The marks left on the bell’s mantle by the clapper are akin to lyrical painterly gestures in András Berecz’s macro photographs. The accumulated abrasions, traces of friction and the light effects resolving into green, blue, red and yellow on the bronze-toned surfaces, together with the interplay of their visual echoes, give rise to patterns at once painterly and sacred. Exploiting the distinctive alloy composition of the bells, the visual effects resulting from the oxidation processes of bronze, copper and tin, Berecz has created an aesthetic quality in his photographs. The photographs evoke the forms of plants, animals and objects, preserving their centuries-old secrets like time capsules. History is revived in these images, offering a glimpse into the science and craft of bell founding, as well as the destinies of the communities and individuals that lie behind the sounds of bells heard over the centuries. Berecz does not merely reveal the “sounds of the towers”: he also devotes photographs to bells that have fallen silent and been deprived of their voices, recording a moment in their existence.
The practice of ringing bells several times a day was instituted in 606 by Pope Sabinian as a means of calling the faithful to prayer. In the territory of present-day Hungary, bell-ringing spread together with the adoption of Christianity, while the noon bell became a uniquely Hungarian tradition, commemorating the victory at Nándorfehérvár (now Belgrade, Serbia) on 22 July 1456, when the Hungarian and Serbian armies, led by John Hunyadi and Giovanni da Capestrano, defeated the Ottoman forces. The Déli harangszó [Noon Bell] has been a regular feature on Kossuth Radio since 1925. Perhaps the most peaceful broadcast imaginable, it presents the sound of a bell from a different place each day, either in Hungary or beyond its borders, accompanied by a brief account of its history.
The exhibition introduces visitors to the canons, yokes, ropes and the surfaces of other parts of bells, while also giving prominence to the people who sound them. Bell-ringers are custodians of an ancient body of knowledge that is gradually being lost as electronic systems replace manual operation. For this reason, it is important to document and present both today’s bell-ringers and their predecessors, many of whom inscribed their names and years of service into the walls or bricks of bell towers, leaving a trace of their existence for future generations.
Réka Fazakas