Magyar Hírek, 1986 (39. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)
1986-02-26 / 4. szám
Lajos Keresztes, photographer was born in Budapest in 1933. Since 1956 he has lived in Nuremberg. His road to success was marked by several international prizes, photobooks and multivision programmes. His latest award is the Gold Medal at the Belgrade Photo Biennale. After the presentation of the prize we discussed how he became one of the acknowledged photographers of Europe. Light, Symbol, Speech “How did you begin to make those small animal f igures, the like of which are still offered in shops?” “I used the same technique witli which bottle-brushes are made. I made the shapes of various animals out of wire and fixed a kind of soft, fluffy material on these frames. This was useful only from * the aspect that I could make money with them not only at home in Hungary, but also in the Federal Republic of Germany where I settled in 1956. I did this work for about one year there, but by then.I wanted to learn something. My wife presented me with a camera, and I busily took photographs. She said once: “Yours are really beautiful pictures, why don’t you turn into a photographer?” For a moment it seemed almost unimaginable that I could make a living out of that. Nevertheless, I enrolled with the photography department of the Technical Academy of Cologne, and I took diplomas there in two subjects. Even before completing my studies at the Academy, I had the opportunity to start working as a photographer. Various large industrial firms in and around Nuremberg meant big opportunities in the field of advertising photography, and I seized them by the tail. My photographs be^^n to appear in illustrated journals with increasing frequency.” “How did you get to the Photokina of Cologne?” “I was helped to get there by a ehanc-1. One of my teachers gave me a hundred reels of film when I was sli'l a student. He told me that I was doing well with my work, and encouraged me to do something interesting. He advised me that I should photograph dogs or cats, because people always like pets. This hurt my pride, so I went home and shoved the lot into the refrigerator. For nearly a year I did not even touch those rolls, but then, some travelling child actors playing in masks gave a number of performances in Nuremberg and I liked them to much that I took a series of photos of them. I gave them the title: Playing with a Mask. I sent the material with a note to my teacher; well, these are neither cats, nor dogs, but this is what I did with the film. Two days later I received a package and a letter asking me would I repeat the series on the freshest material offered, fur they wanted to show my pictures at the Photokina of Cologne. With that work I won the ‘Obelisk1 at Photokina.” “How did you begin to produce books? Was it easy to find a publisher?” “Whenever I walked in the Nuremberg area I always stopped when I saw something interesting and took pictures. Then, when enough of these for a book accummulated, I called on a publisher, and he immediately bought them. He even agreed to my condition that 1 and my graphic artist would do the typographic design of the volume. That book won the 1979 Kodak Prize for Photo Books.” “I understand that now you accept commissions only if you are interested.” “Yes, in about the last seven or eight years, having sufficiently established the security of my family, 1 gradually reached the point where 1 can live as a free lance photographer. I produced one of my latest books, the Yogi volume, by travelling to India at my own expense. When I returned and presented the material they paid for all my expenses.” “I also understand that besides photographing you are seriously entertaining the thought of establishing a photo museum.” “I should like to found this museum in Nuremberg, and the thought of its realization lias been on my mind for about three years. Should this become a reality, and should I get appropriate help from the Municipality of Nuremberg, I might give up photographing for a while. This work would also require me to devote myself completely to it. It is possible that such work could not be reconciled with taking photographs.” “Does that mean thai now you are not even planning to jnMish new books?” “I have subjects which I should like to realize and, anyhow, you cannot stop a locomotive from one moment to the next, and pom' cold water on it. During the coming period, until the future of the museum is decided, since a lot depends also on outside circumstances, I will live a double life, later, if I succeed to make a go of that, I will have time to decide.” JÁNOS BODNÁR New legislation by Parliament Dr Imre Markója, the Minister of Justice, gave a press conference in Parliament House about the legal developments of recent years and the legislative plans of the coming five years. He considered the intention to give the law an outstanding role not only in the shaping of economic relations but that the government also pays close attention to the implementation of reforms needed in some political institutions. It was an important development — he said — that several measures were introduced to eliminate contradictions in tho legal system. The establishment of the Constitutional Law Council, which has already publishedimportant judgements on several cases, has considerable importance in this field. In connection with the legislative programme ho emphasised that the role of parliament will increase. The Code of Civil Procedure will be amended, a new Labour Code will be introduced, a new law on the presswillbe drafted as will other laws about state enterprises and the new system of income taxation. The World Meteorological Organization appoints a Hungarian The World Meteorological Organization recently extended the appointment of Dr Dezső Szepesi, Head of a Department at the Atmospheric Physics Institute of the National Meteorological Service. His job is to internationally assess problems of atmospheric pollution. Talking about recordings in Hungary Dr Szepesi said that surveys show with precision how polluting materials get into the atmosphere, and cause harm. According to their data 60 per cent of the air pollution in Hungary is caused by material coming from the neighbouring countries and from more distant regions of Europe. However, emission of pollutants are considerable in Hungary as well. The engines of vehicles and some industrial works cause pollution of a high degree, but the conventional heating methods of homes are also serious causes of pollution. According to Dr Dezső Szepesi the effect of acid rain should be more realistically evaluated. Many people exaggerate it. International cooperation has taken shape on this subject to seek methods of defence. 167 answers arrived in Hungary from 27 countries to the questionnaire of the Meteorological World Organization concerning the various methods used iu different regions. This was the first such world-wide survey. Reconstruction of the National Museum and the Museum of Fme Arts Reconstruction of the building of the National Museum in Budapest will commence soon. Some tracts of the building became empty when the National Széchényi Library moved to its new premises in Buda Castle, as we reported at the time. The Museum of Natural Sciences will occupy part of the building, and the interior will be reconstructed to suit the new requirements. In the course of reconstruction of the Museum of Fine Arts, the building will be technically modernized, and the CHRONICLE 30
