Visual Dialectics

The Medium of Photography in Hungarian Art 1970-2000

András Baranyay, László Beke, Balázs Beöthy, Gábor Bódy, Tibor Csiky, Orshi Drozdik, Ferenc Ficzek, Ferenc Grunwalsky, Tibor Gyenis, Tibor Hajas, László Hegedűs 2, Zsigmond Károlyi, Judit Kele, András Koncz, László Lakner, András Lengyel, Kriszta Nagy, Hajnal Németh, Marcel Odenbach, Sándor Pinczehelyi, Péter Rónai, Péter Sarkadi, Pál Szacsva y, Tibor Szalai, Ernő Tolvaly, Endre Tót, Zsuzsi Ujj, Beáta Veszely

The exhibition examines the development of Hungarian photographic and photo-based artistic positions against the backdrop of state socialism and other European and East European realities in the last third of the twentieth century.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the influence of Western European movements on Hungarian underground artists was largely indirect and shaped by local interpretations. Private travel and scholarships were rare, so direct contact with Western trends was limited.

In the late 1970s, more opportunities opened up for movement and networking. The political thaw allowed Hungarian artists to spend time abroad and participate in international trends. One key institution at the time was the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), which offered artists residencies in Berlin. 

The generation of the late 1980s could finally breathe freely together with its Western contemporaries. Art was no longer defined by the strict socialist order. This led to the discovery of artistic identity as a cultural product as well as to a rethink of artistic positions – also in the field of photography.

From the collection of Ludwig Museum – Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest.