Bakos Katalin - Manicka Anna szerk.: Párbeszéd fekete-fehérben, Lengyel és magyar grafika 1918–1939 (MNG, Warszawa–Budapest, 2009)

III. KATALÓGUS - 1. VÁROS. TÖMEG. GÉP. A MODERNIZMUS ARCAI - - Az építés eszméje. Konstruktivizmus és geometrikus absztrakció

in painting and drawing of the glass architecture theory advocated by the expressionist architects. Rational logic, respect for technology and formal economy are paired with sensitivity and a sense of balanced harmony in Moholy Nagy's art. Similar relations of materials, space and light appear in the artist's plastic works, material constructions, made at that time and later. MA reproduced a colour print by Moholy Nagy entitled Glass Architecture, which fits into the line of the activists' picture architectures as an individual variant. László Péri's graphic works often appeared in Der Sturm and his 12-sheet linocut series was also published by the periodical in 1923. Its last piece is a triptych, the precedent to a mural design presented at the Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung in 1923. The lithograph Wandgestaltung is a replica made in 1963 of the 17m wall decoration design. It is particularly palpable in Péri's oeuvre that picture architecture is actually a universal system of signs that might have validity in different dimensions, sizes and media. Originally a brick-layer, Peri, who went into architecture beside fine arts was fond of the rustic material of the concrete. He did not only put down his ideas on paper but also realized them in coloured concrete reliefs. His compact, strictly built, planar linocuts are sign-like formations, whether they consist of closed, static or open, dynamic forms. The concrete reliefs rising subtly from the wall surface - including the Wandgestaltung plan - are predominated by pierced, openwork forms giving the impression of flight. The concrete reliefs resound the same black-red-grey colour chord as the prints. With the social Utopias being pushed into the background, the idea of "construction" immanent in constructivism and the experimental discoveries of the new media asserted themselves in the sphere of practice, in actual environmental design. Manifestos and abstract compositions gave way in MA to works of architecture, film, photo and theatre. When after his return home Kassák founded his new periodical Dokumentum in 1926, it mediated constructivism as applied in practical design work. Non-objective Plastic Art AM: The avant-garde art constituted a mere margin of the interwar period artistic life, although seen from a time perspective, this current seems dominant and of a great range. This impression might be the result of less than half a century in a different system, in which, after Socialist Realism, people played subtle games with the state authorities, e.g. by choosing to wear specific clothes (the famous brightly coloured socks and crepe-soled shoes), admiring Bobby Fischer's chess achievements (the only American chess player who could rival the Soviet champions), or hanging Picasso reproductions on the walls. Or maybe our present-day conviction that the avant-garde was so popular stemmed from the Modernist faith in progress and innovation, from the times when nobody thought of questioning Darwin's theory, and the Church was described as obscurantist? Avant-garde in Europe had an international character, whereas in individual countries this movement had always a national tinge resulting from the given country's traditions and history. The first to make a breach in the artistic consciousness in Poland were the Formists, but the critics and the general public were unfavourably disposed towards modern art. This was the reason why modern art was done only by the artists for whom it was a matter of inner conviction, and not a fashion coming from the outside. Some of them were educated in Russia or Germany: in both of these countries the avant-garde art was then in full bloom. Unfortunately, most of the works of the Polish Constructivists - the original ones from the heroic period, not the reconstructions from the 1950s and 1960s - have not survived. Witkacy, writing "about the <easiness> of today's painting in comparison with the <difficulty> of the old one", aptly pointed out that "it is easier to copy"