KÖTŐDÉSEK. A VIDÉKI MAGYARORSZÁG EMLÉKEZETE (Kiállítási katalógusok - Szentendre, Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, 2003)

PREFACE "Everybody is attached to something, whether he lives in the countryside, in a small town or in the capital. We hold on to our home - our pantry, our cellar - to used paths, regular places, to a bench in the park. Our personal belongings as well as our remembrances belong to us: our watch, out tools, our favourite dishes, our first teddy bear, our school reports, old photos and letters, the kit-bag of our great-grandfather. Time attracts us, since we get attached to the scent of the quince-apple on the top of the cupboard, then to the smell of the thawing earth, to the taste of the chilled water in the earthenware jug, or the smell of smoke in autumn, as the seasons revolve. Indissoluble bonds tie us to the language: we weave and tear human connections by the means of the language. All our attachments take shape in the language, since our attachments are not based on our own experiences alone but on the stories of others too and we trace them back to the bitter or happy justice of the life of others. The special character of the Hungarian Open Air Museum Szentendre consists in the fact that it is capable to present the heritage of the peasant world in its integrity and by making an impression on all our senses. This heritage is our traditions. When walking around in the exhibition, amidst his nostalgic thoughts, the visitor may recognise his attachments and he discovers suddenly in the environment, which is now a mere memory, that he is not detached from the past. He is captivated by the harmony emanating from the villagescape - from the organic connection of natural and built environment, this harmony being the result of balanced proportions and structural order expressing calmness. Observing the hills in the museum, he witnesses the passing-by of seasons and he participates in the merrymaking, recalling festive days of life in Hungary in the old days. The artists in Szentendre are closely tied to the town and to the region of their origin at the same time. The message of the Open Air Museum harmonises with the similarity between artist and peasant craftsman: both live in direct contact with their materials, and both are known for their creative instinct. That is the reason why the Hungarian Open Air Museum Szentendre considers it as an important task to open the gallery and to recall the memory of the Hungarian countryside in 2003 in Szentendre by using the language of the arts, and the works of contemporary artists from Szentendre." These thoughts, drafted by the painter János Aknay, master paper-maker László Vincze, program manager Zsuzsanna Szabó and director Miklós Cseri invited the artists in January 2003. The setting up of the Skanzen Gallery had two reasons. We wanted to continue the activity of the Hungarian Open Air Museum aimed at opening towards wide segments of society, since everybody knows that the contemporary Hungarian art has a large social base, which, however is not identical with the circle of those having interest in the vernacular culture and folk traditions. On the other hand, the necessity became obvious that after 36 years of co-existence it is high time to join the two main cultural attractions of the town: the Szentendre school representing the high arts - and the Open Air Museum preserving and presenting the traditional peasant culture and receiving yearly several thousand visitors. 6