A teenager's passion for stone lions has given them an imposing globalpresence via a wesbite on which he uploads photographs that can be seenin three dimensions.
Creators of traditional fine artsthroughout the country can satisfy their hunger for images of Vietnamesetemple and pagoda nghe (kylin/lions) lions at a unique website set upby Hanoi-based teenager Nguyen Tri Quang.
Quang's father, who ishimself a sculptor of traditional mythical animals, accompanied his sonon many of his photographic journeys.
Through his www.vr3d.vnwebsite, people can flip through thousands of photos of the animalsdepicted in statues at pagodas and temples throughout northern andcentral regions.
With one click, stone sculptures can be viewed in three dimensions and from different angles.
Fine-artsresearcher Nguyen Duc Binh from the Ministry of Culture, Sports andTourism, told Vietnam News that the site was the first of its kind inVietnam.
Culture Deputy Minister Dang Thi Bich Lien praisedQuang's efforts to scan and post up photos of Vietnamese stone nghe. Hedid it to support the ministry's decision to raise awareness of theVietnamese style of sacred animals, which do not have the needle sharpteeth and claws aped from foreign countries.
"At his age, manyteenagers are more interested in games and other entertainingactivities," she said, "Quang developed his passion for pagodas andtemples and spent much time designing the website. It's an encouragingsign that there are such young people spreading traditional fine arts."
Whenthe culture ministry advised religious and other authorities to removealien animals from worship and public places, experts searchedeverywhere for the best models of Vietnamese nghe.
"We werevery surprised to find Quang's website, which had run almost a yearbefore the advise was introduced. It was truly a gold mine," Binh said.
Quanghas gathered ancient models of Vietnamese nghe from about 50 pagodasand temples in the northern and central regions to inspire craftsmen todesign true models of traditional holy animals.
His photosinclude some of a stone nghe from the Ly dynasty (1010-1225) at PhatTich Pagoda in the northern province of Bac Ninh, stone nghe [mythicalanimal with head of lion and body of dog] in Hue inner citadel, and adragon staircase at Kinh Thien Palace in downtown Hanoi.
"The website is a golden key to preserving Vietnamese holy sculptures," said researcher Tran Hau Yen The.
NguyenQuang Dieu, head of management board of Ninh Van Handicraft Village inthe northern province of Ninh Binh is overjoyed about the website.
"Wecan save our time going to relic sites to research stone objects. Nowwe have a reliable source for our creative products," he said.
Quangsaid he had accompanied his father to the most remote and desertedpagodas and temples to record holy animal sculptures and decorativepatterns for the family business.
Quang loses himself intraditional fine arts. "It depends on the sculpture," he said, "If itcontains too many small details, then the time spent in scanning isquite long. I have to scan every detail, measure single small cornersand then process all statistics and images on computer to make finalsculpture in 3D style."
One of Quang's first successes wassupporting sculptor Nguyen Van Vu in making a 17th century model of anghe for Le Thanh Tong temple in the central province of Thanh Hoa.
Thetrouble was that the tail of the animal in the original sculpture wasbroken. However, this does not deter Quang, who added a photographicimage from a similar beast from the same period to the image.
"Holyanimals and antiques are just my first steps," Quang said. "Mylonger-term purpose is to disitalise the whole Vietnamese culturalheritage and gather them in a virtual museum."
He said through his scanning process, original colours and sizes of sculptures had been preserved.
Quang also dreams of getting permission from museums around the world to scan Vietnamese antiques they possess.
He taught himself computer skills to design the website and post images that audience can examine from all directions.
He has succeeded in persuading his parents to let him quit school after finishing 9th grade to concentrate on his website.
"Atfirst, I just intended to create a website to introduce my family'sproducts," he said, "Then, I realised that the same technology could beapplied in e-commerce."
Quang said some Vietnamese museums had already contacted him for their virtual museum projects.-VNA
Creators of traditional fine artsthroughout the country can satisfy their hunger for images of Vietnamesetemple and pagoda nghe (kylin/lions) lions at a unique website set upby Hanoi-based teenager Nguyen Tri Quang.
Quang's father, who ishimself a sculptor of traditional mythical animals, accompanied his sonon many of his photographic journeys.
Through his www.vr3d.vnwebsite, people can flip through thousands of photos of the animalsdepicted in statues at pagodas and temples throughout northern andcentral regions.
With one click, stone sculptures can be viewed in three dimensions and from different angles.
Fine-artsresearcher Nguyen Duc Binh from the Ministry of Culture, Sports andTourism, told Vietnam News that the site was the first of its kind inVietnam.
Culture Deputy Minister Dang Thi Bich Lien praisedQuang's efforts to scan and post up photos of Vietnamese stone nghe. Hedid it to support the ministry's decision to raise awareness of theVietnamese style of sacred animals, which do not have the needle sharpteeth and claws aped from foreign countries.
"At his age, manyteenagers are more interested in games and other entertainingactivities," she said, "Quang developed his passion for pagodas andtemples and spent much time designing the website. It's an encouragingsign that there are such young people spreading traditional fine arts."
Whenthe culture ministry advised religious and other authorities to removealien animals from worship and public places, experts searchedeverywhere for the best models of Vietnamese nghe.
"We werevery surprised to find Quang's website, which had run almost a yearbefore the advise was introduced. It was truly a gold mine," Binh said.
Quanghas gathered ancient models of Vietnamese nghe from about 50 pagodasand temples in the northern and central regions to inspire craftsmen todesign true models of traditional holy animals.
His photosinclude some of a stone nghe from the Ly dynasty (1010-1225) at PhatTich Pagoda in the northern province of Bac Ninh, stone nghe [mythicalanimal with head of lion and body of dog] in Hue inner citadel, and adragon staircase at Kinh Thien Palace in downtown Hanoi.
"The website is a golden key to preserving Vietnamese holy sculptures," said researcher Tran Hau Yen The.
NguyenQuang Dieu, head of management board of Ninh Van Handicraft Village inthe northern province of Ninh Binh is overjoyed about the website.
"Wecan save our time going to relic sites to research stone objects. Nowwe have a reliable source for our creative products," he said.
Quangsaid he had accompanied his father to the most remote and desertedpagodas and temples to record holy animal sculptures and decorativepatterns for the family business.
Quang loses himself intraditional fine arts. "It depends on the sculpture," he said, "If itcontains too many small details, then the time spent in scanning isquite long. I have to scan every detail, measure single small cornersand then process all statistics and images on computer to make finalsculpture in 3D style."
One of Quang's first successes wassupporting sculptor Nguyen Van Vu in making a 17th century model of anghe for Le Thanh Tong temple in the central province of Thanh Hoa.
Thetrouble was that the tail of the animal in the original sculpture wasbroken. However, this does not deter Quang, who added a photographicimage from a similar beast from the same period to the image.
"Holyanimals and antiques are just my first steps," Quang said. "Mylonger-term purpose is to disitalise the whole Vietnamese culturalheritage and gather them in a virtual museum."
He said through his scanning process, original colours and sizes of sculptures had been preserved.
Quang also dreams of getting permission from museums around the world to scan Vietnamese antiques they possess.
He taught himself computer skills to design the website and post images that audience can examine from all directions.
He has succeeded in persuading his parents to let him quit school after finishing 9th grade to concentrate on his website.
"Atfirst, I just intended to create a website to introduce my family'sproducts," he said, "Then, I realised that the same technology could beapplied in e-commerce."
Quang said some Vietnamese museums had already contacted him for their virtual museum projects.-VNA
