Hungarian Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale
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Essay 1: Description of Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country located in Central/Eastern Europe, surrounded by Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Austria. The end of WWImarked the end to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the emergence of the Hungarian Republic, following Communist takeover in 1919 under Bela Kun. Kun immediately declares war with Czechoslovakia and Romania, which then lead Romanian forces to occupy Budapest, handing the power to Admiral Miklos Horthy who remains regent until 1944. In 1941, Hungary declares war with the Soviet Union where Germany had just invaded. As a result, a large part of the Hungarian army was destroyed. In 1944, Hungarian Nazis remove Horthy from office and installs a puppet regime, forcing Hungarian Jews and gypsies to death camps. Following that year, Soviet forces drive out the Germans and create a new Hungarian government, introducing the land reform bill, which redistributes land from large estate owners to peasants. From 1947 to 1948 Communism consolidates power, and Hungary aligns itself more with the Soviet Union. A year later, a new constitution makes Hungary a workers and peasants’ state and a new wave of police terror is launched, leading up to the 1956 uprising. The uprising began when protestors demanded the Soviet Union to withdraw their troops. Imre Nagy becomes the Prime Minister in 1956 and plans on withdrawing from the Warsaw Pact, making Hungary a neutral state. As a result from the uprising however, Soviet forces respond by massacring thousands of the rebels and abduct Nagy from the Yugoslavic Embassy where he was taking refuge. Janos Kadar becomes head of the Hungarian Government. In the 1960s, Kadar gradually introduces limited liberal reforms in which he freed political prisoners and church leaders, as well as increased rights for farmers and industrial workers. In 1989, the border with Austria is opened and the Iron Curtain is breached. At this time, Communism is dismantled and Hungary transitions into becoming a multi-party democracy. In 1991, Soviet forces withdraw their troops and Hungary enters a new Era. Hungary became part of the European Union in May 2004. Most of Hungary’s economy in 2014 was industry, wholesale and retail trade, transport, accommodation and food services and public administration, defense, education, human health and social work activities. Hungary’s main neighboring countries for export are Germany, Austria, and Romania, while its main neighboring countries for import are Germany, Austria, and Russia. Its population in 2015 is 9,855,571.
According to Julianna Puskás’ Hungarian Migration Patters New Research in Hungary, using quantification and mathematical-statistical analysis they have found thatthe large-scale overseas emigration form Hungary began in the 1880s. However, due to the outbreak of WWI in 1914, emigration from Hungary was cut off and it wasn’t until the 1920s, after territorial changes had become less threatening that emigration could resume. However, America at this time shut its gates to the “undesirable” peoples of East-central Europe. Originally, many Hungarians immigrated to the United States without the intention of staying for good. Rather, they went to improve their economic positions at home from the money that they would earn abroad. According to Puskás, 82% immigrants from Hungary have said that they were going to the U.S. to join relatives that were already in the U.S. that had migrated in the early 1900s. The majority of the early migrations were Hungarian Jews.
Essay 2: Description of the Hungarian Pavilion
Hungary was among the first four countries to participate in the Venice Biennale in 1919. The pavilion is located between the Giardini and the Japanese Pavilion. The Hungarian Pavilion at the 2015 exhibition reflects social and economic processes, emphasizing on the theme of migration and the search for and fluidity of ones identity. The exhibition was a collaborative effort between the artist Szilárd Cseke and curator Kinga German, which features two installations, a sound component and a participatory space. All together the Hungarian Pavilion focuses on cognitive space created by motion and electronics. Cseke first installed a system of floating white balls that move through transparent tubes propelled by electric fans that is suspended over the entire exhibition. Also installed at the center of the ambulatory passage of the space is a foil cushion that is constantly inflating and deflating, acting as the “center” that is maintaining the whole system, and reflecting the motion of breathing. The sound component installed by the media designer, Ábris Gryllus, who collaborated with the artist, reflects the sound of the balls moving through the exhibition space. As the viewer enters the pavilion, they can only hear the sound but not see what the sound is reflecting. Only by moving through the space can you connect the sound to the other installations. In the central courtyard of the pavilion is where the participatory space is located. In the open outdoor space, the artist and curator ask the visitors to write, draw, and move with ball-shaped pieces of chalk that are seven different sizes – to reflect their current situation of living and to indicate what concepts are most sustainable for them: an equitable society, the economy, a comfortable existence, love, a livable working environment, independent thinking, or freedom? The pavilion, having the installations with the sound component, and the participatory feature, allows for the viewers to contemplate and reflect on the idea that we are all “travelers” constantly moving from one place to another, like the propelled balls, moving through groups of people and foreign spaces, which can change or alter our identities.
Essay 3: How the Hungarian Pavilion was a Success
With the selected theme of “All the World’s Future” by the head curator of the 56th International Venice Biennale, OkwuiEnwezor, the Hungarian Pavilion’s curator, Kinga German thought of the concept that “the appearance of things” and the “state of things” are always interpreted on an individual basis; thus, she wanted to create a site-specific, unique space installation that operated at a communal and personal level. The Hungarian artist Szilárd Cseke, began creating mobile objects in the mid-90s, mostly investigating global issues that encompass themes of migration and the search for identity. Because the issues of migration have been so prevalent in this country, it was very fitting for the artist and curator duo to compose such a moving installation that touches upon these issues of migration and the fluidity of identity that is affected by migration. The 2015 Hungarian Biennale was most successful due to the extreme collaboration between the artist and curator; together they sought out to target the complexity of identities while dealing with the issues of migration. It was revealed that the Hungarian Pavilion was the winning project for their installation for their artist-curator duo at the 56th Venice Biennale.
Essay 4: Brief Biography of the Artist Szilárd Cseke
Szilárd Cseke was born in Pápa, Hungary in 1967. He currently lives and works in Budepest, Hungary. Cseke graduated from the University of Pécs with a masters degree in painting in 1995. Although graduated as a painter, he has been working on mobile objects his entire career, since the mid-90s. His work has been awarded among many others the Munkácsy Prize in 2014 and the Derkovits Scholarship in 1997. Cseke has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in the most prestigious Hungarian institutions such as the Kiscell Museum, the Municipal Gallery, the Kunsthalle and the Ludwig Museum in Budapest. His works havebeen exhibited in several galleries, museums and international art fairsabroad. His works can be also befoundin private and public collections. Szilárd Cseke is represented by Ani Molnár Gallery, Budapest currently.