The Eighth Tribe, 1977 (4. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1977-05-01 / 5. szám
Page 6 THE EIGHTH TRIBE May, 1977 or else they may shine through the peacock-butterflies of his dream-birds that may have come from the gardens of Kublai Khan — antlers of his stags may end in birds that fly away or birds may end in fish form. He mastered and makes good use of the painting technique of the last centuries and by virtuosity lifted the color woodcut to the highest levels of perfection. Domjan’s retrospective exhibition in the Ernst Museum included his early woodcuts of wild flowers and medical herbs; war-damaged bridges of the Danube, and in one room his first birds, 6x6 inches, doves, mostly in 2-3 pale colors. Who would have guessed these birds will fly so far and so high... Series of folk art figures were started in his small studio with a view of the Mont Blanc and they were continued in New York; the shepherds, girls with flying petticoats, girls with rose-embroidered ribbons holding a looking glass, the woodcutter and the princess, a girl with wine, and horse-shoes of brigands of the puszta sparkled in the rooms of international exhibitions. Wild flowers were continued; the Dómján poppies and thistles, the Queen Anne’s lace — here they are today in new variations; old friends we meet again on the meadow below. — The little first doves were followed by series of peacocks; larger, more colorful in every imaginable color combination and a great variety of shapes and forms. The exhibition Peacock Festival traveled for years on both sides of the Atlantic. Once the Curator of the New York Public Library met Dómján unexpected in the marble staircase of the building — he looked at him hesitating, then exclaimed: “Dómján, the Peacock” — that is how he remembered. — Pierre Bouffard, Director of the Musee d’Art et d’Histoire, Geneva invited Dómján to exhibit his first birds; a decade later the peacocks still acted like a bomb in Paris where it is no longer possible to bring new art; yet the peacocks, with the unicorn and the dragons were new, never seen before; says Monsieur Dórival, Director of Musee National d’Art Modern de la Ville de Paris. Looking back at the early work one could say the composition occupies more and more space; hardly any background is left. There is no empty space, all shapes are broken-up into more and more details. The source of inspiration is inexhaustible, with new variations themes come in series. Before there was a shepherd under a starry sky; the little stars have grown, they will the picture space, stars within stars, star-clouds and milky ways, universes spiraling, cosmic images. The “Fire Peacock” started it: birds within birds, all in various shapes and forms, each wth its own ornamentation; thousands of little broken-up forms, triangles, squares, dots and lines, tiny forms that carry the color in Domjan’s complex technique of over-printing. The new work includes series of Eagles and Deer; these in turn are filled with birds, stars, fish forms. As for the colors they no longer follow the forms but have the life of their own the form-composition and color composition are independent giving the work new tension and excitement. Domjan’s Studio is located on West Lake Road, Tuxedo Park, New York 10987.
