Lakner László

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Bio

László Lakner
(1936, Budapest / HU – )

László Lakner was born in Budapest in 1936. After attending the Secondary School of Art and Design, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts between 1954 and 1960. His early works are tied to surnaturalism, a form of art that merged motifs from everyday life with Surrealism’s bold association of ideas and represented a language of form completely at odds with the officially endorsed Socialist Realism. Photographs, illustrations and texts from newspapers and magazines provided important inspiration for Lakner. The work of Robert Rauschenberg, with which he became familiar at the 1964 Venice Biennale, made a profound impression on him. Following his visit to Venice, Lakner’s art began to move towards pop art and he began making collages. Important works from this period include those made as a reaction to the Vietnam War, such as The Protest of Buddhist Monks, Prisoner and Cloud and Saigon. Two important recurring motifs from this period are the rose and the mouth (Mouth I). In the 1970s, Lakner turned to Hyperrealism and began to be concerned about moments of Hungarian history (for example the Monument to the Revolution). Lakner was included in the Venice Biennale in 1972 and participated in the Documenta in 1977. He also began to familiarize himself with Conceptual art in the 1970s.

Sources:

Artportal
János Brendel: Lakner László. Budapest: 1959-1973. Budapest, Új Művészet Kiadó, 2000
Katalin Keserü: Variációk a pop artra, fejezetek a magyar művészetből 1950-1990. [Variations on Pop Art, Chapters from the History of Hungarian Art 1950-1990], Budapest, Új Művészet Kiadó, 1991

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Lakner’s 1960 work entitled the Seamstresses Listen to Hitler’s Speech was his first painting made on the basis of a photograph.
In the 1960s, Lakner worked as a book illustrator for the Corvina Publishing House. Examples of his work include a German-language volume of Ady’s poems, and his illustrations were also published in the periodical Élet és Irodalom [Life and Literature].
Rembrandt also had a profound influence on Lakner’s art, clearly visible in his work Rembrandt Study, which was made in 1966. While the subject matter of the work is tied to pop art, the dark colour scheme of the composition is reminiscent of Dutch painting.

World News

1965 in the world

At the New York World fair the second time capsule named Westinghouse is buried. According to the plan, it will be opened in 6939
The United States launches the world’s first commercial communications satellite, named Early Bird. Alexey Leonov performs the first extravehicular activity in space, exiting from the spacecraft Voskhod-2. The Americans didn’t lag behind: Edward White floated around the two-person Gemini-4 using a flare pistol.
The Central Committee of the Romanian Workers’ Party elects Nicolae Ceaușescu as the successor of the first party secretary, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej.
The building of the National Theatre on Blaha Lujza square in Budapest is demolished. The authorities explain this decision with references to “city planning issues.” Soon afterwards, on the 20^th anniversary of the liberation of Hungary from German occupation, a statue of Lenin is unveiled on Dózsa György Avenue.
The United States increases its military force in Vietnam while in the same year 35 thousand people demonstrate against the war in Washington alone.
The construction of the first block housing project built out of elements manufactured by house factories commences (Szakasits Árpád Road 15-25.)
Winston Churchill and T. S. Eliot die.
The popular Tom & Jerry cartoon is taken over by television.
British pop-rock flourishes in America as well. The Beatles’ song Yesterday becomes a global success and the Rolling Stones’ hit Satisfaction comes out.
Pepsi Inc., later to become the great competitor to the Coca Cola Company, is founded.

Art Life

Events in the art world in 1965

Kenneth E. Tyler (1931 – ), born in America to a Romanian father and a Hungarian mother, establishes his studio Gemini in Los Angeles. Tyler had an enormous role in the revival and development of post-war limited edition printmaking techniques. Renowned figures of pop art, such as Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns and David Hockney among others, often frequented his studio.
Le Corbusier and Károly Lyka die.
In the 1960s, various performance events were of great importance. Allen Kaprow made the following claims: “it signified for us the freedom to put together the real world again and again in an unusual format.” The various performances – which abolished the walls between art and life, between the various genres and branches of art – were also shown at festivals. One such interdisciplinary event was the “New York Theater Rally” in 1965, during which twenty-two performances took place, including Oldenburg’s happening entitled Washes.
Due to economic growth in Italy an economic “miracle” took place in the country, resulting in the percentage of households owning a television to jump from 12% to 49%, a change which would play a key role in the spread of pop culture.

Design, Lifestyle

5.design_lakner_illusztracio The M-1965 Field Jacket (known as M65 and M-65 Field Jacket) is a popular, straight cut, water- and dirtproof military jacket, originally designed for the U.S. army. It was introduced in 1965, instead of the M-1951 version. The M65 jacket was widely used by soldiers in the Vietnam War, as it protected them in cold weather thanks to its heat retaining properties. The hood, which could be pulled out of the jackets collar, was also useful in perilous weather conditions.

The jacket was produced by the clothing company Alpha Industries established in 1959. Originally, it was olive green, however, later it appeared in other colours, too, such as camouflage.