Contemporary canon and paradigm shift
Art historians Dávid Fehér and Márton Orosz on the new permanent exhibition of contemporary art in the Museum of Fine Arts
MúzeumCafé 34.
On the day when Cézanne and the Past opened at the Fine Arts Museum another exhibition was also launched – a selection of 20th-century and contemporary works from the museum’s Department of Art post-1800, as well as from private collections and from artists, which can be seen in the Majovszky Rooms. Two young art historians of the collection, Dávid Fehér and Márton Orosz, curated the exhibition. Both had staged small-scale exhibitions in the museum – Fehér discovered a László Lakner painting in Rome, thought to be lost, and brought it for an exhibition in Hungary, while Orosz compiled a selection from the museum’s Photograph and Media Collection. This is their first large-scale joint work. The exhibition primarily features 20th-century art, including works by living artists. The Museum of Fine Arts is usually identified with its collection of Old Masters. The presentation of 20th-century and contemporary art constitutes a horizon shift whereby the museum’s classic works can be viewed in a different light. The greatest challenge involved presenting the new genres and discourses which were canonized in the 20th century and developed alongside Modernism. Photography has already been included in temporary exhibitions, but now for the first time it features as intrinsic part of a permanent exhibition. The Museum of Fine Arts has augmented its already existing collection with photographs purchased in the 1980s. The new acquisitions of the Photo and Media Collection established two years ago are now being presented together with paintings, sculptures and works of graphic art. The Museum of Fine Arts is a traditional museum and many of its visitors expect its exhibitions to have a conventional approach.