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A remarkable installation, more a tableau, that to a certain extent is reminiscent of the way in which Edward Kienholz can penetrate to the soul of a country, a culture, by arranging everyday objects. Forgács needs less charged images to visualise his concept. The arrangement is more subtle, but both succeed in creating the desired effect. In this installation, Forgács, prize winner at the ninth World Wide Video Festival with his series of films about Hungarian life (Mr. N's diary 1938-1967; Vagy-vagy; Dusi and Jenö; The father and his three sons - the Bartos family) undoubtedly wanted to expose aspects of what he considers to belong to the typical Hungarian identity. Despite this, it can be said that the tableau has a universal character, and is no less applicable to the New Frumpiness of the newly built metropolitan suburbs in the Netherlands. Forgács has succeeded in recording in three dimensions a certain mentality, call it a European mentality if you like. Forgacs is a sculptor of thoughts. What does the installation look like- A couch on a carpet of grass. On the wall, a tapestry and portraits of Mary and Jesus. The wallpaper underscores the illusion of ultimate kitsch. Then there are telling details that you only notice once you enter the tableau. The continuously playing Hungarian music underlines the character of the tableau. There is a chamber pot next to the couch on the grass. A watering can stands on a table: the grass can be watered with this. There is an elderly television in the corner. The only images that are shown are those of a dancing man in shirt sleeves, a reclining nude and, especially, the grass. The tableau can be interpreted in various ways. Eternal middle-class mentality, conformist art, superstition, a dominating and eternal village mentality: Forgács' tableau/installation is one of the high points of its genre. Whether this tableau can be described as video art is an irrelevant question. Forgács breaks through conventions and, with his Hungarian background, creates an entirely individual universe.
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Eric van ‘t Groenewout
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