László Lakner

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

László Lakner (Hungarian: [ˈlaːsloː ˈlɒknɛr]; born April 15, 1936, in Budapest) is a Hungarian-German painter, sculptor and conceptual artist. He lives and works in Berlin.[1] László Lakner was born in Budapest in 1936. His father was the architect László Lakner (same name), his mother Sára Lakner, born Sárközy. Lakner is the father of the Hungarian artist Antal Lakner, who was born in 1966. After a long period in the cities Essen and Berlin, László Lakner now lives and works exclusively in Berlin, in the Charlottenburg district. Among other art shows, he was invited three times to participate in the Venice Biennale (1972, 1976 and 1990) and once to the documenta in Kassel (1977).

László Lakner, "My Georg Lukács Book", 1970, photo / screenprint, 70 × 50 cm. The title of Lukács's book is: "Peculiarity of the Aesthetic"

The artist

From 1950, László Lakner attended the Art Gymnasium in his native home Budapest. He then studied painting with Professor

emigrate to Germany. In 1976 he was awarded the Bremen "Art Prize of Böttcherstraße" and in 1977 he was invited to the documenta
VI in Kassel, where he exhibited several works from the fields of painting, drawing and book objects.

In the same year he received the German Critics' Prize and worked during 1981-1982 with a scholarship from the Berlin Senate in New York at MOMA P.S.1 art studio and gallery, at the same time as the Essen sculptor Carl Emanuel Wolff.

In 1998, he received the Kossuth Prize, the most prestigious Hungarian State Prize for his artistic work. In 2000, his self-portrait was included in the collection of the Uffizi Gallery / Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence.

State Museums of Berlin, National Gallery Berlin

The teacher

In 1979, Prof. Paul Vogt, the director of the Museum Folkwang, initiated the appointment of László Lakner as a lecturer of painting at the Essen University of Applied Sciences. He also lectured in the Department of Art History at the Free University of Berlin between 1979 and 1980. In 1982 he was finally appointed to the University of Essen (now the University of Duisburg-Essen), where he taught as a professor of experimental design until his retirement in 2001. In these 19 years he worked in Berlin and in his studio in Essen, which he left after 2002 to settle permanently in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. Lakner's professorship for experimental design, later occupied by Jörg Eberhard,[4] required a multidisciplinary expertise, as he supervised students from both the University of Essen and the current Folkwang University of the Arts. His students from this period include, among others, the cabaret artist and photographer Dieter Nuhr, painters Dirk Hupe, Jürgen Paas, Eberhard Ross, photographer and stage designer Johannes Gramm, Günter Sponheuer and Frank Piasta[5][6]

Tondo Mouth 1968, oil on canvas, ø 140 cm, Collection Janus Pannonius Museum, Pécs

Development of artwork

Since his beginnings in the 1950s, Lakner's work has moved with great flexibility and ease among many artistic forms, such as realistic and object-free representations in painting, photography, textual work, film, objects and sculptures. Most of his work was powered by his conceptual way of thinking, and independent of the art form and media used.

He turned his attention repeatedly to the same topics and motives within language, literature and the appearance of writing (see Paul Celan pictures[7][8][9]). The artistic results could be transformations of books[10] or manuscripts through paintings[11][12][13][14][15] or the integrations of books into art objects (see Buchaxt (book-axe)[16]). Other topics include the representations of heads and skulls (see Bandaged Heads[17][18][19][20]) as metaphors or symbolisms of death.

When Lakner modified objects and written texts from famous artists and philosophers, he created a new artistic environment for them. The transition of one art form into another enabled Lakner to add complementary meanings to the quoted works, which would have been impossible if they remained in their original art form.[21][22][23]

This recontextualisation could inspire associations with powerful symbolic potential. Since his artistic origins are in realism, Lakner's artwork has evolved using a rich artistic language full of interwoven references and meanings.

1950s to 1970s

Painting

Lakner participated in IPARTERV exhibitions in Budapest in 1968 and 1969, which united the leading critical avant-garde artists in Hungary. In doing so, he presented works that subtly contained contemporary and cultural references. Parallel to non-representational pictures, which are to be understood as experimental, he painted realistic pictures from found photographic documents as early as the late 1950s.

Whilst demonstrating his virtuosity through painting, Lakner inspired associations between the history of art and contemporary political issues (see Seamstresses listen to a speech by Hitler[24][25][26][27][28]).

Lakner also closely examined the appropriateness of the artistic media used in Eastern European countries with their respective social reality. His observations allowed him to delve deeper into the world of realistic painting. [29][30][31][32][33][34][35]

Lakner also created images that could be attributed to

monochrome paintings,[44][45] posters[46][47] and conceptual art;[48] they incorporated sometimes humor.[49]
Furthermore, he also painted twin images that juxtaposed the same motif but in two different lighting and color situations (see Danae, 1967, Ludwig-Múzeum, Budapest[50]). Here, Lakner examined the limitations and possibilities within his realistic representations, creating a lasting theme that he continued to work with in Germany.

László Lakner, "Isa pur", 1982, mixed media on bed sheets, 260 × 220 cm. Lakner cites from the oldest Hungarian text written in Latin script, The Funeral Sermon and Prayer: “Behold, we are dust and ashes”

Conceptual art

In his conceptual art Lakner applies various methods of artistic transformation of literature as well as language. A major work in 1970 used a book on aesthetics, written by the Hungarian philosopher George Lukács, who signed it for him. Lakner tied it shut using a piece of string. He then placed the laced book on his studio wall, photographed it and then transformed it into a screen printed image.[51] This work (and its novel method of fabrication) was exhibited in 1972 at the Venice Biennale in the International Pavilion. Lakner continued working with this process by lacing other books,[52] as well as creating photorealistic paintings of such situations.

A similarly photorealistic painting is his naked self-portrait, in which he stands looking at the viewer, wearing only flip-flops and sunglasses. It is regarded as an outstanding political statement on the situation of the artist in the repressive Hungarian regime (see Self-portrait with self-timer, 1970, Uffizi Gallery, Florence.[53][54][55] The wish for change inspired many of his works (see Monument of the Revolutions, 1971, Museum Folkwang, Essen[56] and Barricade 1970 / oil on canvas / 150 × 200 cm).[57] He continued to base his photorealistic paintings on photographic documents,[58] often in brown-grey colours, brilliantly painting the change of sharpness in the depth of field from the original photo (Silence, Homage to Joseph Beuys, 1972 Ludwig Museum, Budapest[59]).

His attention turned increasingly to historical documents from different centuries, such as letters, dispatches or testaments. He carefully re-represented manuscripts, often written by famous people, showing them in front of a spatial background (see After Schopenhauer / Fragment).[60][61][62] This is the continuation of the previously mentioned usage of quotes in new artistic contexts, as well as an innovative exploration of using written text as a subject in paintings. This liberates the viewer to see them from a purely aesthetic perspective; as colour and shape[63] (see Cézanne's Last Letter, 1975, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam).[64] During this time Lakner received a DAAD scholarship in Berlin and migrated to the Federal Republic of Germany (1974).

Barricade 1970 / oil on canvas / 150 × 200 cm

1980s to the present

Lakner's guest stay 1981-1982 in New York at MoMA PS1 studio and gallery[65] was significant. Here Lakner experienced the illness and death of a good friend. During this time, he became also aware of graffiti on the walls of houses and in subway shafts. As a result, he painted on large bed sheets, in which individual words or slogans were applied with spray paint. "At that time, the graffiti of the Puerto Rican boys in the streets of New York meant more to me than anything else I saw in museums and galleries." He wanted "Black Milk", the words from Paul Celan's poem Death Fugue, "written big on a wall with a flamethrower."[66] In Isa Pur, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, he cites the oldest Hungarian Funeral Sermon and Prayer written in Latin script: “Behold, we are dust and ashes”. The single letters above the patchy colored ground are created by spray paint, or the paint is scratched away, reinforcing his narrative about life and death.[67][68]

From the second half of the 1980s the abstract drawings, which could partly be read as rudimentary writing, were etched on thick impasto layers of paint. This technique resulted in pictures with graphic entanglements and lines above the color ground (see work group of splitted images on a box-like deep canvas, 1994).[69] In addition, he also made realistic sculptural works in bronze, which integrated not only the human figure, but also books (see Babel, 1985). On the monument for the Hungarian poet Miklós Radnóti, Lakner shows his inner impressions and feelings, created by the poems, on the surface of an imaginary book, which is cast in bronze.[70][71] The scripture on the tombstone of John Keats, the romantic English poet, ‘Here lies one whose name is writ in water’, inspired Lakner's painting, Keats' grave.[72]

From the mid-1990s, Lakner's interest returned to photography, which he was able to use conceptually. For example, in Paris he walked around in circles at the fictitious place where the poet Paul Celan committed suicide. Later, he created large-format photo sequences of these places (see exhibition 1999, Galerie Nothelfer, Berlin). In addition, representational images were also created with a new examination of the classical art of painting (see Berenice according to Edgar Allan Poe, 2004 – 2010).[73]

Chinese Postcard, 1972 in the possession of the artist

Interest in Asian cultures

During the Vietnam war (1955-1975) Lakner's interest turned to Asia.[74][75][76] Although he did not understand the meaning of calligraphies he saw, he was fascinated by their form and began to paint them. Often, he did not follow the method of calligraphy (painting with ink on rice paper with fast movements), but painted them with oil on canvas with meticulous precision. Not limiting himself with only that technique, he also completely reimagined the Little Red Book "Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung" and created a new version of it with the title MAO BIBLE. Instead of being a source of Mao's ideology for the Cultural Revolution, the book is tightly bound with ropes and it is not possible to open it.[77] Some versions of this "Bible" are cast in bronze.[78][79]

Another work was produced from an idealised Chinese photo, depicting farmers in the mountains being helped by Chinese soldiers. Lakner enlarged it to create a human-size photorealistic painting. The hand-written greeting of the newspaper editor who sent the photo to him, is also painted on the canvas.[80][81]

Thus, the results of Lakner's Asian inspirations are artworks which are, despite their Asian topics, not copies of Asian art. They are rather transformations from Asian into Western traditions. They represent Lakner's conceptual innovations and multitude of artistic methods, with which he continues to explore the world.

  • Cover of the 80 pages art catalog "László Lakner Chinese Postcard". It shows works of the artist inspired by Asian culture. June 2018
    Cover of the 80 pages art catalog "László Lakner Chinese Postcard". It shows works of the artist inspired by Asian culture. June 2018
  • Poem of Ho Chi Minh, Written in Prison in 1942, 1974, Oil on canvas / 200 × 135 cm, private collection Germany
    Poem of Ho Chi Minh, Written in Prison in 1942, 1974, Oil on canvas / 200 × 135 cm, private collection Germany
  • MAO-BIBLE 1987 / book, rope, acrylic paint / 30 × 38 × 8 cm, In the possession of the artist
    MAO-BIBLE 1987 / book, rope, acrylic paint / 30 × 38 × 8 cm, In the possession of the artist
  • Wild Dog 1987 / Chinese calligraphy ink on colored cloth / 88 × 65 cm, In the possession of the artist
    Wild Dog 1987 / Chinese calligraphy ink on colored cloth / 88 × 65 cm, In the possession of the artist
  • Bamboo (study) 1981 New York / Chinese calligraphy ink on Laid paper / 65 × 40 cm. In the possession of the artist
    Bamboo (study) 1981 New York / Chinese calligraphy ink on Laid paper / 65 × 40 cm. In the possession of the artist

Works in public collections

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions (selection):

  • 1969 KKI Galeria, Budapest
  • 1974 Neue Galerie – Collection Ludwig, Aachen
  • 1975 Overbeck-Gesellschaft, Lübeck
  • 1975 Neuer Berliner Kunstverein und DAAD, Berlin
  • 1975 Galerie Folker Skulima, Berlin
  • 1976 Galerie Denise René-Hans Mayer, Düsseldorf
  • 1979 Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster
  • 1983 Galerie Bertha Urdang, New York
  • 1987 Forum Kunst, Rottweil
  • 1998 Stadsschouwburg Heerlen, Niederlande
  • 2004
    Zacheta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki
    (Nationalgalerie), Warschau
  • 2004 Galeria Sztuki (Kunsthalle), Posen, Polen
  • 2004 Ludwig-Museum, Budapest
  • 2006 Augsburger Kunstverein
  • 2006 Galerie Georg Nothelfer, Berlin
  • 2007 Petöfi Irodalmi Museum, Budapest
  • 2011 Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

Participations in exhibitions:

Literature (selection)

In English

(The English Literature list is much shorter than the German. Therefore, see also the German Literature list below this English list.)

  • Promote, Tolerate, Ban: Art and Culture in Cold War Hungary Exhibition catalogue. Edited by Cristina Cuevas-Wolf and Isotta Poggi. Essays by Katalin Cseh-Varga, Cristina Cuevas-Wolf, Dávid Fehér, Steven Mansbach, Géza Perneczky, Isotta Poggi, and Tibor Valuch. 160 pages, 8 1/2 x 10 3/4 inches, 40 color and 20 b/w illustrations, , hardcover. Getty Publications, Imprint: Getty Research Institute, 2018
  • The Montage Connection between John Heartfield and László Lakner: Artistic Resistance and a New Leftism in Sixties Europe
  • Flashes of the Future - The Art of the 68ers or The Power of the Powerless. Exhibition catalogue of Ludwig Forum Aachen, 2018
  • Dávid Fehér: László Lakner, Budapest: Hungart Publications, 2016 [1]
  • Dávid Fehér: László Lakner: Seamstresses Listen to Hitler’s Speech, Dávid Fehér ed., cat. Budapest: Museum of Fine Arts, 2011 [2]
  • Dávid Fehér: Polyphonic Oeuvre. On László Lakner’s Art, in: László Lakner: Selected Works, exh cat. Budapest: Trapéz Galéria, 2019, 3–10. [3]
  • Dávid Fehér: Consonants of Karl Marx. Left vs. Left in the Hungarian Neo-Avantgarde: The Case of László Lakner, Tomus 56, Acta Historiae Artium, 2015, 343–353. [4]
  • Dávid Fehér: Beyond the Monochrome: Polychromy and monochromy in the art of László Lakner, in: Lakner László: Overview and Monochromy. Selected Works, László Hegyeshalmi – Dávid Fehér eds., exh. cat. Veszprém: House of Arts László Vass Collection, 2018, 9–17. [5]
  • Dávid Fehér: (Dis)figuring Reality. New Forms of Figuration in Hungarian Painting (1957-1975), in: Sándor Hornyik, Edit Sasvári and Hedvig Turai eds.: Art in Hungary 1956-1980: Doublespeak and Beyond, London: Thames & Hudson, 2018, 136–159. [6]
  • Dávid Fehér: Pop Beyond Pop. Some Exhibitions of the Hungarian “Iparterv-Circle”, in: Art in Transfer in the Era of Pop. Curatorial Practices and Transnational Strategies, Annika Öhrner ed., Stockholm: Södertörn University, 2017, 343–372. [7]


In German

(These articles in German language are listed in the Literature section of the German Wikipedia article about László Lakner. That German list is here translated to English for orientation, in case you want to translate them by yourself or using machine translation, e.g. Google https://translate.google.com/ or Bing https://www.bing.com/translator)

References

  1. Article in Hungarian about László Lakner and his metamorphoses by Kriszta Dékei: http://balkon.art/1998-2007/balkon05_01/04dekei.htmll
  2. Catalog of the German National Library: books, exhibition catalogues and other publications about the work of László Lakner Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek
  3. Kunstaspekte. International exhibition announcements and artist catalogue. László Lakner. Laszlo Lakner
  4. Central European Art Database: László Lakner. A good resource about his works and exhibitions until 2015 Central European Art Database
  5. László Lakner: Seamstresses Listen to Hitler’s Speech by Dávid Fehér 2011 Page 1-59 in Hungarian, page 60-109 in English
  6. László Lakner, by Dávid Fehér, Hungart Publications, Budapest, 2016. Page 1-31 in Hungarian, page 32-56 in English, page 57-135 Works of László Lakner
  7. Works of Lakner in books: Art and Democracy in Post-Communist Europe by Piotr Piotrowski, ,

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Armin Hundertmark Gallery: Laszlo Lakner".
  2. ^ "Die Zeit: Kunstkalender: Essen Bis zum 14. Juni 1968, Museum Folkwang: "Ungarische Kunst der Gegenwart"".
  3. ^ "Art directory: László Lakner".
  4. ^ "Pressemitteilung der Universität Duisburg-Essen. Zwei Professuren wieder besetzt".
  5. ^ "Exhibition: László Lakner and friends". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
  6. ^ "Klasse László Lakner 1989: 12 Schüler zeigen Bilder und Gouachen, Essen 1989".
  7. ^ "Google image search for "László Lakner" inspired by "Paul Celan"".
  8. ^ ""László Lakner" paintings inspired by "Paul Celan"".
  9. ^ "Art inspired by Paul Celan".
  10. ^ "László Lakner. Bilder und Objekte. 24. Oktober - 24. Dezember 1982, Ausstellungshaus d. Galerie Heimeshoff Essen. 1982".
  11. ^ "Book-objects" (PDF).
  12. ^ "Book object".
  13. ^ "Book object".
  14. ^ "László Lakner. Buchwerke / Book works 1969 - 2009, Text: György Konrád".
  15. ^ "Livre imaginaire".
  16. ^ "Lakner László: Barrikád - a forradalmak emlékműve".
  17. ^ "Engedelmesen (Obediently)".
  18. ^ "Scripture and head, distant clarity".
  19. .
  20. ^ "Köpfe und Schädel II".
  21. ^ "László Lakner: Schwarze Milch (1983) (two words from Paul Celan's poem "Death Fugue")".
  22. ^ "Title: Du Côté de Chez Swann (Marcel Proust: Dedication for Jacques Lacretelle II, April 20, 1918), 1975".
  23. ^ "Words and Images (After a Work by René Magritte)".
  24. ^ "Article: The Political Art that Shaped Cold War Hungary. An exhibition at the Wende Museum explores the art and culture of socialist-era Hungary and offers a chance to consider relationships between art and politics during the Cold War".
  25. ^ "See the painting "Seamstresses listen to a speech by Hitler" (Hungarian: Varrólányok Hitler beszédét hallgatják) in an article in the Hungarian art magazine Új Művészet" (PDF).
  26. ^ "Seamstresses listen to a speech by Hitler".
  27. ^ "Lakner, Laszlo - BUDAPEST, MUSEUM DER BILDENDEN KÜNSTE - 'Näherinnen hören eine Rede Hitlers". Die Geschichte eines verschollenen und wiedergefundenen Bildes. Katalog von Dávid Fehér. Budapest 2011".
  28. ^ "Article: Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest: Seamstresses Listen to Hitler's Speech (1960)".
  29. ^ "LÁSZLÓ LAKNER: COTTON COLLECTORS IN KAZAKHSTAN (1972)".
  30. ^ "László Lakner: Shipyard Welders, 1959, oil on canvas, 98.5 x 132 cm".
  31. ^ "Me, one of Them, 1970, Mixed media / photomontage, 11 4/5 × 9 4/5 × 2/5 in, 30 × 25 × 1 cm".
  32. ^ "Shipyard workers, oil on canvas, 105 x 130 cm, 1960".
  33. ^ "Laszlo Lakner: Factory, oil on canvas, 35 x 40 cm, 1961".
  34. ^ "Lakner László (1936): Girl in the window, 1957".
  35. ^ "Lakner László: Still-life (Marketplace), around 1963, Oil on canvas, 40,5 x 50,5 cm".
  36. ^ "Brown Rose".
  37. ^ "Rose".
  38. ^ "Rose (zigzag) 1969".
  39. ^ "Roses 1969".
  40. ^ "See the first painting Mouth-Tondo in the Hungarian Art Magazine".
  41. ^ "Exhibition catalogue with the painting of a mouth".
  42. ^ "Mouth (Száj)".
  43. ^ "Fugitive".
  44. ^ "László Lakner: Overview and Monochromie, Selected works, book, published by Modern Art Gallery, Vass Laszlo Collection, Veszprem, 2018".
  45. ^ "Lakner László: Overview and Monochromie, video, published by Modern Art Gallery, Vass Laszlo Collection, Veszprem, 2018".
  46. ^ "Poster for Jowita, a Polish film shown in Hungary".
  47. ^ "László Lakner: Fellini: Rome, 1973, film poster".
  48. ^ "László Lakner. I put on The Shape of the Stairs, 1971".
  49. ^ "My footprints on the moon between Sarpentele and Urhida (two Hungarian villages) Mixed media, 1970".
  50. ^ "DANAE 1 (1968)".
  51. ^ "See the 2nd illustration in the Artmagazin (in Hungarian)".
  52. ^ ""Laszlo Lakner's Sand-Book" (article in Hungarian) with photos of book-objects" (PDF).
  53. ^ "Article in the Hungarian art magazine Divany.hu: A meztelen ferfi / The naked man - Ludwig museum, Budapest, 2013".
  54. ^ "The naked man. Exhibition of the LENTOS Kunstmuseum Linz at the Ludwig Museum - Museum of Contemporary Art in Budapest, March-June 2013".
  55. ^ "László Lakner: Self-portrait with a self-timer, 1970 (Uffizi)".
  56. ^ "László Lakner: Barricade - Monument of the revolutions (2003–2004)".
  57. ^ "Barricade, oil on canvas, and other works at the exhibition: László Lakner: Prediction-Art of the Trapez Gallery, Hungary".
  58. ^ "The Art of Hungary. October 18, 2016 – January 8, 2017, Boca Raton Museum of Art. Catalog, Figure 12: László Lakner (b. 1936): Paprika, 1984, Oil on canvas, Nancy G. Brinker Collection" (PDF).
  59. ^ "László Lakner: Silence (Hommage à Joseph Beuys) 1971".
  60. ^ "László Lakner: After Schopenhauer / Fragment, 1976, oil on canvas, 200 x 120 cm. (78.7 x 47.2 in.)".
  61. ^ "László Lakner: Schopenhauer Notes 9, 1976. Oil on canvas, 200 x 150 cm".
  62. ^ "László Lakner: Schopenhauer, 1976, oil / canvas, 2 parts, 161 x 298 cm".
  63. ^ "And Paint ... - László Lakner: Isa pur ... (exhibition) article in Hungarian / És festék... - Lakner László: Isa pur... (kiállítás)". magyarnarancs.hu (in Hungarian). 2007-06-28. Retrieved 2019-03-17.
  64. ^ "Draft of a letter by Paul Cézanne, 1884".
  65. ^ "MoMA National and International Studio Program. Providing studio space for artists".
  66. ^ "Gallery Georg Nothelfer: László Lakner, for his 70th birthday. Scripture and picture 2006 / Galerie Georg Nothelfer: Lakner zum 70. Geburtstag. Schrift und Bild 2006 /". www.galerie-nothelfer.de. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  67. ^ "Title page of the book LAKNER LÁSZLÓ, written by Fehér Dávid".
  68. ^ "Laszlo Lakner: Isa Pur, Petofi Museum for Literature (Petofi Irodalmi Museum, Budapest, Hungary)".
  69. ^ "Galerie Bassenge writes: Applied with a broad coarse brush is the impasto, brown-violet and white color, into which Lakner digs the barely legible lettering with his brush stalk ..."
  70. ^ "Monument for the Hungarian poet Miklós Radnóti".
  71. ^ "Monument for the Hungarian poet Miklós Radnóti (emlékmű)".
  72. ^ "László-Lakner: Keats' Grave,1989, Image courtesy of Sylvan Cole Gallery".
  73. ^ "Edgar Allan Poe: The Raven. Lakner, Laszlo".
  74. ^ "Saigon, South Vietnam, 11 June 1963. Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc sets himself ablaze in protest against alleged religious persecution by the South Vietnamese government".
  75. ^ "Lakner László: Saigon. Protest of Buddhist monks, oil on canvas, 200 x 130 cm (1968), Janus Pannonius Museum, Pecs, Hungary".
  76. ^ "Saigon, 1969, oil on canvas, 123×210 cm".
  77. ^ "Mao Bible, Laszlo Lakner, 1987".
  78. ^ "MAO BIBLE, unpolished bronze".
  79. ^ "MAO BIBLE, polished bronze".
  80. ^ "File:Catalog "László Lakner Chinesische Postkarte", PDF 05.jpg".
  81. ^ "See within the photos of the Hungarian gallery Trapez".