Lajos Kassák
Encyclopedia
Lajos Kassák was a Hungarian poet, novelist, painter, essayist, editor, theoretician of the avant-garde
and occasional translator, was the father of many modernisms.
He was also the first genuine working-class writer in Hungarian literature
. Self-taught, it was within the socialist movement that he became a writer and artist.
Although he cannot be fully identified with any of the avantgarde movements, his main influences were expressionism
, futurism
and later dadaism.
in present day Slovakia. Despite his parents wanted him to attend higher education, he decided to quit his studies and started to work as a locksmith assistant, and acquired a letter of indentures. In 1904 he moved to Budapest, where he started to work as a factory worker on the outskirts of the city. Participated in the labor union movement, and organized several strikes. In 1905 he was fired several times, since he organized strikes. In 1907 he left for Paris on foot without any money, from where he was expelled back to Hungary in 1910. The experiences of this voyage was later covered in his autobiography entitled Egy ember élete (A Man's Life) (1927–1935).
Despite his lack of formal education and inadequate writing skills, he fought fiercely to publish his works. His first poem was published in 1908, and his first collections of short stories in 1912, titled Életsiratás. In 1915 he published his first collection of poems, Éposz Wagner maszkjában (Epic in the Mask of Wagner), and in the same year he launched his first journal, entitled Tett (Action), which was soon censored and banned for being "pacifist".
During the Hungarian Soviet Republic
in 1919 he become a member of the special Writers Directorate, but after fierce debates with the republic's leader, Béla Kun
, he decided to distance himself from Bolshevism, yet he always remained leftist and never made a distinction between a socially responsible individual and an artist. He described himself, his art, his view on political social issues as a "socialist man". After the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic he immigrated to Vienna, where he continued publishing his second journal, Ma (Today). He returned to Hungary in 1926 and continued editing and publishing journals like Munka (Work) (1927-1938) and Dokumentum (Document) (1927), both of which were independent leftist avant-garde journals.
His autobiography, Egy ember élete (A Man's Life) was published periodically in the Hungarian literary journal Nyugat
between 1923 and 1937, but after he published it as a book, he was prosecuted because of its chapters concerning the Hungarian Soviet Republic.
He regularly published in leftist newspapers and from 1945 he edited the journal Kortárs (Contemporary) until 1947 when it was banned. In 1947 he returned to political duties and became the head of the Social Democratic Party's Art Commission, in 1948 he became an MP. A year later he had to change seats in the Parliament, and later he had to resign, and finally retire because of the change of the political climate . In 1953, he formed critics on the Party's cultural politics, and therefore he lost his party membership. Because of this, he was not allowed to publish or years, until 1956, when he was elected to be a chair in the Writers Association, an influential organization of the era. From 1957 he become practically muted by the cultural censorship of the Party, and was not allowed to travel, exhibit and publish until his death. However even in his silence, he influenced a large number of artist both in Hungary and internationally.
, and one of the first poet/writer/artist we had an authentic working class background. His views on historical avant-garde movements influenced the regions perception and artistic production, especially because the journals he edited and published, the Ma / Today and the Tett / The Deed. He was heavily influenced by the international constructivist
movement and issued several manifesto: Képarchitektúra / Image Architecture (1922), Vissza a kaptafához / Back to the Basics (1923), A konstruktivizmusról / On Constructivism (1922). Nowadays, since he is very hard to associate with a single style or movement, most art historians refer his work to be an "activist", a special label issued to mirror the socially engaged style of his artistic production. Functionality and social effectivity were the main characteristics of his works, which have to be implemented by the modern being in order to create a world of social equality.
His works include concrete poetry
, billboards, design, novels, and paintings, and were influenced by Expressionism
, Dadaism, Futurism
, Surrealism
and Constructivist
tendencies. Kassák is associated with all of these movements, and considered be one of the most coherent ouvre in the Hungarian art history.
He has a small museum dedicated to his work close to his last residence in the northern part of Budapest.
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
and occasional translator, was the father of many modernisms.
He was also the first genuine working-class writer in Hungarian literature
Hungarian literature
Hungarian literature is literature written in the Hungarian language, predominantly by Hungarians.There is a limited amount of Old Hungarian literature dating to between the late 12th and the early 16th centuries...
. Self-taught, it was within the socialist movement that he became a writer and artist.
Although he cannot be fully identified with any of the avantgarde movements, his main influences were expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
, futurism
Futurism
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
and later dadaism.
Biography
Born as a son of an apotechary assistant father and a laundress mother, in ÉrsekújvárNové Zámky
Nové Zámky is a town in southwestern Slovakia.-Geography:The town is located on the Danubian Lowland, on the Nitra River, at an altitude of 119 metres. It is located around 100 km from Bratislava and around 25 km from the Hungarian border. It is a road and railway hub of southern...
in present day Slovakia. Despite his parents wanted him to attend higher education, he decided to quit his studies and started to work as a locksmith assistant, and acquired a letter of indentures. In 1904 he moved to Budapest, where he started to work as a factory worker on the outskirts of the city. Participated in the labor union movement, and organized several strikes. In 1905 he was fired several times, since he organized strikes. In 1907 he left for Paris on foot without any money, from where he was expelled back to Hungary in 1910. The experiences of this voyage was later covered in his autobiography entitled Egy ember élete (A Man's Life) (1927–1935).
Despite his lack of formal education and inadequate writing skills, he fought fiercely to publish his works. His first poem was published in 1908, and his first collections of short stories in 1912, titled Életsiratás. In 1915 he published his first collection of poems, Éposz Wagner maszkjában (Epic in the Mask of Wagner), and in the same year he launched his first journal, entitled Tett (Action), which was soon censored and banned for being "pacifist".
During the Hungarian Soviet Republic
Hungarian Soviet Republic
The Hungarian Soviet Republic or Soviet Republic of Hungary was a short-lived Communist state established in Hungary in the aftermath of World War I....
in 1919 he become a member of the special Writers Directorate, but after fierce debates with the republic's leader, Béla Kun
Béla Kun
Béla Kun , born Béla Kohn, was a Hungarian Communist politician and a Bolshevik Revolutionary who led the Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919.- Early life :...
, he decided to distance himself from Bolshevism, yet he always remained leftist and never made a distinction between a socially responsible individual and an artist. He described himself, his art, his view on political social issues as a "socialist man". After the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic he immigrated to Vienna, where he continued publishing his second journal, Ma (Today). He returned to Hungary in 1926 and continued editing and publishing journals like Munka (Work) (1927-1938) and Dokumentum (Document) (1927), both of which were independent leftist avant-garde journals.
His autobiography, Egy ember élete (A Man's Life) was published periodically in the Hungarian literary journal Nyugat
Nyugat
Nyugat , was the most influential Hungarian literary journal in the first half of the 20th century. Writers and poets from that era are referred to as "1st/2nd/3rd generation of the NYUGAT"....
between 1923 and 1937, but after he published it as a book, he was prosecuted because of its chapters concerning the Hungarian Soviet Republic.
He regularly published in leftist newspapers and from 1945 he edited the journal Kortárs (Contemporary) until 1947 when it was banned. In 1947 he returned to political duties and became the head of the Social Democratic Party's Art Commission, in 1948 he became an MP. A year later he had to change seats in the Parliament, and later he had to resign, and finally retire because of the change of the political climate . In 1953, he formed critics on the Party's cultural politics, and therefore he lost his party membership. Because of this, he was not allowed to publish or years, until 1956, when he was elected to be a chair in the Writers Association, an influential organization of the era. From 1957 he become practically muted by the cultural censorship of the Party, and was not allowed to travel, exhibit and publish until his death. However even in his silence, he influenced a large number of artist both in Hungary and internationally.
Work
Kassák is considered to be the main father figure of Hungarian Avant-gardeAvant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
, and one of the first poet/writer/artist we had an authentic working class background. His views on historical avant-garde movements influenced the regions perception and artistic production, especially because the journals he edited and published, the Ma / Today and the Tett / The Deed. He was heavily influenced by the international constructivist
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
movement and issued several manifesto: Képarchitektúra / Image Architecture (1922), Vissza a kaptafához / Back to the Basics (1923), A konstruktivizmusról / On Constructivism (1922). Nowadays, since he is very hard to associate with a single style or movement, most art historians refer his work to be an "activist", a special label issued to mirror the socially engaged style of his artistic production. Functionality and social effectivity were the main characteristics of his works, which have to be implemented by the modern being in order to create a world of social equality.
His works include concrete poetry
Concrete poetry
Concrete poetry or shape poetry is poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on....
, billboards, design, novels, and paintings, and were influenced by Expressionism
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
, Dadaism, Futurism
Futurism
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
, Surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
and Constructivist
Constructivism (art)
Constructivism was an artistic and architectural philosophy that originated in Russia beginning in 1919, which was a rejection of the idea of autonomous art. The movement was in favour of art as a practice for social purposes. Constructivism had a great effect on modern art movements of the 20th...
tendencies. Kassák is associated with all of these movements, and considered be one of the most coherent ouvre in the Hungarian art history.
He has a small museum dedicated to his work close to his last residence in the northern part of Budapest.
External links
- Hungarian Quarterly Extensive Biography
- Lajos Kassak.de Biography
- Kassák: Dadaist Picture-Poems 1920-1922