Agria 42. (Az Egri Múzeum Évkönyve - Annales Musei Agriensis, 2006)

Bodnár Mónika: Modern népművészet – Tortadíszítés. A tornaújfalusi Koleszár Jánosné tortadíszítő művészete

Mónika Bodnár Modern Folk Art - Cake Decoration: The Art of Cake Decorator Jolán Koleszár of Tornaújfalu (Turnianska Nova Ves, Slovakia) When Jolán Koleszár (née Köteles) was born on 23rd October 1919, the village where she lived and still lives, Tornaújfalu (now Turnianska Nova Ves, Slovakia), was situated in the smallest of Hungary's counties, Torna. Today, the reputation of her cake decoration has extended beyond her home village to the whole of the immediate region. Cake consumption is a sign of the spread of urban bourgeois habits among the peasantry. The first cake to be seen in Tornaújfalu appeared at a wedding reception in 1928. It wasn't long, however, before cakes became an important part of the celebrations. Up until 1946 they were decorated with sweets, followed shortly afterwards by icing and the addition of written greetings. It was this that Jolán Koleszár was to master and practise for more than half a century. In the village and the surrounding area there was scarcely a wedding reception which failed to feature her cakes. Nobody taught her her craft, it was something she did of her own volition alongside her full-time job. In recent years she has also gone into the baking and decoration of gingerbread, but this is something she only does for her own pleasure and that of her immediate family. While the making of gingerbread is considered to be one of the folk crafts, with a decorative vocabulary derived from folk art, cake decoration is not afforded such an honour. We, however, firmly believe that in this particular case cake decoration merits inclusion among the folk arts, particularly as it is a fine example of how folk culture is forever renewing itself. 163