The visit was cancelled! “ Lacking support and money, the Szerencs School terminates its operation of 35 years. The exhibition at the Fuge Gallery is open to visitors, worth to see it. Regards, János Fajó”. The two-week camp of the 36th International School and Colony of Arts was advertised for 15-29 of July.
Registered before as visitors, we received the abovementioned depressing and even shocking answer. In the circular of the 2012 Camp you could read: “The Art Camp was established by István Szathmáry in 1976. Leading artists were Pál Deim, Tibor Csiky, Ádám Misch, and János Fajó. Transformed in 1990 to Association to preserve its professional level and independence, it moved to Szerencs, a town in East Hungary in 1994. Being organised for two weeks in second week of July of every year, 80-140 young people from 4-5 countries participates.
The spirit of the colony and the school is penetrated by the geometric, factual art. “We teach the pure form in all of materials, techniques, theory and function. Here we deal in self-extracting only, 24 hours a day. In this school we are modeling the way of life what necessary for this job. This is the living of life, that is, reaching of the individual to himself, which is different to any conventional and common. Purposeful and custom-made” (János Fajó).
As the circular says, the Camp consists of 8 sections. Art director is János Fajó, artist decorated by the Kossuth Prize, teaching the fundamentals of composition as well.
Studies of natural objects: Balázs Pataki, industrial design and graphic artist
Etching and engraving, linocutting, silkscreen printing: Tamás László Kovács, graphic artist and sculptor.
Photographic technique and camera use: András Matkócsik, director and screenwriter, laboratory practice: Júlia Stradovár, and Eszter Galambos
Ceramic design (objects and tableware): Zsuzsanna Réthy
Sculpture: András Kludovácz
Fundamentals of architecture, modeling of space connections: Jenő Kapy (DLA, Ybl Award)
Animation, digital design practices, and visual experiments: Bálint Botzheim, architect
The Creative Camp Association was established to replace what the downgraded drawing studies at the high schools is not able to product: detecting the talented ones and preparing them for access to higher education. Searching the talented young people, the Association strives to look for the gold nuggets in the sand, because it knows: the frontline of any nation consists of the talent and aptitude. Any humane advancement and wealth begins here.
Participants at the Creative Camp could become artist by cooperative activity. The method is based on voluntariness. Ten years ago the Creative Camp was complemented with an Art Camp, where formerly home-grown, made artists work as well.
Perhaps an era had terminated. But what about its doctrine? Slight consolation, that this institution excelling in the domestic art education will be presented in a professionally competent study.
The utmost what we can do at this website is to present as much young artists “growing up” in this Camp, to pass their modern mindsets, rescuing what rescueable. When we visited the exhibition, we had no idea on the developments. We prepared to the ‘great’ visit, as usual. Our photos made in haste might reflect some values what the Szerencs Free School of Art produced along the last 35 years.
Those finding these lines at this site, and reading the opening words of János Fajó at the Fuga exhibition (www.fuga.org.hu) could understand what is the sense of thinking, and what is the role of the art not for art’s sake.
“The smallest particle of the society is the individual, but the quality of the society depends on this individual. The future of a nation depends on the individuals developed to be personalities. And, of course, on the social policy, what is able to recognize this effect, and assists to evolve the talents knowingly and using due projects. Not doing against this evolving, but helping it! A country is poor and restless, if unbalanced, if it has no values. If does not know, what is important, what is more important and what is unnecessary luxury. These made the citizens irrigated. Poverty can be only accepted by justice and having social perspectives. Inverted values of the power takes the country into sure destruction and degradation…”(excerpt)
15/7/2012 Budapest
www.szabadiskola.hu