22.10.2006
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A MAGICAL ARTISTIC PICTURE
Min Ko Naing’s Mother
(In remembrance for Min Ko Naing’s birthday 18-10-2006)
_ written by Thu Rein Htet
_translated by Dr. San Oo Aung
Actually I am not a very good arts critic nor reviewer nor even have a talent to understand or feel a picture perfectly. I even could not fully enjoy the world’s famous “The Mona Lisa’s Smile” (Leonardo da Vinci’s) and Van Gogh's “The Potato-Eaters”.
But some of the pictures curiously attracted my attention and stayed in my memory forever. For example, Paw Oo Thet’s “Family” and some other pictures drawn by the persons I failed to remember.
A picture of the mother successfully trying to protect her child with her chest from the impending gun shot by a Nazi soldier. I frequently remembered that mother’s love.
Another one was drawn by a child. Frontier border area Primary School Children’s picture. In that picture their parents were happily smiling and holding her hands and walking through the field of blossoming flowers. Although it could not happen again in the real world, it showed the dreams and feelings of a child.
Oh God, I am remembering the portraits or drawing about the families’ loves!
It is true, nowadays I used to see and remember in my heart of the picture, “Mother” drawn by Min Ko Naing.
On the morning he was arrested second time, he asked permission from his mother by telling _
“I will follow them for a while and will come back in the evening” . His words just wishing to please his mother showed his love and care for his mother. His picture provednhis love for his mother.
Min Ko Naing’s father is a famous artist but Min Ko Naing is more interested in writing poems, which I had read, than drawing pictures. This “Mother” picture is the only one picture he had drawn. I think he did not obey the rules of drawing pictures, he ignored perspective, lightning, colour combination, tone etc. But as he emphasized on his feelings, his picture appears more artistic.
In Min Ko Naing’s Mother picture, mother is holding, leaning and longing for her son’s return. Mothers eyes are dull and listless but looks as if she really believed her son’s return. On the side wall there is a calendar marked with red numerous crosses on each day passed without his return. In the picture there is a unfinished book and ball pens. Her son’s football, dust collected green Guitar with un-tuned strings, a hand bag without the user is also hanging on the wall.
Min Ko Naing’s Mother picture was painted in a dim listless colour. However, the true meaning and feelings it gives are so bright and clear. (It gives a very bright meaning and deep feeling to the audiences for all the mothers of political prisoners or political refugees.)
Min Ko Naing told his mother that he would be coming back in the evening and yet his mother is still waiting for him, as in his picture.
Like her, there would be a lot of mothers waiting for the ‘bad’ (politically involved) sons.
We also wish to go back home but up to now we all are away from our mothers.
[Photo of the picture: Credits to DVB]
[Recommendation: Related article Museum of Burmese Prisoners' Lives ]
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