Laszló Beke
Handshake action
Artist
Laszló Beke
(1944, Szombathely - 2022, Budapest), Hungarian
Original Title
Handshake action
Date1972
Mediumgelatin silver print on paper
Dimensions54 × 40 cm
Classificationsphotograph
Credit LineKunsthalle Praha
DescriptionLászlo Beke was one of the most prominent art historians and curators of the post-1960 era, primarily focusing on the conceptual and neo-avantgarde movements in Central and Eastern Europe. He actively developed an international network of contacts between artists in Central-Eastern Europe, facilitating space for their mutual interactions. He authored numerous important monographs and exhibitions focused on the art of the former Eastern Bloc. One of his most important projects was the 1999 exhibition Global Conceptualism: Points of Origin, 1950–1980 at the Queens Museum in New York City, which juxtaposed conceptual art from different geographical contexts and presented art primarily as a tool of social and political protest.
Balatonboglár (1972) is tied to a gathering of Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian artists at the deconsecrated chapel in Balatonboglár between 26 and 27 August 1972. Balatonboglár was a locus of the unofficial Hungarian art scene’s activities, hosting numerous international events, meet-ups, concert, screenings, and exhibitions. This legendary gathering commemorated the fourth anniversary of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the armies of the Warsaw Pact, which the artists conceived as an act of solidarity and dissent against this radical military intervention. Beke’s Handshake Action is the most famous action which took place at the chapel: the Czech and Slovak artists in attendance shook the hands of their Hungarian colleagues through a ring of barbed wire, an act expressing reconciliation and peace. The artists who took part were Petr Štembera (Prgue), Jiří Valoch (Brno), Kocman a Gerta Pospíšilová (Brno), Vladimír Popovič, Eugen Gindl, Stanislav Filko, Mária Filková, Rudolf Sikora, Eugenie Sikorová (Bratislava); Hungarian artists were represented by Imre Bak, Lászlo Beke, Miklós Erdély, György Galántai, Péeter Halász, Béla Hap, Ágnes Háy, Tamás Hencze, György Jovánovics, Péter Legéndy, János Major, László Méhes, Gyula Pauer, Tamás Szentjóby, Anna Szeredi, Endre Tót, and Péter Türk. This poster documenting the Handshake Action is composed of several connected photographs. All in all, 125 of the 143 handshakes possible took place; they were documented by Jenö Borisov, who designed the poster as a grid of photographs, with the names of Czechoslovak artists commencing each column and the names of Hungarian artist commencing each row.
László Beke (1944, Szombathely – 2022, Budapest) studied history of art at the University of Loránd Eötvös in Budapest. He subsequently became a research fellow at the Research Institute for Art History, based at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, where he worked from 1969 to 1986; Beke and also extensively engaged in curatorial activities until the 1990s. Between 1988 and 1999, he taught at the Université Lumière 2 in Lyon. From 1988 to 1995, Beke was the chief curator of the 19th and 20th century collections of the Hungarian National Gallery, before becoming the general director of the Műcsarnok Kunsthalle in Budapest, where he would remain until 2000. From 2000 to 2012, he was the director of the Research Institute of Art History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. During the final years of his life, Beke was a professor at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts in Budapest (Magyar Képzőművészeti Egyetem) while also teaching at other Hungarian institutions.
Balatonboglár (1972) is tied to a gathering of Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian artists at the deconsecrated chapel in Balatonboglár between 26 and 27 August 1972. Balatonboglár was a locus of the unofficial Hungarian art scene’s activities, hosting numerous international events, meet-ups, concert, screenings, and exhibitions. This legendary gathering commemorated the fourth anniversary of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the armies of the Warsaw Pact, which the artists conceived as an act of solidarity and dissent against this radical military intervention. Beke’s Handshake Action is the most famous action which took place at the chapel: the Czech and Slovak artists in attendance shook the hands of their Hungarian colleagues through a ring of barbed wire, an act expressing reconciliation and peace. The artists who took part were Petr Štembera (Prgue), Jiří Valoch (Brno), Kocman a Gerta Pospíšilová (Brno), Vladimír Popovič, Eugen Gindl, Stanislav Filko, Mária Filková, Rudolf Sikora, Eugenie Sikorová (Bratislava); Hungarian artists were represented by Imre Bak, Lászlo Beke, Miklós Erdély, György Galántai, Péeter Halász, Béla Hap, Ágnes Háy, Tamás Hencze, György Jovánovics, Péter Legéndy, János Major, László Méhes, Gyula Pauer, Tamás Szentjóby, Anna Szeredi, Endre Tót, and Péter Türk. This poster documenting the Handshake Action is composed of several connected photographs. All in all, 125 of the 143 handshakes possible took place; they were documented by Jenö Borisov, who designed the poster as a grid of photographs, with the names of Czechoslovak artists commencing each column and the names of Hungarian artist commencing each row.
László Beke (1944, Szombathely – 2022, Budapest) studied history of art at the University of Loránd Eötvös in Budapest. He subsequently became a research fellow at the Research Institute for Art History, based at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, where he worked from 1969 to 1986; Beke and also extensively engaged in curatorial activities until the 1990s. Between 1988 and 1999, he taught at the Université Lumière 2 in Lyon. From 1988 to 1995, Beke was the chief curator of the 19th and 20th century collections of the Hungarian National Gallery, before becoming the general director of the Műcsarnok Kunsthalle in Budapest, where he would remain until 2000. From 2000 to 2012, he was the director of the Research Institute of Art History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. During the final years of his life, Beke was a professor at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts in Budapest (Magyar Képzőművészeti Egyetem) while also teaching at other Hungarian institutions.
