Fight the Powers? Stifling, Isn't it?

After viewing the post on KissMyBlackAds about Shepard Fairey, I'm thinking of how his work would be influenced by Vietnamese culture or lack there of. . . Does street art exist in Ho Chi Minh City? Not that I have seen. Today was the first day I saw true graffiti, an oblong cartoon shape with x-ed out eyes. The only stencils I see are numbers on the buildings. Perhaps the authoritative government, or the majority religion has something to do with the lact of an original artist culture. Yes, there are a plethra of galleries and "artist studios" on the streets, but, these are tourist driven, and most canvas works are a copycat of what someone else did. Vietnamese are great at copying, but like I tell my students, I respect originality.