1987. február (7-13. szám) / HU_BFL_XIV_47_2

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2A/0 Little Roisell Street, LONDON, W-C.i -Tel. 04-^0 U zt> ■ G. Krassé 10/1987 /E/ 7th February, 1987

THE 1NCONNU GROUP'S OPEN LETTER TO THE CENTRAL COMM1TTEE OF THE HUNGÁRIÁN SOCIALIST WORKERS' PARTY

Lénárd Pál,

Secretary of the Central Committee,

1055 Budapest,

1 Jászai Mari tér

Esteemed Mr. Lénárd Pál,

In the autumn of 1 986 our árts group advertised and organised an international exhibition entitled "The Fighting City" in honour of the memory and respect of the 30th anniversary of the Hungárián uprising and war of independence.

The decisive majority of the works of art sent from abroad in response to our call have been spirited away, another part of them was confiscated in the course of a house-search while the organisers and directors of the exhibition were intimidated by the authorities. Pieces of art intended fór exhibition and auction were seized and confiscated by the police on the 28th of January, 1986, fór allegedly breaking the árts regulation. Regarding this illegal police action we inform you of the following:

1. To seize, confiscate and destroy pictures, graphics, sculptures and photo art objects by the mere right of authority is nőt an ordinary everyday job.

To order and execute the obliteration of works of creation takes courage bút foolishness as well. Such events justifiably offend and fundamentally disturb public opinion everywhere in the world. Such brutal assaults on culture, which is by its very natúré unprotected, may be carried out openly and cynically by lawless national socialists, mad military dictatorships, hysterical totalitarian regimes bút nőt by liberal institutions of a democratic constitutional state.

2. Marxist ideology, inclined towards extremes, has again celebrated the funeral of its prestige - something it had lost a long time ago. The result of the aim of making politics dominate to the exclusion of all else is with us today; fór decades the sovereignty of the laws of economics have been denied and the wretched consequences of open political interference may be observed today.

This mistaken policy does nőt believe, does nőt want to believe in the autonomy of culture either. The catastrophic effects of this - as proven by our case - are becoming increasingly obvious.

3. The national culture, and within it the situation of the artistic communities, the circumstances and legal framework of their activity have nőt been affected even by the superficial and inconsistent reforms carried out in the people's economy. The decisive majority of the political and legal regulators of art were formed at the beginning of the 1950's and have remained rigidly immobilé since.

Their musty Stalinist spirit and practice, like a depressing sense of impotence, haunts everywhere.

4. Our group decided years ago to create on the harsh and compelling soil of political art, the kind of particular cultural experiment, which we named the "new socialist realism". The rules of the game of this artistic genre are the same as those of the old one only the name and the concept are new. Our aim is to elevate intő the grate pantheon of árts, as one single verifiable

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