Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 24. (Budapest, 2006)

Events 2003-2005 (Judit Pataki)

themselves. The 19 objects on display were selected out of 42 competitive designs by an international professional jury and were exhibited on special installations designed for the occasion. A catalogue of special design was published that contained the photographs and description of the exhibiting designers and the exhibited object as well as information on the persons of the designers. The free catalogues were handed out to all visitors. At the end of summer, the exhibition was displayed in Zólyom (today Zvolen, Slovakia) and, later, in October 2004, in the National Gallery in Bratislava. International trends and successes led the ministry to work out the idea that Hungarian museums should join the initiative and offer special programmes in extra opening hours at the weekend next to Midsummer's night, the longest night of the year. As we have mentioned above, the programme centred on the Zsolnay exhibition; however, when talking about the various events related to this festival, two new exhibitions are certainly worth mentioning. On 26 June, at the 'The Night of Museums', the exhibition 'Now I am Dreaming of Coloured Glazes' was opened. The display presented the results of the glaze experiments the chemical engineer Dr. Ferenc Halmos conducted. Ferenc Halmos has been studying Zsolnay's glazes and glaze experiments and applies his experiences when preparing ceramics and special glazes. At the exhibition visitors could see vases and pots categorised in conformity with the glazes applied; informative boards gave insight into the secrets of the preparation process. The exhibition was open until spring 2005. The Hungarian Museum for Science and Technology is not in the possession of a building suitable for exhibition. Due to its related collection as well as to the decade-long professional relationship of the two institutes, the Hungarian Museum for Science and Technology had the opportunity to represent itself with a new exhibition at the Museums' night in the Museum of Applied Arts. At the exhibition 'The Festival of Light' the public could see a collection of old optical instruments. Old cameras, projectors, optical toys and their replicas were displayed; the audience had the opportunity to see some of them functioning and to try out the replicas of optical games. The exhibition was closed on 7 July. Imre Schrammel studied sculpture from Miklós Borsos at the one-time industrial arts college. Borsos, as the head of department, had strong influence on Schrammel, who studied goldsmith's craft in the first two years and then graduated from the porcelain specialization. Schrammel became a Kossuth-Prize winner ceramist although he has never studied this branch of art. It is earth, his primary material and principal element that provides the raw material of his ceramics. The exhibition 'Earth of Many Faces' (open from 2 July to 15 August, inaugurated by the professor emeritus György Fekete) gave an insight into his great and variegated oeuvre in a professional way. In 2004, the 7

th International Meeting on Felt Art was organised in Hungary, in three locales: visitors could see costumes at the Museum of Applied Arts (Budapest), coverings at the Hungarian National Gallery and toys at the Szórakaténusz Museum (Kecskemét). The exhibition 'Warm in Winter, Cool in Summer - Felt Costumes and Accessories from the Wide World' (open from 10 to 29 August) at the Museum of Applied Arts called attention to the well-known fact that felt is a warm material of good heat insulation; also, it pointed out its little-known qualities, such as aeriality, which makes it a practical wear even in warm weather. On the initiative of the curator of the exhibition, Aliz Torday, we set up a 'touchable wall', where our visitors had the opportunity to feel the fineness of the fabrics. As the third part of a summer series representing the past and present of Hungarian lace, the exhibition 'The Móga Lace and the Karcag Lace Workshop' was organised. The museologist Lilla Erdei T. and the librarian Eszter Tiszavári organised the display from the legacy of Mrs Moga née Margit Reguly, the collection and works of Mrs Pinczés née Gyöngyi Soós, the bonelaces of Mrs Leontesz and Mrs Oláh née Erzsébet Lipták and the collection and