SUMMARY– 2021/1
Balázs Gáspár
Wellness & Business - A Critique of Capitalism in the Works of Contemporary Hungarian Photographers
The capitalism of the 21st century is very efficient and sophisticated in compelling people to consume and offering them efficiency as the central value. Balázs Gáspár looks at the recent series of four Hungarian photographers from the aspect of what they highlight, with their critical stance. The four critical stances / Kata Geibl's There is Nothing New Under the Sun, Dániel Szalai's Unleash Your Herd's Potential, Tibor Gyenis' Personal Decision and Máté Bartha's Sunday series/ are analysed as critiques of four different aspects of capitalism.
Štěpánka Bieleszová
Surrealism Meets photography in the Works of Emila Medková
The Photographic Collection of the Olomouc Museum of Art
Emila Medková (1928-1985) was an exceptional figure in Czech photography. What is captured in her work is pure surrealist vision. Where its sources come from, whether from personal destiny or the twists and turns of history, is a second question. Medková's vision of the world, of human situations, interspersed with symbols and allusions, has made her one of the most radical representatives of Czech surrealist photography. Her era did not allow her work to become as widely known as that of her pre-war predecessors, but her oeuvre is nevertheless indispensable. The reader is introduced to the photographer's work and approach by Štěpánka Bieleszová.
Gábor Ébli
Documents of the Period
Photography and New Media-Based Contemporary Art from the Collection of Péter Kacsuk
The societies of the XXI century are changing rapidly, regardless of geographical location. The changes always raise new and new questions. And the questions raised are reflected by the artists, depending on their habits and practices. Gábor Ébli's essay takes the reader into a collection, presenting a collecting method that specifically seeks fresh responses to these current issues. The result is that the collection itself is a concentrated display of various artistic reflections responding to social trends and phenomena, and as it is a collection of contemporary works, it is also a mirror of the last twenty years.
Zsuzsa Farkas
Is There a Female Look on Hungarian pictures?
The documents of a conference held in 2017 under the title Women Photographers was edited by Éva Fisli and published by the Hungarian Society for the History of Photography. The works of women photographers are analysed in the five major chapters of the book. The horizon is broad; the studies cover a range from the owners of nineteenth-century photographic studios to the analysis of contemporary photographers' practices. Zsuzsa Farkas reviews the book.
Zoltán Fejér
It Was Fifty Years Ago...
The Zoo's Fast Photography Service was closed down by the Budapest Photo Company at the end of the last season in 1971.
The staff of the Budapest Photo Company took pictures of Budapest's official events, family and school events for many decades. They had offices in all parts of the city but only three mobile studios. One of them worked in the Zoo, which was always very busy in good weather and at weekends. Zoltán Fejér used to work there, and he shares his personal experience of the zoo studio in this article.
Klára Fogarasi
The Naturalisation of Stateless Persons - The Contextualised Photograph as a Specific Image
There are cases when, in the use of photography, the photograph itself is only a part of an essentially photo-based work and is not intended to be artistic. Klára Fogarasi’s article covers objects of this kind, including pageants made for different occasions and souvenirs with photographs.
Judit Gellér
Photo Books. Interviews. V.
Dániel Szalai: Novogen
Dániel Szalai's Novogen series has been shown in many places in Europe in recent years. Now that the book has been published, Judit Gellér invited the author to a talk. The beginning of the interview outlines the background and motivations that turned the artist towards photography, especially this type of photography. The artistic approach unfolds in detail, focusing on nature and the relationship between animals and humans, which is characteristic of Dániel Szalai's works. The photographer also talks about where he feels the limits of photography are and, of course, about the process of preparing the book itself.
Mihály Surányi
An Interview with Gábor Kerekes (2007)
A previously unpublished interview with Gábor Kerekes is published by our magazine, made in 2007, connected with a research project. Mihály Surányi conducted the interview.
Mihály Surányi: Details - Réka Bohus - What remains
The series of Réka Bohus was presented the last year. It reflects relations between Réka Bohus and her parents. What remained after they passed away? It reflects relations between Réka Bohus and her parents. What remained after they passed away? How is it possible to give form for these reminiscences, to summarise a childhood and the beginning of a new life? The author analyses some details of the series in the article, from using the colours to the text-image relations.
Emese Zsoldos
„Now, that's something to talk about again!" - Two constructions on a theme
(Závada – Szüts, 2006 és Závada, 2020)
The study examines two photographic-literary works: both through stories and photographs, from the past, revealed from memory, unfolding the former life of the German community in Budaörs to the reader. The analysis explores the structure, pictorial and textual narration of books, as well as the features of the autonomy of the two media and the intermedial forms of their interaction.
