Van Thanh Rudd
Encyclopedia
Van Thanh Rudd is a Vietnamese Australian
artist, activist and the nephew of Australian former-Prime Minister
Kevin Rudd
. His artworks have created controversies due to their left-wing political content. Rudd is also a member of the Revolutionary Socialist Party
(RSP), and contested the seat of Lalor
in the 2010 federal election against Prime Minister
Julia Gillard
through the RSP, an unregistered party. He polled very poorly, generating 0.50% of the vote. Rudd studied at the Victorian College of the Arts
, RMIT University
and Griffith University
.
to Malcolm Rudd (the brother of Kevin Rudd) and Tuoi, and now resides in Footscray
, Melbourne
. He has a partner of Chilean heritage
, Tania; daughter, Loyola; and son, Manolo. Rudd says that his leftist political awakening came after meeting his partner, whose family fled Chile
after General Augusto Pinochet
deposed the elected socialist Salvador Allende
and began violently targeting leftists.
. It was titled "Smells Like Sulphur: A Tribute to Venezuela and the Art of Telling Bush to Piss Off", referencing Chavez' UN General Assembly speech the previous year, when he called former US President George W. Bush
"the devil
".
rejected a painting by Rudd depicting Ronald McDonald
setting fire to Thích Quảng Đức with the Olympic torch. According to Rudd, the artwork was a homage
to British street art
ist Banksy
and a comment on human rights
abuses in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games. Rudd accused the City of Melbourne of political censorship which they denied, claiming he was solely picked to feature in the Ho Chi Minh City
exhibition for his Vietnamese
heritage.
's parent company Veolia Environnement's light rail contract which is to link Israeli settlement
s in the West Bank
with Jerusalem. The artwork was displayed at Platform Artists Group
's public gallery, adjacent to Flinders Street Station
, a major train station in Melbourne. Connex threatened Rudd with legal action over his use of a similar font and colour-scheme to the company's logo and the Anti-Defamation League
accused the gallery of racism. The Electronic Intifada
claimed that Rudd's artwork was a boost to the campaign against Connex and Veolia - a part of the general Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
campaign against Israel
- whose contract to run Melbourne trains expired in November 2009.
2010, Rudd and RSP member, Sam King, dressed in Ku Klux Klan
outfits with the signs "Racism - Made in Australia" in front of the outfits, outside the Rod Laver Arena
during the Australian Open
to protest the refusal of the Victorian Government to treat the attacks on Indians in Victoria as racially-motivated and also the federal government's policies towards asylum seekers. Rudd and King were arrested within 10 minutes and charged with inciting a riot. Rudd also told the Indian weekly newsmagazine Outlook
that the "dominant culture in Australia is a racist culture."
, Kevin Rudd expressed to Neil Mitchell that he was not a fan of his nephew's political views but supported the notion of free speech in Australia, adding, "[you] can choose your friends but...". According to a member of the RSP, the former PM and his nephew are not in regular contact. In a later 2010 Fairfax
radio interview, on the same subject Kevin Rudd stated: "Do I agree in any way with what he's done? No I don't, absolutely." Rudd was the subject of an episode of ABC
program Australian Story
, broadcast in August 2010, which reported his uncle had been invited to appear, but declined.
for the House of Representatives
in the 2010 federal election against Labor
Prime Minister
Julia Gillard
for the unregistered RSP. This signals the RSP's failure to generate the 500-member minimum required by the Victorian Electoral Commission
to register as an official political party. He garnered a total of 516 votes, scoring 0.50% of the overall vote, with a +0.50% swing. This placed him as the second least preferred candidate, ahead of regional
tourism developer, Marc Aussie-Stone, compared to Gillard as first preference, who garnered 66,060 votes, scoring 64.26% of the overall vote, with a +4.37% swing. The artist claimed on an ABC radio interview his reason for running in the election was that the appointment of Gillard as PM marked "a more conservative path for Labor" and that she was "influenced by the mining
magnates... [and] the conservative unions
".
Vietnamese Australian
A Vietnamese Australian is an Australian either born in Vietnam or is an Australian descendant of the former. Communities of Overseas Vietnamese are referred to as Việt Kiều or người Việt hải ngoại.-History in Australia:...
artist, activist and the nephew of Australian former-Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
. His artworks have created controversies due to their left-wing political content. Rudd is also a member of the Revolutionary Socialist Party
Revolutionary Socialist Party (Australia)
The Revolutionary Socialist Party is a small socialist organisation in Australia, formed in 2008 by a split from the former Democratic Socialist Perspective . Members of the split were expelled from the DSP over debates about the organisation's participation in the Socialist Alliance...
(RSP), and contested the seat of Lalor
Division of Lalor
The Division of Lalor is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the outer western suburbs of Melbourne. It includes the suburbs of Werribee, Point Cook, Laverton, Rockbank and Melton....
in the 2010 federal election against Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
through the RSP, an unregistered party. He polled very poorly, generating 0.50% of the vote. Rudd studied at the Victorian College of the Arts
Victorian College of the Arts
The Faculty of the VCA and Music is a faculty of the University of Melbourne, in Victoria . VCAM is located near the Melbourne central business district, on two campuses, one - the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - on the Parkville campus of the University of Melbourne, and the other - the...
, RMIT University
RMIT University
RMIT University is an Australian public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. It has two branches, referred to as RMIT University in Australia and RMIT International University in Vietnam....
and Griffith University
Griffith University
Griffith University is a public, coeducational, research university located in the southeastern region of the Australian state of Queensland. The university has five satellite campuses located in the Gold Coast, Logan City and in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt, Nathan and South Bank. Current...
.
Personal life
Rudd was born in Nambour, QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
to Malcolm Rudd (the brother of Kevin Rudd) and Tuoi, and now resides in Footscray
Footscray, Victoria
Footscray is a suburb 5 km west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Maribyrnong. At the 2006 Census, Footscray had a population of 11,401....
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. He has a partner of Chilean heritage
Chilean Australian
Chilean Australians are Australians of Chilean descent or Chileans who have obtained Australian citizenship. In Australia, Chilean Australians are the biggest group of Latin American origin residing in the nation. The biggest Chilean Australian communities are primarily found in Sydney and Melbourne...
, Tania; daughter, Loyola; and son, Manolo. Rudd says that his leftist political awakening came after meeting his partner, whose family fled Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
after General Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
deposed the elected socialist Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
and began violently targeting leftists.
Hugo Chávez mural
In 2007 Rudd created an artwork depicting a large mural on a gallery wall with signatories of Australians who supported a visit to the country by Venezuelan President Hugo ChávezHugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
. It was titled "Smells Like Sulphur: A Tribute to Venezuela and the Art of Telling Bush to Piss Off", referencing Chavez' UN General Assembly speech the previous year, when he called former US President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
"the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
".
Banksy homage
In 2008 the City of MelbourneCity of Melbourne
The City of Melbourne is a Local Government Area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. The city has an area of 36 square kilometres and has an estimated population of 93,105 people. The city's motto is "Vires acquirit eundo" which means "She gathers strength as she...
rejected a painting by Rudd depicting Ronald McDonald
Ronald McDonald
Ronald McDonald is a clown character used as the primary mascot of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain. In television commercials, the clown inhabits a fantasy world called McDonaldland, and has adventures with his friends Mayor McCheese, the Hamburglar, Grimace, Birdie the Early Bird, and...
setting fire to Thích Quảng Đức with the Olympic torch. According to Rudd, the artwork was a homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to British street art
Street art
Street art is any art developed in public spaces — that is, "in the streets" — though the term usually refers to unsanctioned art, as opposed to government sponsored initiatives...
ist Banksy
Banksy
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based graffiti artist, political activist, film director, and painter.His satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine irreverent dark humour with graffiti done in a distinctive stencilling technique...
and a comment on human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
abuses in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games. Rudd accused the City of Melbourne of political censorship which they denied, claiming he was solely picked to feature in the Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
exhibition for his Vietnamese
Vietnamese people
The Vietnamese people are an ethnic group originating from present-day northern Vietnam and southern China. They are the majority ethnic group of Vietnam, comprising 86% of the population as of the 1999 census, and are officially known as Kinh to distinguish them from other ethnic groups in Vietnam...
heritage.
Connex controversy
In 2009 Rudd made an artwork critical of ConnexConnex Melbourne
Connex Melbourne was a wholly owned subsidiary of French company Veolia Environnement, which had a franchise from the State Government of Victoria to operate all suburban passenger rail services in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In August 2007, Connex's contract was extended to 30 November 2009....
's parent company Veolia Environnement's light rail contract which is to link Israeli settlement
Israeli settlement
An Israeli settlement is a Jewish civilian community built on land that was captured by Israel from Jordan, Egypt, and Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War and is considered occupied territory by the international community. Such settlements currently exist in the West Bank...
s in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
with Jerusalem. The artwork was displayed at Platform Artists Group
Platform artists group
Platform Artists Group Inc., commonly known as Platform, is one of the longest operating Australian artist-run initiatives. The organisation is run by volunteers who develop exhibitions of visual arts by young and emerging artists from Australia and around the world...
's public gallery, adjacent to Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station
Flinders Street Station is the central railway station of the suburban railway network of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is on the corner of Flinders and Swanston Streets next to the Yarra River in the heart of the city, stretching from Swanston Street to Queen Street and covering two city...
, a major train station in Melbourne. Connex threatened Rudd with legal action over his use of a similar font and colour-scheme to the company's logo and the Anti-Defamation League
Anti-Defamation League
The Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
accused the gallery of racism. The Electronic Intifada
Electronic Intifada
The Electronic Intifada is a not-for-profit, independent online publication which covers the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a Palestinian perspective, "aimed at combating the pro-Israeli, pro-American spin" its editors believe exists in mainstream media accounts.-History:EI was founded by Ali...
claimed that Rudd's artwork was a boost to the campaign against Connex and Veolia - a part of the general Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions refers to a campaign first initiated on 9 July 2005 by 171 Palestinian non-governmental organizations in support of the Palestinian cause ".....
campaign against Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
- whose contract to run Melbourne trains expired in November 2009.
Anti-racism protest
On Australia DayAustralia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
2010, Rudd and RSP member, Sam King, dressed in Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
outfits with the signs "Racism - Made in Australia" in front of the outfits, outside the Rod Laver Arena
Rod Laver Arena
Rod Laver Arena is a tennis stadium that is part of the Melbourne Park complex located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and has been the main venue for the Australian Open in tennis since 1988, replacing the ageing Kooyong Stadium...
during the Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
to protest the refusal of the Victorian Government to treat the attacks on Indians in Victoria as racially-motivated and also the federal government's policies towards asylum seekers. Rudd and King were arrested within 10 minutes and charged with inciting a riot. Rudd also told the Indian weekly newsmagazine Outlook
Outlook (magazine)
Outlook is one of India's four top-selling English weekly newsmagazines. Like many other Indian magazines, it is reluctant to reveal its circulation, but the 2007 National Readership Survey suggested 1.5 million copies...
that the "dominant culture in Australia is a racist culture."
Relationship with Kevin Rudd
In a 2010 interview on 3AW3AW
3AW is a talkback radio station in Melbourne, Australia on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.-History:...
, Kevin Rudd expressed to Neil Mitchell that he was not a fan of his nephew's political views but supported the notion of free speech in Australia, adding, "[you] can choose your friends but...". According to a member of the RSP, the former PM and his nephew are not in regular contact. In a later 2010 Fairfax
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The group's operations include newspapers, magazines, radios and digital media operating in Australia and New Zealand. Fairfax Media was founded by the Fairfax family as John Fairfax and Sons, later to become John...
radio interview, on the same subject Kevin Rudd stated: "Do I agree in any way with what he's done? No I don't, absolutely." Rudd was the subject of an episode of ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
program Australian Story
Australian Story
Australian Story is a national weekly documentary series, produced and broadcast on ABC Television.Since 1996 Australian Story has featured many Australians from diverse backgrounds and reputations...
, broadcast in August 2010, which reported his uncle had been invited to appear, but declined.
2010 federal election
Rudd contested the seat of LalorDivision of Lalor
The Division of Lalor is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It is located in the outer western suburbs of Melbourne. It includes the suburbs of Werribee, Point Cook, Laverton, Rockbank and Melton....
for the House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
in the 2010 federal election against Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Julia Gillard
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
for the unregistered RSP. This signals the RSP's failure to generate the 500-member minimum required by the Victorian Electoral Commission
Victorian Electoral Commission
The Victorian Electoral Commission , or VEC, is the government agency responsible for the running of state, municipal and various non-government elections in Victoria.-An Independent Agency:...
to register as an official political party. He garnered a total of 516 votes, scoring 0.50% of the overall vote, with a +0.50% swing. This placed him as the second least preferred candidate, ahead of regional
Regional Australia
Regional Australia is a definition of the Australian Government designed to promote some areas of the country, especially for immigration. People who work in these areas can be granted extra points when applying for a resident visa...
tourism developer, Marc Aussie-Stone, compared to Gillard as first preference, who garnered 66,060 votes, scoring 64.26% of the overall vote, with a +4.37% swing. The artist claimed on an ABC radio interview his reason for running in the election was that the appointment of Gillard as PM marked "a more conservative path for Labor" and that she was "influenced by the mining
Mining in Australia
Mining in Australia is a significant primary industry and contributor to the Australian economy. Historically, mining booms have also encouraged immigration to Australia. Many different ores and minerals are mined throughout the country.-History:...
magnates... [and] the conservative unions
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
".
See also
- Kevin RuddKevin RuddKevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
- Victorian College of the Arts Alumni
- RMIT Alumni
- Griffith University Alumni
External links
- van-thanh-rudd.net
- Van Rudd for Lalor (Facebook)