„You\’re the Victim of an Illusion”

Exhibitions in the Műcsarnok: Service, Climate, Out of Time

 

I was sitting in front of a computer in the first hall of the Műcsarnok, and I was trying to answer a question on a rather simplified questionnaire called artsurvey 1.0 sociological research series, the question was: for whom do the artists create their works? As my options were restricted, and – unlike during the opening ceremony – there was no one else in the room apart from me, I was able to thoroughly study Lajos Csontó’s work the title of which became the title of this present piece of writing, and I came to the conclusion that these works of art are made for that small section of the public who recognise the people posing on the pictures, and, within this group, whom also visit this Internet site. Because those who get their information from the daily and weekly papers (and they are in the majority) about what an image, fine art, work of art or an object of art is (introduced by Viewpoint service), find the services of young artists useless, like, for example, the project called Rent an Artist!, the astrological help of the Venus Studio to interpret objects of art, the Attendometer, which shows how much certain works of art are attended, the series of family slides taken of the exhibiting artists, which is also available, or the Exclusive telephone interview with the curator. However, the consumer-friendly tendency is represented intensely at the exhibition, the integration of the language of mass culture and the use of new media tools support easy, problem-free reception instead of getting absorbed in the works of art. It seems as if the climate of our country was determined by steady winds due to the compelling effect of which the artists glide past above the essence of things: the screens are flashing at home, and the city is built up of a pile of hasty, superficial looks taken at the fast food restaurants, petrol stations and worn-down factories. Not only the viewers, but the artists themselves should spend some time thinking about Csontó’s warning: it is not necessarily indulgence in the idol of perception that can be regarded as beatific at the beginning of the 21st century. Just like rejecting the trend role, consciously undertaking opposition to the fashionable tendencies in the hope of some concrete high-art out-of-time classification can also be self-deception: it can result in boredom just as well as in enthusiastically welcome and accepted trendiness. Although I myself may also be cherishing delusive dreams when I am expecting artists to realise this fact, who have already achieved an essential point of the tasks prescribed in the 12 points of Small Fine Artists: an exhibition in Műcsarnok.