Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 29. (Budapest, 2013)
The Museum of Applied Arts in 2011-12
MIKLÓS GÁLOS THE MUSEUM OF APPLIED ARTS IN 2011-12 In recent years the increasingly dilapidated state of Ödön Lechner and Gyula Pártos’s palace, the museum’s home, has had a decisive effect on what has gone on at the Museum of Applied Arts. Ever since the museum’s official opening in 1896 the fabric has had to cope not only with the expected wear and tear, but with the serious war damage inflicted on the building in 1945 and during the Hungarian Uprising in 1956. Events over the past few years have shown that extensive reconstruction work cannot be delayed any further. In November 2010 pieces of the ceramic decoration were falling from the roof, posing a threat to life - a danger which caused the building to be cordoned off, and protective covered walkways to be put up around it. The following year urgent financial government aid made it possible to make the roof safe again by removing the unstable decorative roof elements. The greatest concern was caused by the building’s eleven-and-a-half metre high ceramic lantern, which had begun to lean as a result of corrosion to the iron structure holding it in place. The spectacular lifting out of the lantern’s constituent elements took place on 17th—18th June 2011. In order to provide a forum for the discussion of both the safety issues and the fabric of the museum a conference was held on 17th October 2011 organized by the Museum of Applied Arts in partnership with Pannonterv Kft. and ICM Kft. under the title Art Nouveau Architecture and its Structural Elements, the Museum of Applied Arts. Those elements that had to be removed, and were not in a condition to be returned to their original positions, were sold off at charity auctions held on two occasions by the museum in conjunction with the Nagyházi Gallery (17th June 2011 and 22nd September 2012). In the hope that the smaller ceramic elements could be put to some other use the Museum of Applied Arts organized a competition for applied artists entitled Zsolnay Forever! Jewels for the Rebirth of the “Museum of Applied Arts ”, The winners were announced on 17th June 2011. 2011 was also adversely affected by the museum’s critical financial position, something that led to the restriction of opening hours at both the Nagytétény Mansion and the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts. Unfortunately the Rath Villa had to be closed to visitors altogether for some time. At the same time, however, the museum’s main building was made partly wheelchair accessible therefore making the museum more visitor-friendly to the disabled. During the course of the work a wheelchair entrance, a wheelchair stair lift and an accessible toilet were added. For the benefit of blind and partially-sighted visitors a pavement guidance strip, a tactile map, an audio map and Braille information boards were installed, while those with hearing aids benefited from the introduction of hearing induction loops. In June 103
