Andreas Fogarasi (b. 1977 in Vienna) studied art at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts and architecture at the College of Applied Arts in Budapest. His video sequence Kultur und Freizeit about Budapest's Cultural Centers won the Golden Lion Prize at the 2007 Venice Biennale given to the best national pavilion. The central, modernist MOM Cultural Center in the film was built in the worst of times, 1950−54. Most of these buildings continued to operate in post-Stalinist days, providing the setting for various forms of social contact, from dramatic performances to group television-watching, in addition to their function of ideological maintenance. The community spaces offered by Workers' Clubs, on the other hand, became sites for alternative culture in the 70s and 80s, only to lose their significance after Socialism ended. With the change in these buildings' original function came a parallel disintegration in the societal structure that had determined the relationship between culture and free time, while the market economy has proved a powerful limiter of time available outside of work.
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New Acquisitions – Rarely Seen Works 13. March, 2009 – 14. June
The Ludwig Museum possesses a relatively small yet internationally significant collection of over 400 contemporary artworks. As the museum’s permanent exhibition is only able to show a small portion of the collection, we make an effort to present a fresh selection from time to time.