János SUGÁR, visual artist, 1958

Author: zsuzsa

What role did the regime change play in your professional career?

As, from the beginning (since about the ‘80s), I had been moving around in the nonofficial sphere, I only noticed that my growing boldness resulted in increasingly more freedom. In reality, it was only then that the obstacles which had hindered the unfolding of many ambitions were beginning to disappear.

To me, this was not so much a shift as it was an opportunity for the values that I had always considered important to come out into the open.

What cornerstone events or publications in art / politics / public life / the professional sphere do you remember, and which of these influenced you, directly or indirectly?

(To use the terms cornerstone or turning point would be an exaggeration; they signify something different. I would like to mention the following as important, guiding, reaffirming, inspiring, encouraging, enlightening, etc. influences).

Art:

1979 – 86 Indigo, Miklós Erdély
1980 – 180 group concerts, Beatrice concerts
1980 Jovánovics’ exhibition at the French Institute
1980 – 87 Böröcz-Révész performances
1983 – 95 BBS, films, membership, filmmaking, Toldi Cinema
1983 – 85 Cseresorozat [Exchange Series], Talán Sebeő
1985 Gábor Litván’s activity
1989 activity of the Újlak Group
1993 St. Auby’s Statue of Liberty’s Soul

Politics / public sphere:

1981 The editors of Beszélő provided their names and addresses on the cover page
1989 Dismantling of the Berlin Wall / Romanian revolution

1991 The Media Were With Us conference
Squat on Fő utca [Main Street]
1991-2001 Yugoslav Wars

Professional, publications:

1980 – Artpool Newsletter
published texts by László Beke, Gábor Attalai, Miklós Peternák
Bölcsészindex [Liberal Arts Index] (= Cápa, Jóvilág, Tartóshullám)
1983 – 85 AL, (= Aktuális/Alternatív/Artpool Levél)
1984 – Örley Circle
1990 – Founding of the Intermedia Program

Through what channels and from what sources have you received your knowledge about this period?

I experienced it first hand, no mediating channels were necessary, I lived it.

Has your picture of the regime change and its ideas been altered – if yes, in what way, and as a result of what – in the past 10 / 5 / 1 year(s)?

The spontaneous, collective momentum that could be experienced and was unfolding between, say, ’86 and ’94 went against political interests and, clearly as a result of the toxic effects of politics, gradually and discernibly lost its steam.