Szakács Imre: ÉG ÉS FÖLD KÖZÖTT (Kiállítási katalógusok - Szentendre, Szabadtéri Néprajzi Múzeum, 2007)

LIGHT, WORRY AND FAITH About the pictures of Imre Szakács We visit, watch and interpret several exhibitions. We enter the exhibitions with great expectations. However, we have a bad habit. Our taste is usually determinative; we have anticipations, preconceptions, and gauge. We cannot easily leave our taste. It is a strange phenomenon: we would like to see things we have already seen and known - we do not want the unknown. Nevertheless, openness is necessary, as art is not the territory of routine, but that of original thoughts. Well, if we look at the works of Imre Szakács, enter his exhibition and start to get acquainted with his pictures, we may have ambivalent feelings. There is something to translate in his pictures, there are secrets to reveal, mystery to solve. On the other hand, his pictures made us receive and interpret the message. They do not alienate us; they are not distasteful, not brutal. And although we do not usually refer to quality by negation, I pointed out an important character with the don'ts. In spite of the fact that the pictures of Imre Szakács are dramatic and deal with deep problems and troubles, the aesthetic qualities and forms used are not repulsive but attractive. This is a rare phenomenon in contemporary art, if someone does not handle a neutral topic, but can be characterised by strong conceptual quality and suggestive picturesqueness. And yes, we have mentioned significant things! He is dramatic in a way that drama, appearing in his pictures is put into us. But why? Because he reproduces his dramas, worries and phobias with delicate painting and a peculiar quality. His pictures are both figurai and non-figural. He has motives, rooted in nature, but he is not a mimicking painter. Thought, world-feeling, personal feelings are important for him. This is what we feel, when we are looking at his works. In his authentic choice, we are strengthened by the forever living thought of Árpád Mezei : "In art, not the objective knowledge of the outside world, but the communication of the inner conviction counts." This is a very important condition, concerning Imre Szakács. His inner conviction is depicted with symbol-like motives. The bird has been an attribute for a long time, making it possible for him to present his thoughts. The bird is the symbol of flying high in the sky, which may go together with captivity. The bird is a connection between earth and sky, in his case, especially between earth and heaven. The bird is a sign of communication with God(s) - and the approach of a higher mental state, transcendence. The bird stands for soul and spirit. How strange, that the shaman starts his encounter with heaven in clothes, covered with bird-feather. The bird is a universal symbol; its presence is significant in all cultures. We can read it in David's paean: "Our soul has escaped, just like the bird from the hunter's net." Yes: the soul bird. And the soul of the bird. This impressed Imre Szakács so much, long years ago, near the Ontario Lake with such a strong suggestion, that it permeated his whole personality, and has been a significant and substantive element of his painter identity so far. In his pictures, the bird can refer to ecological problems, captivity and lack of freedom, spiritual representation and the main dilemmas of existence. And stones get a great emphasis in his pictures too. A basic controversy may be traced between stone and heaven. And he is also able to depict the tragedy of the Stations of the Cross without figurative presentation. His pictures are about huge human cataclysms. Their effect is greater by being revealed in series. His nature symbols are picturesque and their influence is enormous, although the technique is always delicate, slowly processed, intense - and lacks passion. He builds on contrasts when we perceive the colours of the pictures. Besides using dark tones, he also paints with light colours, which impregnate his works with light. Light bears significance in his art too. After the Millennium, he painted a triptych with the title: Waiting for Light. And we can also have a look at his picture Woven with Light, which besides being a title, is a real and spiritual light at the same time, a symbol of the painter's ars poetica. Light, besides being a painter's tool and reality, has its significance as a symbol; the sign of God's light, referring to redemption. But this with real inwardness by Imre Szakács - is only woven. It comes from the inner self, with a subtle poetry. The pictures of Imre Szakács are picturesque, concerning drawing. Loose and dense surfaces vary in the pictures, which gain rhythm. Patch and line possess a harmony, always pervaded by the delicacy of implementation and his piety. The layers on each other result in gently transparent effect concerning his varied pieces. In all his works, the beauty of applying colours and the gentleness of his transitions are prominent. A well-known fact, that Imre Szakáes's course is not regular. He has been always characterised by strong, intense, self-trained, open-minded professional work, and humbleness towards creation. Although being an inhabitant of Szentendre for decades and participant of public life in the town, paying attention to the performance of his colleagues and the world, he cannot be connected to the main stream of Szentendre painting. His organic, spiritual system of signs, the lyrics of his art, the uniqueness of his thoughts make his works personal, which draws on its values from a strong inner conviction. We reveal the secrets, the attraction is great. All his works are woven with light. Seeking redemption. Balázs Feledy 4