Soap Opera

Curator: Attila Nemes The exhibition entitled Soap Opera presents new artworks which are chiefly related to everyday media consumption, or provide a critique of the electronic media. The expression 'soap opera' is often used in contemporary media studies to explain the structure of present day television culture. All TV programs - not only soap operas in the strict sense - may be interpreted as soap operas (for example, news programs may be thought of as series of directed reality). When I started to organize the exhibition I asked artists to tell their ideas, personal opinions about the relationship between the everyday consumption and structure of media, and the views they professed on the contemporary traditions of receiving art. Artists were chosen on the basis of their previous work related to the concept. Some of the participants planned projects-in-progress which are based on the appropriation of other artworks, thoughts and practices. Such projects will be in the making ! even until the opening of the exhibition in 2004. Other artists have created installations to formulate their clear messages to the exhibition's visitors about the consumption of media. Such works consist of various objects and texts connected with the exhibition's theme. In the case of some artists, I have also selected certain already complete pieces which, however, have not been exhibited in Kunsthalle, and in this context, before. The latter are the Portraits of bread and drippings by Tibor Horváth and Sándor Bodó, the Chewing gum portraits by David Burrows, and a former video installation by Attila Csörgõ.
/Attila Nemes/

Participating artists:
Emese Benczúr, Sándor Bodó, Attila Csörgõ, David Burrows, Ágnes Eperjesi, János Fodor, Tibor Horváth, Mariann Imre, Tamás Komoróczky, Endre Koronczy, Éva Köves, Antal Lakner, Kriszta Nagy, Hajni Németh, Márta Rácz, Antonio de la Rosa, János Sugár, Dezsõ Szabó, Péter Szarka, Csaba Uglár, Bea Veszely, Imre Weber.