Nagy Ildikó szerk.: A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria Évkönyve 1980-1988 (MNG Budapest, 1989)
The Lyka Károly National Competition in Art History for secondary schools. 1988 (Judit Mazányi)
THE LYKA KÁROLY NATIONAL COMPETITION IN ART HISTORY FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS, 1988 32. Zoltán Helmich (16), the Winner of the Lyka Károly National Competition 1988 For several years now, and in cooperation with institutes such as the Institute for Paedagogy of Budapest and the National Paedagogical Institute 1 , the Department of Public Education of the Hungarian National Gallery has organized competitions in art history for secondary schools. At first entrants only came from the capital; in 1985 the first of the Lyka Károly National Competition in Art History for secondary school students was organized; in 1987 came the second, which has no connection with the academic national competitions for secondary schools organized for variety of subjects. 2 The competition was named after an outstanding Hungarian scholar, a figure widely known to the Hungarian public. 3 Just like previous competitions, the latest one set itself several goals for different purposes. Our museum would like to nurse direct contacts with youngsters interested in art history (our potential public) as the art collectors and museologists of the future. We would also like to promote the teaching of art history, which in general is regrettably assigned very few school hours in Hungary; thus young people with a special interest in art will acquire a deeper knowledge and more information in the subject, develop the emotional and mental faculties necessary for the reception of art and acquire more skill in the verbal evaluation of these works. The goal was to promote university education in art history not only by scouting for the most talented and enthusiastic students but also by forming a realistic image about the profession and the skills necessary for pursueing it. In order to achieve this, we regard the competition not only as a forum for the evaluation of skills and products but as a complex educational process. For this reason we turned to various sponsors (art trading companies, art publishers and social organizations) for the funds needed for an appropriate programme for the relatively limited number of participants. The theme of the latest competition, post-1945 art, was suggested by an exhibition staged in our museum in October 1987, "A Selection of Modern Works from the Ludwig Collection". In the first round the entrants had to analyze in 3 to 5 pages the memorial museum or current exhibition of an artist or group of artists active after 1945. Brief instructions and an ample bibliography were attached to the competition advertisement in order to make the task of entrants easier. The application forms, which deal with the personal particulars of the contestants and some art sociological questions, are still being evaluated. However, , initial results have revealed that, just as on previous occasions, most of the participants (77%) are girls; 11% want to study art history, 13% would like to teach drawing in schools and 29% to become artists. Michelangelo, Leonardo, Vasarely and Munkácsy were named by a total of 35 % as the most prominent artists in art history. When asked about the work of an art historian, 80% of the competitors gave prime place to research, only a few mentioned collecting, the arrangement of exhibitions or education. This probably reflects the image society as a whole has of the profession. Rather than reflecting their own taste, the children's choice of individual artists or groups is indicative of supply and shortages in the arts in Hungary. The entries submitted were evaluated by a jury of teachers and art historians in the National Gallery in Budapest and in the country by the central museum authorities 4 of the given county. This assignment was difficult since the model taught in schools for a particular work of art as a closed entity often proved inadequate as an approach to contemporary works of art. Therefore, those who went forward to the national semifinal round were those who submitted papers with an instinctively sensitive and creative approach to the works along with a thorough understanding of the given references. The national semi-finals were staged three months later in conjunction with a professional conference. This round offered us the best chance to promote development, both paedagogically and professionally. The participants had to read several books and articles on the given period and had the opportunity to view many works in reproduction. A bibliography was no easy matter since, except for a new school textbook on art history which gives limited space to recent art, no comprehensive book has been published in Hungary about post-1970 art here or elsewhere. Thus we tried to show them as many original works as possible and to corroborate the written information they gained. Prominent specialists in several fields were invited to analyze the works on display and to hold lectures on art from abstract expressionism to trans-avantgarde and, in Hungary, from the European School 5 to the current postmodern trends.
