SUMMARY– 2023/1

Tamás Bíró-Balogh: Aladár Székely's Kosztolányi portraits
Aladár Székely was famous for his portraits in the first two decades of the 20th century. His book, with the photographs of contemporary artists, was published in 1915. Although even Kosztolányi was among the most celebrated poets, we didn't know of any Kosztolányi portrait which was attributed to Aladár Székely until now. Tamás Bíró-Balogh proves the authorship of Aladár Székely in the case of two Kosztolányi portraits.  

Gábor Ébli: Searching presence – photo-based art in the K.A.S. collection
Opened in 1991 and acting as a gatekeeper to the art world ever since K.A.S. Gallery has been promoting up-and-coming artists engaged in diverse contemporary media. Since her first purchase of a work of art in 1986, the gallery's owner, Ilona Nyakas – originally a textile restorer and visual educator by training – has accumulated a remarkable collection, including various photo-based works, to be exhibited as part of the Budapest Photo Festival in April 2023.

Lili Boros: Easy Urban Life - From the photographs of Cedric af Geijersstam
Cedric af Geijersstam walks the Budapest of the present with his camera and black and white film. He sees how we use the city and its spaces, notices the preferences of its inhabitants and uses them to compose his images. Lili Boros' writing brings the reader closer to the characteristics of his thinking.  

Zsuzsa Farkas: From the beginning to the end, on the depictions of 19th-century photographic backdrops
The web page fenyiratok.hu became an essential source of documentation of Hungarian photography. Márton Borda has undertaken nothing less than to collect and publish the variations of the versos of the photographers who once worked in Hungary. The importance of the database is unquestionable. In our current article, Zsuzsa Farkas and Márton Borda discuss some exceptional pieces from the collection.   

Zsuzsa Farkas: Margit Tóth in a collectors eye
Margit Tóth ran a photographic studio for a long time, opening in one of Budapest's most beautiful buildings, the Paris Courtyard. Of course, she performed the usual tasks of a photographer in a big city. Still, for her, there were also areas she particularly loved. Besides artist portraits, these were wedding pictures. Given the situation and demands, his creativity played a significant role here. Zsuzsa Farkas wrote a summary of the history of the studio.  

Zoltán Fejér: (Too?) beautiful bride...
Zoltán Fejér introduces the reader to some of the historical and technical details of wedding photography in his article. His overview is not only historical, but he can also combine his personal experiences. The subject is also linked to the current exhibition at the Hungarian National Museum.  

Balázs Gáspár: Graffiti
The book by Lugo Lugosi László, about the world of graffiti on Budapest walls, has already been published as a posthumous book. He was obsessed with recording and documenting the changes and the city's different faces. And what can be more temporary than graffiti? He knew that everything that was painted on the walls of the city would be characteristic of the city and its inhabitants. Balázs Gáspár wrote a review of the book.  

Katalin Kopin: From a brooklet to the Ocean
There is no more fundamental need than water. Yet, looking only at human development, we can see how complex our relationship with water is. The type of this relationship may vary from place to place and age to age, but it is always present. So how do rivers appear in contemporary photography? What do contemporary artists record concerning it? In general, which segments of contemporary photography are concerned with the relationship to waterways? These questions are explored in Katalin Kopin's article.  

Anne Kotzan: "The Perfect Eye" - Werner Mantz retrospective
Werner Mantz was not a theoretician of photography. He did not start movements. Nevertheless, he was an exceptionally clear-sighted professional photographer who consistently translated the New Objectivity principles into his everyday practice, first in Germany and then in his adopted country, the Netherlands. More than 300 of his images were exhibited by the SK-Stiftung in Cologne, based on which Anne Kotzan wrote an insightful and passionate analysis.  

Anna Kovács: "Why not, by the way?" - Interview with Andrea Szabó
Through the interview of Anna Kovács, the reader can gain insight into the works, working method and approach of a young photographer. Andrea Szabó is one of the newest generations. The rediscovery of the archaic techniques could be characteristic of her generation. However, she steps forward, and in her last works, she combines AI-generated images with archaic development methods.  

Zsófia Somogyi: Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going? - Tamás Dezső: Hypothesis: Everything is a leaf
The first organisms capable of photosynthesis appeared 2.5 billion years ago. The first terrestrial plants began multiplying near water about 475 million years ago. Tamás Dezső's series tries to present the forms and richness of the adaptation strategies, which developed and crystallised through these millions of years. This slow development and apparent timelessness could be significant for us. Readers can get an insight into the exhibition at the Capa Centre through Zsófi Somogyi's writing.  

Mihály Surányi: Zsófi Sivák – Anzix from Heves
Mihály Surányi shares his thoughts about Zsófi Sivák's 2019 series.  

Cveta Szterjopulu: Sender: Szilvia Mucsy, the recipient: the world
Szilvia Mucsy's "Best regards" series was displayed at the Capa Centre. Cveta Szterjopulu's writing is an excellent way to get to know the pictures, the feeling of life they represent and the thoughts they evoke.