Kostyál László: „Hirdette utcákon tereken” Németh János művei köztereken és középületekben (Zalaegerszeg, 2004)

„Professed in the streets and squares ...”

"Professed in the streets and squares..." On the collective works of János Németh Art is like a swollen river flowing away foaming but dignified, both its source and destination unknown. You can only see its constant stream and the abundance of items dragged along as sediment - some float on the surface and you can rest your eyes on them until they disappear beyond the horizon; the others emerge for only short periods, sometimes only for a wink, and vanish from your sight in an instant. But you may feel that most of these elements are invisibly swept along in the relentless flow, always hidden in the depth of the river. Though it is not part of the water, all of this sediment moving along in the river is still an organic, essential component of the phenomenon, indicating the river's strength and course. Because the river's inevitable journey began somewhere and sometime long ago, the river will presumably come to an end in a similar way when it tames down and returns to its bed, its current ceasing to be a current any more. Art has its "fixed stars" floating on the surface for long periods of time and "comets" that appear again and again for a short while, as well as representatives (adrift in the depth) who rarely, let alone never, are exposed to the lime (or sun) light. You ask me what the light of a fixed star depends on? Perhaps talent? Perseverance? Invention? Prosperity? Luck? Perhaps all these are necessary for the light to burn for a long time until it vanishes beyond the horizon. The flow of art has long kept János Németh on the surface - he is a fixed star whose light illuminates a long path. But who is this man anyway, erect under the burden of seven decades, still young though wrinkled, modest with his enviably enormous life-work, always cheerful even among troubles, and wise in his simplicity? ... Yes, this is exactly the answer: a man who considers his humanity the most essential attribute of his being. He is a fallible and imperfect person, one who does not simply bear but glorifies his fallible and imperfect companions. He can tolerate monotonous mediocrity without being touched by it, and he is able and dares to aim ever higher, to be nicer and better, to look beyond the untruthful shallowness of everyday life. He is a man who can believe in God, grapple with the meaning of life, and feel affection, and he is even able to express all this through his art. To this end he does not use language as a medium (although his autobiography proves his literary skills as well), but - in imitation of God - clay: "God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being" (I. Moses 2,7). The Creator formed man - the Supreme Being - out of clay, which is exactly what a ceramist does when beginning his work, similarly ennobling the ignoble dust by blowing his similitude, the breath of life, into the clay. The alpha of this idea is naturally the work of God while man's idea is merely a reflection of the original. We refer to the depiction of this reflection, in other words, as art. János Németh was able to grasp the full meaning of this apparently simple sentence with his life's work. His universe is centred around man, while its idea - Universe with a capital "U" - is centred around God. According to the Scriptures, six days was sufficient to create the latter, while the former required, even open-ended, four-and-a-half decades to thoroughly tell the story of humankind. Though the artist kept telling this tale to us incessantly on jars and stove tiles of small dimensions, and through figurines and reliefs decorating rooms, he also proclaimed his message in the streets and squares like a prophet, and in places where many people can see and understand the essence of both our humanity and Hungarian identity. Where many listen, one must speak louder and more organised; where many observe, one must mould the theme 13