SUMMARY

In the first article Sándor Bacskai interviews photo artist György Gáti: “In 1998 I was called on by a pharmaceutical factory to present their products in a special way. I created a small world of objects, and I realized in it the option of image composition what I had been unable to create constantly on documentary photos … Ever since the attraction to image composition has guided me, but by now I no longer create its world but I find it and mark it out by means of the frame. This is the best in photographing, recognizing, discovering things.”

In Squaring of the circle Judit Szeifert reviews László Tasnádi’s photo series: “On his photos he remembers and reminds us, as well to the limited nature of our life, and to the unlimited nature of our opportunities. As it has turned out, squaring of the circle is impossible with the means of Euclidean geometry but attempts to do it have cleared a way to new fields. The present series of László Tasnádi proves that not finding the sole solution but seeking, constant experimenting is the most important.

Zoltán Fáy reports on Melinda Kovács’s photo series – Clear form: “To some extent this series is a painful, sarcastic criticism of the prosaic mediocrity. This is why their hand- and headlessness is not frightening. In the meticulously created spaces of the everyday and festive life all kinds of imperfection seem to be funny rather than dreadful. What can be frightening in the series at all, are we ourselves, our poor life often becoming suffocating.” The article is completed by Melinda Kovács’s talking about the phases of the work.

In Me and the other one Gábor Pfisztner presents Sophie Calle awarded the Hasselblat life achievement award: Sophie Calle’s works are much more complex than to reduce those to photographic problems. But without these photographic problems or without the theoretical reflections that follow logically from those problems, the works would not be imbued by the uncertainty which steadily captivates the viewer forcing out the questions that lead to the salient features of the actions, among others to my problem and to that of the other one.”

In Düsseldorf school in the jam factory Rita Somosi reports on the Arthur de Ganay contemporary photo collection in Berlin: “Arthur de Ganay in his late thirties, has been collecting photos for 15 years … in 1995 he started to have interest in contemporary art. Since then large-format photography is in the focus of the collection in particular photos focusing on the interrelationship of nature and man-made environment. His choice of subject is not by chance: the young collector is an architect.”

Zsófia Somogyi’s writing – Theoretical aspects of the personal photo. The lesson of an art analysis - is the fourth part of her research work done over the period of time from 2007 to 2009 as winner of the Kállai Ern? art historian and art critic scholarship of the Ministry of Education and Culture: “In the final phase of studying the problem of the personal photo I was concentrating on analysing an art work. At that time a project of Tibor Gyenis – Endre Koronczi’s Basic – inspired me to start this study, because in many respects it is a work of basic importance, of the form of personal photo. Profound game was the title of my essay.”

György Szeg? characterises Tina Modotti as Jeanne d’Arc with camera, whose photos he has seen at her retrospective exhibition in the Vienna KunstHaus: “She has always been loyal to the Left, she has had more than one partner and artistic form (branch). Her camera has become her true weapon, while she has followed all sorts of trades such as fashion and photo model, puppeteer and film actor, ethnographic researcher, secret agent, muse and humanitarian catastrophe saviour. Yet she has not lived her lives separately but in an authentic existence resulting from the fighting of her rebellious self-identity, everything at the same time, simultaneously.”

Anne Kotzan reports on the most remarkable shows and events of the photokina in Cologne. The offer of various exhibitions was not limited to the exhibition area, the museums, foundations, galleries. A number of private initiatives and galleries offered imposing programs.

The apropos of Etelka Baji’s article – Márton Munkácsi – is the world-wide known press photographer’s exhibition opened to the public this autumn: “Munkácsi born in Kolozsvár, was fifteen year-old when he moved in 1911 to Budapest. He had great interest in theatre and literature, and soon he started experimenting with journalism. His first documentary photos served as supplement to his journalist activity. Soon he became known for his thrilling sport photos, well-snapped documentary photos and characteristic portraits. He became a quick-reacting press photographer having a keen eye for what would command interest.

The title of András Bán’s article is The Dunky brothers and the movie. Roughly two hundred stand photos of good quality have been identified and processed in the photo gallery of the Hungarian National Film Archive, these photos record scenes of silent films of the Janovics studio in Kolozsvár. The photos were made by the well-known photographer brothers – Kálmán Dunky and Ferenc Dunky – who used to be the elite portrait photographers in Kolozsvár, and they had close relationship with the theatre of the town. That was the reason why the Dunky brothers had been closely watching the film initiatives of the Janovics studio.”

Zsuzsa Farkas wrote a study on the Best Hungarian photos at the Vienna World exhibition. “The photos made of the developing railway system constitute the most important and interesting part. Gustav Adolf Stosius Austrian engineer and amateur photographer documented the construction of the Oravica-Anina short-distance mine train, while Sándor Schild the construction works of the Kassa–Oderberg railway line, by 120 photos. These railway photos have created the specific characteristics of photography … establishing an entirely new topic in photography.”

In the third part of his series – A photographer about the photography – Attila Montvai writes among others: “Due to the technology transformed in the last decades the view obtained as a result from the camera is already at first appearance a purely numerical product. This breakthrough has basically altered the general, visual communicative, information and in information storing channels loaded tasks of photography and its operating dynamics. Thanks to one of its typical roles it has become a bypass option between the fields of 2D and 3D numerical view-generation.”

The title of Zoltán Fejér’s technology-historical writing – Polaroid – NewPolaroid – new Polaroid – reveals its topic. “The SX model designed and improved over the period of time from 1975 to 1992 which already became a legend while still on the market, has led a peculiar life. A German technical book published in 1988 – when discussing 95 model camera with 8,5x11,5 cm picture format – describes the experiments made by Andor Rott at Gevaert and by Dr. Edit Weyde at Agfa in 1941. At the end of description the authors speak highly of the fact that the Polacolor colour process was used first in 1963, and 144 patents were integrated into the SX 70 model.

The subtitle of József Rák’s series – digiTrend – is The era of amphibian, or waiting for the mule (?). In the recent time we have found natural to be able to make videos with an ordinary digital camera. This amphibianness has been made more sophisticated with the Electronic Viewfinder Interchangeable Lens cameras. It is a natural concomitant of development that the option of the new video format shooting is offered by our camera.”