Saturday, July 2, 2011

Photo Trip to Europe - Part 1

Now that I’ve returned from my three-week photo trip to Europe, it’s time for me to update the details of my travels.  The primary reason for my journey was to attend the opening ceremony at the Ménens-patak Sixth International Festival of Photography in Szécsény, Hungary.  The festival was organized by András Toth who did a remarkable job of assembling a compelling exhibition of work by 16 international artists from eight countries - Bangladesh, Colombia, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia and the USA.

The opening ceremony was on June 10, but I arrived a few days early to enjoy and explore Budapest.  I was picked up by my friend Zoltán Vanscó, who I met in China two years ago at the Lishui Photo Festival. After checking into my hotel, Zoltán took me to the Hungarian House of Photography, where there is a gallery and an excellent bookstore. We then went a brief tour of Pest.  I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Budapest for the next two days. Needless to say, I spent a fair amount of time riding the subways and adding photos to my Metro project. The first line opened in 1896 and runs just steps beneath the street along Andrássy Avenue and two other modern lines run deep beneath the city. I also had an opportunity to see photo exhibitions at the Hungarian House of Photography, and an excellent exhibitions of Imre Kinszki at the Magyar Zsidó Múzeum and László Moholy-Nagy at the Kortárs Művészeti Múzeum. I also was able to see The Barber of Seville and Verdi’s Macbeth at the State Opera House, walk across the lovely chain bridge and visit the castles and churches on the Buda side.

I was picked up at my hotel on Friday morning by the Hungarian photographer Attila Kelb and German photographer Bernd Arnold, and we went on the 90 minute drive through the rolling countryside to the town of Szécsény.  Both Attila and Bernd had work in the exhibition and had been helping with the installation. When we arrived in Szécsény, it was a pleasure to finally met András after months of corresponding by email in preparation for the exhibition.  I also met Enikő Dudás, who had been assisting András with the preparations for the exhibition and who acted as translator. The five of us had lunch together and then proceeded to the exhibition before the opening ceremony.  I got to see Attila's work – lovely large portraits that he had taken of residents from a small town in Sardinia, and Bernd's black & white prints from his Das Kölner Heil and Nacht im Milieu series.  I also had an opportunity to meet and see the work of Anna Fabricius and Zoltán Schnelczer. I was very pleased with the way my work was presented. I had 46 large prints from three different series - One Thin Line, Sidewalks of New York and Guatemala - in three well-lite adjacent rooms on the second floor of the exhibition.  András did an excellent job printing the images from the digital files that I sent him, and the matting, framing and hanging of the work was perfect.


András and Stan

 
Bernd, Attila and Enikő

Exhibition Hall in  Szécsény

The opening ceremony included a speech by László Stayer, the mayor of Szécsény, who believes that it is important to promote the arts. István Pekár, art critic from DunaTV then commented on his impressions of the exhibition, and finally Károly Kincses, art historian and curator at the Hungarian House of Photography, spoke. Since everyone spoke in Hungarian, Enikő provided me with a brief recap of their comments.

After the speeches I was interviewed by MTV (that’s Magyar TV) and I had a chance to spend more time looking at the exhibition. I wandered through the exhibition with Bernd, Attila and his son Máté and we discussed various bodies of work. We were so enthralled with the display, that we didn’t realize that the show had closed for the evening and the building had been locked up; all of the dignitaries and other participants had already left for a celebration in the nearby village of Szécsényfelfalu. Although all the doors were locked, we were able to find a window on the first floor that we could open and clamber out of. Máté was the first one to make it out and he quickly grab a camera to document the rest of us breaking out of the exhibition. When we finally arrived at the party, András was surprised to hear of our adventure. The dinner was delightful, with traditional Hungarian food, excellent beer and good conversation, and a performance of tradition Hungarian song and dance. This was my first chance to talk extensively with András, thanks to the translations by Enikő, and we exchanged some interesting stories.

Escape from the exhibition. ©Máté Kleb
I spent the Friday night in Szécsényfelfalu and wandered around the village on Saturday morning before András drove me back to Budapest with a stop in the historic village of Hollókő on the way.  On Saturday evening I met up with Attila and Bernd again in Budapest.  We stopped by a pub where Attila had and exhibition of more of his work from Sardinia, and then we went to a festival of Gipsy music and sampling of beer and langos.  It was a fun way to end a wonderful experience. I would like to thank András again for inviting me to show my work at the festival and for being a wonderful host.  I also want to thank Enikő for her hospitality, good humor and translating skills, and to my new friends Attila and Bernd for sharing time in Szécsény and Budapest.  All in all, it was a wonderful experience.
After one more day in Budapest, I spent two weeks visiting Vienna, Warsaw, Krakow and Prague, where I continued to work on my Metro project and hunt down photographic exhibitions. I’ll post information about that part of my trip in a day or so.

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Art is the most complex, vitalizing and civilizing of human actions. Thus it is a biological necessity. Art sensitizes man to the best that is immanent in him through an intensified expression involving many layers of experience.
László Moholy-Nagy              
 

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