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broader in spectrum - his perspective on values much more inclusive — than that, also
organically encompassing his roles and activities relating to the public sphere of photography.
As characteristic of his spirit of initiative, in 1998, he was art director of the 1" National Photo
Week, and, in 1999, he was president of the Board of Trustees of the 2"9 National Photo Weeks.
He was also festival director of the Month of Photography in 2000 and in 2002. He played a
constant initiatory and inspirative role in realizing all of these events. As his special mission, he
also founded the website of the Association of Hungarian Photographers, which was the first
online photography magazine in Hungary, and of which he became managing editor.
It was also his idea that the National Széchényi Library together with the Association
of Hungarian Photographers create Contemporary Photo Art Collection and Documentation,
which was realized in 2000, and of which he was co-founder and first art director.
That same year, he was also vice-president of HUNGART, and chief instructor of the
College for Advanced Studies and Masterclass of the Association of Hungarian Photographers.
He was also a professional expert and a member of the Body of Experts on Copyright Law.
In 2001, he began working on the editing staff of Photo Video, Photo Mosaic. He was
art director of the online exhibition space Artphoto Gallery, and art director of the Kerengé
Gallery of the National Dance Theatre Budapest. Between 2002 and 2006, he lived and
worked in Győr. In addition, he taught photography, press photography and newspaper
editing at the Hungarian Dance Academy, the Győr School of Dance and Fine Arts, and the
Socrates Bilingual Vocational School (2003). Between 2002 and 2004, he was art director of
MEDIAWAVE International Film and Music Festival. As of 2004, he was art director of ZOOM
Magazine, and then became member of the advisory body of Győr: European Capital of Culture
2010. In 2005, he was cover photographer for the periodical Győri Hét. In 2006, on invitation
by the Chinese Photographers Association, he travelled to China to take photographs in the
Xinjiang region. His entrepreneurial spirit and will proved long-lasting. Finally, it also should
be noted that in 2015-2016, he was an expert for the greatly dynamic Reformation Memorial
Committee, organizer of the national photo competition Momentum of Renewal, and then
curator of its national touring exhibition.
PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE IMAGINATION
Janos Eifert’s life and career began in Hódmezővásárhely. His strong ties to his hometown
and his local friends continue to be a defining influence in his life. During the creation of
this book, ethnographic researcher Tibor Szenti, also a resident, wrote: “As we are both
from Hódmezővásárhely, we have known each other and been friends since our youth. As a
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document photographer of certain professions in the humanities, | have always looked up to
you as someone who, following his calling and a strong inner drive, creates photographs at
a high artistic level. You are known not only to your fans and followers within the profession
in your home country. There are few Hungarian art photographers, who have exhibited in as
many shows and earned as many prizes internationally as you have. In doing so, you have
greatly contributed to the recognition of our country in the field of art photography.”
At the beginning of this text, | quoted Janos Eifert’s ars poetica, in which he states that,
to him, “photography is like playing a game. A very serious game.” Perhaps | have been able
to demonstrate above that, indeed, there is a light-heartedness - almost playfulness — with
which Janos Eifert approaches a chosen phenomenon or person. But it is also true that this
playfulness continually results in deep, serious content and is always paired with intensive
creativity. He also writes that, to him, photography “signifies the possibility of knowing the
world, of encounters, new tasks, and the freedom” to communicate his thoughts in his own
visual language. This, too, has been made evident. The exceptional thematic richness with
which his work has unfolded shows that he has, indeed, grown to know the world, that he has
continuously experienced encounters and tackled new tasks. And we can certainly see his
freedom, which, perhaps, we could even call soaring. His photos also communicate thoughts,
and, indeed, do so in his own visual language. He continues: “To look — to see — and to
render seeable: this is the mission of the photographer”. This, too, becomes obvious to us:
in travelling the country and the world, he is always looking; from his photos it also becomes
apparent to us that he has a fantastic ability to “see” and to “render seeable”. The final
half-sentence of the quote goes “as s/he balances on the edge of imagination and reality”.
This is perhaps his most extraordinary achievement. Once upon a time, the distinguishing
characteristic of photography, as opposed to other forms of art, was that it captured what
was visible, perceivable in front of the lens, in all its reality. In his photography, however, Janos
Eifert truly balances on the line separating imagination and reality. His photographs capture
reality, while also rendering visible that which is imagined. In his images, the photography of
the imagination also comes to life, which may start out in reality but is, ultimately, created by
the imagination, in the realm of fantasy. This is how Janos Eifert’s ars poetica manifests as a
realized artistic achievement.
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