Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 17. (Budapest, 1998)

Diary of exhibitions 1997

An important event took place at the Museum of Applied Arts at the time of the World Congress of Oriental Studies: the exhibition entitled "Ottoman-Turkish Carpets", organized by Ferenc Batári and open to visitors from July 8 to September 14. The opening speech was given by Ismét Birsei, the Republic of Turkey's Ambassador to Budapest. It was mainly the interest of a public drawn to curiosities that was aroused by the exhibition of a group of objects from József Marosi's "miscellaneous" collection. This was the "Male Vanity..." exhibition, an assorted and "colourful" collection of razors and items connected with shaving, which was organized by Magdolna Lichner and opened by the actor Ferenc Bács. It was on display until August 24. An impressive exhibition of work by the 85-year-old book designer Tibor Szántó and his pupil Zsófia Asszonyi was open to visitors between July 25 and September 28. It was organized by Hilda Horváth and opened by Katalin Dávid. Süleyman Demirel, the President of the Republic of Turkey, opened the exhibition "Contemporary Turkish Art" on September 4. Organized by Elvira Király and Csaba Lantpert, this was on show for ten days. The exhibition "The Art Collection of Count János Pálffy (1829-1908): Selected Photographs from the Archives of Museum of Applied Arts", which opened on September 12. consisted of documentarytype material. Organized by Hilda Horváth, it was on display for a month. It was opened by Miklós Mojzer, the Director-General of the Museum of Fine Arts. An exhibition presenting tapestries by Gerhard Munthe (1849-1929), a versatile and prominent figure in Norvégián art, opened on October 3. This was a highly successful and popular exhibition of material from the National Applied Arts Museum at Trondheim. Organized by Emese Pásztor, it was opened by Bjorn Frodc. the Kingdom of Norway's Ambassador to Budapest, and was on display until the first Sunday of November. This display of tapestries made around the turn of the 20th century was one of a series of visiting Art Nouveau exhibitions. The 1996/97 exhibition of work by young applied artists awarded Lajos Kozma Scholarships was organized by Zsuzsanna Réthy, and could be seen between November 18 and November 30. Events In 1997 the Museum of Applied Arts continued its now traditional Family Weekends to foster and improve its links with the public, and in this spirit took part in the May Museums Festival, held in the garden of the Hungarian National Museum. On December 6 and 7 - a Saturday and Sunday - the Museum held its traditional Christinas Fair, where visitors could purchase the handmade applied arts items on display, and where they could make Christmas tree decorations, ornamented boxes and even Christmas cribs. On Saturday afternoon a concert given by the Juventus choir added colour to the occasion. The "Hand-Work" exhibition and fair consisting of works by contemporary applied artists belonging to the Hungarian Fine Arts and Applied Arts Association (which is reviving turn-of-the-century traditions), the Society of Hungarian Ceramic Artists and the Studio of Young Artists for Applied Arts took place between December 12 and December 14. The festive opening featured a concert by the Budapest String Quartet, and on December 14.the event was enriched by a "live" exhibition, a fashion show. Throughout the year visitors to the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts could see the "South-East Asian Buddhist Art. The Art of Buddhism, IV" exhibition, which opened in November 1996. In April 1997 the catalogue for this