Skvarnova Monika: Drótosok. Drótos mesterség és művészet (Eger, 2006. május 18-szeptember 30.)

TINKERS The Art and Craft of the Slovakian Tinker An Exhibition from the Collections of the Povazské Museum, Zilina, Slovakia By showing and illustrating everyday objects and those pieces betraying artistic pretentions fashioned out of wire, the exhibition provides an account of the three hundred year old history of the characteristically Slovakian art of tinkering. The origins of tinkering can be located in the northwestern part of present-day Slovakia, where, in the eighteenth century, the local population was struggling to eke out a living. It was from this region that a craft emerged, the products of which were to become known not only in what was then Hungary, but elsewhere in Europe, as well as America and Asia. The main thing about this particular craft is that wire is both easy to get and relatively easy to manipulate. The more accomplished practitioners were able to mend earthenware pots with net-like weaving. Tinkers only used a few simple tools, which they could take wherever they went. With them they could not only mend metal pots, but make practical implements for use in the kitchen, elsewhere in the home and on the land. The most spectacular decorative artefacts were the shelves, hooks, storage vessels and baskets. In more recent decades the ability of wire to be manipulated easily and shaped artistically has led numerous artists and craftsmen to breathe new life into the medium, while respecting and recreating the rich traditions of the tinker's craft. The exhibition also features contemporary practical and decorative works as well as sculpture and jewellery. Ladislav Mikulik: Boszorkány, cinezett drót 1994. Szöveg: Monika Skvarnová Fotó: Anna Kucharciková, Lónyainé Nagy Éva Szerkesztette: Petercsák Tivadar, Törő Anikó Angol fordítás: Matthew Palmer Kiadja: Heves Megyei Múzeumi Szervezet Felelős kiadó: Dr. Petercsák Tivadar múzeumigazgató Magyar Kereskedelmi j Nemzeti Kulturális Alap ÓS Iparkamara 8