Many of the renowned figures in Hungarian animation also enrich Hungarian culture with outstanding works as visual artists. This unique exhibition showcases the imaginative “animators” through the paintings, graphic works, and sculptures of versatile classical and contemporary masters, as well as those of younger–generation animators who are recipients of MMA scholarships.
Animators infuse the motionless line and the lifeless material with spirit, bringing them to life on the canvas and the screen. This dimension, though within arm’s reach of the viewer, remains distant: it is the realm of magic and illusion. The creative manifestos on display in the halls of the Vigadó may seem static and motionless compared to the racing frames of a film, dazzling the viewer with the illusion of objectivity. Yet the still images, sculptures, and other signs possessing real spatial extension are fueled by the same inner force as the moving images of their creators—the soul of their creator. It is simply that the changes in time and space of our fellow creatures—the living, breathing plants—are so subtle, so barely perceptible, that the untrained eye may perceive them as motionless and unchanging. Yet these works are exceptionally prolonged moments in time; measured against these moments, in our fleeting, rapidly passing existence, we, the viewers, are the hesitant, animated characters of the Great Cinema. And these works, like all authentic creations, convey this message: Change your life! The animators, who breathe life into inanimate matter with a light touch, this time hold up a mirror to us so that we may pause in our rush and gaze into it for a long time.
Artists featured in the exhibition: Ervin B. Nagy, Gyopár Búzási, Ferenc Cakó, Flóra Chilton, László Csáki, Ferenc Ficzek, Pál Fodor, József Gémes, Zsolt Gyenes, Líviusz Gyulai, László Hegedűs II, Mari Horváth, Marcell Jankovics, Dóra Keresztes, Attila Kondor, Márton Kovács, György Kovásznai, Jenő Lévay, Éva M. Tóth, Kati Macskássy, Árpád Miklós, István Orosz, Zsuzsa Paál, Zsófi Péterffy, Sándor Reisenbüchler, Zsolt Richly, Ferenc Rófusz, Zoltán Szilágyi Varga, Eszter Szoboszlay, Péter Szoboszlay, Péter Tóth, Viktória Traub, Gábor Ulrich, Béla Vajda, Csaba Varga