Saly Noémi (szerk.): Gorka Lívia keramikusművész (Budapest, 2010)
Kollin András: Bibliográfia
20th century trends also brought with them the reemergence of traditional ceramics, primarily enrooted in folk art. In addition to practical objects, the main direction of change was in the area of ornamental objects, and especially sculptural form.2 The art of the so-called great triad of Hungarian ceramics, István Gádor (1891-1984), Géza Gorka (1894-1971) and Margit Kovács (1902-1977), was already the beginning of a new era.3 The Second World War and the period following it broke the promising development of Hungarian ceramics completely in two. It changed public tastes, the demands of commerce and the whole process of industrial design and production. Hungarian ceramics meant no more than "practical” household items. István Gádor's forms became simper and he turned once again towards folk art. Géza Gorka took part in serial production at the Zsolnay Factory for a time, to ensure his continued human and artistic freedom. Margit Kovacs’s distinctive pseudo-folk figures, sculptures of young girls and large, ceramic wall paintings appeared partly as a result of the spirit of optimism made a compulsory requirement by the socialist realist psyche. In the 1950's shops increasingly stocked only puritanical household objects suggesting - and as much as possible "dictating” - uniform taste. The 60's heralded the beginning of a slow but continuous change in industrial production (in Pécs, Hollóháza, Városlőd and Hódmezővásárhely). Most ceramic artists first completed their studies at the College of Applied Art (now the University of Art and Design), and then found work as a designer in one of the factories. They served the needs of mass production, as a result of which a special, Central European style emerged: the "SocDeco”.4 Attractive and higher quality, unique items could only be seen at exhibitions. In the 1960's, as a result of the so-called "two percent orders”, buildings were increasingly often decorated with durable ceramic tiles and high relief. (The law stated that 2 percent of the cost of all state projects must but be spent on works of art: decorative road elements, sculptures, reliefs, frescoes, mosaics, glass windows, large canvasses etc.)5 Architects felt that ceramics, a relative of the materials they used for their building, would seem less out of place in the materialising architectural plan, than a work of sculpture or a huge, non-figurative relief made out of concrete. The minutes of the 'Art Association” (Képzőművészeti Szövetség), the „Art Foundation” „Képzőművészeti Alap”, and later of the „Art Council" (Képzőművészeti Lektorátus) exactly document which of our ceramic artists received a commission for what work and at what time.6 The ageing István Gádor, having left folk art behind him, reappears with non-figurative, abstract works. Margit Kovács appears often as having been awarded commissions for prominent projects. These documents display a merry-go-round sequence of commissions, which in addition to sporting the grey and uniform style of the social-realist era, seems somehow to be feeding itself. Under this system it wasn’t artistic self-expression and the creation of value that predominated, it was money, political adequacy and the maximum possible fulfilment of these expectations. And it was through this system and on the basis of its written and unwritten rules, that artists could acquire the opportunity to appear in local - and especially foreign - exhibitions, take trips abroad, perhaps gain access to foreign specialist literature etc. To manage to survive within this system while still remaining an artist is a feat pulled off by very few indeed. The cultural policy of the decades following the socialistrealist era was determined by the "three T’s” ("tűrt, tiltott, támogatott”, meaning Tolerated, Prohibited and Supported). In fine arts the rigid structure of postimpressionism - the "offspring” of social-realism- was the standard to follow, while in the field of ceramics, commemorative sculpture was the expected (compulsory) subject.7 The talented, experimental, innovative members of the new generation of artists- as if the grand art were escaping repression through applied art - often entered the arched gates of the College of Applied Art. The dual role played by applied artists is also striking: their exhibitions and the various objects available at biennials held at home and abroad and through the Képcsarnok Vállalat ('Art Museum Company") gain a function of "improving public morale". On the other hand: looking abroad (i.e. towards the West), they and their works represent 35
