brouillette_amy.pdf

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RemappingSamizdat:

Underground Publishing and the Hungarian Avant-Garde, 1966 to 197

Amy Brouillette

Submitted to Central European UniversityDepartment of History

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts

Supervisor !"bor #lani$%aySe$ond reader Constantin Iorda$hi

Budapest& HungarySpring '(()

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!op"right noti#e

Copyright of this material lies +ith the Author, Copies by any pro$ess& either infull or in part& may be made in a$$ordan$e +ith instru$tions given by authorand lodged in the Central European University library, Details may be obtainedfrom the librarian, -his form must be a$$ompany any $opies made, .urther$opies may not be made +ithout +ritten permission of Author,

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Abstra#t

-his pro/e$t e0amines a series of earlysamizdatpubli$ations by Hungary1s avant2garde artistsand intelle$tuals in the *)3(s and the *)4(s, 5hile it is a group better 6no+n for its radi$al artisti$endeavors& Hungary1s avant2garde $ir$les generated some of the $ountry1s first post2*)73 undergroundpubli$ations and pro/e$ts& mar6ing the beginning of +hat +ould evolve into asamizdatmovement inthe late *)4(s and *)8(s, -his study $oin$ides +ith a re$ent upsurge in interest in sub$ultural and$ounter $ultural movements in so$ialist so$ieties hen$e& it is the purpose here to e0amine theseunderground +riting pro/e$ts as they unfolded +ithin the $onte0t of *)3(s2era avant2garde and youthsub$ultural movements in Hungary and abroad, -he prin$iple aim is to highlight the role radi$al artistsand intelle$tuals played in the broadersamizdattradition& as +ell as to e0amine $loser the relationshipbet+een dissidents and the state under late so$ialism,

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A#$no%ledgments

I +ould li6e to e0press my gratitude to the follo+ing individuals my pro/e$t supervisor !"bor

#lani$%ay and se$ond reader Constantin Iorda$hi& both of +hom provided invaluable insights&assistan$e and support throughout this pro/e$t, I +ish also to than6 a number of individuals +hoprovided intervie+s& translations& materials and other 6ey support& in$luding :"s%l; Be6e& !"borAltor/ay& -am"s S%ent/;by& -ibor ?lia #lani$%ay& D;raHalasi and


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&able o' !ontents

A$6no+ledgments,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,@

Introdu$tion Mapping the field ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,3

Critical review of literature...................................................................................................................9

Research aims and scope of study.......................................................................................................15

Theoretical approaches, methods, organization ................................................................................18

Chapter * :ife& art& avant2gardes,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,''

ungarian avant!garde......................................................................................................................."#

$ass%&' The (ctivists..........................................................................................................................")

The *second+ avant!garde.................................................................................................................."8

appenings.........................................................................................................................................-

ungarian avant!garde 19##!19)5/ .................................................................................................1

Chapter ' Hippies& Hooligans& Happenings ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,94

The*0outh ro2lem+...........................................................................................................................9

3um2 oets.........................................................................................................................................4#

Chapter 9 Community of ebels ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,77

magination6dea.................................................................................................................................#-

7ztfolyirat........................................................................................................................................##Crac&down .........................................................................................................................................)-

Con$lusion Art& oliti$s& and the .irst Sami%dat !eneration ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,44

*(rtistic+ v. *political+ samizdat.......................................................................................................)9

ost!199-' :egacies, ;artyrs and eroes.........................................................................................8"

Bibliography,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,8@

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(ntrodu#tion: )apping the 'ield

In the *)3(s& a tangible shift appeared in Budapest1s $ultural life, roof the Iron Curtain +as at

that time rather porous& the radi$al youth upsurge reverberating through Europe and Ameri$a had ta6en

root in Hungary and a$ross so$ialist states, -he post2Stalin tha+ had given +ay to a burst of $ultural

$reativity and an emerging avant2garde movement a$ross the region,*In Hungary& artists began meeting

in flats to read poetry& to dis$uss art and politi$s& and to $ir$ulate forbidden te0ts and translations of

#andins6y1s +ritings,'-hey organi%ed e0hibits and happenings in basements and private flats& in

university and $ultural $lubs& in fa$tories and businesses& and even inside the lion $age at the Budapest

%oo,9

Mi6l;s Haras%ti $alled Hungary1s radi$al artists of the *)3(s and *)4(s the first samizdat

generation,@ -he $orpus of materials generated by avant2garde $ir$lesposters& fliers& pamphlets&

invitations& photos& artists boo6s& e0hibition $atalogs& manus$ripts& +ord art& mail art& films& /ournals

number in the thousands& at least some portion of +hi$h +ere illegally produ$ed and distributed,Fuantifying even a rough $ount of this era1s illi$it materials& an e0er$ise samizdats$holars are prone

to underta6e& is a diffi$ult tas6 ea$h do$ument $omes +ith its o+n history& purpose and life2$y$leG

many are held up in Hungary1s ambiguous gray %one of semi2legal materials, 75hi$h items even

* -his era is often $lassified as the neo2avant2garde by some art historians to distinguish bet+een this era and the avant2garde movement in the earlier part of the '(th $entury, It is a some+hat $ontroversial termespe$ially among artistsand to avoid su$h $ompli$ations& I opt to for the term avant2garde,

' In *)3'& a manus$ript by Bla Hamvas +as reprodu$ed and $ir$ulated among avant2garde artists, Hamvas *8)42*)38J

+as +as +riter& philosopher and so$ial $riti$ +hose +ritings +ere banned by authorities in the late *)@(s, He +roteabout art& metaphysi$s and mysti$ism& and be$ame a guru of sorts for young artists in the *)3(s,9 #atalin Kray&.rom Keo2Avantgarde to -ransavantgarde& in Catalog ommage a rs& tilt%s supported& tolerated& bannedJ, It +as a loosely defined system +hi$h essentiallymeant everything not e0pressly against the system +as tolerated, .or a revie+ of the effe$ts of A$%l1s on $ultural life seeva .org"$s& Does Demo$ra$y !ro+ under ressureN Strategies of the Hungarian Keo2Avant2!arde -hroughout the late

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qualify assamizdatis a matter of debate some argue $lassi$samizdatis a sphere reserved for

politi$al +ritings and items su$h as artists boo6s or e0hibition $atalogs& no matter if self2made and

never put passed a state $ensor& belong to a separate& tolerated $ategory of $ultural samizdat, A

good number of materials appear not to besamizdat' they $arry stamps from offi$ial printing houses$ertifying their right to $ir$ulate in the publi$ domain?and yet even some of these materials began as

legal publi$ations and +ere later banned by party offi$ials, Others +ere born illegally and remained

therePshuffled from hand to hand& stored a+ay in des6 dra+ers& $ir$ulated +ithin small $ir$les& in the

$lassi$& $landestinesamizdat$hain of delivery,3

-his illustrates the $omple0ity of Hungary1s $ultural system& +here $ensorship under late

so$ialism +as often governed more by politi$al $limate and aestheti$ tastes than hard2fast mandates,

After *)33& heavy2handed so$ialist realist mandates +ere eased to +in $on$essions +ith Hungary1s

$ultural eliteG $onsumer $ommunism +as introdu$ed in effort to +in over the masses, #"d"r1s

liberali%ation poli$ies had $reated fissures in the system& $ra$6s in +hi$h young artists and intelle$tuals

$arved out spa$e for semi2autonomous $ultural life, Qet despite a more liberal approa$h to the arts&

the state $ontinued to $ontrol artists through a myriad of state and lo$al bureau$rati$ agen$ies +hi$h

managed a$$ess to e0hibition halls& studio spa$e and stipends, ublishing remained stri$tly patrolled

every type+riter +as sampled to allo+ authorities to tra$6 rogue materials& a$$ess to photo$opy

ma$hines +as prohibited and any printed materials?posters& fliers& e0hibition $atalogs?required

approval of $ensors and a stamp from offi$ial printing houses, 5hile progressive arts +ere by varying

*)3(s and the *)4(s& Centropa


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-his pro/e$t e0amines the firstsamizdatgeneration& +hen the ground for unoffi$ial publishing

under late so$ialism +as first bro6en,-he purpose& by fo$using on this era& is to analy%e the broader

$ultural& politi$al and histori$al $onditions +ithin +hi$h Hungary1ssamizdatmovement first developed

and to highlight the role radi$al artists played in emerging unoffi$ial publishing tradition, My aim is toe0amine the various unoffi$ial publishing efforts by progressive artists in the $onte0t of the emerging

avant2garde sub$ultural s$ene& both domesti$ and abroad,

Critical review of literature

-his study diverges from $lassi$samizdatstudies in 6ey +ays, It $hallenges the t+in pillars

of $ultural and politi$alsamizdat, the $leavage bet+een art and politi$s& +hi$h governs the field of

analysis onsamizdatand oppositional movements in so$ialist so$ieties,*'-his has $ome along +ith an

attending demar$ation bet+een the so2$alled artisti$ underground and the politi$al underground

used bysamizdat s$holars and politi$al s$ientists to organi%e dissident s$enes a$ross the so$ialist blo$,

Splits in the field bet+een art and politi$s $reates a division +ith little bearing in reality not only +as

art a deeply politi$al affair in so$ialist so$ietiesused to mobili%e and demobili%e& to radi$ali%e and

pa$ify& to indo$trinate and to subvertbut the $ultural elite themselves moved fluidly bet+een the t+o

genres,*9 Di$ing up materials by medium& by ideas& separates the end2produ$t from the produ$ers

splits up intelle$tual and artisti$ $ir$les in unnatural +aysand obs$ures ho+ unoffi$ial materials +ere

produ$ed& $onsumed and distributed +ithin a net+or6 of informal parti$ipants and supporters,

Other questionable binaries dog thesamizdatfield the most enduring among them is the

dissident vs, the state motif, -his derives mostly from early e0aminations ofsamizdatby +estern

s$holars and /ournalists& +ho tended to $onfiguresamizdat and dissident a$tivities through the prism

*' 7amizdats$holar Ann #omaromi refers to the t+in pillars of $ultural and politi$alsamizdatin a paper& Sami%dat asMaterial -e0t P Methodologi$al Impli$ations& University of -oronto& Mar$h '((3& @,

*9 -his point e0plored& in the Soviet $onte0t& by Ann #omaromi in -he Unoffi$ial .ield of :ate Soviet Culture, 7lavic Review33R@ 5inter '((4J 3(723'),

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of the Cold 5ar,*@5estern attention in *)3(s and *)4(s +as devoted almost e0$lusively to the Soviet

sphere& +hi$h produ$ed reams of voi$es from belo+ s$holarship based on a one2a$tor model of

totalitarian regimes, -he image of ussian intelle$tuals toiling behind the Iron Curtain for /usti$e and

human rights made for a dramati$ Cold 5ar s$ript&

*7

and many s$holars and +estern /ournalists inparti$ular +ere qui$6 to enlist Soviet dissenters as surrogate soldiers of +estern liberalism in the

ideologi$al battles of the Cold 5ar,*3 In the $onte0t ofsamizdat,this produ$ed elite2$entered

s$holarship fo$used on a number of prominent intelle$tuals $ast as dissident2+arriors& martyrs of Soviet

repression struggling against an all2po+erful totalitarian state,

In the *)8(s& a ne+ +ave ofsamizdats$holarship appeared& reinvigorated by the s+ell of

dissident movements and unoffi$ial publi$ations in so$ialist so$ieties a$ross Central Europe, In this

realm&samizdat+as vie+ed as an free and independent $ommuni$ation $hannel of the demo$rati$

opposition& presented by s$holars as eviden$e of an emerging $ivil so$iety& of an independent or

parallel polis, -he parallel polis motif had be$ome a 6ey theme ofsamizdat+ritings in the *)8(s&

arti$ulated in various forms by a number of Central European intelle$tuals, *4At the same time& the

notion of $ivil so$iety had very mu$h $ome ba$6 en vogue in +estern a$ademi$ $ir$les& reinvigorated

by the emergen$e of dissident groups in so$ialist so$ieties,*8-he late *)8(s brought rounds of ne+

*@ Ben/amin Kathans& -he Di$tatorship of eason Ale6sandr


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s$holarship devoted to e0amining the $omparative elements of $ivil so$iety in Central Europe& in

+hi$hsamizdatfigured prominently in the equation,*) H, !ordon S6illingTs 7amizdat and ndependent

7ociety in Central and ean :, Cohen and Andre+ Arato& Civil 7ociety and olitical Theory Cambridge Cambridge University

ress& *))@JG >ohn #eane ed, Civil 7ociety and the 7tate' Dew


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+riting and te0ts,'@#omaromi fo$uses on the medium itselfthe subversive essen$e of messages

en$oded +ithin the type+ritten do$umentsas a lens into the histori$o2$ultural $onditions of Soviet

dissident $ulture, E0amining its rudimentary types$ript& +ords $rammed to the edges of the pages&

s$ribbled +ith edits and deliberately un$orre$ted errors& she argues the samizdatte0t provides a visualsymbol of the material and $ultural poverty out of +hi$h Soviet dissidents struggled and gre+,'7-he

semioti$s approa$h is a lu$rative one& in that it opens the +ay to e0amination of sami%dat as form of

symboli$ $ommuni$ation,'3 Qet the fo$us& so narro+ly $onfigured around fi0ed set of surfa$e te0tualR

material signs& is often pursued +ith some distan$e from its $reators& and fails to offer a +ay in to the

groups the signs are said to signify,'4:i6e+ise& semioti$sRstru$turalist approa$hes have been /ustly

$riti$i%ed for being ahistori$al& essentialist& for trumping deterministi$ stru$tural for$es over free +ill

and $olle$tive a$tion that $an produ$e so$ial $hange,

Subcultural turn

-he past de$ade& li6e+ise& has seen a resurgen$e of interest in sub$ultural and $ounter$ultural

movements in so$ialist so$ieties hippies& ro$6ers& pun6s& radi$al artists no+ $ro+d the s$ene

enlivening the portrait of really e0isting so$ialism that had long eluded +estern ga%e,'8 -he

dominant trend in this realm has been devoted to e0amining the influen$es of +estern ro$6 musi$ on

the so$ialist youth $ultures& and lo$al manifestations of ro$6& pun6& ne+ +ave that appeared a$ross the

region bet+een *)3(s and *)8(s, Kumerous studies tra$6 ho+ various groups battled $ensorship& or

'@ #omaromi& -he Material E0isten$e of Soviet Sami%dat& 7)8,'7 Ibid& 3*8,'3 -his relates to M$:uhan1s media is the message thesis, See Marshall M$:uhan& Fnderstanding ;edia' The

, and#raft& E, St, Martin1s ress& Ke+ Qor6& *))@J **92*9@G !regor -om$& 5e 5ill o$6 Qou opular Musi$ in Se$ondQugoslavia, Inmpossi2le istories& eds, D/uri D, and Vuva6ovi& M, :ondon MI- ress& '((9J @@'2@37G -homasCushman&Dotes from Fnderground' Roc& ;usic Counterculture in RussiaAlbany State University of Ke+ Qor6 ress,*))7JG Keil Edmunds& 7oviet ;usic and 7ociety under :enin and 7talin' The @aton and 7ic&le:ondon Cur%onoutledge& '((@J,

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maneuvered around it by using allegori$al lyri$s& ho+ groups $reatively adapted +ays around overt

state intrusions, -he pi$ture is /oyful and energeti$a +el$ome diversion from the staid image of

repressed $ir$les of dissidents posed by +estern politi$al theoristsand one that e0poses the $ulturally

and psy$hologi$ally liberating aspe$ts of the underground, Colle$tively& this +ave of s$holarship is$ru$ial for its illustration of the multidimensionality of $ultural life under late so$ialism& and for

bringing so$ialist $ultures into alignment +ith broader youth movements around Europe and Ameri$a,

-he generational $omponent adds an important dimension of analysis for Hungary1s avant2garde in

parti$ular, -he group+as $omprised of a ne+ generation of $ultural elites& +hi$h emerged in the *)3(s +ith

radi$al& anti2establishment philosophies and missions& part of a +ave of youth $ounter$ultural movements& both

domesti$ and abroad, #arl Mannheim& e0amining the rise of !erman Qouth movement in the *)'(s&

developed the idea of generational a$tualities& +hi$h& as he defined it& arise in response to a shared

$ommon destiny and a$tive parti$ipation in the so$ial and intelle$tual traditions +hi$h +ere shaping the

histori$al situation,').rom this& Mannheim offered the idea of generational units& +hi$h emerge from a

+idely shared pattern of responses to a spe$ifi$ histori$al situation& formulating fresh& sometimes

oppositional approa$hes to older generations,9(!enerational units& a$$ording to Mannheim& emerge

during moments of so$ial and politi$al $hange& +hen so$ial groups $ome to believe old values are no

longer possible& ne+ patterns of e0perien$e are $onsolidated& and they form a ne+ generational style or

entele$hy,9*5hile that style +as nourished by the revolutionary spirit and missions of the avant2garde

$ounter2$ultural movement of the early '(th$entury& this ne+ generation +ould develop its o+n form of

radi$alism and modes of resistan$e in response to the spe$ifi$ities of the politi$s and $ulture of the day,

') obert 5ohl& The =eneration of 1914 Cambridge Harvard University ress& *)4)J 4), Mannheim1s original essay-he roblem of !enerations +as originally published in !erman in *)'8G the essay +as later published in English inMannheim1


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Mannheim1s idea of generational units offers a lu$rative frame for analy%ing Hungary1s avant2

garde& as it +idens to s$ope of vision to in$lude the broader generational $onte0ts +ithin +hi$h the

movement developed, Hungary1s avant2garde +as $omprised of more than isolated bands of radi$al artist

it in$luded its ran6s a +ider spe$trum of young intelle$tualsso$iologists& philosophers& ar$hite$ts&do$tors& professorsmany& +ho& through their $ontests +ith the state& often $ataly%ed around publishing&

+ould $ome to form a ne+ generation of dissident intelle$tuals, Among them +ere so$iologistRpoet Mi6l;s

Haras%ti& +riter !yLrgy #onr"d& philosophers Wgnes Heller& !yLrgy Ben$e& >"nos #enedi& and ar$hite$t

:"s%l;a/6& all of +hom +ould be$ome i$oni$ parti$ipants of thesamizdatmovement& and +hoas

poets& +riters and artists themselves+ere very mu$h immersed in the early avant2garde s$ene, Hen$e&

there +as a rebellious synergy bet+een intelle$tual and artisti$ $ir$les& +hi$h +ould& by the late *)3(s and

early *)4(s& $oales$e into an oppositional generational unit& bound by shared Ieltanschauung& or

+orld vie+,

:i6e+ise& Hungary1s avant2garde +as part of an international+ave of radi$al art and so$ial

movements.lu0us& Situationist& happenings$harged byJeitgeistof youth rebellion s+eeping through

Europe& Ameri$a and the So$ialist blo$, -hat era $ontained all the same taboo2brea6ing& dis$ipline

$ollapsing& po+er2$hallenging revolutionary missions of the $lassi$ avant2garde, 7amizdat, in this +ay& has

its spiritual roots in the radi$al literary2art press& to the so2$alled little maga%ines that be$ame organs of

the avant2garde movement in the early '(th$entury,9' -hat avant2garde era +as defined by a strong

publishing tradition:a/os #ass"61s( Tettand;a& .ran% femdorf1s Berlin publi$ation&3ie (&tion& and

other /ournals served as platforms for aestheti$ and politi$al debates& manifestos& essays and pro$lamations

that helped shape the $ontours of the avant2garde movement,99-he little maga%ines& a$$ording to

9' .or a revie+ of little maga%ines see enato oggioli& The Theory of the (vant!=arde Cambridge Harvard Universityress& *)38J '(2'7,

99 .or a revie+ of avant2garde /ournals see ;6& Attila, Modern So$iology and Modern Art in Early -+entieth CenturyHungary&ungarian 7tudies)R*2' *))@J 3724*G Oliver A, I, Botar& .rom the Avant2!arde to 1roletarian Art1 -heEmigr Hungarian >ournals


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oggioli& had an organi%ing effe$t withinthe avant2garde& merging the radi$al politi$al and artisti$

avant2garde $ir$les into a bona fide $ultural movement, Small in $ir$ulation& non2$ommer$ial& avant2

garde periodi$als are the modus operandiof avant2garde movements& as indi$ated by the resurgen$e of

su$h publi$ations by radi$al artists in Europe and Ameri$a beginning the *)3(s, 5hile the $omparative$onstraints on free publishing bet+een East and 5est +ere demonstrable& this at least helps to re2

position *)3(s2erasamizdat+ithin an international $onte0t& re$ogni%ing underground publishing as a

broader transnational avant2garde phenomenon,

5hile a*Jeitgeist+$an e0plain the overar$hing rebellious impulsesthe spirit of the timesthe

emerging generational rift in Hungary $an no more be redu$ed to a popular e0pression of anti2

establishment behavior any more than the +estern youth movement $an be simplified as a form of

popular $ultural resistan$e, But rather& as Mannheim argues& aJeitgeistis a refle$tion of a deeper so$io2

politi$al rift brought about during times of rapid so$ial $hange& refle$ting tensions bet+een different

$urrents or tenden$ies that $ome to e0press themselves in $olliding& oppositional ideologies, 9@

DeStalini%ation and #"d"rism& therefore& figures prominently into this equation& as those $hanges altered

the politi$al& so$ial and e$onomi$ dynami$s +ithin Hungary as a ne+ *)3(s2era generation +as $oming of

age,

Research aims and scope of study

-his pro/e$t e0amines ho+ underground publishing evolved +ithin Hungary1s firstsamizdat

generation& fo$using spe$ifi$ally on ho+ underground publishing developed +ithin the emerging avant2

garde movement, 5hile the aim is to positionsamizdat+ithin the emerging progressive artisti$ and

intelle$tual s$eneand to illuminate its uniquely avant2garde featuresthis study also ta6es into

a$$ount the politi$al& so$ial and $ultural $onstellations in +hi$h the movement developed, -he purpose

of this pro/e$t& then& is to e0amine the so$ial history of early unoffi$ial publishing efforts by avant2garde

9@ 5ohl& 4),

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$ir$les& loo6ing at ho+ those pro/e$ts +ere formulated +ithin the politi$al and so$ial $onte0ts of #"d"rism

and +ithin emerging *)3(s2era radi$al so$ial movements in Hungary and abroad, I aim to sho+ ho+

samizdat, at this stage& +as very mu$h +ired into aestheti$ e0perimentalism of the emerging radi$al art

movements in Hungary& and ho+ those efforts +ere shaped by& and in response to& spe$ifi$ politi$alpressures and $ultural $limates,

As this study sho+s& as pressure from the state in$reased& so too did underground publishing

a$tivity, Despite Hungary1s image as the happiest barra$6 of the $ommunist $amp& the opening of the

se$ret poli$e files has revealed ho+ relentlessly the state $ampaigned to brea6 up& dis$redit& denoun$e and

other+ise disband alternative artists& musi$ians and intelle$tuals throughout late so$ialism,97-he post2*)73

$ultural tha+ $ertainly allo+ed for more $reative freedomsa +ide& shifting %one of tolerated

a$tivities +or6ed to diffuse pressures and demands from Hungary1s youth sub$ulture and to bolster

Hungary1s image in the 5est as liberal $ommunist regime, But alternative artists and intelle$tuals +ere

targets of $onstant denun$iations in the press& along +ith& it is no+ in$reasingly 6no+n& intense poli$e

survellien$e& intervention and harassment, Hen$e& this pro/e$ts tra$6s ho+ those e0ternal pressures

$ontributed to shaping& indeed radi$ali%ing& a $olle$tive avant2garde $ommunity& or +hat oggioli $alled

a $ommunity of rebels,93

In some +ays& this approa$h plays on the dissident mystique& resting on the dissent v, state

unoffi$ial v, offi$ial demar$ations that obs$ure the multidimensionality of $ultural life under late

so$ialism, Ann #omaromi& loo6ing at the distin$tion bet+een unoffi$ial and offi$ial in late Soviet

so$iety& re$ogni%es that su$h binaries do little as e0$lusionary me$hanisms but argues it is useful to

$ordon off autonomous spa$e for unoffi$ial $ulture +ith fluid boundaries and dynami$ distin$tions, 94

She fo$uses on the border $rossings& +here spheres intera$t& +hi$h $an highlight the intersti$es +here

97 See Hungarian /ournalist and resear$her -am"s S%=nyei1s e0tensive +or6 on the se$ret poli$e files& in$luding #ept on.ile -he Se$ret Servi$e and the Hungarian o$6 S$ene *)3(2*))(& inungarian Buarterly& *4) '((7J 8(2)(,

93 oggioli& 9(29*,94 Ann #omaromi& -he Unoffi$ial .ield of :ate Soviet Culture, 7lavic Review,33R@ 5inter& '((4J 3(3,

*3


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so$ial signifi$an$e may be $reated,98-his pro/e$t& therefore& provides an opportunity to test and e0plore

the set of binariesoffi$ialRunoffi$ial& dissidentRstateon +hi$h a good deal of s$holarship on so$ialist

so$ieties is based, 5hile the inherently oppositional nature of the avant2garde $ertainly amplifies those

distin$tions& the purpose +ill be to illuminate the so2$alled border $rossings& to e0plore the points oftension bet+een the avant2garde and offi$ialdom as it gave rise to a number ofsamizdatpro/e$ts.

It is important to re$ogni%e& as obert Darnton and others have sho+n& the history of underground

publishingand states1 efforts to $ontrol the +ritten +ordgoes ba$6 $enturies,9)Hen$e& an enduring

question is +hethersamizdatshould be aligned +ith $lassi$ underground publishing movements& vie+ed

as an early manifestation of the pre2!utenberg bourgeois press, I +ould suggestsamizdat& at this era

under e0amination& bore little resemblan$e to nas$ent independent press or $lassi$ media, As oggioli

argues& the literary2art press served a very different fun$tion from the romanti$ *)th$entury periodi$al1s

role as a venue of publi$ opinion the avant2garde periodi$al& he $laims& operated as an independent and

isolated military unit& and labored $loser to the $reative pro$ess& embodying the dis$ipline2$ollapsing&

taboo2brea6ing rebelliousness of the avant2garde,@( By oggioli1s a$$ount& the avant2garde /ournal is more

of a spiritual endeavor& meant not so mu$h affirm in words the uniqueness of its o+n theoreti$al

do$trines and pra$ti$al a$hievements& but rather it aims to prove itself in deedsthe supreme value of the

tea$hings it e0er$ises or represents,@*Hen$e& one of the prin$iple aims of this pro/e$t is to e0amine

samizdatas it unfolded +ithin the broader artisti$ and intelle$tual dissident movement& as an a$t& a deed&

highlighting ho+ those pro/e$ts +ere tied into the taboo2brea6ing missions of the avant2garde,

98 Ibid& 3(3,9) 5or6s on $ensorship by obert Darnton in$lude The :iterary Fnderground of the ld Regime Cambridge&Harvard

University ress& *)8'JG Censorship& A Comparative


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Theoretical approaches, methods, organization

As a theoreti$al frame+or6 for this dis$ussion& I +ill dra+ on relevant ideas from so$ial and

$ounter2$ultural movements& in effort to e0amine the avant2garde +ave as part of a broader so$ial and

histori$al phenomenon, A number of thin6ers figure prominently in this analysis Herbert Mar$use& Ke+

:eft theorist +ho be$ame a 6ey arti$ulator of the *)3(s2era $ounter2$ultural movementsG @'-heodore

os%a6& +ho e0amined the theoreti$al and so$ial ground+or6 for and impli$ations of $ounter2$ultural

movementsG@9and finally oggioli1s theories the avante garde& and parti$ularly& his $on$ept of the diale$ti$

of movements& +hi$h helps frame the evolution of Hungary1s avant2garde as it related to underground

publishing,

In this pro/e$t& the phrases $ivil so$iety& se$ond publi$ sphere& parallel polistheories +hi$h

abound in most dis$ussions ofsamizdat+ill not ma6e appearan$es, -his is not so mu$h to refute the

notion ofsamizdatas being a form of independent $ommuni$ation en route $ivil so$iety& but rather to

loo6 at the sub/e$t +ith a fresh perspe$tive, So bound are studies ofsamizdat to the idea of $ivil so$iety& it

has be$ome a broad2based test ofsamizdatMssu$$ess or failure +hi$h obs$ures the spe$ifi$ features and

a$$omplishments a$hieved by even limited publishing efforts, I argue thatsamizdat $annot be

universali%ed there is no monolithi$ formula for the phenomenonit manifested differently a$ross

so$ialist states& in fero$ity& volume& $ontent and so$ial meaning, Hen$e& this pro/e$t endeavors to de2

universali%e and relativi%e the dissident e0perien$e andsamizdat& +hile highlighting the role of

Hungary1s avant2garde in dissident movements of the *)3(s and *)4(s,@@-he aim is not only to mend the

fen$e ere$ted bet+een artisti$ and politi$alsamizdat,and to fill in the histori$al re$ord overloo6ed by

+estern s$holars& but it is to $hallenge the monolithi$ assessments of dissident movements in so$ialist

@' Mar$use1s +or6 on the *)3(s2era $ounter$ultural movement and Ke+ :eft in$ludes ne!3imensional ;an' 7tudies inthe deology of (dvanced 7ocietyBoston Bea$on& *)3@J and(n


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Central Europe, -o that end& +estern olanists and Sovietologists have dominated the dis$ourses on

dissident movements under so$ialism, -he olish e0$eptionalism argument& ho+ever profoundly

e0$eptional the olish dissident movement +as& has s6e+ed the field& $reated a hiera$hy of oppositional

behavior andsamizdat+ithin the so$ialist blo$, Some of this has to do visibility of Solidarity and itsspe$ta$ular& sustained mass a$tions +hi$h offer quantifiable eviden$e of $olle$tive dissident behavior to

politi$al s$ientists,@7Some of this& +ithin the realm of Soviet s$holarship& is geopoliti$al the Cold 5ar

produ$ed reams of s$holars $ommitted to studying Soviet life& many of +hom +ere former dissidents or

e0iles +ho found homes in +estern universities, Mean+hile& the field of +estern s$holarship on Hungary

has been stalled by the la$6 of s$holars able to resear$h in Hungarian& mostly by virtue of its linguisti$

impenetrability, Although a number of studies on Hungarian avant2garde movement have been published&

most are in Hungarian hen$e& +hatever ne+ is revealed often remains a dis$ussion among Hungarian

spea6ers, -his study is an effort to balan$e the field& to bring groups of a$tors to the front of the stage&

many +ho are popular& if not i$oni$ figures in Hungary but are virtually un6no+n in the 5est, -o

$ompensate for my o+n linguisti$ limitations& I rely on a number of oral intervie+s& in effort to re$onstru$t

events,

5hile mu$h of the art itself falls under the realm ofsamizdat& in that it +as self2produ$ed and

un$ensored by the state& I fo$us primarily on +ritten materials& on a number of /ournals and publishing

pro/e$ts& most of +hi$h +ere produ$ed in no more than si0 issues and never more than a fe+ do%en $opies,

.e+ have ever been +ritten about in any detail in English, @3I rely on a number of primary sour$es an

array materials from Artpool and and private ar$hives& a set of translated se$ret poli$e files& various arti$les

@7 .or e0ample& !r%egor% E6iert and >an #ubri6& analy%ed the strength of olish $ivil so$iety by quantifying the numberof stri6es and demonstrations in oland during late so$ialism, See !r%egor% E6iert and >an #ubri6&Re2ellious Civil7ociety' opular rotest and 3emocratic Consolidation in oland, 1989!199 Ann Arbor University of Mi$higanress& '((*J,

@3 An e0hibit onsamizdatby Hungary1s avant2garde +as held in Ke+ Qor6 City in *))(& organi%ed by lo$al artists andgallery o+ner -ibor


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from the state and foreign press& and intervie+s +ith artists and others involved in the field, 5here

appli$able and possible& I +ill analy%e $ontent and te0ts& but my primary fo$us is to e0amine the politi$al

and so$ial $limates around +hi$h these pro/e$ts developed, Se$ret poli$e reports provide remar6able detail

and ba$6ground on artists and the avant2garde movement& and reveal the state1s in$essant efforts to tra$6unoffi$ial publi$ations and $ertain artists, Arti$les in the state and international press add a third

dimension& as it illuminates ho+ radi$al artists +ere being dis$ussed in the publi$ domain, .inally& a

number of oral a$$ounts by artists provide details of personal e0perien$es and per$eptions of the era,

Some of the /ournals under $onsideration e0ist only in fragments& or not at alland for this& I rely entirely

on oral intervie+s to re$onstru$t the events,

In order to illuminate the evolution of the avant2garde s$ene& the $hapters are arranged

$hronologi$ally, -he first $hapter lays out broader history and relevant trends of avant2garde movements&

fo$using on the fusion of art and politi$s& as +ell as the generational aspe$ts of both avant2garde +aves,

-he purpose to outline the 6ey $hara$teristi$s and motifs of avant2gardism as it evolved as a $ounter2

$ultural movement, -he first se$tion of this $hapter is dedi$ated the first avant2garde +ave in early '( th

$entury& loo6ing at the idea of Ieltanschauung& and e0amining Hungary1s parti$ipation in this movement

and in parti$ular& the role of :a/os #ass"6G the se$ond se$tion e0amines the post2+ar avant2garde +ithin

the $onte0t of the $ounter2$ultural movements of the *)3(s& bringing in ideas from Mar$use and os%a6&

and then outlines the relevant features of and figures +ithin Hungary1s avant2garde,

-he se$ond $hapter fo$uses on the shifting $ultural and politi$al $limate in the early to mid2*)3(s&

and ho+ authorities and the mass media to help populari%e the image of the deviant youth +hi$h +ould

both give shape to and energi%e the avant2garde, -his se$tion e0amines the early $ir$ulation of a series of

manus$ripts& the formation of a number of artist $ir$les& and the first happening& +hi$h +hi$h gave +ay

to t+osamizdatpro/e$ts in$luding !"bor Altor/ay1s /ournal:auraN

Chapter 9 e0plores the series ofsamizdatpro/e$ts that appeared bet+een in *)4* and *)49& as

'(


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pressure from authorities and the media intensified, It +ill e0plore t+o pro/e$ts in detail ImaginationRIdea&

a pro/e$t laun$hed in *)4' by :"s%l; Be6e&and the first attempt at publishing a $olle$tivesamizdat/ournal

7ztfolyirat, +hi$h +as a $ollaborative that involved members of various avant2garde $ir$les, -his /ournal

be$ame the fo$al point of a se$ret poli$e investigation& $oin$iding +ith a $ra$6do+n onsamizdat andyoung artists and intelle$tuals,

-he final $hapter revie+s the *)3(s and *)4(s2erasamizdatmovement& the spe$ifi$ $ontributions

of the firstsamizdatgeneration& and ho+ the era relates to broadersamizdatmovement, In this se$tion& I

+ill dis$uss briefly the demar$ation bet+een artisti$ and politi$alsamizdat, dra+ing ba$6 on t+in

pillars that splits field ofsamizdat, -his $hapter $on$ludes +ith a revie+ of the re$eption and

$anoni%ation of a number of avant2garde artists sin$e *))(,

'*


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!hapter 1: *i'e, art, avant-gardes

Art is a Ieltanschauung, Art transforms us and +e be$ome $apable oftransforming the +orld, In the present day +orld2$atalysm,,,art has be$omenearest to the point for +hi$h a ne+ +orld +ill be formed, :a/os #ass"6*)*)J,@4

Art and politi$s merged in spe$ta$ular fashion around t+o +aves of avant2garde movements in

the '(th$enturyaround the turn of the $entury and& again& follo+ing the se$ond +orld +ar, 5hile

e0haustive hermeneuti$ debates over periodi%ation and aestheti$s persist& the both avant2gardes& here&

are e0plored as so$io2$ultural movements& +hi$h $rystalli%ed around progressive artisti$ and

intelle$tual $ommunities that $olle$tively mounted radi$al $hallenges to standing formal traditions

$ultural& so$ial& politi$al,@8

-he term itself& lifted from the .ran$e1s battlefields& is imbibed +ith militan$y& +hi$h only adds

to its revolutionary& battlesome mystique, oggioli tra$6s the histori$al roots of the +ord& outside the

battlefield& to radi$al left politi$al movements in .ran$e in the *8@(s, Its politi$al usage $ontinued until

the *84(s +hen it +as used to des$ribe progressive& anar$hist bohemian artists during the aris

Commune, Baudelaire first used it to des$ribe les litterateurs dM avant!garde& referring to the militant

bands of +riters $oales$ing in aris1s $offeehouses,@)-he t+o parallel avant2gardes& literary and

politi$al& +ere merged into a movement +ith the birth of the first little maga%ine&:a Revue

indpendente*88(J& +hi$h brought together the rebels of politi$s and the rebels of art +ho advan$ed

a unified program of so$ial and artisti$ revolution,7(

-he first avant2garde movement orbited around the tumult of thefin!de!siecle& +hi$h had

ushered a dramati$ shift in intelle$tual& $ultural& e$onomi$& politi$al and so$ial arenas in Europe1s urban@4 #ass"6& i$ture2Ar$hite$ture&;(&


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$enters, -he terms modernism and avant2garde are intri$ately bound $on$epts& used

inter$hangeably and& more often& set in opposition to one another,7*Modernism& as S$hors6e defined it&

mar6ed a brea6 +ith Enlightenment thought& it +as the anti2thesis of the an$ient& that brought

$as$ading impli$ations in philosophy& musi$& art& literature and politi$s,

7'

S$hors6e dra+s a line in themid2*)th$entury& +hen European high $ulture be$ame a +hirl+ind of infinite innovation& +hen a

ruthless subterfuge of $hange gave +ay to fragmentation of intelle$tual and $ultural $ategories ,79

ost2Kiet%s$hean thought had given +ay to irrationalism& sub/e$tivism& abstra$tionism& or +hat

Shoenberg $alled a death2dan$e of prin$iples,[email protected] both Kiet%s$he and Mar0& modernism +as a

pe/orative term& synonymous +ith bourgeois de$aden$e& a thesis future generations $ame to a$tively

embra$e, Modernism& by this vie+& +as as a perilous $ondition brought about by the $haoti$ $onfluen$e

of rapid urbani%ation and industriali%ation and the so$ial and politi$al inequities it produ$ed, -his

$risis of modernity inspired a +ave of $riti$al or subversive reformulations of so$ial& intelle$tual and

$ultural traditions,77

Avant2garde art +as one su$h reformulation it +as a rea$tion to& and re/e$tion of& the $haos of

modern life& +hi$h simultaneously re/e$ted the $lassi$ artisti$ traditions and theorylMart pour lMart,

art for art1s sa6e+hile $harging art& and artists& +ith potent so$ial and politi$al mission, -he leading

role of artists as forerunners to so$ial revolution +as arti$ulated by $omposer i$hard 5agner in his

*8@) essay(rt and Revolution, +ritten in e0ile after the fervor of so$ial revolutions +hi$h shoo6 urban

$enters from aris to


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utopia,74His self2professed aim +as to $ommit artisti$ terrorism& to destroy the institutions that

bound up artists as slaves and as day2laborers of $ommer$e,785agner1s idea of Ieltanschauung, or

+orld vie+ +ould li6e+ise have a profound effe$t on $ontemporary intelle$tuals and artists& as it

be$ame the grounding philosophy of avant2gardists throughout the '(

th

$entury,

7)

By the turn of the $entury& progressive artists be$ame intimately aligned +ith& if not

indistinguishable from& radi$al left politi$al $ir$les $ongregating in urban $enters a$ross Europe,

Avant2garde artists +ere as mu$h engaged in radi$al aestheti$s as they +ere radi$al politi$s& immersed

in +hat Bauman des$ribes as the so$ialist $ounter2$ulture,3(-he so$ialist $ounter2$ultural movement

+as& a$$ording to Bauman& a re/e$tion of the ideal form of politi$al equality of bourgeois liberalism&

a refusal of the notion that +ithout equality in other spherese$onomi$& $ulturalno true so$ial

equality $ould e0ist,3*-his $ame along +ith the notion of a so$ialist utopia& an idea derived from by

Mar01s idea of s$ientifi$ so$ialism& but re$onfigured into a 6ind of romanti$ so$ialism by avant2

gardists from the !erman omanti$ tradition,3'A so$ialist utopia +as envisioned as a futuristi$ +orld

devoid of +ar& inequity and human suffering& inspiring +aves of propheti$ +ritings by the era1s young&

left2leaning literati, -his is best $hara$teri%ed by Ed+ard Bellamy1s *888 novel&:oo&ing @ac&ward

"---!188),+ritten in rea$tion to so$ialist movements in Europe& in +hi$h his $entral $hara$ter& a time2

traveling Bostonian& +a6es up in the year '((( to find himself in a so$ialist utopia

5ith a tear for the dar6 past& turn +e then to the da%%ling future& and& veiling our eyes& pressfor+ard, -he long and +eary +inter of the ra$e is ended, Its summer has begun, Humanity has

burst the $hrysalis, -he heavens are before it,39

A$$ording to obert 5ohl& the avant2garde $ir$les that arose bet+een *)*(2*)99 $onstituted

74

5agner&(rt and Revolution& *8@),78 See 5agner1s letters to .ran% :is%t& in +hi$h he +rites YMZoney I have none,,,but an immense desire to $reate anartisti$ terrorismus,,,Come hither and lead the great huntG let us shoot till the rabbits lie right and left,

7) It is +ell 6no+n that 5agner1s Ieltanschauung +ould later be adapted by Hitler,3( [ygmunt Bauman& 7ocialism' The (ctive Ftopia. Ke+ Qor6 Holmes X Meier& *)43J *@(3* Bauman& *@'3' .or a dis$ussion of this& see -heodore os%a6 & The ;a&ing of a Counter!Culture' Reflections on the Technocratic

7ociety and its 0outhful pposition:ondon .aber and .aber& *)4(J 872*'9& but espe$ially p, )*,39 Ed+ard Bellamy&:oo&ing @ac&ward "---!188) Courier Dover ubli$ations& *))3J *@'

'@


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+hat he $alled the generation of *)*@& $olle$tively bound by a $ommon unity of e0perien$e that

trans$ended national boundaries& but themselves differently a$$ording to spe$ifi$ national foundations&

traditions and politi$al $ultures,3@ 5here in 5estern Europe& avant2garde +ould develop as a 6ind of

aestheti$ radi$alism +hi$h had deeply politi$al $onnotations& those movements in Central and EasternEurope and ussia and later the Soviet Union +ould ta6e on intensified politi$al dimensions&

developing into a 6ind of politi$al messianism& as artists sought politi$al redemption in the $ultural

sphere,37Culture and art be$ame the sole avenue to national regeneration& as 6ind of $ultural

nationalism s+ept over Central Europe at the turn of the $entury,33-he pressing issues of national

sovereignty and tangled national identities& unsolved in the politi$al sphere& traversed into the realm of

$ulture& +hi$h be$ame the $hosen path to a $ulturally grounded nationhood,

Hungarian avant-garde

-he appearan$e of Hungarian avant2garde movement in the se$ond de$ade of the '(th$entury

+as prefa$ed by $onsiderable ground+or6 $arved out by a net+or6 of left2leaning intelle$tuals +ho had

begun to e0plore the $ollaborative role of arts and so$ial s$ien$es in driving so$ial $hange,34#ey

among them +as a group of so$iologists& led by Os%6"r >"s%i and Ervin S%ab;& +ho established the

/ournaluszadi& 7z%zad Twentieth Century/ in *)((, -he /ournal $odified the offi$ial birth of

so$iology in Budapest& and its early follo+ers believed that modern so$iology $ould over$ome national&

so$ial& politi$al bias and pre/udi$es& in hopes of resolving the illness gna+ing at the body of

Hungarian so$iety,38 :i6e+ise& the monthlyDyugatIest/be$ame a forum for the fused interests of

radi$al so$iologists& intelle$tuals and ne+ generation of art $riti$s and artistsits revie+ers in$luded

3@ 5ohl&The =eneration of 1914& '29,37 Eva .org"$s& Bet+een Cultures& Con$epts of Hungarian Constru$tivism&@etween Iorlds' Central


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art $riti$ :a/os .lep& and artists #"roly #ernsto6 and !%a :engyel& +ho +ould form the avant2garde

$ir$le of artists& -he Eight,

Bet+een *)*( and *)*@& aestheti$ debates dominated dis$ussions among Hungarian

intelle$tuals& many +ho +ere heavily influen$ed by !erman thin6ers #ant and Hegel& but +ere dra+nespe$ially to Kiet%s$he1s ideas on the $onne$tion bet+een art and life,3):a/os .lep& +ho had translated

Kiet%s$he1s3ie =er2urt der TragOdie,transformed Kiet%s$he1s aestheti$ $on$ept into an ethi$al

$ategory art& by his vision& +as a result& an end produ$t& a human $reation of ethi$al inspiration, 4(

Mean+hile& at $offee houses and in meetings among the !alilei $ir$le& $omposer [olt"n #od"ly& Bla

Bal"%s and !yLrgy :u6"$s debated ideas around $reating national art that refle$ted universal values,

:ater& Bal"%s +ould reveal in his /ournal a $onversation he had +ith #od"ly I have a dream about a

great ne+ Hungarian $ulture +e have to $reate, , , a spiritual rebirth, , , a rehabilitation of art& a religion

of art& +hi$h +ould for the basis of the future $ulture, Its temple +ould be the $on$ert hall& the art

gallery& the theater, I spo6e to Y#od"lyZ of the redeeming po+er of art& that people +ill improve and

so$iety +ill on$e again be$ome healthy,4*

Kass!" The #ctivists

-he transformational $apa$ity of art and the $entral role of the artist as prophet2+arrior

+ould rea$h a $res$endo under :a/os #ass"6& poet& +riter and artist +ho ste+arded the most radi$al

bran$h of Hungary1s avant2garde& the A$tivists, A lo$6smith1s apprenti$e +ith genuine proletarian roots&

#ass"6 +ould be$ome a revolutionary figure in Budapest progressive $ultural s$ene at the start of the

+ar& parting $ompany +ith :u6"$s and those established bourgeois radi$als that had $ongregated

aroundDyugat.#ass"6 +as a self2trained poet and ardent so$ialist& +ho had +andered Europe1s

3) >ulia S%ab;& Ideas and rograms -he hilosophi$al Ba$6ground of the Hungarian Avant2!arde, The ungarian(vant!=arde' The


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$apitals on foot& and those he indo$trinated into the A$tivists +ere of similar +or6ing2$lass pedigree,

#ass"61s /ournal&( Tett& and later&;(, modeled after .ran% femdorf1s Berlin publi$ation&3ie (&tion&

seethed +ith anti+ar and anti2nationalist de$larations and propheti$ pronoun$ements about

revolutionary artists in ushering the ne+ so$ialist utopia,-he first +orld +ar had radi$ali%ed avant2garde groups a$ross Europe and had made an

espe$ially deep imprint on the young A$tivists& +ho +ere tormented by the violen$e and brutality that

had infli$ted deep& throbbing +ounds in the de$repit body of old Europe, 4'In a +orld tossed by

$haos& death and +ar& for #ass"6& art +as the only road to salvation art& espe$ially literature& be$ause

it possesses the most dire$t& a$tive means of e0pression& fa$es the greatest tas6 in molding the $oming

generation into human form,49#ass"61s youthful& fiery polemi$s often put him at odds +ith more

established intelle$tuals Our +ill is as red as our blood and fresh as our youth& he pro$laimedJ ,4@-he

A$tivists +ere not s$holars& they +ere energeti$ artist2+arriors& anar$ho2syndi$alists and engaged

dire$tly in revolutionary politi$s in hopes of $reating ne+ human so$iety& a ne+ morality,47A$$ording

to #ass"6& poets and artists should stand in the tempest& of the so$ial battlefield&43and it +as his

group +hi$h +ere thus the true vanguards of both Hungarian art and the $oming so$ialist revolution

-he 6illing fields of +ar are fertili%ing ne+& more +illful energiespreparations for some great

$ommunion in so$ialism,44By the time of his e0ile in


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emerged on the forefront of the international avant2garde s$ene& as a propheti$ spo6esperson of

International Constru$tivism and the international utopian so$iety he adamantly believed it +ould

deliver,

The $second% avant-garde

-he onset of 5orld 5ar II brought an end to the first avant2garde $ounter$ultural movement,

If the first avant2garde +as fused around the radi$al politi$al and so$ial $hanges brought about by +ar

and modernism& the se$ond generation is often pegged to $hanges of post2+ar& post2modern

$onsumer so$iety, Aestheti$ analyses of the latter2day movement often rotates around a modernRavant2

garde v, post2modernRneo2avant2garde pra0is& +here post2modern or neo2avant2gardeJ art is seen as

a re/e$tion of modern art and mass $ommer$ialism that manifested as a $yni$al surrender to the

bourgeois mar6et pla$e,48-he neo2avant2garde had& by some estimates& lost its revolutionary fire& its

artists embra$ing the fragmented& media2driven superfi$iality of the ne+ post2+ar e$onomi$ boom, Ko

+here is this perspe$tive more dominant than +ith 5arhol1s pop art and op art+hi$h 5arhol

himself often insisted had no so$ial meaning,4)-hrough pop art& op2art& minimalist art& a ne+

generation of artist sought to merge high $ulture +ith mass $ulturere$y$ling motifs and materials

from advertisements& billboards& maga%ines& ne+spapers& $omi$s& photographs& television and popular

$inema,8(

-he youth *)3(s $ounter$ultural movements in Ameri$a have& li6e+ise& seen as an outgro+th of

post2+ar so$iety& a $risis of the homogeni%ing for$es of post2modern life and the *)7(s

M$Carthyesque&:eave it @eaver,$onservative $ulture, -heodore os%a6& in his;a&ing of a Counter!

Culture *)4(J framed the rise of the youth $ounter$ulture as a rea$tion to te$hno$rati$

48 >ay Marin& .or+ard inostmodernism and the ostsocialist Condition' oliticized (rt Fnder :ate 7ocialism, ed,(lePEr/ave$, :ondon University of California ress& '((9J v0i,

4) Berghaus& !nter,Happenings in Europe in the 13(s -rends& Events& and :eading .igures, T3R. 94R@ 5inter& *))9J*78,

8( Ibid,*78,

'8


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totalitarianism of post2+ar Ameri$a,8* 5ithin 5estern $ounter$ultural movements& distin$tions are

made bet+een Ameri$an youth movements and their European $ounterparts& +hi$h +ere entren$hed in

the neo2Mar0ist Ke+ :eft movements that $oales$ed in rea$tion to the inequities of late $apitalism,

5hile both in Ameri$a and in Europe& the mass student a$tions +ould be $ataly%ed around the


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asso$iated& in Ameri$a& +ith groundbrea6ing musi$al e0perimentalism of >ohn Cage, -he term +as

$oined by Ameri$an artist Allan #apro+ in the late *)7(s& and later& +ould be$ome the hallmar6 of the

international .lu0us movement& spearheaded by :ithuanian born avant2garde artist !eorge Ma$iunas

and Di$6 Higgins& both students of >ohn Cage, -he happening mantra& Art \ :ife& $ame +ithrevolutionary mission to fuse the $adres of $ultural& so$ial and politi$al revolutionaries into united

front in a$tion,87-he happening be$ame a potent anti2establishment symbolas mu$h an artisti$

endeavor as it +as $ultural& so$ial& politi$al, In +estern settings& the happening eventually be$ame

asso$iated +ith hippie $ounter2$ultural s$enefollo+ing -imothy :eary1s motto -urn on& tune in&

drop out, In so$ialist Europe& happenings $ame +rapped +ith added level of anti2establishment

radi$alismand politi$al dangeras authorities asso$iated the a$tivities +ith +estern bourgois enemy,

olish artists& theater dire$tor and painter -adeus% #antor held the first happening in *)37G a year later&

Hungary held its first happening& +hi$h enlivened the avant2garde s$ene and $ame to serve as a

$riti$al point of irritation and $ontention bet+een authorities and artists, In *)38& the happening

be$ame fused +ith Ke+ :eft movement in aris& and radi$al avant2garde group& the Situationists&

+hi$h e0ploded +ith revolutionary for$e during the May revolutions,83A$$ording .ren$h happening

artist >ean >a$ques :ebel& +ho $onsidered his parti$ipation in burning do+n the aris sto$6 e0$hange

his finest happening performan$e the May evolution dynamited the limits of 1art1 and 1$ulture1 as it

did all other so$ial or politi$al limits, -he old avant2gardist dream of turning 1life1 into 1art&1 into a

$olle$tive $reative e0perien$e& finally $ame true, -he May uprising +as theatri$al in that it +as a

giganti$ fiesta& a revelatory and sensuous e0plosion outside the 1normal1 pattern of politi$s, 84

87 !eorge Ma$iunas&LluGus ;anifesto*)39J,83 .or a des$ription of the Situationists and the May evolutions& see Berghaus&*392*37,84 Berghaus&*37& quoting :ebel& >ean2>a$ques& Kotes on oliti$al Street -heatre& arisG *)38& *)3), T3R& *9R@ *)3)J

*2*8,

9(


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Hungarian avant-garde &'())-'(*+

In so$ialist Europe& the avant2garde movements that arose in the *)3(s $ame loaded +ith

additional layers of politi$al $omple0ities and barri$ades, -he initial stirrings appeared as a rea$tion

against the $ultural $onfines of so$ialist realism& the rigid ideologi$al model mandated by so$ialist

$ountries under Stalinism that had re2aligned $ultural and intelle$tual e0pressionart& literature& musi$

and all a$ademi$ dis$iplines+ith heavy2handed& bland arty dogma,

In the *)3(s& young artists and intelle$tuals emerged from the universities& many +ho earnestly

believed they +ould be$ome legitimate vanguards of a ne+& progressive $ultural and intelle$tual

s$ene,88 Many endeavored to resurre$t the utopian spirit of the old avant2gardefollo+ing #ass"6&

+ho +as still alive and remained an i$oni$ figure among progressive artists, Qoung artists initially

sought to resurre$t past movementsto repair the in$essant ruptures of Hungary1s artisti$ life& bro6en

by politi$al upturns throughout the '(th$entury+hile simultaneously attempting to re2$onne$t +ith

international modern art trends,8)-heir diffi$ulties +ere a$$entuated by the fa$t that modern

Hungarian art +as $hara$teri%ed by series of brea6s& in +hat +as a long line of $atastrophes and

failures,)(During the inter+ar period& there had been an effort to re$onstitute progressive artisti$

$ir$lesthe European S$hool of abstra$t artists& for instan$e& operated from *)@7 to *)@8 and made

efforts to re$onne$t +ith .ren$h surrealists and Hungarian migrs in aris, 5hile the older generation

+ould offer an ideologi$al platform and aestheti$ inspiration for young artists and intelle$tuals& the ne+

avant2garde +ould eventually pioneer its o+n path& an$hored to both national traditions and

$ontemporary $ounter$ultural and radi$al artisti$ trends,

Most art historians mar6 off the years bet+een *)33 and *)47 as the true avant2garde eraa

stret$h of time bet+een +hi$h the avant2garde flourished into a de factoartisti$ and sub$ultural

88 .org"$s& Strategies of the Hungarian Keo2Avant2!arde& 93,8) .org"$s& Strategies of the Hungarian Keo2Avant2!arde& @(,)( Eva #Lrner& Ko 1ismTs1 in Hungary& '7,

9*


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movement +ithin Hungary, -he movement itself +as $onfigured around the spe$ifi$s of $ultural

minister !yLrgy A$%l1s poli$y& +hi$h organi%ed artisti$ e0pression by the notorious three -st>rs&

t%mogat%s, tilt%s supported& tolerated& bannedJ, -he poli$y +as loosely defined& often regulated by

personal aestheti$ tastes of party offi$ials and politi$al $limate& but essentially& it meant anything note0pressly against the system +as tolerated, Ho+ever& in the realm of painting for instan$e&

abstra$tion of any sort remained taboo& deemed formalist and bourgeois by party elites and $ensors,

In *)3(s& a net+or6 of ne+ so$ial spa$es& $ultural $lubs and e0hibition halls had emerged +hi$h

be$ame tolerated sites of alternative $ultural a$tivities and behavior, -his produ$ed a 6ind of

sub$ultural geography& +ith state2supported events or produ$tions by more $onventional state artists

appearing at offi$ial venuesit +as rare in the *)3(s espe$ially that anything deemed progressive ever

made it passed the /uries that $ontrolled a$$ess to offi$ial e0hibition halls or stagesand alternative

artists and a$tivities held at various semi2offi$ial spots around the $ity, Many progressive artists

abandoned see6ing legitima$y in the offi$ial realm and began to e0plore alternative spa$es$ultural

$lubs& businesses& offi$es& $hur$hes& fa$tories+here a$tivities +ere tolerated so long as they +ere not

too overtly politi$al,

Despite $onstraints on $ultural e0pression& the era +as mar6ed by signifi$ant innovations in

film& theater and the visual arts, A ne+ generation of ambitious do$umentary and e0perimental

filmma6ers +ith the Bla Bal"%s Studio @@7J spearheaded trends in Hungarian ne+ $inema, Mi6l;s

>an$s;1s films ta$6led a host of $ontroversial issues& in$luding Hungarian independen$e and

revisionism in his 7zegnylegnye&Round!Fp& *)33J& the brutality of +ar in Csillagoso&, &aton%&, or

The Red and the Ihite& *)34J& s6epti$ism to+ard $ommunism Lnyes szellA&, or The Confrontation&

*)38J& the $ult of the personalityQgi@%r%ny *)4(J& and the allegori$al film of a failed uprising ;g

&r a np& orRed salm& *)4*J,)*

)* .org"$s& Strategies of the Hungarian Keo2Avant2!arde& 94, See also :;r"nt C%ig"ny& >an$s; Country Mi6l;s >an$s;

9'


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5ithin the matri0 of tolerated& semi2offi$ial $lub spa$es and e0hibition halls& there emerged a

ne+ spa$e for $ultural affairs the private domain, All a$ross the so$ialist blo$& young artists and

intelle$tuals e0ploited the state1s retra$tion from the private domain sin$e Stalinismne+ literary and

artist $ir$les emerged in Mos$o+ and :eningrad& +here students and intelle$tuals spent evenings at

&ompanii, gathered in private flatslistening to /a%%& drin6ing vod6a& re$iting poetry& debating politi$s&

dis$ussing foreign literature and films,)' InBudapest& progressive young artists formed the [ugl; Cir$le&

meeting at a private flat in Budapest1s [ugl; Distri$t, :i6e+ise& the Ko,* group& operated from the flat of

etri !alla "l& as 6ind of alternative $ultural $enter& +here those present $ould dis$uss and $ir$ulate

literature and musi$, rivate gatheringsbe$ame san$tuaries for young dissident intelle$tuals and

alternative artists& fun$tioning in the same manner as the $afe and salon in the early '( th$entury, art

e0hibition hall& lounge& private flying university& private gatherings be$ame laboratories of $reative

thought and non2traditional behavior,)9

In the *)3(s& ne+ artisti$ leaders emerged the most notable among them +as Mi6l;s Erdly& a

6ey figure among the older generation +ho /umped to the ne+ generation to be$ome a spiritual and

aestheti$ leader for young artists,)@A #ass"62li6e figure +ho stepped into this role follo+ing #ass"6

death in *)34& Erdly had a profound impa$t on young artists& espe$ially on -am"s S%ent/;by and

!"bor Altor/ay& +ho emerged early on as radi$al figures +ithin the avant2garde s$ene ,)7-am"s

S%ent/;by and !"bor Altor/ay +ere among those young Hungarian artists dra+n to $ontemporary

+estern art trends& espe$ially .lu0us& happenings& and the dis$ipline2$ollapsing aestheti$s that

ultimately blurred the lines bet+een artisti$ mediums, -his played out on a pra$ti$al level painters

be$ame poets& poets be$ame filmma6ers& filmma6ers +ere a$tors& a$tors +ere painters and +riters andand the Hungarian Ke+ Cinema&Lilm Buarterly& '3R* Autumn& *)4'J @@27(,

)' :udmilla Ale0eyeva& The Thaw =eneration' Coming of (ge in the ost!7talin Climate.Boston :ittle& Bro+n andCompany& *))(J 8'28@,

)9 :;r"nd Hegyi& Central Europe as a Hypothesis and a 5ay of :ife& in(spects6ositions' 5- 0ears of (rt in Central


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poets, -he in$oheren$e of mediums +as +hat gathered individual avant2garde members under the

broader banner of artist& ma6ing it nearly impossible to organi%e membership by dis$ipline the

in$oheren$e of mediums +as +hat gave unity and $oheren$e to the movement itself, -he $ollision of

artisti$ dis$iplines +as refle$ted most for$efully in the avant2garde1s turn to+ard $on$eptualism& +hi$hbe$ame espe$ially pronoun$ed in the early *)4(s in Hungary as it +ould among artists abroad, 5hile

on an aestheti$ level& $on$eptualism freed artists from the $onfines of artisti$ forms and $ategories& in

Hungary and a$ross the so$ialist blo$& this enabled artists to $ir$umvent $ensorship sin$e $on$epts and

ideas +ere temporal& spontaneous and $ould not be sub/e$ted to /uries that pre2approved events,)3

In the *)4(s& among the most progressive and politi$ally provo$ative hub of the avant2garde

s$ene +as the apartment theater of ter Hal"s% and Istv"n B"lintthe #ass"6 St?di; .Both Hal"s% and

B"lint had been members of the University -heater in the late *)3(s& and later quit to form #ass"6

St?di;, rior to being banned in *)4'& the group had performed at :a/os #ass"6 Culture House in

Budapest& +here they staged a number of $ontroversial performan$es& until offi$ials finally pulled the

group1s li$ense to perform in publi$ in *)4',)4After this& the group began holding performan$es at ter

Hal"s%1s flat in Distri$t


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Budapest artist !yLrgy !al"ntai, Initially the Chapel operated legally and +ould serve as an alternative

artist $olony of sorts& hosting theater& $on$erts& do$umentary film& poetry readings& e0hibitions&

happenings& and other alternative a$tivities in$reasingly un+el$ome by offi$ialdom in Budapest, -he

Chapel e0hibitions often dre+ together a +ide $ir$le of the avant2garde& +hi$h had $oales$ed at thispoint into a broader dissident sub$ulture, In *)4'& the Chapel E0hibitions in$luded a number of e0hibits

and performan$es by $ontroversial artists& many +ho had been banned by authorities in Budapest,

-hese in$luded a 6ineti$ s$ulpture&:i&e a @ird *)4*J by Istv"n Haras%tya politi$ally provo$ative

allegory on the state1s $ontrol over artisti$ life& in +hi$h a live bird +as offered a $hoi$e bet+een

$onformity and rebellionperforman$es by banned #ass"6 St?di;& and S%ent/;by1s no+ famous @e

Lor2idden, a$tion& +here observers +ere made to $ross a rope in order to read the te0t of his e0hibit

(rt is everything that is for2idden. @e Lor2idden.*((

-hat summer art historian :"s%l; Be6e organi%ed an avant2garde festival at the Chapel that

in$luded a group of C%e$h and Slova6 artists& +hi$h +as deemed by authorities as a +orrisome sign of

solidarity +ith neighboring Central European artists,*(*-he a$tivities at the Chapel soon be$ame the

fo$al point of intense media and poli$e attention and the Chapel +as banned in *)49& after +hi$h it

operated one final season illegally,*('5hile Balatonbogl"r +ould be$ome a hub of anti2establishment

artists and intelle$tualsa mini25oodsto$62li6e gathering of sometimes several2hundred2at2a2time

long2haired hippiesthe Chapel e0hibitions produ$ed some landmar6 artisti$ endeavors poetry art&

a$tion art& +ord art& anti2art& that +ould give shape to +hat be$ame a uniquely Hungarian avant2garde

oeuvre,

*(( .or a revie+ of this& see Eva #Lrner& Ko 1ismTs1 in Hungary& '7,*(* .org"$s& Strategies of the Hungarian Keo2Avant2!arde& @92@@,*(' .or a revie+ of Chapel E0hibitions& see Istv"n Ha/du& -he Illegal Avant2garde& The @alaton2ogl%r Chapel 7tudio of

=yOrgy =al%ntai 19)-!19)& eds, >?lia #lani$%ay and Edit Sasv"ri Budapest Artpool2Balassi,'((9J **@2**8,

97


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!hapter +: Hippies, Hooligans, Happenings

In *)39& se$tions of unpublished manus$ripts and +ritings by Bla Hamvas had begun

$ir$ulating around Budapest, A prolifi$ +riter on metaphysi$s& surrealist art and eastern traditionalist

philosophy& Hamvas +as +idely influential on the younger generation of artists and intelle$tuals in the

early *)3(s,*(9 In the *)9(s& Hamvas and $lassi$al philologist #"roly #ernyi formed the intelle$tual

$ir$le and /ournal 7zigetIslandJ& a short2lived publi$ation on philosophy and $ultural affairs, Bet+een

the +ars& Hamvas +as a$tive in the European S$hool and /oined a group of philosophers of the so2

$alled other BudapestS$hool& +ho met for -hursday $onversations,*(@-ogether +ith his +ife&

+riter #atalin #emny& Hamvas publishedRevolution in (rt' (2straction and 7urrealism in ungary

194)/, and for it& Hamvas +ould be$ome an i$on of sorts among Hungary1s surrealist artists

throughout the So$eal era and beyond. Although so$ialist realism had not yet been mandated&

surrealist and abstra$t art +as in$reasingly vie+ed as formalist by :u6"$s& +ho had sho+n an

gro+ing hostility to+ard abstra$tion& despite his earlier defense of the style,*(7By the late *)@(s& for

e0ample& the only Ce%anne album in the A$ademy of .ine Arts library +ould be lo$6ed a+ay,J*(3In

*)@8, :u6"$sdismissed Hamvas from his post as librarian in the Central :ibrary of Budapest& and after

+hi$h& Hamvas +as effe$tively bla$6listed, He too6 fa$tory /obs and +or6ed $onstru$tion until his

death in *)38,

*(9 5ritings in English on Hamvas are s$ar$e, Hamvas and #ernyi& and the /ournal 7zigetIslandJ& are mentioned in the

and2oo& of Contemporary


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Around *)39& painter S"ndor Moln"r& +ho had befriended Hamvas and his +ife& had begun to

re2type and $ir$ulate Hamvas1s +ritings among the [ugl; Cir$le& a group of abstra$t artists +ho had

begun to meet regularly at Moln"r1s flat in Budapest1s [ugl; distri$t sin$e *)3',*(4 Around the same

time& :"s%l; Andr"s& a Buddhist theology student +ho had be$ome Hamvas1s protg& began to$ir$ulate Hamvas1s +ritings among small groups of artist and intelle$tual $ir$les, Hamvas1s oeuvre +as

immense part one of his 7cientia 7acra;an&inds 7piritual eritage, ran si0 volumesG the se$ond

part& +hi$h he +rote privately bet+een *)3( and *)3@& +as another *&((( pages, Hen$e& the pro/e$ts

involved re2typing and distributing +hat amounted to several thousand pages of Hamvas1s manus$ripts&

along +ith a number of Hamvas1s essays and novels, Artist -am"s S%ent/;by& +ho +as among those

involved in re2typing and distributing the te0ts& re$alled the +or6 as being $ompletely $haoti$,*(8Kot

only +as a$$ess to type+riters s$ar$e& but there +ere a number of different intelle$tual $ir$les involved

in the produ$tion, Some people se$retly typed se$tions on type+riters at their +or6pla$es& or they

+or6ed +ith a single unsampled ma$hine they borro+ed from a friend,*()Often they used $arbon paper&

ma6ing five $opies of e0$erpts at a time, Most $opies +ere riddled +ith typos and edits+hi$h

Hamvas himself e0pressed some irritation +ithrarely& if ever& did anyone have a $omplete $opy of

any one te0t at one time,**(By another a$$ount& someone had mis2numbered the pages of Hamvas1s

novel Carnival& +hi$h runs seven boo6s and more than *&((( pages alone& and so no one any idea +hat

a$tually happened in the novel and the story line be$ame something of an urban myth, ***.or ho+ mu$h

illi$it Hamvas paper+or6 +as $ir$ulating around Budapest it is surprising the se$ret poli$e never

$aught on, By the time of Hamvas1 death& pra$ti$ally everyone involved in the progressive s$ene in

Budapest had read at least some portion of his +or6& +hi$h remained in $ir$ulation through the

*(4 -he [ugl; Cir$le +as made of S"ndor Moln"r& Imre Ba6& Istv"nK"dlerand "l Deim,*(8 Intervie+& S%ent/;by& Budapest& May '((),*() -he type+riter they used +as an unsampled ma$hine from fello+ artist !"bor Altor/ay,**( Intervie+& S%ent/;by& May '((),*** Intervie+& !"bor Altor/ay& Berlin& May '((),$arnev%l*)@8P7*& Carnival& published in *)87J,

94


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*)8(s,**'

The$outh .roblem%

-he Hamvas manus$ripts +ere probably the first $olle$tivesamizdatpro/e$t in post2*)73

Hungary, 5hile it $ertainly involved members of the older generations of intelle$tuals and artistsand

Hamvas himself& +ho provided young artists +ith the manus$riptsthe +or6 +as fueled by young

blood& by a ne+ generation of progressive artists and intelle$tuals thirsty for dire$tion& artisti$ and

philosophi$al& and for a taste of ne+ ideas, Along +ith the fa$t that Hamvas +as 2anned& and for that&

most young artists and intelle$tuals +anted to read him& he +as attra$tive to younger generations on a

number of other levels, He +rote of spiritual liberation& astrology& and Eastern mysti$ism& of spiritual

liberation& astrology& Eastern mysti$ism& and introdu$ed ideas by .ren$h traditionalist en !unon

and !erman psy$hiatrist and e0istentialist philosopher #arl >aspers,**9In his novel Carnival& for

instan$e& Hamvas +rote

Ko+ there is one thing I 6no+ that it is time for us to get prepared, -he moment ofa+a6ening is approa$hing, 5ar, Maybe, Maybe revolution& or pro$ession& or peniten$e,Maybe a ball& but more li6ely& famine, Maybe a feast& or rather a holo$aust& aseverybody anti$ipates it, , , repare for the +ondrous a+a6ening,**@

In the early *)3(s& there remained a distin$t generational overlap& and many younger

intelle$tuals and artists atta$hed themselves to i$ons of the older generation& some of +hom had been

pushed off to the side by offi$ialdom,**7#ass"6& by then an elder statesmen of the avant2garde& +as

highly influential to young artists espe$ially& many +ho sought to resurre$t the utopian spirit of the old

avant2garde, In this +ay& the older generation a$ted as +hat Mannheim defined as $rystalli%ing

agents& +hi$h o$$ur +hen younger groups atta$h themselves to older generations before forming their

**' Intervie+& -ibor


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o+n ne+er life ideal,**3-here +as a stret$h of time +hen generational entele$hies $o2e0isted

simultaneously& +hi$h gave generational $ontinuity to e0isting streams of intelle$tual and $reative

thought,**4-he mingling of generations +as apparent +ith the Eigiliagroup& an open $ir$le of +riters&

intelle$tuals and artists +ho had re$onstituted themselves in the early *)3(s& meeting often at CafHungaria, -he group often in$luded artists Mi6l;sErdlyand Bla #ondor& +riters >"nos ilins%6y and

Mi6l;sMs%Lly& as +ell as numerous budding intelle$tuals and artists from the younger generation&

in$luding -am"s S%ent/;by,

-he early2*)3(s $ultural $limate +as still i$y many older intelle$tuals +ere +illing to feed their

ideas to younger adherents but +ere un+illing to test #"d"r1s ne+ politi$al system, It +as a time of

party purges& politi$al sho+ trials& $oin$iding +ith lip servi$e denoun$ing the $ult of personality of

Stalinism, -he post2*)73 $ra$6do+n brought harsh punishments to thousands of intelle$tuals involved

in the revolution+riters -ibor Dry& !yula H"y had /ust been released from prison in *)3(& and

another round of amnesty +as granted to politi$al prisoners *)39, -he $ultural brain drain from *)73

+as immense more than '((&((( Hungarians had emigrated follo+ing the evolution& among them&

thousands of intelle$tuals and $ultural elite, Of the older generation of intelle$tuals +ho did not leave

for the +est& many retreated into internal emigration& or spiritual emigration& or too6 to +riting for

the dra+er, -here +ere some $reative attempts made In *)3(& artist Bla #ondor had planned an

e0hibit& +hi$h +as banned by authorities be$ause the $atalog $ontained an essay by still bla$6listed +riter

:"s%l; Kemeth, :i6e+ise& there +ere moments of defian$e in *)3*& then2elderly $omposer [olt"n #od"ly

+as invited by the arty to address +or6ers at a Budapest fa$tory+ith the understood purpose of his

rallying the still2disgruntled +or6ers behind the ne0t e$onomi$ planinstead& he read passages from the

Ke+ -estament about brotherly love,**85ith evai1s spirit of so$ialist realism still stal6ing the

**3 5ohl& on Mannheim& The =eneration of 1914& 4),**4 Ibid& 4),**8 M,S, Handler& Defian$e in Hungary&Dew 0or& Times& Kovember @& *)3*& p, 8,

9)


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lands$ape& there +as palpable ebb in $ultural life in Budapest& +hi$h& as one +estern reporter des$ribed

it in *)3*& +as a not too $heerful $ity,**)Some in the old guardmany +ho +ere +ere $ommitted

Mar0ists and a$tive a$$ompli$es in the $ommunist party1s rise+ere anguished by defeat& marooned

+ithin their o+n $ountry, Su$h +as the motif of Dry *)3' essay&Rec&oning& in +hi$h his protagonist&a tormented elderly professor& dies in a sno+ field steps from the


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living in the $ountry,*'8-he most s$athing atta$6 appeared inQlet s rodalom& +hi$h de$ried

hooliganism as a so$ial symptom of youth having turned into savages& and refle$ted the moral

deterioration in 5estern imperialism,*')A$$ording to the report& youth hooligans represent the

nihilism and $yni$ism of the dethroned ruling $lasses& the defeated under+orld& the dispersed gangs ofro+dies and elements of the banned brothels +hose rotten spirit $ontinues to live on se$retly,*9(

Sensationali%ed stories on Hungary1s hooligan youth both +or6ed to sell ne+spapers and helped

give shape and identity to an emerging youth sub$ulture,*9*A$$ording to #ellner& mass media a most

dominant for$e defining $onfli$t& so$ial values& and distinguishing $ategories of the other& by

providing symbols& myths and resour$es that help shape a $ommon $ultural identity,*9'Heavy

ideologi$al polemi$s from the party and press amplified the mythology of youth as other& in +hi$h

the the youth +as treated as a distin$t anthropologi$al group,*99-he anti2so$ial youth& as a

problemati$& deviant so$ial group& be$ame the fo$al point of numerous so$iologi$al surveys& essays and

psy$hologi$al profiles,

Many young intelle$tuals and artists embra$ed the rebel image, -hey +ore hippie $lothes& gre+

long hair& they $ame bearded and beaded& +earing Ameri$an blue /eans,*9@S%ent/;by1s appearan$e& by

the *)4(s& +as some+hat notorious& he had evolved into a Christ2li6e figure& +ith long blond hair&

short beard and musta$he& donning a +orn bro+n leather /a$6et and $arrying a sa$6 li6e a

*'8 -he 1Hooligan1 roblem in Hungary& adio .ree Europe& .E Evaluation and Analysis Department& ba$6groundreport, *)3*2'2'@, Bo0 9*2'2*8',

*') -he 1Hooligan1 roblem in Hungary& adio .ree Europe& .E Evaluation and Analysis Department& ba$6groundreport,-he eans in So$ialist Hungary, aper for the

Citi%enship and Consumption Agen$y& Korms& Mediations& and Spa$es Conferen$e& Mar$h 9(th P April *st& '((3&Cambridge,

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+anderer,*97A number of neo2Mar0ist s$holars from the Birmingham S$hool have used !rams$i1s

theory of hegemony to e0amine ho+ youth sub$ultures in post2+ar Britain adapted& and $o2opted&

styles and dress to e0press their opposition to the parent& hegemoni$ $ulture,*935hether this +or6s to

e0plain the Hungarian model is debatableas !rams$i1s idea lin6s style as an e0pression of $lass& thatis& opposition to upper2$lasses, A better e0planation is that alternative artists and intelle$tuals +ere

e0pressing their general non2$onformity+ith the most antagonisti$ materials available& +estern

hippie +ear+hi$h developed into a distin$t generational style& a 6ind of bohemia& +hi$h +as as

mu$h a form of protest as +as a visible mar6er of one1s membership in Hungary1s $ommunity of

rebels,

5hile hyped in the press and on popular television programs& the youth problem +as a$tually

quite serious insofar as the state +as $on$erned, Hungarian authorities sa+ young progressive artists

and intelle$tual $ir$les as a parti$ular problem -hey impa$t the young people +ith the false glint of

the 1being other,1 one se$ret poli$e report $on$luded,*94 In response& the arty in early *)3( announ$ed

it planned to shift its attention to the $ultural front& laun$hing a effort to boost membership among

university students in the Communist Qouth :eague& to +hi$h about half of students belonged,*98

Con$essions +ere made to appease the rebellious youth& in hopes of +inning over the youth&

to diffuse so$ial pressure and as a means of so$ial $ontrol ,*9)Hen$e& universities be$ame sites of

$ontrolled rebellion& +ith spots li6e the University -heater& the Club at Budapest1s -e$hni$al

University& and a number of student $lubs run by E:-E& in$luding the ELtvLs Club& operating as regular

hubs for avant2garde performan$es and alternative musi$ sho+s, :i6e+ise& a net+or6 of $ultural $lubs

*97 .org"$s& Strategies of the Hungarian Keo2Avant2!arde& @(,*93 -he most famous among these is Di$6 Hebdige1s 7u2culture;eaning of 7tyle :ondon& Methuen& *)4)J,*94 Suggestion for the further $ontrolling of ter Hal"s% and his $ompany& Ministry of Inner Affairs IIIRIIII2@2a2 Sub2

Department .older Ko,O2*3'38R' _.ishermen_J, 4 De$ember *)49,-ransl,


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the Der6ovits Qouth Club in U/pest and the :a/os #ass"6 Cultural Club+ere $ommon sites for

progressive theater& artisti$ events and le$tures, Some be$ame legendary haunts the Qoung Artist Club&

for instan$e& +as member1s only $lub +ith se$tions for +riters& /ournalists and artists& +hi$h be$ame

a favorite late2night2into2early2morning drin6ing spot and hangout Budapest1s young& rebelliousintelle$tual $ro+d,

-he authorities made $on$essions& too& in the realm of popular youth media& in an attempt to

quell $onsumption of +estern maga%ines and foreign radio, Among a number of youth maga%ines and

/ournals that appeared in the *)3(s& some +ere remar6ably liberal& li6efSHs%gi ;agazin0outh

;agazine/& a pop2$ulture /ournal founded by students at the -e$hni$al University in *)37& +hi$h

$ontained not only politi$al stories& but also arti$les on the olling Stones& >imi Hendri0 and the

Beatles,*@(Around the same time& the Hungarian -elevision began hosting a +ildly popular pop musi$

$ontest and Hungarian adio started a +ee6ly musi$ maga%ine $alled >ust for the young` Csa&

fiatalo&na&J,*@*

But early attempts to laun$h ne+ avant2garde /ournals& legally& +ere denied& +hi$h illustrates

the arty1s less fle0ible stan$e to+ard publi$ations involving non2traditional art and artists, -he first

effort $ame from +ithin the .a$ulty of Humanities at E:-E& +ith the /ournalQrtesUtA Dotification/&

+hi$h ran a single issue before being shut do+n in *)37, *@'-+o years later& -amas S%ent/;by and

another group of artistsMi6l;s Ap"thy and filmma6er :"s%l; Hegedstried to form the /ournal

$ezdet 7tart/ and had ta6en their idea to #ass"6& +ho de$lined to ta6e responsibility for the /ournal,

After #ass"61s death in *)34& the group presented the idea to the Information Offi$e of the MinistersT

Coun$il but it +as re/e$ted, Another /ournal&eans in So$ialist Hungary, aper for the Citi%enship and Consumption Agen$y& Korms&Mediations& and Spa$es Conferen$e& Mar$h 9(th P April *st& '((3& Cambridge& *9

*@* Ibid& *9,*@' -his /ournal involved Wrp"d A/tony& .eren$ Bodor& !"bor B;dy& Mi6l;s !y=rffy& !yula #odol"nyi,

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publi$ation& but at the last minute& A$%l refused to allo+ the /ournal1s publ

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