Does a place of origin of artist influence his art? How important for him is his fatherland? Is the art international? Hungarian artist - Wanda Balogh - answers the questions.

How do you understand the word ‘Tradition’?

‘Tradition’ can be construed in many ways and for that reason it’s worth paraphrasing the concept of tradition first. The tradition is a general rule that everybody accepts and knows and, in most cases, also lives in accordance with it. The tradition can defined as a behaviour, a style of speaking, a language, a food, a national costume or a  technique of weaving. Besides, we can speak about “universal” traditions and “my own” traditions. Traditions that belong not just to one region, country or town are called universal traditions. For example, in many countries during Christmas people celebrate the birth of Jesus or  they wear a white dress as a wedding costume - in several lands it is natural. “My own” tradition is more personal, it concerns only myself. To kiss my husband every morning or, in the evening, discuss over a bottle of Hungarian wine are personal traditions. It is also tapestry making. In tapestry making I must consider the technique of warping, the behaviours of materials, the practice of weaving because long time ago many people used to use these things and so they had already worked out the most efficient methods. In a sense, I have an easy job because I must just use the well-tried things. These traditions are general traditions. But an artist would like to create something new! So I also would like to make something special in tapestry, something that can be “my own” tradition.


Do your works draw from or somehow refer to the tradition of your country?

Above all I grew up in Hungary, so first I saw the Hungarian art , Hungarian paintings, sculptures, buildings and tapestries. Hungarian embroidery, lace and weavings are famous in the world, I have learnt about them a lot. On the other hand, abroad I saw  many unknown, and therefore exciting techniques and fibres, without them I could not work. Jenõ Barcsay, a famous Hungarian painter who taught in the Fine Art Academy in Budapest long ago and who wrote the most popular Hungarian specialist book on art anatomy said: First we have to learn to draw, after that we have to forget it! In my works you can find some elements of Hungarian tradition, but in my opinion you can find several other things too. I live in Hungary in 2007, but I also live in Europe of the 21st century.

Do you believe that artists should refer to regional traditions in their work or should art go beyond regions and nations?

In my opinion artists have to respect their own regional traditions, but it is also absolutely necessary that they also know foreign art traditions. We don’t have to know everything about art of all countries, but we have to know basic techniques and methods used in our native country. Artists don’t have to use regional, national or international traditions, they should prefer to find their own unique ‘voice’ in their works. First, the idea of the work should be borne, after that we can look for a suitable form. I am sure that in Hungarian tradition I can always find what I need to use in my current work.  It’s unavoidable that I make a veritable Hungarian tapestry.  Regional traditions are in them, we can’t avoid them, and at the same time art goes beyond regions and nations, therefore we can’t avoid them too. 


What trades (dying or maybe already forgotten) is your region famous of? Can you tell us about them?

This is a difficult question because Hungary is not famous for trades, it is rather famous for representatives of trades. There is no trade that was always famous, but there are several towns that are famous for some trade. For example, Kiskunhalas is famous for lace, Herend for porcelain, Pécs for the Zsolnay’s Ceramics Manufacture, Pápa for the technique of ‘kékfestés’, a special, Hungarian textile dyeing method and the leatherwork. Tourists often look for Hungarian embroideries from any region, and for crystal vases from Ajka.  Just some of these trades exist also today, the lace making, the Kékfestõ Workshop work mostly as a museum, and the embroideries are made also just for tourists. To mention somebody from my field, Noémi Ferenczi was a famous tapestry artist in the 1950s and 60s, many people in my country know her. Hungary is also famous for weaving, but not for tapestry. People know the national weaving products, and the national weaving techniques. In almost every home you can find a “szõttes”, that is a national woven piece, for example a tablecloth, a towel, a pillow cover, wall-hangings. These products are made on a loom, but these looms are not the same as a loom for tapestry making. On these looms the warps are denser then on a haute-lisse that is a tapestry loom. In small villages some old women have a loom also today, but just a few people still weave clothes on it. They’re rather make carpets from pieces of remains of textiles.

Is working in your trade profitable? Can you earn a living from it?

In Hungary the well-to-do and exacting people are rare yet, and the products of my profession cost too much for ordinary people. We have to look for people who can afford to buy our works, but this is a very complicate problem. Unfortunately, wealthy people prefer cars, houses, jewellery, and later they invest in artworks. Although nowadays more rich men buy artworks, they prefer well-known artists, so young artists can’t count on this source of income. In Hungary most artists teach in high schools or universities, work as journalists in art magazines, run art galleries, organize art programs or something else to earn a living or try to get scholarships. Besides, there are some good competitions to make artworks for universities and collages or for other public places. Unfortunately, my field, tapestry,  is not too popular and known in Hungary, because we need much time to make it (weaving 1 square metre middle fine tapestry takes about 160 hours). I also teach in a secondary school (tapestry weaving) and as I have another degree, so I’m also a communication assistant in an art gallery.
 
Do you consider yourself resourceful? What does, in your opinion, mean to be resourceful in culture?

By all means. Without resourcefulness I could not make anything. In my opinion in East-European culture resourcefulness means realization. That man can create an art product or establish an art institute out of nothing because we never have enough money to realize our dreams. We had to learn how to create art without money, and the art of Eastern Europe is special, because we can rely just on our resourcefulness and talent. We can’t be compared with rich countries because we can’t keep up with them. But in my opinion this is our huge advantage that we can realize our projects without money, and if we get also money for this, we can work miracles! The ideas are inexhaustible, but we can run out of the money. We just must believe in ourselves and in our profession.