AZ ÚJ BUSÓK - winter farewell, busó parade and exhibition opening

The busó procession of Mohács is connected to the winter-conjuring, fertility charming folk customs and initiation rites; and as such, it is part of the Old European cultic traditions. During the carnival of the Sokác, costumed figures, or busós, drove winter away from the streets of Mohács by animalistic cries, noise, ugly appearance and the burning or throwing of water from a coffin symbolizing winter.

The project NEW BUSÓS tells the story of the big city, its inhabitants and their fears, using this deeply rooted folk tradition.

Although to a modern man this centuries-old tradition may seem isolated from any kind of topicality, this is far from being the case. Masks, although difficult to attribute to a specific artist for lack of precise sources, have always been created on the basis of individual demand, with few constraints from tradition. The time and place in which their creator lived are therefore of great importance. The use of different materials and the way in which they are worked out vary from region to region, giving them a unique appearance throughout Europe. The common feature of these carnival revelries is the wearing of hideous masks designed to terrify people and conceal the identity of the wearers. The Sokác men of Mohács, or busos, often took to the streets in very witty and or tasteless costumes, accompanied by violent and rude behaviour. Carnival was regarded as a time of 'free-for-all'. In addition to the frightening masks, several sources report unconventional masks inspired by the new times. For example, in our country, the deer monkey, and in Switzerland, postmen with names such as postman, are mentioned by folklorists.

So the question arises, what would happen if this place and this particular synthesizing custom of age were to be brought to life in the contemporary Budapest environment. To what music and how would the carnival crowd dance? What materials and techniques would a mask or costume maker use, and what would the buskers come up with to scare people? What, rightly or wrongly, makes us all shudder? To answer these questions, the opening of THE NEW BUSOS exhibition will start with a buso walk. After all, we cannot fully understand the communication of works of art if we can only see them out of context, hanging on a wall. Thus, although the purpose of the event is linked to the concept of art, its function is the same as it was hundreds of years ago. To gather, dance, make noise, have fun and drive winter as completely as possible from the streets of Budapest.

Programme:

The Busos will assemble at Gül Baba's Türbe at 16:00 and then head to Mechwart Liget from 16:30. From there, the procession will take a big turn towards the Manyi Cultural Workshop, where the fun will continue. After the opening speeches, the party will continue in Manyi's main hall, where you can dance with THE NEW BUSO to the tribal electro-acoustic music of Tibor Klöpfler-Topor and enjoy the performance of SAWA, who will also be dressed as a bushman to bury the winter's troubles. Afterwards, you will be able to visit the exhibition on the upper floor of Manyi. Here you can also take a closer look at the works of Julia Egri and Nóra Kulcsár, which the Busos will wear during the parade. The exhibition will be on display until 8 March, during Manyi's opening hours, and we would like to thank them for this opportunity.

Details of further events for the project will be announced soon!

About the artists:

Nóra Kulcsár, the creator of the clothing brand YesBitchDress, and without exaggeration one of the most colourful textile artists in Budapest, held a successful workshop with Ascheegu at the art gallery reset art space in 2023, on the occasion of the opening of the exhibition Staged Murder by Teodora Neskovic. His work combines traditional fabric-making techniques with a method that has gained popularity in the present day, 'fabric distortion'. Materials of different colours, patterns and textures collide with dizzying verve in all of Nóri's work and this time will be no different. However, in the case of THE NEW BUSOS mascara, the tone of the works has changed significantly. The artist's light textiles with their bright colours have been replaced by darker toned, heavier materials. The expressive costumes of the figures, which frighten away the winter, embrace both the modern city and the world of old traditions.

@yesbitch.dressz

Although Júlia Egri is an artist and graphic designer at the beginning of her career, she has already created a new world with her unique style and technical diversity. The artist's main subject matter is anthropomorphic characters, which often tell the viewer about her personal experiences and her view of the world. They tell stories, literally, as his images tell funny, sad or even horrifying stories. They can be characters with a great sense of character, beautiful or ugly, women, men or animals, but always strikingly familiar. This will be no different with the masks in THE NEW BUSO masks, whose faces reveal a fusion of the artist's own characters and the centuries-old tradition of bush masks. This fusion can be described as a truly organic creative process, since Juli drew and knew these urban buskers before the idea for the project was even conceived.

@_pampuli

She designed the exhibition design:

Flóra Mezei, a graphic design student at MOME, thanks a lot!

@designflo_

The Százhetvenszáz project:

The Százhetvenszáz Project, named after István Örkény's one-liner of the same name, in which the writer recounts, with his usual humour, the long career of the Special Enquirer, which can be called by this number. As you know, whatever the caller asked, the switchboard's think-tank had the answer. Until finally, a malicious whistle-blower unlocked the directory enquirer and with a single question, brought about their demise. The project, though it will not surpass its short story namesake, and may even raise more questions than it answers, bears some similarities. It seeks to employ artists with as diverse and interesting a range of skills as possible.

The aim of the Százhetvenszáz is to organise events (exhibitions, performances, workshops, happenings, professional talks) of a visual arts nature, always involving different artists, new venues and diverse themes. It does this with the aim of making the end result an exciting novelty for art lovers, art historians and artists alike. To achieve this, he believes that strong concepts and collaboration with different disciplines are essential.

So this think-tank will not answer the question, "Is it possible for a normal zebra couple to have a checkerboard instead of striped bull?", but it might answer the question of what the artists of our time think about certain issues, or what we think about them.

@szazhetven_szaz

The exhibition and the opening are free of charge.

Duration: 23 February - 8 March.

Location. MANYI