Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 27. (Budapest, 2009)
Márta KOVALOVSZKY: Unfinished Process
moved allegorically in space; leaning against the wall were Csilla Kelecsényi s systems of fibres stretched in a wooden frame. The old and new generations worked in Velem together, side by side, but their ways gradually parted towards the end of the decade. Szenes (for health reasons) worked less and less with textiles, and mainly produced graphics of idiosyncratic beauty; in the early 1980s, Szilvitzky turned to painting. The Velem textile art colony continued until 1983. Its closure was only apparently caused by changes in personnel and lack of space. The decisive reason was textile art itself: by the end of the seventies it gradually lost its internal strength, freshness and sensitivity to problems; its momentum faltered, and it inevitably subsided into the background whence it had come. It was becoming apparent that in the relative fluctuations of the arts it was painting which was to rise up and define the artistic currents of the coming years. NOTES 1 The Velem textile art colony . Vas County Museums catalogues. Szombathely, 1977. 2 Two fundamental books on modern gobelins and tapestries have appeared in recent years: Júlia Jankovich: Az újjászületett gobelin. [The Reborn Tapestry] Budapest, 2001 and Ildikó Dobrányi (ed.): Kárpitművészet Magyarországon - Tapestry in Hungary. Budapest, 2005. 3 Péter Fitz discusses this question in detail: 'A magyar textil kalandjai (1968-1986) I.' [The Adventures of Hungarian Textiles] Életünk, 1986, 11, 10231036 and idem: A magyar textil kalandjai (19681986) II.' Életünk, 1986,12, 1136-1151. 4 Tschudi Madsen, Stephan: 'Neo-Art Nouveau and Psychedelic Art'. In: Actes du 22éme Congrés International d'Histoire de TArt, organisé en 1969. Budapest, 1972. Vol. II. 329-333. 5 Zsuzsa Szenes: Színház [Theatre], 1969. Indian ink on paper. 6 On the dissolution of boundaries between art forms, see Eva Forgács: 'Művészetek, művészeti ágak, művészeti technikák, műfajok, mű...?' [Arts, artistic techniques, art forms, art...?] Művészet, 1979, no. 9, 32-37. 7 For more on this, see Márta Kovalovszky: „jég és aszály közt játszi évszak" [Playful season between ice and drought]. In: A második nyilvánosság. XX. századi magyar művészet. Budapest, 2002. 8 This work was first displayed in the Second Wall and Space Textiles Exhibition in Szombathely, 1972. 9 Exhibited in the István Király Museum, Székesfehérvár, 20 October - 8 December 1974. Destroyed. 10 Several versions of Szilvitzky's three-layer compositions were created in 1977. 11 Gas mask, unspun wool stitch. Szombathely Gallery. 12 Various objects, linen, 1976. 150x 150 x 150 cm. 13 Wood, linen, photo, 1977. 250 x 250 x 220 cm. 14 János Frank: Eleven textil [Living Textile]. Budapest, 1980. 15 Sisal fibres, woven, spun, 1975. 300 x 300 x 200 cm. 16 Cotton, silk, nylon, wood, 50x50 cm, Szombathely Gallery. 17 Cotton, silk, nylon, 65 x 65 cm. Szombathely Gallery. 18 Gauze, parquet varnish, various dimensions. Szombathely Gallery. 19 Mária Mihály: Foreword. In: Velemi textilművészetialkotótelep 1975-76 [Velem Textile Art Colony 1975-76]. Vas County Museums Catalogues, 47, Szombathely, 1977.2-3. 163
