Application of Virtual Reality to Enhance the Interpretation Dong Ho Folk Paintings in Museums of Fine Arts in Ho Chi Minh City

In many works related to architecture, the museum is the only place to store documents and display artifacts related to the historical process, reflecting the culture of a city, a nation, or a country. However, the strength of the technological age and the consequences of war occurred as the storm destroyed the cultural identity layers. The city has also faced the abandon of past achievements in the modernization context. The relationship between conservation and development is, therefore, a controversial issue in the process of reservation art folk painting and art museums. It is still a painful problem that has not yet ended in Vietnam. An undeniable fact is that the city-county has not appropriately preserved museums and art folk paintings in Vietnam. This fact has led to the young generation in the city are not interested in visiting the museum. Among the folk paintings in Vietnam, Dong Ho paintings belong to the line of paintings printed on wood carving planks, created, produced by the villagers of Dong Ho village, and developed into craft villages. This is a line of painting that attaches and vividly shows the traditional Vietnamese agricultural society, the working life of a traditional farmer, and the daily life of the Vietnamese people. Currently, Dong Ho folk paintings are in danger of dying out due to the impact of the market economy, changes in people’s aesthetic needs, and difficulties in the output of paintings. Besides, according to a number of painters, Dong Ho paintings are no longer as innocent, simple, “pure Vietnamese” as before, but are gradually being commercialized, with no rich colors like ancient paintings. Dong Ho painting profession today exists weakly, only a few families maintain. According to recent statistics, the number of artisans is only three people, the number of practitioners is about 20, the number of artists who are still capable of teaching is only two people (Mr. Nguyen Huu Sam and Mr. Nguyen Dang Che) are all elderly (Dung 2013). With the power of Virtual Reality, we can transfer not only the architectural aspect but also revive the cultural values hidden within art folk painting to the community as the best way to preserve the culture for all next generations without sacrificing the development potential of the country. Researching on “Application of Virtual Reality to enhance the interpretation, Dong Ho folk painting of Museum of Fine Arts in Ho Chi Minh city” was chosen for that purpose.