organizing Committee of the Conference received 11 papers and 1 documentary film from 12 authors, including many elaborate and profound articles containing many new documents and information, highlighting the great values and contributions of Khanh Ky.
At the Workshop, scientists, photographers, and photography critics affirmed Nguyen Dinh Khanh's great contributions to Hanoi photography and Vietnamese photography in general; affirmed Nguyen Dinh Khanh's position as an outstandingly talented photographer of Vietnam in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; clarified Nguyen Dinh Khanh's role as a successful photography entrepreneur; and honored Nguyen Dinh Khanh as a patriot.
According to NSNA Hoang Kim Dang, in 1892, Khanh Ky - the first Lai Xa person to open a photo studio in Hanoi was considered a historical milestone for the birth of Lai Xa Photography, a significant event in the development of Vietnamese photography in the late 19th century. According to incomplete statistics, from 1892 to 1960, Lai Xa photographers had the largest quantity and quality in the country with nearly 200 photo studios and over 2,000 technical workers in all three fields of photography, darkroom techniques and lightroom techniques. Many of Khanh Ky's first class students were famous, such as Dinh Ba Trung, Nguyen Van Tu, Nguyen Van Dinh, Nguyen Van Sung, Nguyen Duy Nhien, Pham Van Giai, Pham Van Cam, Nguyen Van Tin, Nguyen Van Trieu, Pham Van Uyen, Pham Van Tuu, Nguyen Van Chanh, Nguyen Doan Ung, etc.
Not only was he the one who brought photography to Lai Xa, Nguyen Dinh Khanh was also a photographer of stature, having a profound influence on the development of Vietnamese press, commercial and artistic photography.
Besides, Nguyen Dinh Khanh is also considered a successful photography entrepreneur. NSNA Chu Chi Thanh believes that the photography business model like Khanh Ky is a particularly surprising phenomenon because in the context of the backward Indochina economy, not yet free from the feudal regime, just approaching the French capitalist economy, Lai Xa Photography Village was formed as an association, a corporation.
According to artist Chu Chi Thanh, Nguyen Dinh Khanh started his own business, opened his own photo studio, then invited villagers to Hanoi to teach them the craft, and guided them to become owners of photo studios throughout Hanoi, Saigon, and other provinces nationwide. Not limited to the country, he also developed his career in Laos, Cambodia, Southern China, France, Germany, and Myanmar.
To actively produce and improve the quality of photos, Khanh Ky paid attention to the trade of photographic supplies. In 1921, he brought 400 kg of photographic supplies from France to Saigon to open a photo shop. This was a large import of film developing chemicals, photo printing, and photo paper. These supplies were not only for his shop, but also provided to all Lai Xa photo shops. Standard sources of supplies and unique photography techniques were the decisive factors in the quality of beautiful and lasting photos that made the brand of Lai Xa photo shops.
Artist Chu Chi Thanh also emphasized that the word "Lai" or "Ky", in addition to the meaning of bearing the mark of the homeland and the teacher-student relationship, it also means the brand of a business group. Building a brand in business means creating a reputation that makes the store popular and profitable, and the person who connects Lai Xa photography village, gathering them into a sustainable business group, is none other than Khanh Ky.
NSNA Tran Manh Thuong affirmed that Nguyen Dinh Khanh was a passionate patriot. While still in the country, Nguyen Dinh Khanh actively participated in the Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc movement of Mr. Luong Van Can. During the process of patriotic activities being exposed, he secretly went to France.
During his time in France, he actively participated in patriotic activities of the overseas Vietnamese community. Nguyen Dinh Khanh became an important member of the “Council of Dear Compatriots” founded by Phan Chau Trinh and lawyer Phan Van Truong, an organization that gathered patriotic Vietnamese in France, oriented towards the Fatherland.
In particular, the presentations at the conference clarified the special relationship between Khanh Ky and leader Nguyen Ai Quoc and affirmed his role in supporting and assisting his revolutionary activities. It was the photography profession taught by Mr. Khanh Ky that helped Nguyen Ai Quoc have another means of earning a living, covering his vibrant revolutionary activities in France. Thereby, it was affirmed that Khanh Ky had made an important contribution to maintaining and developing the movement to fight for national independence.
The presentations at the Workshop also proposed recommendations and continued to clarify some contents such as: It is necessary to continue to verify with scientific arguments the date of birth and death of Mr. Khanh Ky to match historical reality; Promote historical and cultural values, spread the spirit of Mr. Khanh Ky through useful activities, such as organizing tours to the source, to Lai Xa craft village, upgrading Lai Xa museum...; Propose that Hanoi city put Mr. Nguyen Dinh Khanh's name on the list of naming streets in Hanoi and some other provinces and cities of Vietnam; Organize learning and following the example, promoting the noble values of the craft village's founder to contribute to enhancing the brand of Vietnamese photography; Continue to honor Mr. Khanh Ky not only as the "King of Photography" but also as a patriotic activist in the early 20th century such as Phan Chu Trinh, Phan Boi Chau.
In his closing remarks at the workshop, NSNA Ho Sy Minh, Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists, affirmed that the results of the workshop contributed significantly to preserving and promoting the values of the photographic heritage that Mr. Khanh Ky had worked hard to build and develop in the Vietnamese photography art, while educating the tradition of patriotism and national spirit for today's and tomorrow's young generations.
Source: https://nhiepanhdoisong.vn/cuoc-doi-va-su-nghiep-cua-nha-nhiep-anh-nguyen-dinh-khanh-khanh-ky-15871.html
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