Magyar Hírek, 1984 (37. évfolyam, 2-26. szám)
1984-03-15 / 5-6. szám
Hódmezővásárhely potters József Dómján with his dog, Bogáncs, in Tuxedo Park Over the past two hundred years Hódmezővásárhely grew into the important pottery centre not only of the Great Plain but of the whole of Hungary. The oldest document mentioning potters is dated 1788 and refers to eight only. By 1847 the guild numbered 204, they must have done well since their numbers grew to 400 by 1860. At that time every town in the Great Plain had its own potters, but Hódmezővásárhely ware proved more marketable, it must have been more beautiful. You could not tell perhaps which master was responsible for which pot, but every man with a good pair of eyes could distinguish the work of particular quarters of the town. Perhaps competition between quarters was responsible for Hódmezővásárhely ware being streets ahead of that of any other towns. Those from the Újváros (the ‘New Town’) worked with three glazes, yellow, brown and green. They used all three colours on the same pot, The photos of Károly Szelényi are from Budapest) employing a variety of methods which each had a name of their own. Platters and plates were made in Újváros as well as bottles and jugs. Mihály Maksa came from that part of town. He produced real works of art. These days the Mónus family jealously guards the Maksa heritage. The potters of Tabán were called the yellow pot lot. Yellow was their favoured glace, with red and black calligraphic borders. The bottoms oE plates displayed vegetal ornamental motifs, with dots and lines on the edge. The pots of the Csúcs (Peak) district were altogether different. They drew cobalt blue vegetal elements onto a white background. Theirs was a different faith and they wanted to show that they were not proud thick-necked Calvinists, and not only by the colours they used. Their holy water stoop potters emphasized that they belonged to Rome. A bird-shaped wine bottle dated 1558 is the earliest known Csúcs work. The potters of Hódmezővásárhely were superior to those of other towns in technical knowledge as well as in the variety of their products. They were familiar with various technologies, handled all tools with great skill, and produced jugs and ink-wells, mugs and covered soup turreens, and much else as well. Around 1920 cheap factory made porcelain became fashionable and folk pottery began to decline. Hódmezővásárhely, however, was and is a town of artists. Local painters joined in the fight to save folk pottery and its traditions. A still surviving majolica works was founded in 1912. The oldest and most beautiful pottery was collected and displayed in a museum and the 9 + < * V t i* Vf ' m/< 1 Honi . i 1 J/W3 ■ Í \ V / 's j r ^ 1, V . WO >Jfj v / * the book "Hungarian Folk Art” (Corvina, artists themselves contributed the necessary capital to allow the potters to work witli more modern equipment in a handicraft estate which at the start gave a home to the thirty best potters. At first they only made what could be sold easily: mugs and jugs, water troughs for baby chickens, that sort of thing. Once they learnt to cope with initial difficulties they started on ornamental work as well. The “Works” has had its troubles in its time. Failure and success alternated. These days, true to tradition, half of the products are exported. Their decorative tiles face the walls of many a modern building, and their jugs and plates decorate many a modern kitchen. Hódmezővásárhely ware cannot be mistaken for any other kind of folk pottery. ÄGNES NYERGES Visiting The builder and occupant of the house in Tuxedo Park is the artist József Dómján. He lives and works here with his wife, Evelyn. The area of New York state, long famous for its natural beauty and good hunting, has been for over a hundred years now, the playground of the wealthy. So wealthy, in fact that the local country club gave its name to mens’ formal evening jacket: the tuxedo. József Dómján built his home here to his own plans, with his own hands. He says he was lucky to have been able to buy the plot of land cheaply, and to have had the energy to rebuild the house after it was burnt down in a fire. The Domjáns get up at five in the morning. The master — now in his seventies — makes straight for his workshop. The doors of the workshop also support the old, timber props. An inattentive visitor thinks at first that he has discovered some strange, baroque carvings on the doors, but when the sun rises, these turn out to be flights of peacocks, doves, carved birds in the sunshine. Once in the workshop, the visitor can only gaze in wonder. There is an image which has attached itself to József Dómján: he is the Dómján of peacocks, birds and Hungarian motifs. Indeed, fire-red, Carpathiangreen, mystic-blue peacocks, birds of paradise, doves do form a large part of his oeuvre and his etchings are covered in flowers; vines* shrubs abound on his etchings. Yet there are pictures of a very different nature lined up in a corner: abstracts with lines, patches, colour compositions which have abandoned representational form. Dómján smiles as he sees the surprise of his visitor. They too are his, work from his early years. Conoisseaurs, collectors and ordinary people all drop into the workshop. In comes a lady and asks the Dómján master to visit her home, take a colour specimen of her curtains, and paint a picture to match them, which she will buy. Dómján lets the suggestion go past him. There was once a collector who came to him from Florida. He bought thirty coloured woodcuts, put them into the boot of his car and said: “I hope you get a heart attack tonight, and then my collection will be worth ten times what I’ve just paid for it.” Spoken in jest, but meant seriously. He had bought to invest. Somebody asked: “Is it true that a picture mirrors what the artist felt when painted it? Show me a picture you painted when you were angry!” “When I am angry, or in a bad mood, I walk into the woods* and chop wood. When I paint, I am never angry”, said Dómján. PßTER JÁNOS SÖS PHOTO : PÉTER JÁNOS SOS 62
