Kolozsváry Marianna szerk.: Lossonczy Tamás festőművész kiállítása (A Magyar Nemzeti Galéria kiadványai 2009/6)

ERNŐ MAROSI Tamás Lossonczy over a hundred years old While the series of centenary exhibitions of his (somewhat younger) contemporaries - among them some who departed in the prime of their creative strength like Bartók, with their "luggage" still full, and others who passed away in their old age after successful careers - has recently reminded us of their now established and apparently permanent place in the history of art, lo, an exhibition of the one-hundred-and-five-year old Tamás Lossonczy is being held, showing works from the creative period of the past five years. The mere fact that the Hungarian National Gallery, which for some time now has ceased to show works of oeuvres that are still taking shape, has nonetheless provided space for the exhibition indicates the unique nature of the event. The exception is being made not primarily because of the artist's advanced age or record breakingly sensational aptitude? fate? accomplishments? (most likely all three!), but rather because of the art historical significance of his oeuvre. It is precisely this peculiar circumstance that creates a dilemma for the visitor to the exhibition. It would be vain to consider these works from an exclusively aesthetic or art historical point of view; this would be mere pretence, just as the pretentiousness according to which these are merely works of old age, rather than the exceptional testimony of a man stricken with years, would be hypocrisy. Undeniable of course is the viewer's personal, curious interest, which addresses a singularity that defies boundaries, a veritable natural and intellectual wonder. The works confront us with a phenomenon that concerns all of us, whether we admit it or not: where do the borders of the intellectual and visual / sensory ability of humankind lie, are there limits similar to the known boundaries of physical and biological abilities? In the end we are dealing with the trivial question that we always encounter when we hear the kinds of news to which the media, which so gleefully dwells on the possibilities of extending our biological lives, often treats us: "But is it worth it?" or "Can human life be extended in more than biological terms?" These questions are particularly exciting because they are of vital significance. And as they are vital issues, they concern art and the state of art. Certainly there were aged artists in ancient times, most likely even very aged. We are simply unable, however, to recognize works done late in the lives of anonymous ancient or medieval masters as theirs. We take pride in the effectiveness of our methods of stylistic criticism, but these methods work only as long as the identity of the artist can be identified on the basis of documents that fall outside the realm of art itself. As soon as any fundamental turn took place in perception, world view and (accordingly) manner, the artist inevitably vanished before our eyes - presumably de facto as well, since in periods during which the artist was a craftsman the artist could hardly be employed on the scaffolding of a building or in painterly commissions that required great physical toil. In periods during which parchment was expensive and paper a rare treasure, we can only imagine aged artists drawing in the dust or sand, scribbling and etching on wooden boards and walls - and compare them with Lossonczy, who goes through entire stacks of paper weekly. All in all, the elderly artist has only been deemed worthy of attention since the personality and biography of the artist was considered a subject worthy of recollection. The number of artists working late in their lives is continually increasing - not least of all because of the growth of the average life expectancy. Interest in works made late in life is both contemporaneous with and a corollary of the modern conception of art. The question of whether age has any kind of effect on style, which accordingly would not be regarded merely as individual accident and coincidence, has concerned the field of art history since the emergence and growing dominance of an approach to and interpretation CÍM NELKUL 7., 20 08.1 2. | UNTITLED 7., 1 2.2 0 08. pitt kréta I chalk I 700x500 mm LTG.: 27607 CÍM NÉLKÜL 8., 20 08.1 2. | UNTITLED 8., 1 2.2 00 8. I pitt kréta I chalk I 700x500 mm LTG.: 27B08