Eastern European Culture and History.

¶ … Eastern European culture and history. Specifically, it will take the point-of-view of a person living in Hungary in 1984, during the Young Artists' Club Exhibition in Budapest. In 1984, Hungary was still under Communist rule, even though some of the younger residents tried to forget this fact when they created art and displayed it. Today, many of the kids in town do not remember how it used to be. How the police could come and take you away at any hour of the day or night and your art could be confiscated and destroyed in the blink of an eye. However, I remember. I was there, in January 1984, when the Young Artists' Club put on their Exhibition in Budapest, and the Communists came unglued.

We were young then, it is hard to believe how young and naive we were. All around us, there were signs the Communists were easing up on us in Hungary. Food was more plentiful than it had been in years, and tourists were, too. Big companies, like Citibank, were moving into the country, and we young people were giddy with the idea that we might enjoy more freedom than we had ever enjoyed before. Many of us gathered together in the restaurants and coffee houses after we stopped working, and talked about what we would do. No one seemed to watch us, or so we thought. We worked mostly on our own, because it was difficult for big groups to gather, but we had a Club where we could meet and discuss our work, and it was at the Club where we had our exhibition that caused so many problems. Nobody really bothered us, so we thought we could pull it off.

I remember Gyrgy Galantai, our unofficial leader and the organizer of the exhibition was under control of the Secret Police at the time, but we still thought we could pull it off. After all, we had 110 artists participating in the exhibition, from all over Europe and the world. It was a big deal, and the authorities had gone along with everything. We should have been nervous, but we were not. We were young, naive, and ready to make a difference in the world. We told the artists the theme of the exhibition was "Hungary," and they were open to interpret that any way they liked. We knew we would get some controversial entries, but that is what Gyrgy really wanted. Many of our group worked to oppose Communist rule in our country. We knew we could be arrested or even killed, but it was important to us to live in freedom rather than oppression. We were beginning to see signs of change in our country, and we wanted to hurry that change along.

Ever since the uprising in 1956 that failed, people in our country were anxious to see the Communist regime go, but we could not let on. While it seemed that we enjoyed more freedoms that many other Eastern European countries, especially to outsiders, we still knew the iron fist of the authorities when they were not pleased. It was hard living in Budapest at the time. Most of us worked other jobs and created our art on the side. It was hard to get enough money ahead to buy supplies, which were often outrageously expensive because many of them were imported. We worked hard in our jobs, and often had little energy left to work at our pieces, but we were all dedicated to our art and our cause. When Gyrgy first had the idea for the exhibition, we thought it would not work, but then we said, "why not?" As I said, we were young. We thought if we had enough people behind us, the authorities would leave us alone.

Therefore, we started working feverishly on our pieces for the exhibition. Initially, we had some negative propaganda art that we were going to try to get it published in a magazine called "Mail Art," but the project just grew and grew. We had all these artists who helped draw and contribute to what we finally called the "Hungary Image." This was an image of our country, bound up in ropes and chains, dangling from the hand of a massive puppet master. It was a brilliant image, and we all worked hard on it. The exhibition itself featured some other art, but basically, it was a two-room project with a montage of sounds broadcasting "sounds of Communism," and another room, the "white" room, with the image and some other works. The "sounds" included speeches, folk music, and sounds of arrests and protests." It was a great idea, and hundreds of people showed up when the exhibition opened on January 27, 1984. We had posted guards at the doors, and only people with invitations could come inside. We thought this would help keep away informants and some of the authorities, but we learned we were wrong.

Along with the "Hungary Image," we had other art works. Some were political images, and some were not. Gyrgy had his ideas and tastes, and he wanted all messages to be exhibited. That is what really got us in trouble with the authorities. Evidently, even though we tried hard to monitor the entrance, informants did come into the show, and they sent their reports back right away to their superiors. Our show was banned almost immediately. Our club was a big building, with a basement, a restaurant, and several floors. We had scattered images throughout the area, so people were everywhere, enjoying the works. In addition to the art, there were some members of the Hungarian "opposition" in the crowd, who discretely spoke with some of the guests as they viewed the art. We were trying to get our message across any way we could, that Hungary needed to shake free of her Communist bonds, and join the free countries of Europe.

Later, we found out what really happened, but that night, the authorities shut down our exhibition. We were afraid for ourselves and our families. We knew that many of us were being watched, and Gyrgy was questioned because the Club itself had not OK'd the images we exhibited. Therefore, the exhibition was illegal. We knew we were pressing our luck, but we were young, we did it anyway. It almost cost some of us our lives.

An informer in the group came to the exhibition. We do not know who, but we have always had our ideas. Gyrgy and several others had to go into hiding for a while until the controversy all blew over. The art was confiscated because it was "harmful" to the national good, and no one else was allowed into the exhibition. We thought they were going to shut the entire Club down for a while, but they decided not too, since they said Gyrgy had acted on his own in accepting the pieces for exhibition and setting up the exhibit. The Club got a severe warning. The rest of us were afraid to gather there for quite a while. We knew we were being watched by the police. Most of us were not so worried about ourselves as we were about our families. My family was harassed for months afterward. The police would come to the door of my mother's and father's house, demand entrance, and search everywhere for political works and anti-Communist literature. My parents were terrorized, and I did not go home because I was worried I was being followed, and would bring more trouble to my parents. It was a terrible time for all of us, and it made me even more determined to create a better life for the people of Hungary. I began working with the opposition even more, but I had to do it quietly and carefully.

The exhibition was a turning point for us. There was no turning back after that night in January. We had all shown where our allegiances were, and they were for Hungary, not the Communists. We knew Hungary was a great country, and could be great again. We knew that commerce and trade could thrive, and so could tourism. We knew the people should have better, cheaper housing, and the opportunity to work at better-paying jobs in the private sector. We knew we should have the ability to speak our minds and show our art whenever we wanted. These things would come, but we did not know it then. We only knew we were sick and tired of living under oppression and Communist fears. The Communists were paranoid, and afraid that everyone and everything was against them. They were right, but so many people lived in fear that the Communists still had us under control. We lived as if we were caught in time. Our clothing was outmoded by Western standards, and so was our technology. We saw the world changing around us, and we wanted more. It was a difficult time, and many people disappeared, never to return. The authorities did what they could to maintain their iron control, even if it meant destroying people and families in the process. They were evil, and I can say that now.