In memoriam of the Master

Text: Katalin Keserü

DÉDÁSZ, Pécs, 1971

It was Lajos Kassák who was the exemplary model for Ferenc Lantos for the new world which could be created not only in painting but also via art. The concept of fine arts included applied arts in his view, and he coined a new catch-all term for it, integrating architecture: environmental art. With this he found the way to provide a concept of fine art accessible for every human being, the social purpose of which was to simultaneously construct the mind of human beings and their environment. In this work placed in a public space he saw a solution which may even result in people advancing into creators. In doing so he reformulated the idea „everyone is an artist” which already occurred in the 19th century to meet the traditional communal commitment of Central and Eastern European avant-garde. He had a framework of cooperation and context in scientific system-principle and aesthetics. As an artist, he experimented with new forms and technologies of art in a process of cooperation he planned and worked out with architects and civic designers. Lantos looked for a new venue to realize his new forms of art. He found their places in public plazas, natural or man-made environments. Creation is thus a creative communal commitment always responsive to art and its audience.