A promising young ballerina from Japan, she comes from a family of true art lovers and has a passion for dance. On Saturday 24 June she will dance the lead role in Michael Kropf's Bolero. Anna Mária Bólya asked her about the role and her fulfilment in ballet.

Anna Mária Bólya: We are meeting after a full day of rehearsals, what is your programme?

Nichika Shibata: Yes, we have a training session from 11 am and then we rehearse until 6 pm. It's like this every day for the whole week. On the day of the performance we have a break in the morning. Fortunately, I don't get too tired from rehearsals, but it's nice to have a rest in the evening.

B. A.: How did your love affair with ballet begin?

N. Sh.: My mother took me to ballet class and I was hooked right away. In our family, although my parents are not artists, music and dance were a daily part of our lives. For example, I learned to sing, but I was also introduced to many other arts. Then I finally chose ballet.

B. A.: What does passion mean to you in Bolero?

N. Sh.: Bolero is a bit difficult for me. Here I have to portray a female character who impresses all the men and attracts all of them. I am not that character in real life. So I try to imagine, to create this image in my head.

B. A: Successfully?

N. Sh.: I try to do my best.

B. A.: How does the music of Bolero inspire you?

N. Sh.: Bolero is my father's favourite music. I listen to it a lot. It's very interesting music, with practically constant repetition with the changing of the instruments. It gradually intensifies until the passion culminates at the end. The choreography also reflects this. When I dance from the beginning to the end, that's what I feel, how the passion gradually rushes forward.

B. A.: You are currently studying at Europa Ballet Sankt Pölten on a scholarship. Before that you took ballet courses in Japan, Europe and the USA. If you could only name three things that you have received from your dancing, what would they be?

N. Sh.: The first is probably learning how to learn each ballet routine efficiently and well, that is, the best ballet technique. The second is acting, or expressiveness in movement and dance. The third, what I learned from teachers and choreographers in Japan and here, is how to work. To work on what needs to be improved and developed until I achieve results. My teachers and choreographers give me strength to work, they show me the way.

B. A.: What are your plans for the future?

N. Sh.: The important thing now is that I dance, it's not the venue that is important, it's the dance. After that, if I will be invited somewhere, I will go. At the moment, apart from Bolero, I have leading roles in Sissy, Romeo and Juliet, which will be presented next week, and a few smaller roles.

B. A.: And how do you manage all this with energy? I heard from your teacher that you've been beating the boys at Bolero.

N. Sh.: I do have energy. When I'm rehearsing, I don't think "oh I'm so tired", because it's telling my body to be tired. I don't think about that, and I don't get tired easily. So when I have a rehearsal, I try not to be tired.

B. A.: Bolero's choreographer Michael Kropf inspires you to express yourself, to express the role. He sees Japan, where you come from, as having a very different tradition of movement expression than Europe. In the meantime, he has observed that you have changed remarkably in expression over the last year and have acclimatised to the storytelling style of the European tradition in dance. I wonder what it must feel like, how it feels for you, when you receive a request for expressivity from a choreographer? To what extent was this a conscious change in terms of stage presence and expression?

N. Sh.: As I mentioned before, in Bolero I present a woman on stage who is different from my character. It is difficult to talk about this issue. However, the good choreographer gives me the inspiration to experience the role and I take that inspiration and carry it forward. The music also inspires me to express myself on stage, which ultimately provides the basis for storytelling. The music creates images in my head which I then express in dance.

On August 31, the closing ceremony of the 2019-2022 Art Scholarship Program of the Hungarian Academy of Arts (MMA) was held in the Hild villa, in the headquarters of the MMA Institute of Art Theory and Methodology (MMA MMKI). The event was attended by György Vashegyi, the president of the MMA, Gábor Richly, the general secretary of the MMA, László Koppány Csáji, acting director of the MMA Art Theory and Methodology Research Institute, as well as Ádám Farkas, an ordinary member of the MMA, the heads of the scholarship sections, the academics of the MMA and the 100 farewell scholarship recipients.

 

The celebration started with the production of violinist Eszter Krulik and cellist Ditta Rohmann, scholarship holders of the music section of the MMA Art Scholarship Program, who performed the first movement of Zoltán Kodály's duet for cello and violin.

 

 

The guests present were greeted by László Koppány Csáji, the Acting Director of the MMA MMKI, who emphasized that although they had gathered for the closing ceremony it did not mean to say goodbye, but to outline the possibilities to continue to follow the scholarship holders' careers and support them in the future. He also encouraged the artists and art theoreticians who are ending their scholarship period this year to, if they have time, continue to participate in one of the section meetings, share their opinions, and get to know the future scholarship recipients, since the scholarship program is not only about financial support, but also about building relationships as well.

György Vashegyi, the president of the MMA, drew attention in his opening speech to the fact that there are not only possible future members of the academy among the successful participants of the scholarship program, but the best of the entire Hungarian artistic life. He added that the academics can also learn a lot from the scholarship recipients also often recognize the exceptional talent of their "students" who even overperform them. According to him, the class that just graduated had to overcome the greatest difficulties caused by Covid, as two out of the three years of the program happened during the period of the epidemic, which made it significantly more difficult to maintain contact. He emphasized that, above all, MMA sees the future in the scholarship recipients, so they would like to involve them in the circulation of the life of the academy much more actively than before.

In his speech, Gábor Richly, the general secretary of the MMA, said that at the time when the scholarship was created, they not only wanted to provide financial security to the artists, but they also had an equally important goal of creating a community, an audience through it. Despite the limited opportunities due to the epidemic, he is confident that the past three years have been suitable to develop a strong bond  between the participants of the program, and he also wants the scholarship recipients to see the academy as a kind of alma mater after they leave. He emphasized that the number of ten times more applicants even to this day justifies the significance of the program Also he sees a non-negligible factor that the female-male ratio is also balanced in the list of winners, several of whom have even received such serious recognition like the Kossuth - award.

This was followed by a reading by Tibor Weiner Sennyey, writer, poet, literary translator, scholarship recipient of the literature section, whose twelfth book - a compilation of his essays about Béla Hamvas - was published in 2019, after his books of essays and short stories, short novels, and four books of poetry. He is currently working on his first novel. and who this time appeared in front of the audience with his works Arra and The Beekeeper's First Bee.

 

The closing speech was given by Ádám Farkas, regular member of the MMA, head of the fine arts section, who praised the work of the 2019-2022 class. He revealed that the scholarship program strengthened not only his faith as a teacher and his thoughts about art,  but even his doubts. With the help of the program he could come across valuable materials from the point of view of art theory, philosophy and sociology. He also added that thanks to the unique scholarship system provided by MMA, the academy has access to fantastic values ​​that come not only from theoreticians, but also from artists. The collection, organization and publication of the materials created in this way will be a very important goal to accomplish in the coming years.

Finally, the audience had the privilege to enjoy the performance „Folk Music Compilation from the Two Shores of Lake Balaton".by the folk singer Andrea Navratil, folk musician Gábor Nagy and jr. Dance artist Zoltán Zsuráfszky dance artist, the folk art section scholarship holders of the MMA Art Scholarship Program.

 

 

At the end of the lectures, those present could participate in a reception, and they had the opportunity to see the exhibition of the works of the 2019-2022 scholarship winners in the Hild villa.

 

 

Galéria


 

In September, Katalin Benedekffy is looking forward to welcoming operetta fans again with a Lehár gala evening. The one-and-a-half-hour production organized by the opera singer will be available in German and Hungarian, but in addition, from September 15, the general public can meet her in the performance of Jekyll & Hyde at the Operettszínház, and on September 25, she will sing the title role of Countess Marica again at the Hungarian Opera in Cluj. Born in Nagygalambfalva, Székelyföld=Transylvania, the Prima prize-winning artist gives charity concerts and helps young people in Hungary. Your professional career was very strongly determined by the spirit you bring from home, Transylvania. How do you see the presence of these values ​​in cultural life now?

I am delighted that in recent times we have started to return to our own values, to our own culture, both in handicrafts and folk art, in the discovery of the fairytale world that gives us our roots.  I always say that the crown of a tree can only be beautiful if the roots are fine. It's no use trying to move up if we have no idea about our origins, where we come from and what our values ​​are. We have reached a point where it is necessary to give voice to who we are, what we do in the world, what values ​​we have and to be able to represent them. I also tried to add my part to the Transylvanian cultural treasury: my book A pinch of Transylvania was born, which presents the world of legends, ballads, tales and flavours. 

What should we know about this publication?

Its appearance was a big milestone for me, and of course it was a huge honour to be able to use the works of my uncle, Sándor Kányádi, with the family's contribution. In addition, it contains numerous poems, legends, collections of ethnographic material, ballads, fairy tales, folk songs, children's nursery rhymes, folk games, and it also includes a 70-minute CD on which you can find archaic collections, folk music materials along with recitations of Kányádi poems. In addition, I sing folk music materials I sing, which served the basis of being able to submit my MMA scholarship later on - the three-year material of my entire scholarship work plan is based on this, it is the starting point.

You won the MMA Art Scholarship in 2021, which was the first easier period for artists and performers after the pandemic. How did you experience being locked up, and later being able to step in front of the audience again? 

--ddThe period of the pandemic was very hard for everyone, and it affected us artists even harder. At the time, I was just preparing for a 9-stop Australian tour.  I had travelled to Transylvania for a big concert, and when I got to the border, I realized that my whole year had been cancelled. Before that, I was thinking, “Oh my God! I won't even have time to get air!", and when I arrived at the Nagylaki border crossing, it turned out that I would have a lot of free time, because my performances in Italy and Moscow and my trip to Australia, my performances, everything were cancelled. At first, you couldn't believe it. Then came the hope that: "Well! Everything will start again within two weeks!" We had never seen anything like that before. Then 1-2 weeks or a month passed, and we started to worry because we were prepared for certain things, but not for living from reserves for up to a year and a half. If my family had not helped, I would have been in a lot of trouble. At least I could try my luck in other fields thanks to MA degree and my degree in Economics. It was a very good period to think about my true values, what and who honestly matter in my life, where I could reach out even in such a challenging period. Getting back on stage was very difficult, I remember the first event I was invited to: my hands and feet were shaking, I didn't even know which part of the world I was in. You practice and sing at home, trying to preserve this kind of lifestyle and routine, but it was difficult to go on stage again and bring that all back. It was trying and tough, but I think a lot of us got stronger during this period. Furthermore, it turned me into a slightly different person.

As you mentioned, in addition to acting and singing, you also studied philosophy and art, so writing is not far from your acquired skills. With the publication of your first book, the audience got to know your name from a new perspective. What are your future plans regarding this? 

I would be really pleased if I could go a little further along this line. Since I come from Székelyföld, Transylvania, I grew up in this classic fairytale world. Both my grandmother and my mother used to tell stories every night, something they had just invented or brought from the folk world, folk traditions, which greatly determined my life. At the time when I started the book, I had about 500 pages of material without images - then I knew that I would be able to publish a total of 200 pages, including pictures. This was the material I collected archaically from local uncles and aunties. There are several beautiful treasures among them. In the scholarship program, with the title Coming from pure sources, I would like to show children living beyond borders  a world that is built on traditions. However, in the second year we are already going further towards the world of Kodály and Bartók, which is also connected to folk music. Then later we could move on into the world of opera and operetta in an interactive, playful way. Of course, I will gather a lot of material, as the reactions and how the children or even the adults get involved are extremely fascinating to see, and this can also provide the topic of an interesting study, which I would like to put on paper after a while. 

So the main mission of your three-year scholarship program is to introduce the world where you grew up to as many children and young people as it is possible. Please tell me about this, where is this process now? 

I planned seven places a year, at the beginning of the year many tasks were postponed due to illness, so I was able to complete the first round towards the end of spring. There are other projects where I can go to several locations in scattered areas. However, it would be nice to return to the children several times. So now I have taken on more: I go back eight times, so I can build stronger bonds both with the educators and children. I also go to families, I regularly return to Csaba Böjte's children; I visit children in minority and disadvantaged situation in Szalonta, Déva and Magyarcsanád. In Makó, I do not work with disadvantaged children, but this is also a strong feedback on the measure of the differences between working with children from secure backgrounds and working with children growing up in difficult circumstances if two different worlds can be measured in the same way at all. Now there is a school holiday, so the next three performances remain for September, four venues twice, so eight in total.

Your Transylvania project is an initiative that can teach many things to the participants who are open and curious about it. How does working together with the children and the team affect you?

I often meet the audience from a different perspective, as a prima donna I fly all over the world. The situation is completely different when I drive thousand kilometers, go to the children and hug them, talk to them, dance with them, tell them a story or ask them something. It requires a completely different person, a different attitude, which makes it much more personal and purer, because it is a more fragile bond based on deeper foundations. When 7,000 people applaud you, it's a kind of world, but when you look into a child's eyes and he tells you that "You know, my mom died, but you've been here with me since...", when everything once he had is broken and falls apart around him beyond any imagination and you hold his hand, hug him, gently caress his head, give him a kiss on his cheek... It feels like a family, an intimate environment that you never have the chance to experience on a public stage. There is so much love in them, it makes you feel that what you are doing is not in vain.

Do you think that as an outcome of your mission to introduce traditions, strong communities will evolve in other regions of the country too?

Absolutely, in fact, this is my large-scale plan deep in my soul. Although I may not be able to fully accomplish it in the near future. Basically, I think in terms of community, because we have a lot of values ​​that need to be brought together somehow. I trust I will have the opportunity to contact several locations based on the lectures and the program. I was already in several places, including in the diaspora, with the Egy cipetnyi Erdély (A pinch of Transylvania) program. In Hungary, there was a workshop at Judit Józsa's Gallery, where I held lectures and sessions for children and families, and I hope I will have the opportunity to meet more and more people. It would be fantastic to create workshops where we can get to know each other: the one from the highlands goes to the one from the south, or the one from the south goes to Székelyföld. I believe that this can be connected, because unity means strength, that's the only way to create great things.

The  goal of the scholarship program is no secret to set up a high-quality professional team among supported artists helped by the personal meetings at the Hild Villa. The first such event has taken place recently. What is your experience, how can your fellow creators connect with what you represent?

At the inaugural event, we met as new scholarship recipients in Vigado, and already then a story began for us: a lady came to us. It turned out I had known her for a long time. Her name is Enikő Senkovics, who is also a scholarship recipient, but in a completely different section. After we had spoken to each other a bit, she became the proofreader of my book. We have already planned tenders together with Zenóbia Zorkóczy for example and we are still thinking about one or two things together. She even published a newspaper article about me. I am planning a festival next year, which we also discussed, and I am confident that I will be able to find this kind of community thinking with even more of my section colleagues. I have visions of creating a joint story-performance by the end of the third scholarship year, which everyone could individually contribute. I would love to see this happen because there are so many talented people perceiving things in a great way. We had the opportunity to meet fantastic people within the framework of the MMA scholarship program. Everyone is very open to my values and although everyone is busy, the company we keep in touch regularly is active and eager to create. I believe in the sustaining power of the community so really great things can be built with cooperation, mutual attention and love.

Our scientific colleague Anna Mária Bólya is a researcher with a PhD in ethnography and cultural anthropology, music theory teacher, and dance history teacher. Her main research area is sacredness and dance, as well as movement symbolism, the relationship between dance and Christian culture. In addition to her many other scientific activities, she is the founding editor-in-chief of the Macedonian Scientific and Cultural Journals together with religious anthropology professor Elek Bartha and participates in the propagation of the culture of Macedonians in Hungary, and last but not least, she is the founder of the Ohrid Macedonian Folk Ensemble. In the spring of 2022, she gave her habilitation lecture at the Doctoral School of Philosophy at the University of Pécs, and we talked to her about it. Let's start at the beginning! How did you come into contact with Macedonian culture?

I have always liked chain dances, such as the Bulgarian horo or the Serbian kolo. Not necessarily because it is not necessary to have the same number of men as women in the dance hall, but because it has very exciting music and step material. An important element of Balkan dances is the chain dance. However, Bulgarian and Serbian dances had already been analyzed by many researchers before me, so at the suggestion of my mentor, Professor Elek Bartha, I chose Macedonian culture, which is researched by very few people. I am happy to deal with a topic in which there is still plenty of research to be done. At the time when I started, Macedonian folklore research practically only existed scattered, this culture was mostly studied only by political scientists and historians. In addition, the peculiarity of the research is that they were approached more as Bulgarians, Greeks or Serbs. By the way, I like the archaic elements of folklore, so this field was a great choice, I am still grateful to Professor Elek Bartha for the suggestion at the time.

Why exactly can the Macedonian culture be called archaic, and what other specific characteristics does it have?

While the Turks left us in 1686, they left North Macedonia only in 1912, which also means that there is a significant "phase delay" in that area. If we don't count Albania, which was also part of the Ottoman Empire until 1912, then we can practically talk about one of Europe's biggest laggard countries in terms of economy and development. However, this is especially good news for folklore researchers, because this way things have been preserved that can reveal traditions that go back centuries. Many customs related to the Proto-Slavic faith have survived to this day, such as the veneration of holy stones. For example, there is a stone the size of a small room near Szveti Nikole, to which women considered barren make a pilgrimage on St. George's Day, because according to the belief, applying old magical practices at the holy stone can lead to fertility. The most interesting thing is that relatively many women actually get pregnant in the following year.

What are the challenges of researching this topic?

For me, it was the first realization that it is difficult to interpret life and history in the Balkans from the perspective of the Carpathian Basin. Suppose we are Macedonians, and we are asked who are Macedonians? Bulgarians tell us that we are Bulgarians, Serbs that we are Serbians, and in the last 2-3 thousand years everything around us has been constantly changing. Once, when I gave a lecture about the Macedonians, I was told by the Bulgarians that this folklore does not even exist, and they did not understand why a Hungarian researcher was dealing with the Macedonians.

For the research work, you first had to master the Macedonian language. How difficult was this?

Fortunately, I didn't have to start from scratch, because until then I spoke a kind of Pan-Slavic language - it included Croatian, Russian, Slovak, all kinds of things - which the Slavs weren't very happy about when they heard it. However, I could make myself understood to a certain extent. I decided to learn at least one of the Slavic languages ​​properly. It is interesting the southernmost Slavic language is Macedonian. Going south already Greeks live there. There is practically no inflection of nouns - only the vocative - instead there are many prepositions. By the way, Slavic languages ​​are characterized by the fact that even a Pole can ask a Macedonian for a glass of water on a basic level, as they are so similar to each other.

What was the fieldwork experience like in North Macedonia? I understand that the locals are very hospitable…

Yes, this is again related to their archaism: Macedonians are by nature compulsive hosts. The biggest offense you can cause them is that if you don't accept their invitation, they really like to sit in various restaurants and chat. The whole trip was an extremely positive experience. They have a basic communicative liveliness and are excellent hosts, so going to North Macedonia as a guest is great. Tourists are usually advised not to start singing, making music, or dancing when they arrive in the country, because Macedonians can't be outdone in these anyway. For them, folk dance is part of basic education, which is why many people decide to choose this field for further education, since they have all the basic knowledge for this. What is also interesting is that a Hungarian community has also been established among them, so there is a continuous connection between the two countries. 

And to what extent does Macedonian culture appear in Hungary? 

In 1948-1949, during the Greek War of Independence and Civil War, a very large number of "so-called Greeks" came to us, but today it seems that approximately half of this group was minority, i.e. Macedonian. Some of today's Greek self-government is still Macedonian, and the Greeks want to keep them Greek. Here we are talking about thousands of people, which were largely of Greek and Macedonian identity. The sense of identity of the Macedonian minority refugees is a hard and politically complex issue. These hidden minorities arrived as very young children, are considered to be Greek and stateless by the administration. This was highlighted in some interviews. On the other hand, this small Macedonian group can still be found in Hungary today, even if they have virtually no official administration.

What are the connecting points of the two cultures? 

One of these is the dance hall. The Hungarian dance hall movement started in 1972, and the South Slavic one roughly two years later, so they appeared almost at the same time. Thanks to the person of Antal Kricskovics, and also in the functioning of the minority municipalities, the Serbs, Greeks and Croats, the Balkan dance material was given, since the dances and folk music of these minorities are a popular identification element for them. The movement has survived up to this day. We have several Greek and Serbian bands who also play each other's music. So the South Slavic culture is strongly present, and within that the Macedonian culture, which is just as much a part of it. In Hungary, the cultivation of the culture of the southern Slavs has been present in the ethnography from the beginning, as well as in the dance hall, and minority dances were started almost immediately at the same time as the Hungarians did. After that, the Balkan dance halls were established separately, but the two actually go hand in hand till today.

What do we need to know about the previously mentioned chain and circle dance culture? 

For the Greeks, this form of dance is still a part of everyday culture, at social events and public events, it often happens that suddenly they start chain dancing joyfully by holding onto each other. Few people know that chain dancing was so fashionable in Europe until the 1300s that not even hip hop fashion can be compared to it. It was danced both in the upper social classes and in the village, among all ethnic groups, but we can even observe this dance form in older paintings. In Europe another form of dance, namely the couple dance, began to displace it. Moreover, from the 14th century they became more widespread.  Similarly, that happened to the later waltz, polka or even most forms of Hungarian csárdás. Chain dances survived only in the Balkans and on a small island near Denmark. We can only find such dances in renovated folklore materials (for example, in the Hungarian). The chain and circle dance culture does not only mean that it is danced in a chain or circle form. This is a completely different phenomenon compared to the later, more modern duet and solo forms, even its name is not the same as the later dance name derived from the word danse. I have come across a case where someone did not join the dance because of a death in the family in the same year, although it was at one of the biggest holidays, at Epiphany.  It falls beyond the frame of the tradition. They take the related traditions very seriously. On the other hand, he danced in a public place without any further ado, for him the two dances do not even fall into the same category. The special feature of the chain dance is that it can consist of a large number of people at the same time, up to 20-30 people. In fact, village-scale chain dance challenges regularly take place from a much larger number of participants. Even a Guinness record has been set.

What are the musical characteristics of the Balkan chain and circle dance culture? 

As we have previously mentioned, it is not just a matter of taking on a form together, but it is likely that they contributed musical features from ancient times we here in Western Europe may not be able to interpret. Such is the phenomenon called Bulgarian rhythm by Béla Bartók, which has been tried to be analyzed in ethnomusicology since the end of the 19th century. I also want to take this further, since this work is not finished at all. Other musical phenomena can be found in the chain dance materials They differ from our current musical perception and are significant element of this culture. 

The theme of your habilitation was also built around the Bulgarian rhythm. What do you need to know about this phenomenon?

One of the interesting things is after Bartók, the name aksak has already been used in the researches, which means lame in Turkish. This suggests that a piece of music does not only consist of beats containing only units of 2 or only 3, but also units of 2 and 3, and they alternate with each other. A similar or extreme example of the alternation of weights is the archaizing Spring Sacrifice, a work by Stravinsky.

What discoveries did you make during your research? 

I found that the chain and circle dance culture is characterized by two other things at the same time: the simultaneity and the asymmetry of the dance material. In my research group we interpret these three together and study Bulgarian rhythm from the aspect of dance. First of all, I had to take into account the insights of ethnomusicology, because Bulgarian rhythm has a large literature to start from. It is also important to examine it in the philosophical framework of art: here the authors mainly deal with the ancient Hellenic choreia, which was specifically a chain dance culture. They basically do research in the field of classical philology and comparative literature, and they have interpretations of Homeric texts, such interpretations provided a good framework. In general, I found authors who are not at all known in the Hungarian-speaking world, and who also come from other scientific fields, but they helped to shed light on many connections.

What makes it difficult to acquire Balkan folk dance and how long does it take to learn it?

The difficulty, as I mentioned earlier, is the overwhelming asymmetry for the Western musical ear and mind, and a kind of flexibility that can be shaped musically. It also has a very chiseled step material. It is easier, however, that you don't have to find a partner, since they always dance together, in a big chain. For Macedonians, musical asymmetry is natural, almost innate, but it can cause difficulties for an outsider. It has plenty of challenges, but at the same time it's very exciting and truly worth doing. 

Finally, tell us about your work and experience in the Ohrid Macedonian Folk Ensemble! 

The ensemble was formed in April 2012 with doctoral students and students of the Macedonian Lectureship of ELTE and the Department of Ethnography of the University of Debrecen. There were Macedonian minors, Greek and Croatian majors among us. We brought original costumes from North Macedonia. The goal was to make Macedonian folklore more widely known through dances and songs, as well as to foster Hungarian-Macedonian relations for both countries. We mainly held dance and folk music performances. The ensemble was named after Lake Ohrid, which was one of the most important centers of Slavic writing and even Christian culture. This movement had its heyday mainly during the university years. During the pandemic, the activity was almost exclusively limited to online existence, but now we have restarted it with programs for "Balkán-Fan" companies.

More information: macedon.hu

Can an artificial intelligence copy our style in the future? What laws can we use to protect our original works of art from the dangers of the world wide web? Why is it important to build the brand of an art institution, what does a good image look like, and how can we communicate effectively on social media? What tools do we have for online art education? 

In the following lines, asking the experts of our research institute for help, we will approach the issues of the presence of art in the online space from the direction of three areas, while using their useful advice, we will also try to highlight what pitfalls we should avoid as professionals in the given field in order to succeed. 

(In our article, we present a selection of recently published and soon-to-be-published publications of the MMA MMKI.)


Fine art / Photography Anikó Grad-Gyenge and Adrienn Timár examine the copyright issues of fine art and photography in their next volume of Workshop Studies. The comprehensive scientific work reveals, among other things, what exactly the concept of author's work means in the fields of fine art and photography, what is the concept and significance of the original work in these areas, and what are the most important aspects related to the protection of the author's work.

The modern era has brought with it the unprecedented technical development of mobile phones and other imaging devices. As a result anyone can become a photographer and, where appropriate, an author, since with an ordinary device that can be bought by anyone on the market, extremely high-quality images and videos can be taken, which are now can even be edited with applications available on the phone. Most of these works will probably not be artistic and will not have special aesthetic characteristics, but this is not necessary to establish individual, original character. For all these reasons, it is important to emphasize that the nature of the image-making device is irrelevant in relation to the question of the creation of the author's work, it can even be a mobile phone, the technical characteristics of the device alone do not influence the creation of the author's work.

Regardless of the criterion of originality, questions related to the original (first) work must be addressed in the field of visual and photographic works. Among the majority of author's works, the original copy does not have a prominent role, since we rarely hold the original manuscript in the case of a book, or the original film strip in the case of a film. These are not often commercially available. Of course, this can also happen, primarily in the context of special auctions, but at the same time, in the case of visual works - especially paintings, sculptures and photos - this concept is of particular importance, since the original work is mostly sold, and in some cases the author also creates several original works.

It is worth briefly mentioning the works of photographic art, where with the development of digital photography, determining the original copy can be a serious problem, since any number of copies of the same high-quality printed version can be made based on the author's decision with the appropriate tools, while in fact the original photo only exists on the memory card of the photographer's machine. Photo artists often decide to sell simple copies, which can be considered original copies, but the larger the number of them sold, the lower their market value is.

A relatively new but thriving phenomenon is the so-called non-fungible token, which is a digital data unit that, like the signature of the creator, proves that the digital device is unique and non-exchangeable. It is also suitable for carrying works of art and photography. In this way, the originality, which is a defining aspect of the value of fine art works, can be ensured in the digital space.

It is a relatively common phenomenon in relation to works of fine art and photography that they are faked in such a way that they copy the creator's familiar stylistic features, which are well-recognizable to the public, or even combine works that have never existed before and sell them as original works.

Imitation of style will continue to be of great importance in the future: if artificial intelligence is already able to learn the style of some well-known authors and thereby produce new products that compete with the author's original works, its legality will not (necessarily) be a question from a copyright point of view, but it will be possible to prevent such products from competing with original works on the art market on a legal basis.

 

Marketing communication 

 

In our book #maradjotthon #veled vagyunk, Dér Cs. Dezső and Euridiké Fehér look for the answer to what marketing communication means, how it can be interpreted in the online space, and what trends shaped by the pandemic we need to pay attention to in order to communicate effectively in the period that follows. The book also reveals what actually happened during the first year of the pandemic in the case of theatres in Hungary.

One of the most important tasks of marketing communication is differentiation. Perfect communication clearly indicates how we differ from others, what we are "better" at. We have to constantly inform, convince or even remind our visitors about this. However, we are wrong if we think that wt66t/e only communicate with the means of the media: our presentations, image, appearance (design), our colleagues or even our prices reveal a lot about us to the consumers of culture. Communication is the "voice" of the institutional brand, the unavoidable and most important task of branding. In order to communicate effectively, we always have to plan a long process step by step.

One of the main tasks of marketing communication is therefore to deliver the message to consumers as efficiently as possible. This task is getting more and more difficult, as consumers can choose from more and more cultural programs and promises of experiences every day.

Thinking about the following steps can help you plan your communication strategy or campaign:

 

One of the biggest advantages of digitization is that we can gain a lot of data through it, but if we don't want to get lost in the sea of ​​data, it is important to define the goals in advance and adjust the measurements to them. We can measure practically anything that is digitized, from the number of visitors to the download rate of our application to the amount of photos with our hashtag. Collecting data is also useful for data-based marketing. In the digital world, what we like is mapped based on the content we prefer, and algorithms are generated based on these, so we can receive personalized offers on different interfaces.

As frustrating as the lack of digitization can be, it can be confusing or difficult for a different kind of audience. People who are at home in the digital world, or who work specifically in this field, really don't like having to carry printed papers with them all day; they need to access everything on their phone. If, on the other hand, the target audience is more "conservative", they will definitely be bothered if, for example, they have to search on a touch screen or scan a QR code in order to access all the information, even though they don't have a smartphone. It is therefore important to know the digital habits of our target audience and use these tools accordingly.

Digitization has an advantage when it simplifies something, eliminates the difficulties of an offline solution. However, it is not worth using it without thinking, forcing it on everything, because there are many sub-areas where the traditional solution is more functional.

 

Music education

 

The volume "The appearance of the online space in music education and concert attendance" was created as a result of the collaboration of the MMA MMKI and the art pedagogy research group of the Doctoral School of Human Sciences of the University of Debrecen. The project examines the experiences and impact of online art education at all levels of education in Hungary, as well as in Hungarian education beyond the border. The professionals sought answers to how online education changed the methodological toolkit, what new, innovative ideas, learning-supporting or supplementary initiatives were created. 

Rita Kerekes and Julianna Kiss from the article entitled "Group music lessons in the online space" show that, despite the fact that Ouren already wrote in 1997 about the positive experiences of the Vivace Personal Accompanist software in the dimensions of musical ability development, precision, musicality (musicality) and interpretation, the traditional and music education with an effective methodological repertoire neglected the tools of information and communication culture for a long time. In the case of group music lessons (music knowledge/solfége, singing-music), the positive effect of Internet interfaces is most evident in the areas of listening to music, acquiring musical knowledge, and developing listening and rhythmic skills. In recent decades, more and more programs and software have become available. Notation programs (Musescore, Sibelius, Finale) support the display of sheet music images on a smart board, and several alternatives are also available for skill development. The SmartMusic web-based application supports music education from several sides, it is a program with a teacher and student interface and a digital sheet music library. It gives immediate feedback on the performance, it can record the recording, and the teacher can also benefit from immediate feedback to the student. The advantage of the software is that it helps with instrumental practice, provides digital accompaniment, and "co-rehearsal". Music education in Northern Ireland is supported by Musical Mysteries, a website grouped around four different themes (rhythm, voice, orchestral instruments, styles). The special feature of the interface is that, in addition to teachers and students, it also helps parents in how to support their 7-11-year-old children's music learning. The software called Earmasterpro is a program containing more than 2,000 music lessons that offers opportunities for development up to the professional level. In addition to detecting intonation, the software is also suitable for developing polyphonic singing skills.

Looking around the sitation in Hungary, on the Sulinet Digital Knowledge Base we can find pedagogical aids available for free for public education and vocational training, but hardly any meaningful content can be found for the subject of singing and music. Some of the Hungarian music pedagogy research calls for a technology-supported learning environment, digital catch-up, due to the negative student attitude surrounding singing-music lessons. Experience shows that the development of digital aids for singing-music and solfège subjects was far behind the introduction of the restrictive measures. from other subjects. The staff of the Music Pedagogy Research Group of the University of Szeged developed the Music Island program based on the approach of edutainment and gamification. The motivational toolbox, which offers playful learning opportunities both online and offline, primarily wants to help the methodological palette of singing and music lessons.

The electronic publications of the Institute of Art Theory and Methodology of the Hungarian Academy of Arts (MMA MMKI) can now also be downloaded from our website in EPUB format, making it more convenient to view them on e-book readers.

EPUB (short for Electronic Publication) allows for ease of use and customization (including changing the font, font size, line spacing, and margins) on e-book readers, as this file type can adapt texts intended for display to the output device. The EPUB format is supported by most major e-book reader brands (Kindle, PocketBook, Sony, Kobo, etc.). The files are available for free and easily by clicking on the "Download E-book" button for each volume. The publications of our research institute include, among other things, monographs on literary, philosophical, dance, music and, last but not least, methodological research, as well as multi-author study volumes, which have been of considerable interest in the past period. From the sense of novelty, we have collected our 10 most popular e-books so far:

10. Dezső Szabó's place in Hungarian culture

Dezső Szabó's inescapable importance in the history of ideas justified the art theory conference organized by the MMA MMKI in connection with his oeuvre in October 2019. Due to the wide-ranging character of the oeuvre and its multi-directional historical impact vectors, the scientific exchange of ideas invited representatives of various scientific fields to a dialogue. The studies, in terms of their subject matter, present Dezső Szabó's life path, family background, contemporary relationship system, political ideology, literary approach, as well as the reception and impact history of the oeuvre. The writer is undoubtedly an influential and unavoidable figure in Hungarian cultural history. However, both his contemporaries and the evaluators of posterity saw the importance of his role and the extent of his influence in a different way. The contemporary historiographical public consciousness also considers Dezső Szabó as a key figure in the history of political ideas of the Horthy era, which is supported in the volume on the one hand by the power of The Drifted Village to shape public thinking, and on the other hand by the impact of the writer's ideas on the popular movement.

9. Possibilities of the history of ideas

The workshop conference series began in 2018, and the MMA MMKI publishes this selection from the study versions of its lectures. The well-known objective of the research institute is that, in addition to research related to individual art forms, studies discussing the social relations of art are also an integral part of its activities, and it also counts methodological research among its tasks. The results so far, the colleagues’ researches , and their publication in the professional public showed that the history of ideas can be one of the methodological connecting elements, and even an integrating and structuring principle, among researches with different themes. The research of the history of visual arts, music and literature interacts and forms a common section with the more closely considered history of ideas. This raised the need to review the different methods of the history of ideas, as well as the exploration of the relationships that can be observed in the history of ideas among other trends in history, especially the history of culture. The aim of the authors of this volume is to support the reality of the possibilities and to justify the further application of the method of the history of ideas.

8. New ways in cultural marketing

We recommend our book Dér Cs. Dezső – Renáta Márkus: New ways in cultural marketing, which focuses on the world of online marketing, primarily illustrated with domestic practical examples, to marketing professionals and readers interested in all aspects of marketing. In addition, it is supplemented with a glossary and the presentation of structures that are considered fundamental in cultural management and communication: for example, how to prepare different analyses, what aspects are involved in a press analysis, a PR analysis, an online marketing analysis or a communication analysis. The authors decided to bring art and marketing to a common consensus.  So if a marketing professional takes the book, after reading it he should be able to communicate more easily with a professional who works in the art field, and vice versa.   

7. Dance and method - Dance methodology research

The purpose of the study volume is to examine dance training and dance teacher training in Hungary. The range of dance education in Hungary is wide: among the formal education frameworks there are basic art education institutions, vocational high schools and two higher education institutions. The publication follows the principles of the Hungarian University of Dance in matters of dance methodology. As with the educational institution conducting the highest-level dance teacher training and dance artist training, secondary and elementary dance art educational institutions are also connected to it. Therefore, the questions of dance methodology affect these spheres as well. The first part of the book deals with the general questions of the art of dance and the presentation of the individual branches of the art of dance, in the second part the questions of dance history and music history that form the basis of the practical education of dance are discussed, and in the third part the methodology of education is approached from the point of view of the entire European higher education. The volume provides a comprehensive picture of solution-focused procedures for this special segment of art higher education.

6. Tripolis, Miskolc, Senlis - György Cziffra's memory

The authors of the study volume undertook to delve into the individual details of Cziffra's life and analyze it using a scientific method. Their sympathy for the author helped them to find the tedious and in many cases, barely guessable data, to make musical comparisons which are difficult to put into words, and if necessary, to confront the most popular legend. The publication was presented at two conferences jointly organized by MMA MMKI and the Cziffra Festival ("Cannons and flowers" - memory of György Cziffra, November 20, 2019 and "A pianist and journalist" - memory of György Cziffra, March 22, 2021). edited version of lectures. We hope that such a canonical figure of classical music as György Cziffra will be cleansed of the legacy of party-state disinterestedness, the legends imposed on him out of sympathy, and the obligatory but disturbing frills of the genius myth through the scientific dialogue. Listening to him as a person is just a pleasure. Along with him we can reach Senlis from Tripoli via Miskolc.

5. Shostakovich Syndrome – The Burdened Memories of Central European Societies in the 20th Century

Our present volume is nothing more than a selection of academic essays discussing Central European cultural memory, which examine, among other things, the reception of Dmitri Shostakovich as a symbol of the memories of works of art, persons, and societies. The participants of the MMA MMKI international meetings in Szigliget discuss Central Europeanness in a different approach every year. The experience of the conferences is that the Central European self-consciousness experienced by individual nations cannot be brought to a common denominator, but the work that explores them still gives rise to scientific dialogue. Although the annual workshop meeting of the MMA MMKI in Szigliget was postponed in 2020, we still invited the researchers to explore the following questions in their studies: How did modernisms appear in the region? Which ideological problems of interpretation can be discovered in the culture that are no longer relevant? What is the region-specific relationship between memory, culture and politics? Finally, how can culture exist without external pressure? From the history of ideas to dance, from architecture to press history, from pop music to film to sociological interpretation, we can find many approaches in the volume.  

4. On the threshold of time - The history of Hungarian ballet The purpose of the dance studies conference and the study volume bearing the same title is to place two outstanding traditions of the history of Hungarian stage dance at the center of the academic dialogue. The romantic Hungarian ballet tradition can only be explored through historical research, though the effects of Bartók's model on dance are still alive today. However, the two eras are connected by the greatest figure in Hungarian ballet history, Milloss Aurél (1906–1988). The romantic Hungarian ballet traditions were defined by Emília Aranyváry, a contemporary of Ferenc Erkel, the creator of Hungarian opera, and Béla Bartók's close colleague and one of his spiritual heirs, Milloss, created his unique style from his heritage, Hungarian folk dance, and experiences on European modern ballet stages. The influence of the first Hungarian prima ballerina, along with Hungarian musical romanticism, is only now becoming known, but Milloss remained noticeably present. Thus, through his example, we show - at the workshop meeting and in the volume - the impact of ballet on the history of Hungarian ideas.

3. #stayathome#wearewithyou# - Online communication of Hungarian theatres in the first year of the pandemic (March 11, 2020 - March 27, 2021)In the life situation that has developed since 2019, the theatre has a significant role. Its role cannot be based on fear, as it has its own community, to which it also bears responsibility. The authors of the volume believe that this thought initiated the activities born from the first reactions, which at that moment could only be realized in the online space. In order to prepare the book, they reached 15 Hungarian theaters, out of which 11 online interviews were conducted. The recorded written and spoken interviews by other media outlets were processed. In addition, an analysis was completed that examined the online interfaces of 23 Hungarian theaters through the eyes of an external visitor, based on technical and content aspects. The results of this show the extent to which the theaters were able to use the possibilities of online interfaces from a communication point of view.

2. Art overview – Research on the situation and possibilities of art education, curricular and extracurricular artistic activities and eventsOur e-book in second place, edited by Judit Váradi, presents the results of a large-scale research. The Educational and Cultural Studies Doctoral Program of the University of Debrecen, the Faculty of Music and the Music Pedagogy Research Group of the Future Art Foundation, with the support of the MMA MMKI, examined the artistic activities of elementary school children outside of school hours and the possibilities of participating in art events. Eighteen researchers summarize their experiences on the results. This work is unavoidable for all those who are interested in the issues of child upbringing, artistic and aesthetic education, and leisure pedagogy, but it also demands attention from those who are only interested in the development and international comparison of subject skills and achievements that can be converted into economic success. Based on the analysis, it can be clearly concluded that catching up lower-performing students and supporting those who start school at risk of falling behind can begin with art education.

1. The appearance of the online space in music education and concert visitsOur most popular electronic publication responds to the situation caused by the coronavirus epidemic.  As a result of it all education systems in the world - including Hungary - were faced with an unexpected situation, and schools were forced to conduct emergency absentee/distant education for health reasons. A wide range of research has already analyzed the consequences of pandemic education, highlighting problems that hinder education: such as weak online education infrastructure, inexperience of teachers or difficulties related to the home environment. In this regard, the present volume of studies has important novelty value: it examines the domestic experience of moving music education online. The publication contains eight high-quality essays, which present the results of research carried out in collaboration with the Doctoral Program in Education and Cultural Sciences of the University of Debrecen, the Faculty of Music of the University of Debrecen, and the Art Pedagogy Research Group of the Future Art Foundation. The research "The appearance of the online space in music education" was launched in October 2020 with the support of the Hungarian Academy of Arts' Institute of Art Theory and Methodology, which examines the experiences and impact of online art education at all levels of education in Hungary and in the Hungarian education beyond borders, including the changes in music teachers' use of art during the pandemic.

A volume of selected and new poems by writer and photojournalist Mátyás Szöllősi will be published in autumn. In addition to preparing his book with the title Szabad, the young MMA scholarship holder has visited and photographed Transcarpathia several times since the outbreak of the war, and he has been making his comprehensive series of portraits of Transylvania for a year. 


You came to the Ural Mountains in connection with an archaeological documentation, the research of destinies of people and the origins of Hungarians followed. How did you develop your curiosity about faces, places, and stories?

The origin of Hungarians was the topic of the archaeological research series that I documented between 2015 and 2019, I think this is how it is totally accurate. My interest in faces, places and stories goes back to my childhood, for example, I was interested in visual arts at a very young age, I drew a lot, I also visited the Pannónia Film Studio, and in addition, I have been reading a lot since I was ten years old.  I was also lucky enough to travel from the1980s. Since I have been to many places, both physically and mentally, I developed the need - even if this obviously did not come true immediately in the form of writing a prose text or making a series of photos - to record the things that happen to me, the way I experience and interpret them. My parents are musicians, I also played music for a long time, and I feel that the musical experiences also greatly helped me to be able to switch on and off from time to time, to be able to change the pace. This is essential for writing, but it is also extremely important during photography. 

Many parts are intertwined in your career but writing and photography appear as the two main lines most strongly. To what extent do you experience this like being in a kind of storytelling role, as a sense of mission?

I think I have more awareness. I think those who know my work can see and experience this. I don't usually think about what my mission is, I rather focus on what interests me, what is relevant for me and for others, and what are the topics that are close to me or may come close. What I can be the best at. I think that I am in a constant search both within myself and with regard to the outside world, and I try to connect and synthesize the things I find during the creation. I love to write, but you can't always write. I feel like I shouldn't. I felt quite a few times, when I "overdid it", that it was not thought through enough, not sufficiently matured. Photography helps me see more clearly. To spend more time in a situation, to examine a problem from several aspects. And yes, it helps in storytelling, seeing things in their process, helps in recalling, observing people's behavior and characteristics. I can only really switch off while taking photos. I feel very free then.

It can be seen from your works that you do not only document places and people, but also try to deal with current, live topics. The challenge of today's information society is to identify with the flow of the world. As a creator, do you feel this kind of pressure, force?

I certainly feel something from this, but I don't experience my activities as a compulsion, fortunately I don't have to compulsorily deal with something that I'm not interested in, or that I'm only interested in because it's trendy. For example, the Bashkirs are definitely not like that. Although when I look around, I see an upswing in dealing with Transylvania, which in a certain sense paints a false picture of this multifaceted place, I trust that with my upcoming photo series I am not strengthening this part. Maybe it's more the speed that bothers you, that most of the time you don't have time for certain things, because the world encourages you to watch/do/want the next thing before you've really experienced the previous one. I often go to places where this thing is less present in people's lives, or if it is present, the generation whose representatives I photograph in Transylvania, for example, does not feel that life is so urgent. It is good to experience this kind of existence, the pace that is theirs. The kind of tranquility pleasantly delights the eye.

The force and impact of the war in Ukraine can be felt in many countries of the world, mainly from an economic point of view. You also recorded the situation in the Subcarpathian areas inhabited by Hungarians, where deprivation appeared on an unprecedented scale. As a photographer, it is not easy to work in such conditions, could you tell us about how you organized the trip and your stay there?

KárpátaljaI visited Transcarpathia much earlier, starting in 2016, that year I took photos in a house in Beregszász, where nearly fifty families lived in serious conditions, and there I met Viktória H. and her family, with whom we have been in contact ever since, I try to help them regularly. When the war broke out, it immediately became obvious that, in addition to the refugees, those who remained in Transcarpathia also needed/will be in great need of help. If there is a war in a country, it is felt by all areas, and we know that Transcarpathia was in a devastating situation even before the war. The roads are disastrous, the infrastructure is in ruins, many houses have no heating, not to mention salaries and pensions. The emigration was already strong starting in 2014, and unfortunately, most of the young people do not return to Transcarpathia, especially now, so mainly those with small children and the elderly stayed there. I didn't think much, I gathered what I could, I told a few friends that I was going, who also contributed so that I could take various useful things with me. While I was there Viktória and her family helped, as well as Jána Timkó, János Szimcsera, who is the deputy mayor in Nagybégány, Egressy Mariann and Dianna Cséke, the latter is the head of the Help to Help Transcarpathian program, and fortunately many others. The tension was palpable, even though the fighting had not spread to Transcarpathia. Everywhere I went, understandably, the talk was almost exclusively about the war. Since then, I have been there twice, I have met and talked to several people, and fortunately, based on the published pictures and the conversations I have had so far, quite a few people have been able to find out about the situation of the people living in the Beregszász and Ungvár districts.

What was it like to experience the ordeal of a country whose drama is now making headlines around the world so closely? 

KárpátaljaI have not been to a place where there were actual fights or war scenes, but I have met many people who have, and I have also interviewed people who came from Kyiv, the Kharkiv area, or Mariupol. They told me about shocking, terrible things. I couldn't really convey what was visible in their eyes, how broken and tormented many of them were, and how full of life some of them are, who want to go back because they don’t want to lose what they have been working for a lifetime. Basically, I've noticed - I'm thinking mainly of the older generation now - that they have no intention of leaving their homes, leaving the house, animals, the place where they live, until they are shot, but as a matter of fact, they would not set off even if the fighting started there too. Many people have asked me how this is possible, why these people don't come over to Hungary. It is difficult to talk about this, on the one hand, because I myself have not lived in a country where a war would be going on, and on the other hand, it is often difficult to support a feeling, a spiritual peculiarity, with rational arguments. 

You visit regions where you experience deep human dramas, either you are talking about those left behind in Transcarpathia or Ukraine, or the inhabitants of distant regions. These are astonishing and shocking scenes even for an outside observer. As a photographer, how do you process the traumas experienced on the spot and afterwards? Which of these was your most memorable job? 

The processing is in progress, it will not happen overnight. Not only because I got to know many people during my stay abroad, many of them also got close to me, which makes these people's pain and grievances from various areas even more relatable. I have noticed that I sleep worse at home since this has been going on. It does have an effect on me/us as well, not only in an economic sense. There is a strong pressure, since it is close to us, and the news, social media and the flood of confused information make it feel even closer, constantly present. Unfortunately, politics and public life do not necessarily help either. In recent decades they have rather ruined the lives of many people I have met out there. By the way, my friend Andrea Tankó supported me throughout this time. We regularly talk about what we have seen and heard outside, and I think the writing itself also contributes to this. For example, how I described the story of meeting an old blind lady living in Nagymuzsaly. That one hour remained with me so strongly, it was so difficult and yet uplifting that I had to write about it and put it into words. When I sometimes get discouraged, something pulls me down, I try to recall moments, for example from these visits, because there were plenty of them. When we laughed, I saw that they were happy to receive something useful and important, or when I had a good conversation with someone, and they told me about something that meant delight for them.

There are examples of people who are facing difficult circumstances, and if an outsider gets involved, it can later affect their lives... What is the afterlife of your works? 

When I decided to go to Transcarpathia to take photos immediately after the outbreak of the war, it was not a secret that my aim was that the published pictures would change something in their own way, help people in the world face the problems of the people living there. The published pictures obviously greatly inspired those who contacted me to offer money, tinned food, medicines, etc. I tried to supplement the pictures with texts and personal stories from time to time, and this made it all the more effective. I think that's how many people really understood that this is happening now, and that it is indeed necessary to help. So, my answer is yes, it is possible. Of course, not always, it does not happen in all cases, especially if someone is recording pictures/scenes in a combat situation. It is completely different then, but I had more space to act. 

During your travels, in addition to the sad experiences, you get to know and experience countless micro- and macro-stories. How do they affect your writing, how much of it is being written in you in parallel as a result of the events? 

In me too. They are actually written relatively soon, so that, as I mentioned, I already wrote a short story about my visit in April, which was published. For me, photography fills me up, observation, it's really the process when my body, mind, and soul absorb a lot of things that only show up much later, come out in some kind of transformed form. There are times when I really only start thinking about a situation weeks or even months later, and it's obviously completely different from the time when I was actually there, in it, but it doesn't have to be the same. It's just that it starts something in my brain, it triggers certain processes, even in relation to a text that is not specifically about this. This is similar to what happens to a person while reading. Many people have probably already experienced, especially those who create. When they read a text, it suddenly triggers their imagination, their thoughts, in relation to something completely different. It's like when you hear the splash of water, or when you're under water you put your hand in, and the body reacts, with something that is related to water. However, it has already been internally transformed, and then it appears in that transformed format. I'm trying to put it delicately and nuancedly, although I know it sounds very profane, but most of the time, as we well know, miracles are not born from sacred moments. 

The goal of your scholarship work was to create and organize the exhibition in Ufa. What was this three-year process like?

Erdély

For me, as for the others in the scholarship program, these three years were not about balance. Things didn't go quite as planned for either of us. Last spring, since it was not possible to travel to Russia due to the pandemic, it would not have been safe anyway, so I had to change my work plan. So I turned to Transylvania, continued working there and started to create a series of portraits showing the oldest generation. Transylvania is closer, I don't have to travel to the Urals, I can talk to most of the people there without any problems, and the terrain is much more familiar. The past year has been full of intense work, during which time I have been out there seven times.  Fortunately, many people helped me, Sándor Buglya and László Haris supported the change, Transylvanian photographers Gyula Ádám and Fülöp Lóránt showed me the direction, and I received important advice from quite a few pastors, priests, and private individuals. Although I also have a very nice material about the Bashkirs, from earlier and from the fall of 2019, when I visited many settlements in the steppes surrounding the Southern Urals, this Transylvanian series is much more comprehensive now, more than 50 settlements, 8 large regions, nearly 200 people affects, so I think it shows the elderly generation living in Transylvania in a serious way. The world they represent, the environment that still surrounds them, those houses, gates, works of fine and folk art will disappear over time, or if they don't disappear - I'm sure they won't - presumably they will be forced into a much more closed and regulated space. 

What will live on from the completed project and can even be woven into the future? 

I am confident that my pictures, the series itself, will live on, on the one hand thanks to the Internet, and on the other hand, in the sense that when it is completely assembled it will become a serious exhibition, even a book. This thing is becoming completed, but the time is not yet. There is still a lot of work to be done with the Transylvania series, and although I made good progress last year, I have to say that I have to work on it for a long time, just because of the size, complexity, and diversity of Transylvania. I should say the same about the Bashkir stories, but now it does not depend on me at all, nor on the Bashkirs, much bigger and darker forces prevent the creation of images. I really want to return to the Urals. I didn't give up at all, just because of the love and commitment I feel for them, for the Bashkirs I have met, I can't give up on putting together a comprehensive photo report or a series of portraits with them. If I think about Transylvania again, I spent so much time there in the past year that I am only now really beginning to see how deep its layers are and how it is worth approaching, when  it is worth going to where, who it is worth working with, what kind of work pace and attitude lead to the goal.

In relation to the feedback: have you experienced that the audience in any age group has become more socially sensitive as a result of your work?

I hope so. For the time being, my pictures live on social media, but there a lot, and in this regard, I can say that I have received a lot of feedback, and now I am not thinking primarily of likes, but of comments, personal messages, shares, which I can see with the accompanying text they were published. Many young people wrote, even surprised that they would not have thought that you could meet things, people, and places like the ones in my photos that I had photographed. Many people asked for advice and directions, I saw that many people encouraged people, referring to my photos and the characters in them, that it is worth visiting Transylvania. Most of the Bashkir material, together with the excellent text of the ethnographer Zsolt Bottlik, was published in the January-February Földgömb Magazin, and many people wrote and searched for it.  I think a lot of people saw those photos, and such a world and community was revealed in front of their eyes, which was unknown until now, but now it is not completely so, and which definitely deserves to be brought closer to us.

More photos and writings of Mátyás Szöllősi can be viewed on his website.

 

 

Galéria


 

The English website of the research institute has been launched, and its first podcasts in foreign languages ​​have also been completed, in which Anna Mária Bólya, MMA MMKI research associate, talks with internationally renowned ballet dancer Emese Bíró and Rodrigo Ballester, head of the Mathias Corvinus Collegium European Studies Workshop.


The website of the MMA MMKI was renewed last autumn, as a result all those who are interested in its content have easier and more transparent access to the articles of art and art theory. At the same time, we started the MMKI Kultúrsokk Podcast, the institute's regular "radio show", in which researchers present a variety of topics on music, literature, architecture, film, theatre and dance, and artwork are all available for the public to listen and follow. 

As part of the renewal process, the contents of the website will be available in English from 2022, thus the results of the latest scientific research related to the research institute will become even more known to the international professional public. Born as a word-for-word translation of the Hungarian Kultúrshokk, CulturShock's first English-language broadcast on May 20, called Pointe Shoes, thanks to Anna Mária Bólya and ballerina Emese Bíró, reveals, among other things, the parts of the pointe shoe and what extreme events were associated with it in the 19th century. The discussion is also available in Hungarian on the website of the research institute by clicking here.

 

In the second English-language broadcast of the podcast, the guest of our scientific colleague Anna Mária Bólya is none other than Rodrigo Ballester, head of the Mathias Corvinus Collegium European Studies Workshop, who is himself a music lover, opera, and Mozart fan. Mathias Corvinus Collegium offers high-quality education for all ages. As the leading talent management institution in the Carpathian Basin, it offers up-to-date knowledge within the framework of a multidisciplinary program that helps navigate the world. We can get to know the school personally at the MCC Fest, which is also discussed during the conversation.

 

The broadcasts can be followed on the MMA MMKI website, as well as on Google Podcasts, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

On June 29, the Hungarian Academy of Arts Research Institute of Art Theory and Methodology organized a presentation for its previous director, Miklós Kocsis’s latest volume titled Higher education autonomy in the system of cultural rights – a Hungarian perspective at the Hild-villa. The event would like to create an opportunity for commemoration and informal dialogue after the round table discussion.


 

The volume explores the modern interpretation of the concept of higher education autonomy. The author points out that the autonomy of higher education can be optimally approached using a public law approach, and that this type of analysis reaches partly different conclusions than the common views. “Innovative sociological and management science research has already enriched the topic with essential values, but until today, Hungarian public law has not paid enough attention to this kind of investigation. The examination of the issue seems necessary, on the one hand, because of the outstanding impact of changes in higher education on today's society, and, on the other hand, because of the content and functional transformation of the relevant fundamental rights. In order to find answers to these problems, which can be interpreted primarily from a public law point of view, the way leads through the public law concept of autonomy.”

The event was attended by Prof. Dr. István Stumpf, professor at Eötvös Loránd University, Széchenyi István University, and National University of Public Service, former member of the Constitutional Court; Prof. Dr. András Koltay, teacher at Pázmány Péter Catholic University and the National University of Public Service, president of the National Media and Communications Authority; Prof. Dr. Tamás Gergely Kucsera, teacher at Széchenyi István University and Károli Gáspár University, corresponding member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts; as well as Dr. Zsolt Cseporán, scientific associate of the Budapest Metropolitan University, former recipient of the Hungarian Academy of Arts Scholarship Program. The round table discussion was moderated by Tamás Gergely Kucsera.

The audience were greeted by László Koppány Csáji, acting director of the research institute, who said that when he participated in a European Union higher education project last year – where they discussed university model changes, autonomy and the system of cultural rights with Portuguese, Irish and Belgian colleagues – they would have greatly benefited from publishing the volume in English, as we can talk about a very important work at the international level as well.

Tamás Gergely Kucsera outlined that since the research institute was established, nearly 40 book presentations, 6 dozen scientific conferences and a dozen or so informative lectures have been organized, with around 1000 invited speakers, and nearly 500 printed volumes and studies have been published. The performance behind them also clearly shows how the research institute’s own internal autonomy – a concept that occupies a central place in Miklós Kocsis’s volume – was created and how it lived. He added that, in the light of the HAA’s expectations formulated in the last 6 years, the research institute successfully placed itself on the Hungarian intellectual map by not wanting to be a competitor, but a partner of higher education institutions. It had a similar attitude to the existing research institutes, but the HAA’s research institute started with a completely different intellectual orientation than others, as it primarily expected the examination of contemporary art with the founding, interdisciplinary and non-historical approach. Furthermore, operationally and successfully implementing the founder’s concept, he integrated the tasks he received in the meantime in 2017 and 2018: the library, the Makovecz Center and Archive, as well as the three-year art scholarship program of the HAA.

According to István Stumpf, there are currently ongoing discussions about the situation and future of higher education, in which the volume can be used extremely well. Changes have been initiated that do not yet know where they will end, but the frameworks outlined by the publication are still valid and must be taken into account. As he pointed out, higher education has a “flagship role” in Hungarian culture, because they produce professionals again, which is why one must be careful not to engage in “a selection system that has a cultural background of thousands of years”. According to his view, autonomy can be preserved without the state withdrawing from this system.

András Koltay emphasized the fundamental importance of the work that forms the central element of Miklós Kocsis’ scientific work and discusses the freedom of higher education institutions. He does not attempt to answer the question of how science and academic freedom differ from general freedom of expression. He added that there is a contradiction in higher education that is very difficult to resolve, since the state has to finance many things, provided that we want to maintain and raise the national culture – even if a given cultural institution is unprofitable, the financial background must be ensured for this purpose. The National University of Public Service, which he previously led, is an institution in a special situation, because it is necessarily more closely connected to the state by training specialists in the fields of national defense and state administration.

In his memoirs, Zsolt Cseporán said: he experienced the freedom of science firsthand through Miklós Kocsis, since in his view, few young researchers have the opportunity to work with someone who helps them in their work, but at the same time leaves them freedom and intellectual freedom. As he pointed out, the volume connects the independence of an institution with the activities of the individuals who make up the institution, and draws attention to the fact that the autonomy of the institution can ultimately be an element of freedom that can be derived from the individuals who make up the institution, as independence actually understood as a right. He considers it essential that autonomy does not only mean independence from something, but also independence for something. He added, “in today’s world, we should not declare that science is above everything and that autonomy exists so that the freedom of science can be fulfilled”.

The participants in the conversation agreed that the research work started by the previous director of the research institute should be continued and its importance emphasized. As Tamás Gergely Kucsera emphasized in the closing remarks, “in line with Miklós’s understanding, we carry on with their personal and official everyday lives partly in the spirit of autonomy, partly in the spirit of freedom and community”.

 

 

 

Based on the decision of Hungarian Academy of Arts, the writer, cultural anthropologist and lawyer László Koppány Csáji will assume the position of director of the Hungarian Academy of Arts Research Institute of Art Theory and Methodology from June 1, 2022.

 


László Koppány Csáji is co-chairman of the SIEF (International Society for Ethnology and Folklore) Young Scholars Working Group, which deals with the mentoring and organization of students and young researchers, and the replenishment of the international scholarly community; member of the Hungarian Writers’ Association, the Hungarian Ethnographic Company, the Budapest Lawyer Association, FilmJus and Napút-kör; also a supervisory board member of the Hungarian Cultural Anthropology Company (MAKAT).

In 2021, FilmEU worked on setting up a new European art university organized and financed by the European Union. The European Union project of organizing Irish, Belgian, Portuguese and Hungarian universities into a joint European university consortium started in 2020. On the Hungarian side, he led the QA working group dealing with quality assurance and accreditation (WP9), and was also a member of the Future Governance working group developing the new international organizational structure (WP7). He was an editor and co-author in the writing of the „international good practices” volume of both working groups, and also participated as an active organizer and speaker in several topics at the EU FilmEU summit in Lisbon in September 2021.

Short biography

In 1996, he obtained a law degree from the ELTE Faculty of Law.

He graduated from the Bolyai János Military Technical College as a reserve lieutenant majoring in military nutrition (1996).

Between 1996 and 1999 he was a lawyer candidate for lawyer dr. Tibor Strasser, passed the legal examination in 1999 and founded his own law firm (Dr. Csáji Law Office).

At the University of Pécs, Department of Ethnography – Cultural Anthropology he obtained a bachelor degree, then a master degree, and a Doctor of Sciences (PhD) degree in ethnography and cultural anthropology (2020).

As a lawyer, he works in the field of classical civil and economic law, and since 1999 he has been the managing attorney of the Dr. Csáji Law Office.

He continued his ethnological fieldwork in the Carpathian Basin (mainly Szeklerland, Vojvodina and Central Hungary), as well as in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Russia, Western China, Japan, Scandinavia and the Sahara.

By combining the methods of interpretive anthropology with the results of discourse theory and cognitive semantics, he developed a new anthropological theoretical and methodological framework in his doctoral thesis. He has lectured as an invited speaker at, among others, UCLA, Kyoto Sangyo University, Vyatautas Magnus University in Kaunas, the Humanities Research Center of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and dozens of scientific domestic and international scientific conferences, and has published numerous domestic and international studies on this topic. His anthropological specialties are ethnicity research, culture and community construction processes, and religious anthropology.

Editor of the Napút magazine (VoltJelen section), member of the Napút-kör.

He is the editor of the series Ómúltunk Tára published by Napkút Kiadó.

More than a hundred of his essays, poems and short stories were published in Hungary and abroad in Napút, Magyar Művészet, Kalligram, Búvópatak, Lyukasóra, Szózat, Életünk, Ezredvég, Szcenárium, Kethalo Drom, Polísz, Lenolaj, Kapu, QuArtett and Muravidék magazines. Some of his writings have been translated into Russian, English and Serbian, and a Finnish translation of some of his poems is currently being prepared.

He has been making films about his ethnological collections since 2001, and his twenty-two documentaries, feature films, and a short film were shown by Duna Television, then by MTVA channels, and also shown in several cinemas (Uránia National Film Theater, Tabán).

In 2014, he was awarded the Sándor Csoma Sándor Kőrösi prize (memorial medal) for taking care of the Hungarian culture and the intellectual legacy of Sándor Csoma Kőrösi.

In 2018, he won the audience prize of the Aquincum Poetry Competition with his hexameter poem about Emperor Julian.

In 2018, he won the historical feature film competition of the Hungarian National Film Fund, and then the script (Beginnings and Ends) was accepted for support by the National Film Institute (2020).

His historical short film Szabadság, harc [Freedom, Struggle] (screenwriter: Csáji László Koppány and Ádám Gueth, producer: László Koppány Csáji and Balázs Sára, director: Balázs Sára, main actors: Balázs Dévai, János Gergely Tóth and Balázs Jerger) produced in 2019, is a historical short film by Savaria and it was also chosen as one of the finalists at the Ars Sacra film festival.

He was the producer and screenwriter of the documentary film Őseink nyomában [In the footsteps of our ancestors] (2014, MTVA), as well as the ten-part documentary series Lovasnomádok utódai Indiában [The Descendants of Horse Nomads in India] (2007, Duna Television), Lovasnomád hatások az indiai társadalomra és kultúrára [The Effects of Horse Nomads on Indian Society and Culture] (2006, Duna Television), Kasztrendszer az atomkorban I–II. [The Caste System in the Atomic Age I–II.] (2005, Duna Television), A fehér hunok nyomában Ázsiában [In pursuit of the White Huns in Asia] (2004, Duna Television), Viszontagságos út a khowárok földjére, az afgán–pakisztáni határon [The Rugged Road to the Land of the Khowars, on the Afghan-Pakistani Border] (2003, Duna Television), Ázsia elzárt szíve, Ujguria [The Closed Heart of Asia, Uyguria] (2003, Duna Television), as well as the Hunza mítoszok Belső-Ázsiában [Hunza Myths in Inner Asia] (2002, Duna Television) documentaries.

 

At the end of February, Literary Magazine organized a conference entitled Literature and Science at ELTE, in which Márton Falusi, Senior Research Fellow at MMA MMKI, gave a lecture entitled Perspectives of Contemporary Literary History Writing.

 

The event started with a Round Table, where János Péter Kondor talked to Ernő Kulcsár, Attila Simon, Jolán Orbán and Andrea Parádi about the theoretical and practical challenges of literary and cultural studies and the possible answers to them.

The first section reviewed the role of biography in literary studies, the history and theoretical issues of literary history writing, and the methodological trend following the change of regime. In his lecture, Márton Falusi, a senior researcher at the MMA MMKI, briefly listed the theoretical framework in which the various scientific workshops examined the history of literature after the change of regime. He studied two approaches in more detail: the history of ideas and the work-centricity of the Hungarian literary works 1956–2016. He showed the theoretical considerations behind the recently published literary lexicon and what motivated editors and authors to produce it. In his presentation, he asked questions such as whether the history of literature could be told at all, filtering out the experiences of modern history and intellectual history. Can teleology be eliminated through a consistent approach to storytelling and evaluative norm formation, and what conceptual system should be chosen after structuralism and poststructuralist schools?

The second part of the meeting dealt with the theoretical and methodological issues of the interaction between literary and cultural sciences, as well as the development of the subject science of literature and the literary theoretical and philological aspects of the cultural sciences. The third section examined the psychoanalytic and philosophical aspects of literary and cultural studies, their interactions, interdependencies, and terminological overlaps, as well as the phenomenological specificity of the reading operation. The fourth part focused on the possibility of the scientific independence of narrative theory, the challenges of philology in the 21st century, the effects of the digital revolution, the latest literary phenomena in mass culture, and the possibilities and responsibilities of disseminating scientific knowledge.

Written versions of the lectures at the conference will be available in the Literature and Science issue of Literary Magazine in early June.

The role of the parent in art education has been researched since the autumn of 2021 by the art pedagogy research group of the Doctoral School of Humanities of the University of Debrecen. Data collection is still ongoing, and the results of the research will be published in volume form in the summer.

 

On March 7, pianist Judit Váradi, associate professor at the Faculty of Music of the University of Debrecen, presented the results of her previous research to MMA MMKI researchers at Hild Villa. As she said, in addition to family social and cultural capital in the early stages of children’s development, the quality of parental support is also a decisive factor. Previous research has confirmed that music learning is influenced by the parent’s previous musical studies and qualifications. The special situation of music education is also shown by the fact that in addition to the individual motivation of the child, starting the children’s musical studies also includes the parents’ cultural needs. Research on teachers found different experiences with the role of the parent. He added that current research examines the situation of music education, experiences of attendance and online education from a parent’s perspective.

 

In 2018, the art pedagogy research group of MMA MMKI and the Doctoral School of Humanities of the University of Debrecen established a collaboration. As a result of the partnership, three pieces of research were carried out along with the current one. In the first research, the faculty of music of the University of Debrecen, the Foundation for the Art of the Future, the Doctoral School of Humanities of the University of Debrecen and the Hungarian Academy of Arts examined the artistic activities of primary school students apart from compulsory classes and the possibilities of participating in art events. The members of the research group focused on whether children have access to art subjects in compulsory education, what opportunities they have for extracurricular school and extracurricular arts activities, and how much they take advantage of such opportunities.

 

The research analysed participation in arts events and factors influencing the cultural attitudes and tastes of primary school students in five dimensions. The target group of the study was lower and upper secondary school, 4th and 6th grade primary school students in the Northern Great Plain region, their parents, teachers of compulsory arts at school, heads of institutions and cultural service providers. The sample of the research is also representative according to the places of performance of the tasks, the type of settlement, the type of maintainer and the proportion of primary art education institutions (AMI) in each county. The results of the research were published in the volume of the Art Overview, Research on the Situation and Opportunities of Art Education, On-Class and Extracurricular Art Activities and Events in 2020 in the form of a volume of art. The study volume is a joint work of 18 authors, and this book presentation is available on the MMA MMKI YouTube channel.

 

As a continuation of collaboration, the research group launched a new research in 2020 that examines the experience and impact of online arts education at all levels of education in Hungary as well as in cross-border Hungarian education. Experts searched answers to how online education has changed the methodological toolbox, what new, innovative ideas, or learning-enhancing initiatives have emerged. In the virtual world, new opportunities have opened up, and in addition to innovative solutions for teaching and learning, the coverage of artistic events has multiplied. The research focused on the effects of Covid19 on classical music concerts. New forms of cultural consumption and its convenience have raised the question of whether concert halls will still be needed in the future, whether the audience will take the extra time and effort to be able to attend a music-art event in person.

 

A study summarizing the experiences of music teachers and educators, The Emergence of Online Space in Music Education and Concert Attendance, will be published by MMA MMKI, while the results of The Parent’s Role in Art Education will be available in the summer.

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