Stranica 15 [15]
OCR
— which he shot in Poland in 1969, and which, with its bipartite perspective is a rather original composition - is an excellent example for this. While, on one side of the image, portraits of the girls of the orphanage can be seen, on the other side, the window pane renders dreams and desires visible. Gallop, a photo from 1970, became an iconic work of his. He captured a young man running with two dogs, as one of the animals turns its head and appears to look right into the eye of the photographer. The dog’s gaze, which in its sharpness stands in strong contrast with its blurred surroundings, renders the image unforgettable. His abilities to this effect are also evidenced by his internationally successful black and white series Hands of the Gardener from 1978. The photo of the series which shows the rough, wrinkled hands of the old gardener as it tenderly and almost protectively tends to a young plant is an example of greatness in simplicity. Interestingly, in looking at Eifert’s photos, it becomes apparent: while his photo reports came into being very much in the gravity of reality, he has stayed away from a documentarian perspective his entire life - sociophotography was never of interest to him. With reference to this question, he points out: “The method of documentarist photography, which relates to its subject in an objective manner without taking a stand, | cannot make my own. In everything that | capture, there is passion and the love | feel as | direct my attention to it." This passion is attested to, for instance, by his jazz photos, especially the one entitled Jazz (Preservation Hall, New Orleans, 2008): it may be a press photo of a jazz event, but it is such an expressive, in-motion composition verging on the abstract, that it almost appears to have been taken in an altered states of consciousness. PORTRAIT, FACE, BODY Eifert can thus be regarded as (also) a portrait photographer, from the start of his career. As it usually happens, in his case too, different types of art overlap and fuse with one another. That is to say, his press photographs can also be considered portrait photos, and vica versa: a good portrait can also comprise part of the photo report. And portraits have multiple possible forms as well; the most typical is a face or head portrait (of which he is also a master), but it can also extend to a representation of the entire body, and can also radiate a kind of genre picture-like atmosphere. Janos Eifert is at home in the entire spectrum of portrait photography. His iconic photograph of Marcel Marceau should certainly be mentioned here; it can be categorized as a dance photo, a snapshot of everyday life, or even a press photo, but, more than anything, it is a portrait of the most unique kind. It was during the French pantomime artist’s 1968 performance at the Erkel Theatre that Eifert managed to capture him on camera. This is an especially significant work, partly because he was already utilizing the montage technique in formulating 24 the final image. During his travels, Janos Eifert took an enormous number of press photos, which can also be regarded as reports of different cultures, ways of life, and states of civilization. For instance, his photo entitled Calcutta (1974), a cow is making itself at home on the asphalt, as part of an everyday urban scene. He has shot portraits of strangers (Worried Pensioner, 2011) as well as acquaintances (Museum Director Janos Dömötör), in black and white (Balint Imre) and in colour (Uyghur Girl — China, Urumqi, 2011). He has done head portraits (Man from Calcutta — India, 1974) and more complex, in-depth representations, where attributes and features closely linked to the personality also manifest in the captured image (Painter Jozsef Fodor, 2004). The following statement by the artist characterizes his entire portrait oeuvre: “When we photograph people, it is imperative that we respect the person whom we wish to capture on camera. Everyone has a right to decide whether they agree to their picture being taken and publicized.”® In his portraits, in most cases, he also gives special attention to the environment. NATURE At first glance, one might think that Janos Eifert, who is, first and foremost, a photographer of the human body, is not really interested in nature photography. This, however, could not be farther from the truth. His deep interest in this direction, which has been present his entire life, stems, in part, from his socialization (Hódmezővásárhely, Martély). Moreover, he stands out among his contemporaries for having seen so many different parts of the world, and having proven himself to be such an astute observer of nature in all his travels. His dense, associative work entitled Bird of Night (Schénbrunn, 1983), while it is simply a puritan representation of the night, evokes a sense of unease. His photos entitled Martély, Backwaters of Tisza (1995) and Martély, Tisza (2007) also reveal his intense rootedness in this landscape as well as his emotion-filled and deep sense of empathy. His nature photos are also original in that, rather than seeking to capture supposedly beautiful landscapes, he (in this category of works, too) zooms in and concentrates closely on the observed microclimate — so much so that natural forms and materials almost tend toward the abstract (e.g. River Bank, 1997). It is no accident that, in connection to the nature photo group exhibition Encounters with Nature, held in 1997 at the Vigadó Gallery (organized by the Nimród Photo Club, of which Janos Eifert was still president), Endre Manyoki writes: “Singling out authors is always a great risk. This time, however, it is obligatory. [...] Janos Eifert [...] is elevated to the heights of spiritual existence by his image of the tree of life which calls to life the ancient myth with elemental force."" Manyoki’s praise tangibly demonstrates how the artist has always regarded nature photography as more than merely the capturing of things seen and experienced. 25
