Tet Nam Bo nam 1954 [New Year Festival in 1954]

Depicts Vietnamese people and soldiers celebrating the Lunar New Year festival in South Vietnam in 1954. Several people carry a portrait of 'Uncle Ho, Ho Chi Minh and one of the soldiers carrys a red flag with a yellow flag on it, the flag of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) . This flag was adopted in 1950s, with the five points of the star representing the farmers, workers, intellectuals, youth and soldiers in Vietnam. During the 1950s and '60s in Vietnam, poster artists often worked in a social-realist style promoted by the state, with art serving propaganda purposes. The most important and patriotic subject matter in posters was realistic portraits of peasants, workers and soldiers. Ho Chi Minh, in particular, felt that art must 'speak to the masses' and artists took on a new role, fighting in the struggle for independence and national liberation. The posters were important in an ideological campaign that sought to promote a high regard for labour, collectivism and patriotism, during a period of socialist transformation and cultural revolution in Vietnam.