Bálint Dudás at "home" in Budapest
Diapositive collage, mixed media by Bálint Dudás
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It was back in 2013 that I first set eyes on works by Bálint Dudás. It was a series of mixed-media collages using forgotten diapositives from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Bálint took images of children’s faces, travel shots, past mementos, and cartoons that had typically been projected onto walls and printed them out onto canvas-size paper. Each individual slide had been further enhanced with an application of glass paint in bold, vivid colors. The resulting works were happy and alive as well as reflective and deep. The only thing I was disappointed by at that exhibit was that the artist choice not to speak. I had felt instinctively that people would want to know so much more as to what was behind the art. Luckily, I was able to speak plenty to the young artist of just 21 years. So what was behind his work? That was up to the viewer, he told me. For Bálint, creating art was about connecting to other people’s ideas and experiences as much as expressing his own. His works were meant to make people feel more, or simply feel at all. |
“I don’t want to be an artist.”
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Bálint had first been inspired to work in the arts by his uncle, Szilárd Fecsó, who is also a painter. He and his uncle co-founded an NGO called Fecsó Pál Polgári Társulás—after Bálint’s grandfather, who was a poet, journalist, and teacher. The group organizes summer camps and workshops for adults looking to paint, but they also have events and exhibitions for children. While most of the exhibitions have taken place in Slovakia, some have taken place throughout Central Europe—in Hungary, Serbia, Austria, and the Czech Republic.
Bálint completed four years at Budapest’s prestigious Hungarian University of Fine Arts (Magyar Képzőművészeti Egyetem) in the Graphics and Printmaking department. For him, his schooling was paramount to his development. The first two years were indeed restrictive—all technique, classical training, a study of anatomy, a strong European analytical background. There were no classes for the exploration of the abstract or any freedom of subject matter. In later years, Bálint stated that students are given greater freedoms within a given course; but he, and most others, often relied on outside activities to develop on a more personal, and perhaps less accepted, level of artistry.
Bálint completed four years at Budapest’s prestigious Hungarian University of Fine Arts (Magyar Képzőművészeti Egyetem) in the Graphics and Printmaking department. For him, his schooling was paramount to his development. The first two years were indeed restrictive—all technique, classical training, a study of anatomy, a strong European analytical background. There were no classes for the exploration of the abstract or any freedom of subject matter. In later years, Bálint stated that students are given greater freedoms within a given course; but he, and most others, often relied on outside activities to develop on a more personal, and perhaps less accepted, level of artistry.
Drawing, pencil, nude
Aside from an annual year-end exhibition, there were a few exhibit sites on campus for students to participate in; but they were typically always full. Thus students had to take their creative desires into their own hands and organize projects themselves, such as at a couple artist co-ops in Budapest.
Despite a strong—and much needed—foundation, Bálint admitted MKE could be limited in scope, something other young artists here have mentioned as well. The real lacking appears to be preparing them for the real world and helping them turn their artistic endeavors into a real livelihood. Exhibit opportunities are often small-scale, and gallery owners typically tell artists what type of works to make: art they know will sell per the desired trend of the day. Admirably, this holds no interest for Bálint. Bálint has in fact had to recently leave university to seek out an income; his art for the time being has been put on the back burner. I have a hard time believing his craft will forever remain absent in his life but also admire his ability to face his present reality.
Bálint had chosen graphics and printmaking as his discipline and was not allowed to venture outside this while in school. He created works using drypoint, etching, aquatint, and linocut, with etching being his favorite technique, a method by which the artist can choose to print and apply additional layers on top of the original print to create more depth and intense colors. He loved lithography as well, but the amount of time and patience required for this artform (if any one thing goes wrong you have to start all over again) kept him from deeply pursuing this technique. Printmaking in general involves an intricate knowledge and execution of many elements from the etching and chemical process involving the metal plate to getting each layer just right and experimenting with different methods to achieve the desired results.
Despite a strong—and much needed—foundation, Bálint admitted MKE could be limited in scope, something other young artists here have mentioned as well. The real lacking appears to be preparing them for the real world and helping them turn their artistic endeavors into a real livelihood. Exhibit opportunities are often small-scale, and gallery owners typically tell artists what type of works to make: art they know will sell per the desired trend of the day. Admirably, this holds no interest for Bálint. Bálint has in fact had to recently leave university to seek out an income; his art for the time being has been put on the back burner. I have a hard time believing his craft will forever remain absent in his life but also admire his ability to face his present reality.
Bálint had chosen graphics and printmaking as his discipline and was not allowed to venture outside this while in school. He created works using drypoint, etching, aquatint, and linocut, with etching being his favorite technique, a method by which the artist can choose to print and apply additional layers on top of the original print to create more depth and intense colors. He loved lithography as well, but the amount of time and patience required for this artform (if any one thing goes wrong you have to start all over again) kept him from deeply pursuing this technique. Printmaking in general involves an intricate knowledge and execution of many elements from the etching and chemical process involving the metal plate to getting each layer just right and experimenting with different methods to achieve the desired results.
Diapositive collage, mixed media
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Diapositive collage, mixed media
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”You have to earn a lifetime of experience to truly master it,” he told me with a smile. He clearly had no issue with this and had his eyes set on a the long-term development of his craft; thus why I feel he will, someday, be back. The cost of supplies is also an issue, as the equipment required is far more than a canvas, some paint, and brushes. The etching press is an investment that Bálint also simply cannot afford. MKE itself had only a limited number with students always waiting to use them. Bálint even often had to pay himself to print his work at a commercial shop. Still, printmaking will always be his passion, even if he feels he has a long way to go to achieve the mastery he seeks.
“It (printmaking) is a charm for me.”
Hajlékos, etching
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Panic in the City, linocut
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Free sketch
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Bálint has never been a fan of being categorized simply as an “artist” and even informed me, “I don’t want to be an artist.” He refers to himself as more of a craftsman. Whatever the case, he is well aware of the creativity with which he endows his pieces and has his own commentary on the Magyar creative flair found throughout the country’s arts, food, technology, etc. “Hungary is a huge mesh of cultures,” Bálint states. Numerous cultures, traditions, and peoples have flooded the Carpathian Basin over hundreds of years. He further explained that different peoples have been mixing, sharing, and creating together for centuries, resulting in the country’s continuous output of innovation. This is rather analogous to the painstaking layering utilized to create one of his prints and is what makes the country, like his art, unique. |
Bálint is very personally aware of the melting pot Hungary has become as he is himself a Slovakian Hungarian. Slovakia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until after WWI and the Treaty of Trianon. It then became an independent country after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, a few years following the Gentle Revolution that took place in 1989 when communism fell and Eastern Bloc countries won their independence from Soviet control. As of the 2011 census, Hungarians are still the largest ethnic minority in Slovakia, comprising 8.5% of the population and make up more than 50% of the population in towns bordering Hungary in southern Slovakia.
“Hungary is a huge mesh of cultures”
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Bálint identifies as a Hungarian but he is also a Slovakian and was born and raised in that country. This recently has created some limitations, as he is unable to take Hungarian citizenship and vote because Slovakia does not allow dual citizenship. His family members meanwhile all reside back in Košice, his hometown, where almost everyone was Hungarian a century ago but today are mostly Slovak. A new law has been passed in recent years mandating ethnic peoples learn Slovak, but they will never give up their mother tongue. As for himself, Bálint has loved knowing the two cultures and has thrived creatively because of this dual heritage. He has utilized his skills back in his hometown, creating theater sets and even picking up graphic design for packaging and marketing materials for his family’s coffee company. Bálint may not want to be an artist, but I certainly hope he never seeks to be without art. After all, this is the guy who once mentioned to me that he remains inspired purely by the act of following the discipline required to continuously hone his craft and create the beauty of each individual print. “It is a charm for me,” he said. Hopefully, there will be some endeavor in the future to charm his inner craftsman back to life. |
Safety Film 2, diapositive collage
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