Built from scratch by Le Van Danh (a farmer) and Tran Quoc Hai (a self-taught mechanic) both from Tay Ninh Province (it was here that the US military had their Combat Aviation Battalion and assault helicopter companies), the desire to build a helicopter came as a dream to ‘own’ one of the flying machines, in effect it was a wish to capture
The work, which opened June 30, consists of an installation made up of a three-channel video projected along a corridor-like gallery, along with a helicopter that was hand-built from recycled scrap parts by Le Van Danh, a farmer, and Tran Quoc Hai, a self-taught mechanic.
Dinh Q. Lê in collaboration with Tran Quoc Hai, Le Van Danh, Phu-Nam Thuc Ha, and Tuan Andrew Nguyen. Still from The Farmers and The Helicopters. 2006. Three-channel video (color, sound), 15 min., and helicopter.
Update April 25: Tran Quoc Hai has appealed to Vietnam’s prime minister, asking him to allow testing to continue. The prime minister intervened in the case late last year, telling government officials to proceed with a review of the helicopter, when it had appeared they might not do so.
Update April 25: Tran Quoc Hai has appealed to Vietnam’s prime minister, asking him to allow testing to continue. The prime minister intervened in the case late last year, telling government officials to proceed with a review of the helicopter, when it had appeared they might not do so.
Tran Quoc Hai has become well known to all Vietnamese as the mechanic who successfully manufactured armored vehicles for the Cambodian army and received a medal from the Cambodian government.
While living in Vietnam in 2004, Lê read a newspaper article about two men—Le Van Danh, a farmer, and Tran Quoc Hai, a self-taught mechanic—who had built a helicopter from scrap metal parts in a remote Vietnamese village.
Based on their stories, the artist came up with "The Farmers and the Helicopters" in collaboration with Tran Quoc Hai, Ha Thuc Phu Nam and Nguyen Tuan Andrew. The exhibition, perhaps Le’s most important work so far, was acquired in 2009 by MoMA, a leading museum of modern and contemporary art in the world.
The work, which opened June 30, consists of an installation made up of a three-channel video projected along a corridor-like gallery, along with a helicopter that was hand-built from recycled scrap parts by Le Van Danh, a farmer, and Tran Quoc Hai, a self-taught mechanic.
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