Zágorec-Csuka Judit: Gábor Zoltán festőművész portréja (Lendva, 2002)
Részletek Gábor Zoltán prózai műveiből
Auschwitz, Gábor dedicated the painting, "In Memmoriam." Their deaths prompted additional ground for his intolerance toward uniforms and anything military, and was also his reason for painting headless people and trampled flowers. Closing up within himself, he withdrew, his pessimism founded on horrors experienced and not merely on peevishness or pettiness. Gábor sees the basic function of art, through the eyes of the artist, as invoking a "reality" to the viewer, albeit a dissimilar reality. For art is a magical activity that helps us struggle against evil and ease our fears. His artistic expression aspires toward reporting and narrating, often criticizing society and oppression, and we need to recognize that it is not without cause. He substantiates his rejection of "art for art's sake" with sociallyconditioned forms of art and their spiritual, mental significance and nobility, although atthe same time he agrees with Picasso, who stated that modern man does not feel any spiritual need for art and has shoved it into museums and libraries as remnants of the past: incomprehensible, unusable and unnecessary. Gábor has also written intensively, mastering the written word equally well in both Hungarian and Croatian, providing him with an invaluable enjoyment and relaxation. He has written numerous texts concerning art, critiques, prose, sketches, studies, narratives and essays. Many of them are still unpublished manuscripts. Published in book form are: "Homing Pigeon" (1982), "On the Trail of Apis" (1993) ("The Footsteps of Apis" - 1990, "Traces of Apis" - 1991) and "My Narrative" (1995) ("Disfiguration" - 199?). His style is unique, devoid of cliches and trivialities, and he uses a literary terminology that is, according to literary historian, Lajos Bence, somewhat archaic. His affinity toward literature, reading and writing has been a kind of substitute for the living word in which he declares himself outstandingly clumsy and awkward. His articles also appear in many technical studies in magazines, professional periodicals and newspapers. A few of his favorite writers and poets are: Atilla József, Edgar Allan Poe, Rainer Marie Rilke, Charles Baudelaire; Endre Ady and Francois Villon have had a major influence upon his life. "My Narrative" can be called a kind of diary: portraits of artists, reminiscences, art critiques and studies in art history. According to the author, it is a "collection of cultural essays about Paleolithic caves, Early Gothic architecture, poetry, psychology and true portraits of good friends — painters and sculptors." Ana Lendvay affirms in an article written at the time the book was published that Gábor expresses himself truthfully not only with the brush, but also with his entire spiritual habitus, a complex inwardness based on the human being and always with gestures motivated by nature. "Homing Pigeon" is an epistle addressed to Stefan Galic, artist and personality, whom Gábor respects deeply. Thoughts concerning art, artists and their roles are woven into 24 letters with Gábor's manylayered literary and historical view points. "On the Trail of Apis" is a thoughtful study of the origin and development of writing and methods of deciphering texts, from the prehistorical to the antique. He connects the forming of the written word with the human need for artistic creativity and man's 163
