THE MAN WHO SELL SMILES.
At the intersection of Tran Quoc Thao and Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, by his decrepit bike, a man is selling masks with all kind of expressions, from a bizarre, depressing look to a hilarious, smiling face.
Behind that man is a touching story about his interest in “hat tuong.” For almost 30 years, a 56-year-old from Hoai Nhon, Binh Dinh, Mr. Nguyen Van Bay has been endeavoring to preserve this particular type of stage art from fading away. Solely taught by himself, he managed to craft the masks from those characters from “hat boi,” the classical Vietnamese dramatic arts and sell them in Saigon.
An aged passion
“Back to my childhood days, I was incredibly determined to attend whenever the ‘hat boi’ performances were held in my village. What I loved most was the unique make-up wore by the actors. Those precise drawings could express either extreme anger or benevolence, a tearful face or an exultant one,” Mr. Bay recalls. Regrettably, this stage art has gradually become obsolete as the performance venues are not as many as before. Hence, it is the deepest wish of Mr. Bay to find a way that keep “hat tuong” in every person’s mind.
He reminisces: “I once had an uncertain job, and I thought as long as I do something that fits my passion, my life might get brighter. Since then, I have wandered around every street, and learned that very few people are taking up drawing masks as their primary job, so I decided to explore this path.” It was in the 1990s, when Mr. Bay moved to Saigon and, only with his bare hands, embarked on a journey portraying “hat tuong” (classical drama arts) faces through masks.
All the portrayed characters are heroes. To complete a mask takes approximately 3 days, including various parts done solely by Mr. Bay. “I would first create the mold out of clay, leave it covered by silicon. After using rock dust and plastic powder to form the product, I use an art brush to fill in the expression, the thickness varies depending on the characteristic of each historical figure.” It may look simple from the outside, but in fact, profound historical base and dexterity are both required to accurately build a mask. “For the characters to be clearly recognized, it is crucial to understand their personalities while carving the mold or making the drawings. Every stretch needs to be able to signify the color and the mien of the face in a way its distinct features are highlighted, and people can tell if it is a villain or a heroine only by first sight,” Mr. Bay explains.
Taking a sample out of the bike, he points at the mask and starts analyzing: “Take these characters from Tam Quoc Dien Nghia as an example, Quan Cong is hot-tempered but values righteous, so I sketched a red face, with the dramatic eyebrows. As for Cao Cao — a cynical person — the sketch would emphasize on his bear and his face.
“They are familiar with my face, not my mask.”
In spite of his passion, his mask is not much in demand. By his jargon, he smiles: “There are many people who do not know how can I live by this career during my lifetime. My face is not strange, but my mask is. Some days, I stands here all day but no mask is sold. Luckily my wife has a part-time job, it is quite enough for our life.”
I sit silently looking at the skinny body and the gray hair that have the austerity of living and the figure of an artist. A figure that is not too strange to those who travel on Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Dien Bien Phu, Nam Ky Khoi Nghia (Ho Chi Minh City) for nearly 30 years.
A large mask would cost 400,000 VND, a smaller one is 150,000 VND, and the vintage gold-colored is approximately 500,000 VND. At the back of his bike, Mr. Bay seems like carrying a trope, not to mention that more than 150 small masks are placed in the front basket. Sometimes people hear about Mr. Bay and reach out to him to place an order, then resell those masks at museums or use them as decorations in the coffee shops and mansions.
“There are blessed days when I can sell 2–3 masks, and there are days that I only wait there, no one would even stop by. I have a strong impression of November last year, when I was standing at Dien Bien Phu Street, a customer purchased everything on the bike without bargaining for a single penny. All of them were worth more than 20 millions VND, excluding the costs and expenses, I realized the profit of merely 10 million VND. I was incredibly exultant as I rode home as fast as I could to sketch even more characters. Was that a sign of their deities supporting me?”
When I asked him if he was discouraged or wanted to change to another job, he quietly turned away, seemed unsatisfied, and then answered: “I can go to work as a worker or another job to make a more stable money, but I just like to paint masks of people! Although increasingly forgotten, sluggish, I still paint, still sell, although people do not buy but look at that know and remember the classical drama arts. My wife and kids never complained, because they understood that I was too passionate about these masks!”
Mr. Vuong Duy Bien, former Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, once commented in a newspaper article: “I saw the masks Mr. Bay painted. Although the line is still amateur, cannot be compared with artisans, but very precious. In today’s industrial development society, there are still people who are passionate about and try to preserve the traditional culture, helping young people now and the generations to come to know the type of folk performance that is very respectful and promoting. ”
