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6/10/2010

Martin Munkacsi

Ludwig Museum, Budapest

After Hamburg, Berlin, New York, San Francisco and Moscow, the Ludwig Museum, Budapest will host the so far most representative exhibition of the lifework of Martin Munkácsi, a photographer of Hungarian origin who acquired world fame in Germany and in the USA.

There are still many unexplored questions and contradictions regarding the private life and the professional career of this photo reporter, who came from a poor family but later worked for the most important magazines for the highest fees. As a young photo reporter, he primarily took pictures at sports events, and at the end of the 1920s, he worked in Berlin with László Moholy-Nagy and Ernő Friedmann (who later became famous as Robert Capa), for such innovative magazines of the thriving German market as Die Dame, Koralle and Uhu. In those years he was especially interested in documentary socio-photography. He took pictures of shabby basement homes, polo matches, people bathing at free beeches, a pilot school for women not far from Berlinsl, and marching German troops. After the events of 1933 and the subsequent cleansing of the staff of the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung of Jews he left Germany. At the invitation of Harper’s Bazaar he settled down in New York. Think while you shoot, was his motto and fundamental professional principle. While he lived with his camera in his hand and took pictures of everything he saw, he heralded the importance of composition, editing and the idea that is born in the moment of clicking the machine. He revolutionized fashion photography. Due to his unique principles of composition and photographing models outside the studio, Munkácsi was considered the innovator of fashion photography in the 1930s.

Important American museums rejected the donation of the Munkácsi archives after his tragic death in 1963. His pictures and negatives were scattered around the world. The majority of his negatives disappeared for decades, but by fortunate coincidence, were found a few years ago.

It is to the credit of F.C. Gundlach, an admirer of Munkácsi’s work, who is a well-known fashion photographer and collector, that a lifework exhibition presenting all creative periods of his life will soon open in Budapest. Over 250 photos made between 1923 and 1963, with a great many vintage pictures among them, will be on display at the Ludwig Museum. After being published in newspapers and magazines, some of these photos were never published again, and were almost completely forgotten. A selection will also be presented from the magazines Munkácsi worked for, such as Pesti Napló, which was published in Budapest, the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung and Die Dame from his years in Berlin, and Harper’s Bazaar, Life and Ladies’ Home Journal from his time in the USA. His own publications and the first editions of the monographs about his professional career will also be exhibited, as will important photo yearbooks in which he is mentionedsl.

The exhibition Martin Munkácsi: Think While You Shoot was arranged by House of Photography, Deichtorhallen Hamburg and its curator is F.C. Gundlach. The exhibition was organized with the contribution of the Martin Munkacsi Estate, ullstein bild and the F.C. Gundlach Foundation.


Until November 21, 2010:

The Pleasure of Light
György Kepes and Frank J. Malina
Curators: Nina Czeglédy and Róna Kopeczky

The vision and creativity of György Kepes (1906-2001) and Frank Malina (19120-1981) are best characterized by the concept of universality expressed through experimentation in art, science, technology and radical innovation. The notions of interdisciplinary philosophy date back to a renaissance synthesis of knowledge drawing a long arc through art history. Kepes and Malina were pioneers of these revitalized concepts in the last century. Both artists had Eastern European roots and were significantly influenced by modernist theories.

Kepes is often referred to as a light artist, by using light as a creative medium. His paintings, photograms, photographs and kinetic works can be traced back to his light and shadow studies performed in the thirties. Malina in his kinetic works experimented with light in his Paris studio. His background in rocket science followed by his art experiments motivated him to establish Leonardo, a leading international journal, while Kepes, a prolific author of text books founded the Center for Advanced Visual Studies, at MIT. Both worked at reuniting social and natural sciences with art.

The exhibition at the Ludwig Museum aims to introduce the two artists simultaneously providing a context along the parallels drawn between them.


Image: Martin Munkácsi, Peignoir in a soft breeze, 1936. Courtesy: F.C. Gundlach.

Press office:

Head of Communication Department
Zsuzsanna Fehér Tel.: 06 1 5553466 zsuzsanna.feher@ludwigmuseum.hu

Communication Department, PR and Events
Patricia Piringer Tel: 06 1 5553468 patricia.piringer@ludwigmuseum.hu

Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art
Palace of Arts H-1095 Budapest, Komor Marcell u. 1. Hungary
Hours:
Tuesday-Sunday: 10 am - 8 pm
Closed on Mondays
On the last Sunday of every month, free admission for all visitors under 26

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