The underground music of the ’70s and ’80s was inseparable from the visual arts of that era in Hungary, as well: popular music, as well as popular culture in general, has brought alive new genres and techniques (covers, posters, music videos, etc.), which have opened up new media for visual arts. This latest exhibition of Ludwig focuses on the gateways between these two parallel worlds.
While society was still strictly controlled by Hungary’s Soviet-backed government at that time, within this new exhibition, bands of the era that covertly distributed unofficial cassettes are presented through various private collections and installations. We can learn about the cooperations between various communities, take a peek into the Hungarian rock music scene unfolding from the ’50s, and learn about the different eras and trends of rock.
One of our favorite sements of the exhibition was the giant collage of assorted music magazines, and a project remaking the Britney Spears song “Work Bitch”. In this latter installation, Google Translate reads the lyrics of the song translated into Hungarian, thus eliminating the connection of text and visuals, with rather interesting and entertaining results.
This exhibit is one of the prime occasions of the cultural-event series LUDWIG PASSION, alongside the exhibition titled “Passion. Fan Behavior and Art”, on view until June 26th, which explores the fan behavior of the ’60s and ’80s, with particular regard to rock music.
The exhibition’s title is a clear reference to a Hungarian musical documentary made by János Xantus in the ’80s, titled Rocktérítő (Rock Tropic), in which protagonist Tamás Pajor, the frontman of the band Neurotic, gives up his underground lifestyle. This classic is now being screened again in Toldi Cinema – although only in Hungarian.
“Rock/Space/Time” (temporary exhibition) Full-price ticket:
1,600 HUF / personGroup tickets (over 10 persons):
1,500 HUF / person
