Imre Jakabffy (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 2. (Budapest, 1974)

Le Musée des Arts Décoratifs en 1972

entirely new materials, the traditional ones, for example textile fabrics, have assumed new and unheard-of functions. New processes of manufacture involve new forms, so that all the means of production and the commodities produced by them, acquire novel appearences. Man has increasingly become able to shape his environment in conformity with his own requirements, and it is a natural result of this situation, in accordance with the laws of development of human society, that aesthetic requirements have gained more ground. The process of incorporation of art into production has commenced, and the powerful advance of this process may lead to changes, which may ultimately make our world more beautiful and valuable. In this major transformation a museum of applied art has its own, if modest, role to play. From its establishment on. the Museum of Applied Arts has considered it its task to maintain close bonds with creative art on the one hand, and to devote its best efforts to furthering the general cultural standards of the public. In examining the future of the Museum of Applied Arts, we have to start out from the changes that occurred in our socialist society. These tendencies and endeavours must form part of the work of the Museum and in all its constituents. One of the main tasks of every museum is to preserve the relics of the past, and of the present which is also turning into past. In recent years the Museum of Applied Arts has been devoting more and more attention to collecting contemporary art. It was significantly assisted in these efforts by the active support received from the authorities in charge of fine arts. We feel that the desire of our best artists to expand the boundaries of this collection in line with the broadening of the horizon and range of creations of applied art is justified. In addition to single works of art. obviously increased attention is due to those products, characteristic of our days, which we may meet very often almost without noticing them in every-day use, and yhich are at the same time highly expressive of our daily life in that domain. Our age is a period of experiments. It is one of our tasks to see that the most valuable experiments should leave their traces behind. The products of the artists' experiments are often highly contraversial. Quite often we do not even realize that precisely these experiments promote new recognitions. We believe that we have to find a place in our museums for the most characteristic products of this kind. Industrial design has made great steps forward. Inspite of the very limited storage space available, we must find the ways and means to preserve the most outstanding spiritual achievements of these fields. I do not want to speak here in more detail about the great variety of utilization of materials, nor of the new culture of shapes and forms due to these new materials. It would impoverish the history of our culture if we were not devoting sufficient care to their preservation. The traditions of the Museum of Applied Arts call for the acquisition of relevant foreign material as well. It is our intention to take steps to initiate an active exchange of material with the different sister-institutions in Europe. This, of course, cannot be achieved promptly, but we feel that to get acquainted with each other's values, and to evolve gradually relations to supplement mutually our collections as far as possible is. we believe, a point of common interest. The Museum of Applied Arts has been intent on ensuring exhibition space and a forum to serve contemporary applied art, and to industrial designers. In continuation 211