A Múlt idõtõl a mi idõnkig
„Minden akkor kezdõdött, amikor visszatévedtem a múltba. l967 õszén koreográfus barátom, Novák Ferenc vitt el egy erdélyi magyarlakta faluba, Székre. Szombat este érkeztünk - éppen táncház idején. A kékre festett, zsúpfedeles ház egyik párás, félhomályos szobájában három idõsebb zenész muzsikájára régi viseletbe öltözött fiatalok táncoltak. Amit láttam, számomra felfedezés volt. Úgy gondoltam, le kell fordítanom a fényképezés nyelvére.” Ezzel az immár negyvenhét évvel ezelõtti látogatással kezdõdött Korniss Péter Kossuth-díjas fotómûvész, a világon talán legjobban ismert kortárs magyar fotográfus erdélyi utazásainak sorozata. Az elsõ rácsodálkozás, a „felfedezés” élménye annál is megrázóbb lehetett, mivel a fotográfus számára a legszemélyesebb élményrõl, a hazatalálásról volt szó, a majd két évtizede nem látott szülõföldre való visszatérésrõl. Szék, a viseletérõl, muzsikájáról, táncairól híres mezõségi falu légvonalban alig húsz kilométerre van Kolozsvártól, ahol Korniss született és l949-ig élt. Valójában ez nem saját gyermekkori élménye volt, hiszen Korniss városi környezetben nõtt fel. „Az elveszett idõ nyomában" járva a személyes sorsnál jóval több, egy sajátos közösség, a hatvanas években még szinte érinte-t lenül megõrzõdött hagyományos paraszti világ értékei foglalkoztatták. Ugyanakkor sosem a leltárkészítõ hûvös tárgyilagosságával fényképezett: a hétköznapok és ünnepek, az öröm és a gyász pillanatai fotografálása közben az emberi sorsok jobban érdekelték, mint a viselet szépségei, a tánclépések könnyedsége. Mindez együtt adta számára azt a világot, amelyrõl úgy érezte, hogy meg kell örökíteni, mert hamarosan eltûnik. Így születtek meg a Mezõségben, Máramarosban, Kalotaszegen, Gyimesben vagy éppen Moldvában, magyarok és románok közösségeiben – majd késõbb szlovák és szerb falvakban is - azok a képek, amelyek híressé vált köteteiben (Elindultam világ útján, 1975, Múlt idõ, 1979, Leltár, 1998, Kötõdés, 2008) és kiállításain szerepeltek szerte a világon, s amelyek közül jónéhány, mint például az Iskoláslányok, a Hazafelé tartó öregember, a Sietõ asszony, a Ravatalos ház, az Iskoláslány, a Hadirokkant, alighanem sok nézõ emlékezetében kapta meg méltó helyét, a kortárs magyar fotográfia csúcsteljesítményeként. A kilencvenes évek elején – miután tíz év munkájával elkészítette A vendégmunkás címû, egy ingázó munkás életérõl szóló kötetét (1988) – újra visszatért Erdélybe, hogy most már elsõsorban a fölgyorsult változás jeleit kutassa. Megkereste egykori modelljeit – a híres széki prímás, Szabó „Kávés” Istvánt például harminc évvel elsõ képe után is fotózta –, de eljutott új közösségekbe is, például a Nyárád-
mente falvaiba. Többször is visszatért Csíksomlyóra, a magyar katolicizmus egyik leghíresebb búcsújáró helyére, de ekkor találta meg a máramarosi falut, Sugatagot is, ahol a románság életén keresztül mutathatta be a múlt és a jövõ, a különös értékekben gazdag hagyományos paraszti világ és az uniformizálódás jegyeit mutató modern társadalom találkozását. A szembesítés egyik legmegrendítõbb dokumentuma az Anya és fia régi képükkel címû színes felvétel, amely a csángók lakta moldvai faluban, Lészpeden készült 2008-ban. A kép szereplõi egy 1973-ban készült fekete-fehér képet tartanak a kezükben, amelyen egy fiatal nõ látható, amint háziszõttes kendõbe burkolt bubáját felemeli, kezével óvja. Az anya a kétezres évek elsõ évtizedében is az egykori népviselet részét képezõ szoknyát, kötényt visel, a falon, a padlón is ott vannak még azok a darabok, amelyeket talán õ szõtt le egykor, de a szõnyeg, amelyen állnak, már gépi perzsa, és a falon lévõ nagy párás, virágmintás falvédõ is olcsó gyári-vásári termék. Anya és fia tartása, méltósága a régi, de a környezetük az átalakulás számos, a tradíciókkal nehezen összeegye-z tethetõ jelét mutatja. Ezek a mûvek indítják a csíkszeredai kiállítást, az Idõs férfi, lányával és dédunokájával (1998), a Gazda az istállóban (1998) a falusi életforma változatlanságát mutatják, de a Férfi, plakátokkal címû kép (1997) öregembere mögött már angol nyelvû hajsampon reklámok láthatóak a falon, a környezet radikális átalakulásának a jeleként. Ezek a változásokat érzékeltetõ képek jelennek meg az ezredfordulóra elkészült Leltár címû könyvében, majd a budapesti Várfok Galériában 2012-ben bemutatott Folytatás címû kiállításán. Beállított képek, amelyekben megjelenik egy új, nagyon fontos mozzanat: azokat a képeket idézik, amelyeket a fényképészmûtermekben csináltak egykoron a magukat megörökíttetni kívánó emberekrõl, családokról, csakhogy a kulisszát nem a mûterem festett díszletei, hanem a megörökítettek mindennapi környezete adja. A tartás, a megörökíttetés vágyának a gesztusa azonban akár évtizedekkel vagy egy évszázaddal korábbi is lehetne. Így is indult e képek sora Széken, a fotómûvész komaasszonya kérésére: „Csinálj már rólunk egy rendes képet!”, amihez azután a család szereplõit néhány perc alatt be is állította. Ahogyan ezen a mûvön, a szereplõk többnyire a lakás egyik kitüntetett helyén – kanapén az oroszlánmotívumos faliszõnyeg vagy éppen Leonardo Utolsó vacsorájának a másolata elõtt – pózolnak, s az is megesik, hogy a kamaszlány fényképezkedés közben sem veszi le a lábáról a görkorcsolyát. De hát mindig is a kamera elé állók örök vágya volt, hogy értékeikkel, az új kerékpárral vagy éppen a vásáron vett kisborjúval örökítsék meg ünnepélyes ábrázatukat. Miközben a kiállítás képeinek elsõ két csoportja az erdélyi, moldvai falusi társadalom, életkörülmények, lakáskultúra átalakulását mutatja meg, az örök emberit, a lefényképezetteknek saját világukhoz, értékeikhez való
viszonyát is érzékelteti. A Folytatás másik irányaként az utóbbi évtizedben Korniss Péter egyre intenzívebben foglalkozik a magyar folklórban talán leggazdagabb hagyom-á nyokkal rendelkezõ népi dramatikus játék, a betlehemezés máig élõ szokásával, mintegy a már alapjaiban megváltozott világ és a tradíció kapcsolatát kutatva. Betlehemes képeinek egyik elsõ darabját a Tolna megyei Kakasdon készítette, ahol már 1971-ben fényképezte a máig megõrzött csobánolást. A Betlehemezõk vonulása címû fekete-fehér felvétel elkészítése óta azonban akkor már több mint harminc (mára több mint negyven) év telt el, megvá-l tozott minden és mindenki: a falu, a közösség, a tradíciók õrzése és maga a fényképezés is. Korniss számára nyilvánvaló volt, hogy az „elfesztiválosodott” hagyományõrzés idõszakában lehetetlen ugyanúgy fényképezni, ahogyan évtizedekkel korábban. A korábbiakkal szemben az új képek színesek és megrendezettek, a helyszínen felállított „hordozható mûteremben” készültek, színházi díszletfestõ készítette nagyméretû háttér elõtt (Betlehemet vivõ férfi, Angyal pásztorokkal, Asszony angyalokkal, 2005). A betlehemeseket ábrázoló legújabb, 2009-2012 között készült fotográfiákon viszont nem ez a semleges háttér látható, ezeken a képeken újra fontossá válik a betlehemezõket körülvevõ tér, a szereplõk és a környezet viszonya. A szlovákiai Jánok környékén készült felvétel két szûrbe öltözött pásztora (2011) az élénk színûre festett jászollal a tájban jelenik meg, mintegy annak szerves részeként, a képek többségén azonban a játékosok és az õket körü-l vevõ tér ellentéte válik hangsúlyossá, hiszen lakótelepi környezetben, a kortárs mûvészeti múzeum udvarában vagy éppen egy pláza belsõ terében láthatóak az emberi alakok. A Debrecenben rendezett nemzetközi betlehemes találkozók kínálták a lehetõséget a képek elkészítésére, ezek során ugyanis a színházterem semleges terébõl elviszik a résztvevõket a város különbözõ pontjaira. Akármilyen szürrealisztikus hatást keltenek a fehér ruhába öltözött pásztorok a hóesésben, a tízemeletes panelház tövében vagy a grafittivel szennyezett fal elõtt álldogálva, valójában ebben a környezetben szûnnek meg színpadi szereplõk lenni, s válnak igazán a jelen, a sajátos módon megélt mindennapok és ünnepek részeseivé – vagy legalább sejtetik, hogy ha valóban akarjuk és teszünk is érte, megõrizhetünk valamit a nagybetûvel írt ünnepek áhítatából, tisztaságából. Mert egyébként, ahogyan az a kép jelzi, amelyen a debreceni Nagytemplom elõtt fotósok hada fényképezi a beöltözött hagyományõrzõket, a tradíció egyszerû látványossággá, a felületesen megélt ünnepek vagy éppen a show business gyorsan elfelejthetõ részévé válik. Ilyen a mi betlehemünk – meditálhatunk el a világ, benne a hagyományok, a falusi társadalom és egyáltalán, az emberi állapot maradandós-á gán és változásain, miközben az erdélyi Csedregrõl érkezett kis csoportot nézzük a Betlehemesek a lakótelepen címû
2010-es felvételen: a férfi által alakított Szûz Mária napos és holdas takaróba burkolódzik, Szent József farmerben és kopott ballonban toporog mellette, s mit is viselhetnének a papírkorona mellé a katonásan tisztelgõ három királyok, mint a román hadsereg egyenruháját? Alattuk a behavazott szánkódomb mintha a Szilágyság picike darabja lenne, mögöttük a kamera által befoghatatlan óriási lakótelepi épületen a másik háztömb árnyéka fogja keretbe a látványt. Így folytatódik a harmadik évezredben az Elindultam világ útján, a Múlt idõ. A mi idõnk. P. Szabó Ernõ
De la vremurile trecute la vremea în care trãim
”Totul a început atunci cînd m-am rãtãcit în trecut. În toamna anului 1967 prietenul meu coregraf, Ferenc Novák m-a dus într-un sat unguresc din Ardeal, la Sic. Am sosit într-o sîmbãtã searã, chiar la dans. În camera ce?oasã, aburitã a unei case vopsite în albastru, cu acoperi?ul de paie au dansat tineri îmbrãca?i în port popular de odinioarã pe muzica a trei muzicieni mai în vîrstã. Ceea ce am vãzut a fost o descoperire pentru mine. M-am gîndit cã trebuie s-o traduc în limba fotografiei.” Cu vizita asta care a avut loc, iatã, acum 47 de ani a început seria cãlãtoriilor ardelene a lui Péter Korniss, fotograful maghiar poate cel mai cunoscut în lume, premiat cu premiul Kossuth. Experien?a primei mirãri, a ”descoperirii” trebuie sã fi fost cu atît mai cutremurãtoare cu cît pentru artist aceasta a însemnat totodatã ?i regãsirea patriei, reîntoarcerea în locul unde n-a mai fost de aproape douãzeci de ani. Sic, satul de cîmpie vestit pentru portul sãu, pentru muzica ?i dansurile sale, în linie dreaptã e la numai 2o de kilometri de Cluj, unde Korniss s-a nãscut ?i a trãit pînã la 1949. De fapt asta nu a fost amintirea lui însu?i, el crescînd într-un mediu urban. Umblînd ”în cãutarea timpului pierdut” l-au preocupat mult mai mult decît destinul sãu personal valorile lumii ?ãrãne?ti care exista în anii ?aizeci aproape intactã. În acela?i timp nu a fotografiat niciodatã cu obiectivitatea rece a celui care face inventarul: în timp ce fotografia zilele obi?nuite ?i sãrbãtorile, momentele bucuriei ?i ale doliului, era mai interesat de destinele omene?ti decît de cele ale portului sau non?alan?a pa?ilor de dans. Toate acestea împreunã au însemnat pentru el lumea despre care a sim?it cã trebuie s-o imortalizeze pentru cã nu peste multã vreme va dispãrea. A?a s-au nãscut acele imagini în Cîmpia Transilvaniei, în Maramure?, în ? ara Cãlatei, în Ghime? sau chiar în Moldova, în comunitã?i maghiare ?i române?ti – iar mai tîrziu ?i în sate slovace ?i sîrbe?ti – care au fost publicate în volumele sale devenite celebre (Am pornit pe drumul lumii, 1975, Timp trecut, 1979, Inventar, 1998, Legãturã, 2oo8) ?i au fost expuse la expozi?iile sale peste tot în lume ?i dintre care destule, de exemplu ? colãri?ele, Bãtrînul în drum spre casã, Femeia care se grãbe?te, Casa cu catafalc, ? colãri?a, Invalidul de rãzboi probabil cã ?i-au gãsit locul meritat în amintirea multor privitori ca fiind opere de vîrf ale fotografiei contemporane maghiare. La începutul anilor nouãzeci – dupã ce în urma a zece ani de muncã a redactat volumul Sezonierul, volum despre via?a unui navetist (1988) – s-a întors în Ardeal sã cerceteze, acum, urmele schimbãrii accelerate. ? i-a cãutat modelele anterioare – pe vestitul prima? din Sic, István Szabó
„Kávés” l-a fotografiat ?i dupã treizeci de ani – dar a ajuns ?i în comunitã?i noi, de exemplu în satele de pe malul pîrîului Niraj. S-a întors în repetate rînduri la ?umuleu Ciuc, la unul dintre cele mai celebre locuri de pelerinaj al catolicismului maghiar, dar acum a gãsit ?i satul maramure?ean ?ugatag unde a putut sã prezinte prin via?a românilor de acolo întîlnirea dintre trecut ?i viitor, dintre lumea ?ãrãneascã bogatã în valori deosebite ?i societatea modernã care aratã simptomele uniformizãrii. Una din documentele cele mai sfî?ietoare ale confruntãrii este fotografia cu titlul Mama ?i bãiatul sãu cu o fotografie veche care a fost fãcutã în satul ceangãu Lespezi în 2oo8. Personajele ?in în mîini o fotografie negru pe alb fãcutã în 1973 pe care se vede o femeie tînãrã care-?i ridicã ?i î?i ocrote?te copilul înfã?urat într-un batic ?esut de ea. În primul deceniu al anilor 2ooo mama poartã rochia ?i catrin?a care face parte din portul de odinioarã, pe podea ?i pe perete sunt ?esãturile de casã pe care le-a ?esut, dar covorul pe care stau e covor persan fãcut de ma?inã, ?i fa?a de perete mare ?i cu ?abloane cu flori la fel este fãcãturã. Pozi?ia, demnitatea mamei ?i a fiului sunt caracteristice lumii vechi, dar anturajul lor prezintã semnele schimbãrii ce poate fi cu greu asimilatã de tradi?ii. Aceste opere sunt primele din expozi?ia de la Miercurea Ciuc: fotografia cu titlul Bãrbat în vîrstã cu fiica ?i cu strãnepotul (1998), Gazdã în grajd (1998) aratã continuitatea modului de via?ã sãtesc, dar în spatele bãtrînului din Bãrbat cu afi?e (1997) se vãd deja pe perete reclame ale ?ampoanelor în limba englezã ca semne ale metamorfozei radicale a anturajului. Aceste imagini ce fac sesizabilã schimbarea apar în albumul cu titlul Inventar, iar mai tîrziu în expozi?ia cu titlul Continuare prezentatã în Galeria Várfok din Budapesta în 2o12. Acestea sunt fotografii pregãtite în care apare un aspect nou ?i foarte important: ele amintesc de pozele fãcute odinioarã în atelierele fotografilor despre oameni ?i familii care au dorit sã rãmînã pentru eternitate, dar culisele nu sunt decorurile atelierului, ci anturajul de zi de zi a celor imortaliza?i. Dorin?a imortalizãrii însã poate fi anterioarã chiar cu decenii sau cu un secol. Seria acestor poze a debutat la Sic datoritã dorin?ei cumetrei artistului: ”Fã ?i tu odatã o pozã ca lumea despre noi!”, Korniss a?ezîndu-?i ?i aranjîndu-?i rudele în cîteva clipe. Personajele stau cel mai adeseori într-un loc privilegiat al casei lor – pe o canapea în fa?a fe?ei de perete cu motive de leu sau chiar în fa?a Cinei cea de tainã de Leonardo - ?i se poate ca adolescenta sã nu-?i scoatã patinele cu rotile. Dar asta a fost dintotdeauna dorin?a celor care au stat în fa?a camerelor: sã fie imortaliza?i cu valorile lor, cu noua bicicletã sau cu vi?elul luat în tîrg. În timp ce primele douã serii din aceastã expozi?ie prezintã schimbarea societã?ii rurale, mediului de via?ã, culturii locuirii din satele ardelene ?i moldovene?ti, ea
vorbe?te ?i despre aspectele etern-umane, despre rela?iile celor fotografia?i la lumea ?i valorile lor. În ultimele decenii Péter Korniss se ocupã într-un mod tot mai intensiv cu joaca dramaticã popularã care are cele mai bogate tradi?ii, cu obiceiul colindatului sondînd rela?ia dintre lumea care s-a schimbat din temelii ?i tradi?ii. Una dintre primele imagini ale pozelor despre colindat le-a fãcut la Kakasd, un sat din jude?ul Tolna, Ungaria, unde încã în 1971 a fotografiat obiceiul ciobanizãrii pãstrate pînã în zilele noastre. Dar de la crearea pozei în alb-negru intitulatã Trecerea colindãtorilor au trecut încã atunci mai mult de treizeci (iar dacã privim din ziua de azi, mai mult de patruzeci) de ani, s-a schimbat toatã lumea: satul, comunitatea, pãstrarea tradi?iilor ?i chiar ?i fotografiatul. Pentru Korniss a fost cît se poate de limpede cã în epoca ”pãstrãrii festivalizate” nu se poate fotografia în acela?i fel ca în urmã cu cîteva decenii. În compara?ie cu pozele mai vechi, cele noi sunt colorate ?i alcãtuite, sunt create în ”atelierul portabil” de la fa?a locului, în fa?a fundalului mare construit de un pictor de decoruri teatrale (Bãrbat care duce colinda, Înger cu pãstori, Femeie cu îngeri, 2oo5) Dar pe pozele cele mai noi care prezintã colindãtorii ?i dateazã din perioada 2oo9-2o12 nu se vede acest fundal neutru: pe ele devine importantã din nou spa?iul care-i înconjoarã pe colindãtori ?i rela?ia dintre personaje ?i mediu. Pãstorii îmbrãca?i în paltonul tradi?ional din imaginea fãcutã în apropierea satului Jánok din Slovacia (2o11) apar în peisaj cu ieslele pictate în culori vii ca parte organicã a lui, dar pe majoritatea imaginilor este accentuatã contradic?ia dintre personaje ?i spa?iul înconjurãtor: oamenii se vãd în anturajul unui cartier, în curtea muzeului artei contemporane sau chiar în spa?iul interior al unui mall. Posibilitatea creãrii imaginilor a fost datã de întîlnirile interna?ionale ale colindãtorilor organizate le Debrecen, deoarece cu ocazia acestora participan?ii sunt du?i din spa?iul neutru al teatrului în diferite puncte ale ora?ului. Pãstorii care stau în ninsoare, în fa?a unui bloc de zece etaje sau a unei perete murdãrit cu gra翿?ti au un efect straniu, cu toate acestea abia în acest anturaj ei înceteazã sã mai fie personaje teatrale ?i devin figuri care fac parte din via?a pe care o trãim acum, din via?a de zi cu zi ?i a sãrbãtorilor trãite într-un mod caracteristic – sau cel pu?in privitorul simte cã dacã vrem într-adevãr ?i suntem dispu?i sã facem pentru asta putem pãstra ceva din curã?enia ?i smerenia sãrbãtorilor cu majusculã. Pentru cã altfel, a?a cum semnaleazã ?i fotografia pe care vedem armata de fotografi care îi urmãre?te pe pãstrãtorii tradi?iilor, acestea devin simple atrac?ii, o pãrticicã ce poate fi degrabã uitatã a sãrbãtorilor trãite superficial sau a show-businessului. Asta e colindatul nostru – putem sã meditãm asupra continuitã?ii ?i schimbãrii lumii, a tradi?iilor, a societã?ii rurale ?i în general a condi?iei umane, în timp ce privim
grupule?ul sosit din Cidreag pe poza intitulatã Colindãtori în cartier din 2o1o: Fecioara jucatã de un bãrbat se înfofole?te cu o pãturã pe care sunt cusute soarele ?i luna, Iosif mo?ãie lîngã ea în jeans ?i fî? soios, ?i ce ar putea sã poarte cei trei crai de la rãsãrit care salutã soldã?e?te dacã nu uniforma armatei române? Sub ei, dealul de derdelu? pare a fi un fragment minuscul din Sãlaj, în spatele lor apare un bloc uria? pe care camera nu reu?e?te sã-l prindã în totalitate ?i imaginea este încadratã de umbra celuilalt bloc. A?a continuã în mileniul al treilea Am pornit pe drumul lumii, Timpul trecut. Vremea în care trãim. Ernõ P. Szabó Tradus de Péter Demény
From the Past time to our time
It all began when I wandered back to the past. In the autumn of 1967, a coreographer friend of mine, Ferenc Novák took me to a Hungarian-inhabited village in Transylvania, Sic (Szék). We arrived on a Saturday evening – it was the time of the weekly public folk dancing. In one of the humid, dimly lit rooms of this blue, thached house some youngsters dressed in traditional costumes were dancing to the tunes of three elderly musicians. What I saw then was a great discovery for me. I felt an urge to translate all this to the language of photography.’ With this 47 years-old visit began the series of Transylvanian travels of Péter Korniss, Kossuth-prize photographer, one of the most renowned Hungarian photograpers of the world. This first amazement, this experience of ‚discovery’ might have been the most shocking one, as it was the most personal experience for the artist, the experience of homecoming, the return to the homeland that he hadn’t seen for almost two decades. Sic, a village from Mezõség, famous for its folk costumes, folk music and traditional folk dances is less than 20 km away from Cluj where Korniss was born and raised until 1949. Actually this wasn’t his own childhood experience for he was raised in an urban environment. ’In search of lost time’ he sought much more than a personal fate, he was interested in the values of this traditional rural community that was still purely preserved in the sixties. However, he never photographed with the cold objectivity of an inventory maker: during the process of capturing weekdays and weekends, joy and sorrow, he was much more interested in human fates than in the beauties of a costume or the airiness of a dance step. All this together gave him the world which he felt it has to be captured because it is was going to disappear. That is how many famous photographs were born in Mezõség, Maramure?, Kalotaszeg, Gyimes or in Moldova, in Hungarian and Romanian communtities – later in Slovakian and Serbian villages, as well – that were exhibited all over the world and many of which, like School Girls, Old Man Going Home, Woman in a Hurry, Catafalque Room, School Girl or The Invalid live in the memories of many viewers as the peak of contemporary Hungarian photography. At the beginning of the nineties – after finishing his book entitled The Migrant Worker (1988), a book he had been working for ten years – he returned to Transylvania, primarily to do some research on the signs of accelerated changing process. He visited his previous models – for example, the famous fiddler of Szék, István ‚Kávés’ Szabó whom he had photographed again after thirty years – but
he also went to new communities, in the villages on the bank of Niraj. He returnet to Csíksomlyó several times, to one of the most famous places of pilgrimage of Hungarian Catholicism and that was when he discovered Sugatag, a village from Maramure?, where he depicted the meeting of past and future, of the peasantry world rich of traditional values with uniformity through the life of the Romanian people. One of the most poignant document of confrontation is the photograph entitled Mother and Son with Their Old Photo, made in the Csángó-inhibited village, Lészped, in 2008. The figures of this photograph are holding a black-and-white image in their hands on which a young woman can be seen, holding protectively her baby wrapped in a homespun cloth. Though we are in the first decade of the new millenium, the mother is wearing a skirt and an apron which are traditional costumes, on the wall we can see pieces of cloth that she may have been sewn a time ago, but the carpet they are standing on is machine-made and the large flowery wall hangings are cheap factory products as well. The stance and dignity of mother and son evokes the times of old, but the change of their environment shows several signs of changing, hard to associate with tradition. These works are starting the exhibition in Miercurea Ciuc, Old Man with His Daughter and His Great-granddaughter (1998), Farmer in the Barn (1998) show the unchangingness of rural life, while behind the old man of Man with Posters (1997) there are English shampoo advertisements on the wall as a sign of radical transformation of the environment. These images suggesting changes can be found in his book Inventory which appeared at the beginning of the millenium, and later in his exhibition Continuation in 2012 in Várfok Gallery, Budapest. They are well-set images on which there is a new, very important momentum: they invoke the photographs made in studios about people, families who wanted to be captured, only the scene here is not the painted walls of the studio but the everyday environment of the subjects. The stance or the gesture of the desire of being captured could be older by a decade or even by a century. Actually, that is how the first photo-session started in Sic, at the request of the godmother of the artist’s child: ‚Make a photo of us!’ and she gathered the family in a few minutes together. As the figures are posing on this photo – mostly at one of the decorated part of the room, in front of a lion patterned tapestry or a replica of the Last Supper – and sometimes the teenage girl wouldn’t even remove her roller skates for the sake of the photo. This has always been the wish of those who stand before the camera, to be captured with their valuables, a new bike or with a calf bought recently on the fair. While the first two groups of the exhibited photographs show us the transformation of the Transylvanian and Moldovan rural society, life conditions and home culture, they also try to illustrate
the eternal human, the relationship of the subjects with their own environment and values. In the last decade, as a different direction of Continuation, Péter Korniss has been dealing more and more intensively with a folk dramatic play with probably the richest traditions in Hungarian folklore, the Nativity, searching for the relationship between the transformed world and tradition. He made one of his first Nativity-photos in Kakasd, To-l na county where he photographed the still living tradition of Nativity already in 1971. Since the making of the black and white photograph, the Marching of the Nativity-Players there has been more than thirty years then (it’s more than fourty today), everything and everyone has changed: the village, the community, the preservation of traditions, even photography itself. It was obvious to Korniss that in the age of ‚festivalized’ traditions it was impossible to make photos as decades earlier. As opposed to the earlier versions, these photos became colorful and well-set, they were made in the portable studio set on the location, in front of a great background made by a theatrical set designer (Man Carrying Nativity, Angel With Shepherds, Woman With Angels, 2005). On the latest photographs with Nativity-players, made between 2009 and 2012, there is a neutral background though, on these photos the space surrounding the Nativityplayers becomes important, as does the relationship between the subjects and the environment. On the photo made in the neighborhood of Jánok, Slovakia there are two shepherds dressed in traditional folk clothes (2011) with a bright-coloured crib as part of the landscape, however on most of the photographs the emphasis is on the contrast between the players and their surroundings, as these figures can be seen in residential areas, on the courtyard of the Museum of Contemporary Arts or in the inside of a mall. The opportunity of making these photos were offered by the international Nativity meetings in Debrecen, on these meetings the organizers take the participants from the neutral space of the theatre to the different locations of the city. No matter how surrealistic these shepherds dressed in white seem, standing in the snowfall or in front of a tenstorey block or a wall with gra翿?tis, it is this moment when they cease to be stage actors and they become parts of the present, of the everyday holidays – or at least, they suggest that if we really want it and do something for it, we can keep some of the piety and purity of the capital letter holidays. Otherwise, as the photo with the many photographers capturing the multitude of dressed traditionalists in front of the church of Debrecen suggests, tradition can become a simple spectacle, part of the superficial holiday celebrations or a quickly forgettable part of showbuisness. This is how our Nativity scene looks – we can meditate over the endurance and changes of the world, traditions, rural
society and more closely, the state of being human, as we look at the small Transylvanian Nativity-group coming from Csedreg on the picture Nativity-Players in the Estate (2010): Holy Mary, impersonated by a man, wraps herself in a moon and sun-patterned blanket, Joseph is standing next to her in jeans and in a shabby raincoat and what else would the kings saluting like soldiers with their paper crowns but the uniforms of the Romanian army? The snow-bound sledge hill at their feet appears to be a tiny part of Sãlaj, and in their back, on the wall of a giant residential building that cannot be bracketed by the camera, the shadow of another building gives this image a frame. That Is How I Started On The Road Of The World and Past Time continues in the third millenium. This is our time. Ernõ P. Szabó Translated by Elõd Márton
Angyal, pĂĄsztorokkal (2005), gicleĂŠ print, 110x77 cm (2011)
Angyal, három-királyokkal (2005), gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011) Asszony, két angyallal (2005),gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011)
Angyal asszonyokkal (2005) Gicleé print 73x110 cm (2011) Betlehemet vivő férfi (2005), gicleé print, 110x74 cm (2011)
Betlehemesek bérházudvaron (2009), gicleé print, 110x73 cm (2011) Betlehemesek a Vénkert utcában (2009), gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011)
Betlehemesek a plázában (2009), gicleé print 73x110 cm (2011)
Betlehemesek a hóesésben (2010), gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011) Betlehemesek a lakótelepem (2010), gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011)
Betlehemesek a szántóföldön (2011), gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011) Betlehemesek a főtéren (2010) , gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011)
Betlehemesek ünnepi kivilágításban (2012), gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2012) Betlehemesek kortárs múzeumban (2012), gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2012)
Betlehemesek a buszmegállóban (2012), gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2012)
Férj, feleség, fiúk a tisztaszobában (1997), silver gelatin print, 100x75 cm (2011)
Idős ferfi, leányával és dédunokájával (1998), silver gelatin print, 100x75 cm (2011)
Férfi plakátokkal (1997), silver gelatin print, 100x75 cm (2011) Gazda az istállóban (1998), silver gelatin print, 100x75 cm (2011)
Görkorcsolyás lány (2008), gicleé print, 100x75 cm (2012)
Apa és gyermeke a cifraszobában (2011), gicleé print, 100x75 cm (2012)
Zsuzsi néni a konyhában (2011), gicleé print, 100x75 cm (2012) Nagymama, unokákkal (2011), gicleé print, 100x75 cm (2012)
Péter Korniss Born in Kolozsvár, (Cluj, Transylvania, Romania) His family moves to Budapest Studies law at the ELTE University, Budapest Expelled from university for political reasons Takes on various jobs as unskilled labourer 1958-1961 Works as unskilled labourer at the Budapest Photo Cooperative 1961 Passed examination in photography 1961-1991 Photojournalist on the staff of the popular women’s weekly Nõk Lapja, later becoming picture editor 1962 Begins folkdance photography with the Bihari Dance Group 1967 First trip in Transylvania, where he returns over the next decades to record the disappearing traditional peasant life and culture. 1974 First exhibition in the Kunsthalle (Mûcsarnok), Budapest Publishes his first album “Heaven’s Bridegroom - Hungarian Folk Customs” Awarded the national Balázs Béla Prize 1975 Starts working for the Honvéd Ensemble. He has been taking photos for the Honvéd Dance Theatre ever since. 1977 Member of the international jury of World Press Photo exhibition(Amsterdam) for three years 1981 Photographer for the International Danstheater (Amsterdam), a work he continues until 2000. 1983 Member of the International Advisory Committee of the W. Eugene Smith Grant (USA) Selected for “Artist of Merit” award 1984 Member of the International Advisory Board of the World Press Photo Foundation (Amsterdam) 1988 Publishes photo album “The Guest Worker” - on the life of a commuting labourer he photographed over a ten year period. These pictures were also exhibited in the Kunsthalle (Mûcsarnok), Budapest 1991-1999 Picture editor of theatre magazine Színház 1995 Awarded the “pro Hungarian Art” prize
1996 Awarded with the Cross of the Order of Hungarian Republic 1998 Selection of thirty years of pictures taken in Transylvania exhibited in the Kunsthalle (Mûcsarnok), Budapest. Also published, under the title “Inventory - Transylvanian Pictures 1967-1988)” 1999 Awarded the national Kossuth Prize 2004 Awarded the Pulitzer Memorial Prize Awarded the Prima Primissima, Prima – Prize 2010 Awarded the Hungarian Heritage Prize 2012 Exhibition of 45 year work in the Várfok Gallery, Budapest 2013 Awarded with the Kölcsey Memorial Medal
Lista lucrãrilor / List of the Artworks
1. Înger cu ciobani (2005) Angel with shepherds, gicleé print, 110x77 cm (2011) 2. Femeie cu doi îngeri (2005) Woman with two angels, gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011) 3. Îngeri cu trei regi (2005) Angel with the three kings, gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011) 4. Bărbat cu creşă (2005) Man carrying creche, gicleé print 110x74 cm (2011) 5. Femeie cu îngeri (2005) Angel with women, gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011) 6. Colindători în curtea casei (2009) Nativity players in the courtyard of an apartment house Gicleé print 110x73 cm (2011) 7. Colindători pe strada Vénkert (2009) Nativity Players in the Vénkert street, gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011) 8. Colindători în centru comercial (2009) Nativity Players in the shopping center, gicleé, print 73x110 cm (2011) 9. Colindători în cartier (2010) Nativity Players at the housing estate, gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011) 10. Colindători în zăpadă (2010) Nativity Players in the snowfall, gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011) 11. Colindători în piaţa principală (2010) Nativity Players at the main square, gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011) 12. Colindători pe ogor (2011) Nativity Players in the Field, gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011) Colindători în muzeu contemporan (2011) Nativity Players at the museum of contemporary arts, gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2011) 14. Colindători în iluminare festivă (2012) Nativity Players in festive illumination, gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2012) 15. Colindători în staţia de autobus (2012) Nativity Players at the bus stop, gicleé print, 73x110 cm (2012) 16. Soţ, soţie şi fiu în cameră curată (1997) Husband, wife and son in their home, hilver gelatin print,100x75 cm (2011)
17. Bătrîn cu fiica şi strănepot (1998) Old man with his daughter and great-granddaughter, silver gelatin print, 100x75 cm (2011) 18. Bărbat cu afişe (1997) Man with posters, silver gelatin print, 100x75 cm (2011) 19. Fermier în grajd (1998) Farmer in his stable, silver gelatin print, 100x75 cm (2011) 20. Fată cu role (2008) Girl on roller skates, gicleé print, 100x75 cm (2012) 21 Tata cu copilul în camera frumoasă (2011) Father and daughter in their decorated room, gicleé print, 100x75 cm (2012) 22. Tanti Zsuzsi în bucătărie (2011) Auntie Zsuzsi in her kitchen, gicleé print, 100x75 cm (2012) 23. Bunica cu nepoţii (2011) Grandmother and grandsons, gicleé print, 100x75 cm (2012)