2nd National Photo Festival - A World Exposed
(Professional introduction to the programme booklet)
At the Feast of Light
Photography was one of the great scientific and technical achievements of the last century. Man, wrote Aladár György enthusiastically of photography in 1872, had made sunlight his servant to create images more faithful than had ever been seen before. During the hundred and fifty years since, photographs have become a part of daily life - reforming the press and invading the temple of the arts. Photographs have turned into artefacts as well as entertainment for the masses, created great business for many, and served science, the arts and politics.
Hungarian photography and history of technology prides itself on a notable number of famous personages. Present-day cutting edge technology would be poorer without the inventions and discoveries of József Petzval, Ödön Riszdorfer, Jeno Dulovits, Dénes Gábor. The names of André Kertész, Brassai, László Moholy-Nagy, the Capa brothers, György Kepes, Márton Munkácsi, Paul Almásy resonate throughout the world. The years these men lived in Hungary established for them perspective and professional capabilities which catapulted them to fame on the world stage. Their names have been permanently etched in the history of universal photography. We also acclaim those who had stayed, since Ferenc Veress, Pál Rosti, Aladár Székely, Rudolf Balogh, Károly Escher, József Pécsi and others contributed not only to Hungarian, but also international culture. Representatives of the 'Hungarian style' in the inter-war years, especially in the thirties, Dénes Rónai, Ferenc Aszmann, Erno Vadas, dr. Zoltán Zajky, Iván Vidarény, Gyula Ramhab, Jeno Dulovits, József Németh, Pál F. Angelo, Kálmán Szollosy and others acquired world fame. This period also saw the birth of the committed trend of sociophotography, still influential through the work of Ferenc Haár, Sándor Frühof-Gönci, Kata Kálmán, Judit Kárász, Lajos Tabák and others. There are of course other intellectual circles and stylistic trends that have contributed to the colourful palette of Hungarian photography: the 'Más-Kép látók' Group with their new language of form as well as the 'lonely wolves', impossible to label. Also, there are the 'nature-principled', those well-versed in other visual art forms, not to mention the young generation. We are only starting to learn their names, although they are well-prepared and talented, and make their appearance in the world with ever-greater frequency. These are the artists that create the picture of contemporary Hungary for the foreigner in Paris, London, Berlin, Moscow, New York and Tokyo.
Now that we are soon to take our farewell of the 20th century, the age that has brought perhaps the most shattering changes for Hungarians, the time has come to re-assess the intellectual environment. We must bequeath an objectified inheritance, leave a message for future generations to allow them to marvel at the intellectual excellence and the physical and intellectual image of a photography that forms an organic part of Hungarian culture. By organising the 2nd National Photo Festival with a commitment to professional and artistic responsibility, the Association of Hungarian Photographers conveys this message to the third millennium. Our gratitude to the exhibiting artists, to theoreticians, historians and museum staff, exhibition administrators and organisers, members of the Board, our sponsors and our sympathisers for their contribution to creating the largest festival of photography ever in this country, which has attracted attention abroad as well and is a salutation to the approaching millennium, at the Feast of Light
János Eifert
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the
2nd National Photo Festival
Budapest, 8 March 1999