András Lengyel (b. 1952 in Zirc) and Ernő Tolvaly (b. 1947 in Kispest − d. 2008 in Pécs) belonged to the Hungarian neo-avantgarde generation, the Rózsa Cáfé Circle. They were also close friends in private life. During the 1970s, when travel abroad was severely restricted for Hungarians, it was considered quite a coup for András Lengyel to get permission to travel to Athens, the cradle of European culture. Before departure, he and Ernő Tolvaly agreed that they would have photographs of themselves taken at a predetermined time. At the given hour, Lengyel was at the foot of the Acropolis and Tolvaly was somewhere in Budapest's 7th district. Lengyel looked north; Tolvaly southward. Documentation of this moment as an action of art reflects the influence of the theoretical work of Richard Long, admired by the two men but little known in Hungary at the time. The two photos also clearly demonstrate the differences in intellectual environment between the two locations.
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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.