Unveiling the model

FROM THE SENSUOUS TO THE SIMPLY BIOLOGICAL, and the humorous to the purely erotic, an exhibition entitled: “The Model: Female nude imagery in 19th-century Hungarian art,” is a fresh breeze of curatorial playfulness. The show details how the human body influenced various schools of thought throughout the last century.

The exhibition, whose breadth is greater than the “19th century” title would suggest, offers a wideranging view of how the female body has been approached by different Hungarian, international and classical artists. The first part of the show features markedly erotic classical 16th century engravings by Jacopo Caraglio, followed by a humorous middleaged aristocratic couple, depicted nude as middleaged Adam and Eve, by Johann Michael Millitz in the 1770s. These starters – along with a host of anatomical prints – set the stage for the 19th century’s approach to the model.

After placing the model in its classical and Renaissance academic tradition, the exhibition ventures into the Hungarian influence of the female nude, presented by French zoologist Georges Cuvier, whose concepts of the “Noble savage” assigned various stages of the evolutionary process, from classical beauty to the nowrejected concept of the noble savage. While artists like Paul Gauguin ventured to Tahiti to find their noble savages, in Hungary, it was the Roma who were looked upon as people of the earth. In this way, artists like Miklós Barabás painted “Roaming Gypsy Family.”

From there followed many different influences on depictions of the female nude, mostly in search of classical Greek forms of beauty. Italian by birth, Jakab Marastoni founded the first Hungarian Painting Academy (1846-1859), as a smaller version of the Venice Academy. Later, Hungarian artists ventured to Italy, Vienna and Munich, where they brought home new influences and approaches to the theme.

INFORMATION
The Model: Female nude imagery in
19th century Hungarian art
DATES: Until Feb. 6
VENUE: Hungarian National Gallery
ADDRESS: Budavári Palota, Szent György tér. 2
CITY, COUNTRY: Budapest, Hungary
TELEPHONE: [36] 20.439.7325
www.mng.hu

Curtains up in Slovenia

SLOVENIA IS GEARING UP FOR ITS BIGGEST CINEMATIC SHOWCASE, the Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFe). Last year’s event attracted more than 45,000 people, a number that has increased since the festival started in 1990. The key to the Ljubljana festival is experimentation. LIFFe aims to reward films that may have been overlooked in the past with a new audience. In turn, Slovenian moviegoers get a chance to see a selection of international films they might not see in mainstream theaters. For example, this year’s scheduled tribute is to the films of South Korean filmmaker, Kim Ki Duk. Far from a household name, the director is known to many film critics for his often controversially violent films such as: ”The Isle” and ”Real Fiction.” He also surprised critics with last year’s minimalist ”Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter … and Spring.” LIFFe will also feature a retrospective of the late Jurij Kosacs, one of Slovenia’s own talents. Over 100 films are expected to compete for the festival’s two top prizes. The Kingfisher Award will go to a first or second-time director and the Golden Reel Award will go to an audience favorite.

INFORMATION
Ljubljana International Film Festival
DATES: Nov. 10-24
VENUE: Various venues, see website
CITY, COUNTRY: Ljubljana, Slovenia
TELEPHONE: [386] 1.241.7147
www.ljubljanafilmfestival.org

Not your typical opera

THE CARMINA BURANA MONUMENTAL OPERA suggests a sense of dynamic self-promotion that the most modern of productions possess — in a sense, it’s very rock n’ roll. The set in this production is also an achievement in itself, standing 15 meters tall and weighing nearly 50 tons, it takes two days to construct. The set provides a multitiered stage for performers to work on. A chorus of 70 singers line the sides of the towers and a 70-piece orchestra anchors the base. Dancers make use of over 300 elaborate costumes during the performance with jugglers and stilt walkers coming together to create a circus-like atmosphere. With a flood of colored lights and pyrotechnics, the audience might almost forget Carmina Burana has a story.

The opera was composed by Carl Orff and based on a collection of 25 medieval poems and songs written in the 13th century. The show debuted in Frankfurt in 1937 and has undoubtedly come a long way to its current incarnation. The themes of gambling, drinking, sex and human morality show medieval Europe at its most hedonistic and would be enough to make even today’s rock stars blush.

INFORMATION
Carmina Burana Monumental Opera
DATES: Dec. 8, 2004
VENUE: Budapest Sportarena
ADDRESS: Stefánia út 2
CITY, COUNTRY: Budapest, Hungary
TELEPHONE: [36] 1.354.0224
www.carmina-burana.com

Mundane creativity?

WHAT ARE DYNAMICS AND TRENDS in contemporary art in the EU’s newest members? Not much, it would appear … either that, or the curators have not found what they were looking for in this exhibition. “The New Ten,” at the Künstlerhause, exhibits 50 selected works from 20 artists in what organizers claim gives a glimpse into the “diverse forms of expression” in contemporary art inside the new EU.

Jointly organized with the Kunsthalle Mannheim, Museum voor Moderne Kunst of Ostend and the Museum Küppersmühle, the exhibition puts special emphasis on artworks from Malta and Cyprus, countries whose contemporary art world organizers believe gets less attention than deserved. After viewing the selected works, however, we were not convinced that is true.

Works by Maltese artists Trevor Borg and James Vella Clark were simply mundane and lacked a higher sense of creativity. Cyprus artist Maria Loizidou’s assembled pillows were no more exciting, while Theodoulos Gregoriou saved the day for Cyprus with the curious but pulsating video installation, “A roof for homo sapiens,” which consisted of a video of a man swimming on what looked like moon rocks.

Hungary is represented by Antal Lakner’s installation, “Dermoherba,” which deals with a critical approach to biodiversity, and Ágnes Szépfalvi’s eerie paintings, many of which were recently exhibited at the Budapest’s Ludwig Museum and depict a mixture of cold and disconnected society events juxtaposed with women as objects that resonate a still mixture of melancholy and beauty.

INFORMATION
The New Ten
DATES: Until Jan. 2
VENUE: Vienna Kunstlerhause
ADDRESS: Karlsplatz 5
CITY, COUNTRY: Vienna, Austria
TELEPHONE: [43] 1.587.9663
www.k-haus.at

Just what of James Pitcairn Knowles?

An exhibition at the Ernst Museum is an attempt at bringing together the works of Hungarian painter József Rippl- Rónai and Scottish artist James Pitcairn Knowles, in celebration of friendship between the two artists. “He was the man whose taste was closest to my own and he was a true friend … with him I found myself in the true context of art in the ideal sense of the term,” Rippl Rónai once said about Knowles. Between 1892 and 1902, the two artists shared both a passion for art, as well as the roof above their heads. They rented an apartment in a house in today’s Neuilly, a suburb of Paris. At that time, the two roommates exhibited with the same group of young artists. The exhibition entitled, “In Neuilly - The friendship of József Rippl-Rónai and James Pitcairn Knowles,” runs through Nov. 24 and shows a relatively rich assortment of paintings, tapestries and lithographs of Rippl-Rónai, but unfortunately gives the viewer a far less rounded picture of the works of his artist friend Knowles. Additionally, the few works shown by Knowles were mainly created in later years – in the 1920s and 1930s. While the works are indeed beautiful, they are a marked contrast to the earlier works of Rippl-Rónai in terms of style, which makes the viewer wonder what curatorial logic was behind this attempted juxtaposition.

INFORMATION
In Neuilly - The Friendship of
József Rippl-Rónai and James
Pitcairn Knowles
DATES: Until Nov. 24, 2004
VENUE: Ernst Museum
ADDRESS: Nagymező u. 8
CITY, COUNTRY: Budapest, Hungary
TELEPHONE: [36] 1.413.1310
www.ernstmuzeum.hu

Smooth Canadian jazz

The smooth jazz sounds of Diana Krall can be stylishly cool on a lazy weekend at home, but they may shine even more when echoed from the walls of a concert hall.

Born in Nanaimo, on Canada’s west coast, the jazz singer and pianist recently released her ninth album: “The Girl in the Other Room.” She began studying the piano at the age of four, and with much thanks to her music-loving father, her appreciation of jazz began shortly thereafter. By her teens, Krall was playing jazz standards at a local restaurant until she received a scholarship to Boston’s renowned Berklee College of Music.

She debuted with 1993’s “Stepping Out,” and five albums later, Krall had her first breakthrough hit when 1999’s “When I Look In Your Eyes” propelled her outside the traditional ring of jazz enthusiasts. The album won top American music honors at the Grammy Awards. Krall received an award for “Best Jazz Vocal Performance,” and was nominated for “Album Of The Year,” alongside mainstream pop and rock bands. This type of crossover was a major achievement for a jazz artist and has helped Krall’s fan base expand internationally.

The European leg of her worldwide tour has been selling out quickly and early, so if you are planning to experience the live sounds of Krall and her band, order tickets soon.

INFORMATION
DATES: Dec. 9, 2004
VENUE: Congress Center
ADDRESS: Jagelló út 1-3
CITY, COUNTRY: Budapest, Hungary
TELEPHONE: [36] 1.372.5400
www.dianakrall.com, www.bcc.hu

Places in town …

The literary den
In the center of Budapest, near the trendiest outdoor cafes, the Irokboltja (Writers Shop) is a comfy literary den rich in Hungarian fiction, poetry and fine-art publications, with even a tasteful selection of English-language books.

The shop draws passers-by with ingenious handcrafted window displays that illustrate the theme of featured books – using materials ranging from photographs to papier maché to string. It welcomes browsers with several tables to have a cup of tea or coffee at while leafing through their finds. Customers serve themselves from an urn and pay by dropping coins into a little bowl – at their discretion. This isn’t the way of modern, full-service bookstores, but quaintly reminiscent of an era past.

The store has a long history, as well as a passionate following, and perhaps has more of a coffee tradition than book tradition. For the first half of the 20th century it was the Japanese Coffee House, a literary hangout frequented by such notable artists, poets and writers as Ady Endre, György Faludi, Attila József, Jenô Rejt and noted Hungarian painter Pál Szinyei-Merse. As a coffeehouse – or bookstore – it became the Spark Bookstore around 1955, during Communism – attracting every writer who was somebody in Hungary. The shop, whose name changed around 1958, was staterun until 1991 when a group of 14 employees became co-owners. Today it is practically an institution, and the writers keep coming: eminent Hungarian authors Péter Eszterházy, Péter Nádas and Nobel Prize Winner Imre Kertész can often be found giving readings or signing books.

“I shop here because of the atmosphere,” said an art-history student who regularly spends hours between classes at the store. “It’s comfortable to sit here and read; I always shop here and listen to the writers give lectures.”

Róbert Harmann, the store’s director, says the change in economic systems didn’t really change the profile of the store. ”Many of those who venture here are intelligentsia, the literate, the top 10,000 [leading intellectuals], and they know this place well,” he said. The owners, he adds, are toying with the idea of establishing a coffeehouse at the store.

Reading Room
Several tables plus tea and coffee

Selection
Literature, poetry, fine arts

Ambience
Relaxing, light and literary

INFORMATION
ADDRESS: Andrássy út 45
TELEPHONE: [36] 1.322.1645
www.irokboltja.hu

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Our new ambassadors

Hungarian President Ferenc Mádl bestowed letters of accreditation to incoming ambassadors to Hungary: Duduzile M. Koza of the Republic of South Africa (above), Juraj Migas of Slovakia (top, center), Haszan Aziz Haszanov of Azerbaijan (top, right), Philippe Zeller of France (bottom, right) and Marc-André Salamin of Switzerland (bottom, center).

US elections

American Ambassador George H. Walker (top) and the American Chamber of Commerce hosted a crowd at the Corinthia Hotel to watch the results of the US election.

Celebrating Belgium

Belgian Ambassador to Hungary Marc Trenteseau and his wife invited guests to a play at his residency. The colorful evening was enjoyed by all.

István Nyári

An art collection opening at the MEO Contemporar y Museum featuring Hungarian artist, István Nyári. The exhibition was a retrospective.

Canadian prime minister

Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin (left) joined Canada’s Ambassador to Hungary, Robert Hage, to commemorate the new Canadian Chancery in Budapest. Martin was in Hungary attending the Progressive Governance Conference.

Lorenzo Armendáriz

Mexican Ambassador José Martinez Hernandez opened an exhibition “Our Sons Sons”, showcasing the photographs of Lorenzo Armendáriz, which depicts gypsy life in Mexico.

Chinese national day

A collection of Chinese dishes were served to guests by Chinese Ambassador Zhu Zushou and his wife on the occasion of China’s National Day at the Budapest Marriott Hotel.

World press

The Museum of Ethnography hosted the travelling World Press Photo Exhibition. The exhibition comprised a collection of pictures taken by journalists from around the world, aiming to educate its audience on current pressing issues.

Germany

German Ambassador to Hungary Ursula Seiler-Albring and Bavarian Economic Minister Otto Wiesheu in Budapest at celebrations of German Unity Day at the Hungarian National Gallery. Several hundred were in attendance.

Austrian

Austrian Ambassador to Hungary, Günter Birbaum, welcomed several hundred guests at his residence to celebrate Austrian National Day.

Crown princess victoria

Sweden’s Minister for Industry and Trade and Crown Princess Victoria visited Budapest as part of Svédületes, an event aimed at increasing contacts between the countries. A crowd of 450 participants welcomed the princess at a reception at the Museum of Fine Arts.

Korea

Korean Ambassador to Hungary, Ho Jin Lee, and his wife (below), welcome the diplomatic and business communities in celebration of Korean National Day.

Bidding farewell

Spain’s Ambassador to Hungary, Antonio Bellver Manrique, and his wife (top), say their farewells to Hungary at a reception held at the recently opened Cervantes Institute.