Grote kunstexpositie Hongaars Voorzitterschap op meer in Boedapest (en)
The exhibition Art on Lake is one of the most spectacular artistic productions of the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union. The show which can be visited until 4 September was envisaged onto the Hungarian capital’s City Park Boating Lake. It took three years to organize the exhibition which was coordinated by the Museum of Fine Arts. We spoke to László Baán, Chief Director of the Museum.
How do you think the Hungarian culture is transmitted towards Europe by the cultural events of the EU presidency?
I only know a few programs in detail, so I cannot offer an overall opinion. However, the ones I kept tabs on seem to be excellent initiatives. I would emphasize two of them. One is the traveling photo exhibition entitled The Great Masters of European Art Nouveau, introducing the great masters of this architectural style - Antoni Gaudí, Ödön Lechner, and Victor Horta - in three European capitals (Barcelona, Budapest, Brussels). The other one, a photo exhibition entitled Eyewitnesses opening in London’s Royal Academy of Arts, will be one of the closing events of the EU presidency. Hungarian history of photography, pieces selected by a British curator will be displayed in one of the most important places of exhibition which has not hosted a photo exhibition for decades. This is considered a breakthrough anyway. Brassaï, Capa, Moholy-Nagy, Munkácsi’s pictures will be exhibited. The foreign public has not even known they were Hungarians, so from now on this fact could also be canonized abroad.
Would contemporary Hungarian art profit from the increased attention generated by the EU presidency?
Our basic task is the promotion of the contemporaries, as well as the whole image of the country. There is also the Liszt Year, and the introduction of the great pianists and composers is also a priority. So far it all has been a success. We could surely spend much more money, we could make a bigger invasion, but in the present economic conditions this has all been a miracle, too. I am convinced that the programs and events are useful investments what the image of the country, public esteem, and recognition are concerned.
Do you think people will be activated by the Art on Lake?
As the site of the exhibition is a favorite place among the locals and foreigners, I do think it will be successful. We speak about the City Park Boating Lake, which is visited by millions every year. It is a free and playful show which guarantees hundreds of thousands of visitors. Some pieces will be easier to understand, some will remain a mystery, but the exhibition will be met with a warm response, as it takes us closer to art.
Could this exhibition make even the laymen discover more complex significations?
Programs of museum pedagogy and guided tours will be organized in order to help people explore the deeper meanings of some certain artifacts. The main point is the message these exhibits carry for individual visitors and the context they are received. Arts have obviously a purpose, and if it is revealed, the public gets a lot of help. Contemporary fine arts are not easy to understand, and the pieces leave plenty of questions. For example, the impressionists and cubists were rejected in their age, as they were considered incomprehensible. It took some decades, but nowadays these schools are among the most significant tendencies. Hopefully, contemporary art will get canonized in a similar way.
Young Europe Editorial Office
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