Hungary Can Be Yours, Budapest

[anna balint]

27 October - 7 December

Hungary Can Be Yours / International Hungary
alternative country image reconstruction from 1984 -  with secret police documents
Opening: 27 October 6 p.m.
Galeria Centralis

In the art of the eighties, mail art was what the unlimited World Wide Web is for us today. Contrary to other forms of 
"art", mail art was neither a medium, nor a trend, but instead a chaotic, random interactive surface open to free 
movement that (theoretically) could only be governed by postal restrictions.
György Galántai originally intended the materials of the "Hungary Can Be Yours/International Hungary" exhibition for 
the Hungary-issue of Commonpress mail art magazine and it only became an exhibition at the request of the Young 
Artists' Club. In Orwell's year, in the era of the "happiest barrack", the image flowing from the works of 46 Hungarian 
and 58 artists from 18 countries did not fit the current country image and was banned by the jury at the last minute. In 
the past few years, documents from the Hungarian internal security service III/III were disclosed in the archives of the 
Historical Office that provide a detailed description and interpretation/evaluation of the works of the 1984 exhibition 
and its opening events. Researchers could already See these documents at Artpool P60 in April 2000.The present 
exhibition is an opportunity for wider audiences to See the original artwork, photo and video recordings taken at the 
opening, the report of the informer about the event, as well as documents from the 1989 reconstruction—all in the 
context of the 1984 "official country image".

(Organised jointly by the Artpool Art Research Center and the Galeria Centralis)
http://www.osa.ceu.hu/galeria/index_hu/ , http://www.artpool.hu/