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C. David Thomas <cdavidthomas@yahoo.com>
date Dec 8, 2006 11:46 AM
subject [Vsg] Fwd: FLIGHT......from Bradford and...NY Times....
Hi VSG folks,
Well we are on the subject of Bradford Edwards, I thought you all might
like reading the following e-mail I received today from Bradford. The
attachments will give you a good picture of the paper fighter jet he
made. Quite impressive. If any of you have ever been to one of Dao Anh
Khanh's performances, you could only imagine how powerful the burning
of the fighter with Anh Khanh performing would have been. Maybe
someday.
David Thomas
>
> well,.......here is the info about our project...Cultural Police
> prohibited us from burning the plane...so now it is being converted
> into a small guest house for "young honeymooners" to make babies in
> the sky...true story....go figure.....Vietnam, Vietnam.....
>
>
> “FLIGHT” STATEMENT
>
> A common practice in Vietnamese traditional funeral ritual is burning
> symbols of material goods so that this wealth might ascend to the
> heavens with the deceased. These symbols are made out of paper and
> wood and are designed to burn easily. Depending on the status of the
> person who died, the models can be very elaborate and colorful or
> quite simple in form. Paper money is always used and one can see
> various sized models of houses, furniture, televisions, cars,
> motorbikes, etc.
>
> My father was a helicopter and jet (Phantom F-4) pilot during 2 tours
> of duty during the American Vietnam War. The father of a Vietnamese
> friend and artist, Nguyen Manh Hung, was also a jet fighter pilot
> (MiG 21) during the same conflict. Our fathers flew in opposite
> directions – their jet streams crisscrossing – both jet’s shadows
> cast on these very fields. We decided to make our own version of a
> fighter jet and burn it in a symbolic effort to exorcise this
> “instrument of destruction” from our own lives.
>
> “Flight” was originally conceived from a vision that I had over a
> year ago in a dusky street cafe. I asked Hung, whom I admire and had
> wanted to work with for some time, to collaborate with me. We decided
> to make a huge life-sized jet out of bamboo and white rice paper in
> Hanoi and light in on fire while a well-known performance Vietnamese
> artist, Dao Anh Khanh, dances around the flaming sculpture to
> original music composed by Hung.
>
> This performance will take place at dusk outside in a large field
> surrounded by brick walls in Gia Lam, a semi-rural area next to Hanoi
> on Saturday, November 25th. “Flight” will be free and open to the
> public - this project is generously sponsored by Saigon Open City and
> the Ford Foundation.
>
> “Flight” has a wider context than just our own personal histories.
> Jets serve only one purpose – they are devastating weapons ultimately
> used for killing people. We believe that by lovingly handcrafting our
> own jet with warm and organic materials we can render this high-tech
> war machine soft and harmless. Through this process, the jet is
> transformed into a beautifully shaped sculpture – a white bird of
> peace.
>
Chuck Searcy <chucksearcy@yahoo.com>
date Dec 8, 2006 5:25 PM
subject Re: [Vsg] Fwd: FLIGHT......from Bradford and...NY Times....
David,
Thanks for sharing this. I was not aware of Bradford's current project, but since the authorities would not allow the plane to be burned maybe it's still there and I can go see it in Gia Lam. I have a friend named Mich whose father did flight maintenance for the MIG fighter jets at Noi Bai Airport during the war, so he named his son "Mich" in honor of the Russian jets.
Chuck
Mike High <mike.high@earthlink.net>
date Dec 9, 2006 9:36 AM
subject Re: [Vsg] Fwd: FLIGHT......from Bradford and...NY Times....
This is a bit off the point of this remarkable and beautiful project, but the reference to “both jet’s shadows cast on these very fields” reminded me of a question that’s been bothering me about the spring of 1975. I’ve read that the RVN had the fourth or fifth largest air force in the world. And certainly the north had its MIGs. Yet the accounts of the spring offensive that I’ve read have few references at all to any kind of air combat.
There were helicopter insertions and evacuations, of course, and some scattered references to air support on the RVN side, but no indication of extensive use of air power. Considering the tanks and trucks employed by the PAVN, and the narrow valley routes that were being used to reach the coast, that seems surprising.
Also surprising is the lack of references to air support on the other side. (At least until RVN planes were captured and put to use.) Did the DRV decide not to use their planes south of the DMZ because they were concerned about international opinion? Or was the RVNAF still strong enough to have undisputed control of the air, even if it could not affect events on the ground?
:: Mike High
Great Falls, VA, USA
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