Photopaintings

Almost all the paintings made by Zsigmond Károlyi at the beginning and in the middle of the 80s tell us about forms losing their forms. The main motifs – a scaffolded wall, a shored up porch, windows with X-s painted across them in whitewash – are insignificant, always the same. They are an excuse. Why, we might look for the index finger of sociographic conscience-realism raised at us ever so strictly. We might look for nostalgic elements. Only it would be pointless, as we can be sure such things are absent from the paintings.

But what can we do, if we (romantically) yearn nevertheless, in a time like ours? Which epoch can our pain take us to? When is the age we yearn for? Since the end of the 18th century, romantic yearning for the past has been “approved officially”; indeed it has become a life style. Compared to the glory of the past, the present withers into a valueless, lifeless wasteland. All we can do is behold our own dim reflection – or rather take a frightened look at ourselves – in the mirror of fake beauty. There is nothing in that mirror, the hungry eyes of others sucked up all the images long ago. It used to be so nice… it used to be so nice to think back to even older times. Then even those times lost their appeal.

István Hajdu