When Art(ist) Speaks

April 29 and 30; May 1, 20, and 25, 2015; also online

Artists: Eduard Freudmann, Szabolcs Kisspál, Hajnal Németh, Pál Y Szacsva, Tehnica Schweiz (Gergely László & Péter Rákosi) & Katarina Šević

The project revolves around the concept of ‘the art of talk’; that is, talk as a form of art. The art of talk is not widely known and practiced form of art in Hungary. The early traces of this genre mainly appear in the works of the artists of the Hungarian neo avant-garde. Working in illegality, artists of the movement turned to this genre frequently, structuring their work around street performances, radio performances or readings in private homes. 
Besides being the tool of artistic self expression, talk is presented as a clear statement, which emphasises the role of contemporary arts, also concerned with certain socio-cultural areas, in creating discourses, as well as its role in taking part in those discourses.

The artists performing at such events, which took place in various locations, all organised their works around texts. This time however, the focus will be put on talk as a spoken type of text, as well as on the method of performing or the performative performance, which requires personal presence. The literary adaptations and the personal stories, which often serve as a basis of the pieces, are linked together by the cultural-political context, by the common cultural memory as well as by the selected ‘talking’ genres and the types of performance including radio plays, operas, readings and monodramas.

Curators: Eszter Lázár and Edina Nagy

Supported by: Austrian Cultural Forum, Budapest, Federal Chancellery of Austria, Wiener Festwochen, Asylum Arts

Tehnica Schweiz & Katarina Šević: The Alfred Palestra workshop and performance

April 29, 2015

Contributors: Hanna Sztripszky, the students of Alternative Secondary School of Economics

Eduard Freudmann: The White Elephant Archive, Setting No. 3

April 30, 2015

In his performance Freudmann traces stories from a family archive founded in 1979 by his grandmother. He links contents of the archive with historical events and current political issues by means of documentary and object theatre. Against a background of the increasing absence of contemporary witnesses, Freudmann brings documents and objects as protagonists on the stage in order to consult them about the eternal dilemma of whether to speak or to be silent about the Shoah.

Living Memorial discussion with the artist

May 1, 2015

Venue: Budapest, Szabadság tér

http://www.eduardfreudmann.com/?btx_portfolio=white-elephant-archive

https://freudmann.tumblr.com/

Hajnal Németh: The Loser

May 20, 2015

The performance consists of sung confessions performed by two soloists and a choir. The librettos conveythe struggles and the internal dialogues of the failed politician and the failed banker, interpreted by thesoloists in the form of improvised melodies. The internal dialogue takes place between the failed person andhis conscience, represented by a male executive and his secretary. As a counterpoint to the leaders, themasses–the choir–provide a self–analysis by the compromising citizen and by the naive revolutionist in theform of vocal self introductions. The representatives of different currently typical social statuses finally end upin the same boat: they all become losers.

The soloists therefore perform the confessions of the leaders, whose passions are different; still, they arelinked by the common journey they take: an initial enthusiasm and the sense of commitment, going throughstruggle and then experiencing power, ignoring responsibility, believing in ideologies and gradually losingthat belief, and finally, failure. The choir represents the masses who are either well controlled of are trying toescape from control.

The performance is framed by the relationship between the individual and the masses. Rather than theopposition of the different ideologies, it is the contradictions within the ideologies themselves as well asindividual versus shared responsibility that are addressed through the random examples of leaders andmasses. The first version of the piece was staged in Berlin, in the conference hall of Collegium Hungaricum.

Concept, script and staging: Hajnal Németh

Composer: Dóra Halas

Choir: Soharóza

Soloist: Andrea Csereklyei (soprano), Kornél Mikecz Kornél (barytone)

Curated by: Eszter Lázár, Edina Nagy

Szabolcs KissPál (radio play): Another time another place, I hope…, radio play, 2015

Concept and selection: Szabolcs KissPál

Szabolcs KissPál’s documentary radio play, bearing a poetic title, reveals a side of the art world’s functioning that usually remains hidden from audiences. The artist collected curatorial invitations and the responses given to them by artists, from which a multi-voiced dialogue was composed. In this story, the correspondence between the curator representing the institution and the invited artist invariably ends in rejection; at the same time, presenting these exchanges in the public sphere raises the question of how official—and therefore how much a matter of the public domain—this otherwise hidden communication can be considered.

The factual details of the correspondence (participants, exhibition venues, dates) are “blacked out,” making the dialogues abstract. Nevertheless, through the correspondents’ contradictory attitudes toward each other and toward the institution, the dimensions of the current cultural-political context also become visible. This is reinforced by the “background noise” heard behind the dialogues, which at times introduces them or connects them as a linking element. Here, however—unlike in the dialogues themselves—one can clearly identify statements made in recent years by politicians who have significantly shaped cultural policy, as well as spoken documents of collective, critical artistic actions that have taken place in the meantime.

The choice of subject and tone in KissPál’s work is no coincidence. While listening to the voiced dialogues, audiences inevitably associate them with current cultural-political developments and with locations on the Hungarian art scene. At the same time, the outlines of a more general phenomenon—the structure and power relations of the art world—also emerge behind the peculiar “peacock dance” between curator and artist (the inviter and the invited) in this radio play, which is not without irony. For these reasons, the piece may offer insights not only for those familiar with the professional milieu but also for listeners who are less aware of its internal dynamics.

Broadcast dates:

Klubrádió, FM 92.9 – May 21, 9:00 PM
Civil Rádió, FM 98 – May 25, 8:00 PM

Contributors: Vilmos Vajdai and the actors of TÁP Theatre: Zoli Ásmány, Albert Benedek, Dávid Csányi, Dávid Hajmási, Péter Hajmási, Barbara Hegedűs, Kornél Laboda, Emőke Piti, Znajka Szabó, Zita Szenteczki, Bianka Varga; as well as Gábor Duró, Anna KissPál, Gergely Nagy, and Eszter Őri.

Thanks to: Anna Balázs, Gábor Erlich, Zsuzsa Flohr, Juli Gottfried, Judit Horváth, Helga Nagy, Csaba Nemes, Gábor Pataki, Hajnalka Tarr, Júlia Váradi, and all those who offered or made their correspondence available.

Collective Radio Listening and Discussion

May 25, 2015

This critically toned event, addressing the current cultural policy situation and the reactions to it, provides an opportunity to raise numerous questions and discuss them together.

Moderators: Eszter Lázár, Edina Nagy

Venue: Auróra Community Center (1084 Budapest, Auróra u. 11.) 

Pál Szacsva y: Photo of the Day